Earl of Mar

Earldom of Mar
Coat of Arms of the Earl of Mar
Creation date	1014
Peerage	Peerage of Scotland
First holder	Ruadrí, Earl of Mar
Present holder	James Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar and 16th Earl of Kellie and Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar
Heir presumptive	Hon. Alexander David Erskine, Master of Mar and Kellie Susan of Mar, Mistress of Mar
Former seat(s)	Mar's Wark, Kildrummy Castle and Doune of Invernochty

Eardom of Mar (1st creation)
Creation date	c. 1014
Monarch	King Malcolm II
Peerage	Peerage of Scotland
First holder	Ruadrí, Earl of Mar
Present holder	Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar
Heir presumptive	Susan of Mar, Mistress of Mar
Remainder to	heirs general of the body of the grantee
Subsidiary titles	Lord Garioch (1320)

Earldom of Mar (7th creation)
Creation date	1565
Monarch	Mary, Queen of Scots
Peerage	Peerage of Scotland
First holder	John Erskine, 1st and 18th Earl of Mar
Present holder	James Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar
Heir presumptive	Hon. Alexander David Erskine
Remainder to	heirs male of the body of the grantee
Subsidiary titles	Earl of Kellie, Viscount of Fentoun, Lord Erskine, Lord Erskine of Dirleton

The Mormaer or Earl of Mar is a title that has been reaffirmed seven times, all in the Peerage of Scotland. The first creation of the earldom was originally the provincial ruler of the province of Mar in north-eastern Scotland. First attested in the year 1014, the "seat" or "caput" eventually became Kildrummy Castle, although other sites like Doune of Invernochty were initially just as important.

The title evolved into a peerage title, and was made particularly famous by John Erskine, 22nd Earl of Mar who was an important Jacobite military leader during the 1715 Jacobite rising.

Owing to a 19th-century dispute, there are currently two Earls of Mar, with James Thorne Erskine, 14th Earl of Mar and 16th Earl of Kellie and Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar. The Earl of Mar and Kellie is the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Erskine; the Countess of Mar is the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Mar. The Earldom of Mar is thought to be the oldest peerage in Great Britain, and even Europe.

The family seat of Earl of Mar (first creation) is St Michael's Farm, near Great Witley, Worcestershire, and of Earl of Mar (seventh creation) is Hilton Farm, near Alloa, Clackmannanshire.

The first Mormaer of Mar is usually regarded as Ruadrí (fl. 1131), mentioned in the Book of Deer. Some modern sources give earlier mormaers, i.e. Muirchertach (Latinized as Martachus) and Gartnait (sometimes Gratnach), mentioned respectively in charters of the reigns of king Máel Coluim III (relating to the Céli Dé establishment of Loch Leven) and king Alexander I (relating to the monastic establishment of Scone), though in these cases certain identification with a particular province is difficult. The accounts of the Battle of Clontarf in some of the Irish annals name "Domnall son of Eimen son of Cainnech", Mormaer of Mar in Alba", as among those killed in 1014 alongside Brian Boru.