|
|
Clan
Logan
The
early Lowland Logans originated from Galloway. It is documented
that two of them were killed in Spain in 1329 on their way to
the Holy Land with the heart of King Robert I (the Bruce). Sir
Robert Logan of Restalrig (d. 1606) had his bones exhumed and
paraded in Parliament so that he could personally be convicted
of treason.
The Highland Logans claim descent from the Logans of Drumderfit
in Easter Ross. See also MacLennan, with whom the Highlander
Logans are closely linked.
Little indeed is known of the Logans as a Highland clan, but
that little is tragic enough—so tragic as to have brought
about the change of the name Druim-na-clavan, the height on
which the stronghold of the chiefs was built, to Druim-an-deur,
the "Ridge of Tears." The estate, now known as Druim-deur-fait,
in Eilan-dhu, the Black Isle, in Ross-shire, was still, in the
middle of last century, in possession of the representative
of the family, Robert Logan, a banker in London. The word Logan,
Laggan, or Logie, in the Celtic tongue signifies a hollow place,
plain, or meadow, encircled by rising grounds. As a place name
it is common throughout Scotland. Logie is the name of parishes
in Clackmannan and the north east of Fife, while Logic-Easter
is a parish in Ross and Cromarty, Logan Water is the old name
of the Glencross Burn in the Pentlands, and Port-Logan is a
village in the south of Wigtonshire. The original seat of the
Logans in the north seems to have been Druimanairig in Wester
Ross. Early in the fourteenth century, however, the original
line of the chiefs ended in an heiress, Colan Logan, who married
Eachan Beirach, a son of the Baron of Kintail, and carried the
estates into his possession. Eachan took his wife’s name,
and, dying at Eddyrachillis about the year 1350, left a son,
Eanruig, from whom descended the Sliochd Harich, who continued
the race in the island of Harris.
The Logans in the Highlands are often linked to the MacLennans
due to a colourful (but unreliable) legend about a chief of
the Logans in Easter Ross who was killed in a feud with the
Frasers. His wife gave birth to a child a few months later who
later became a priest. His son was named Gillie Fhinnein (disciple
of St Finnan) and MacLennan is the anglicised version of this
name.
All the
Logan/Logie names are probably derived from the Gaelic word
"lagan" (little hollow) which became parts of place
names in various parts of Scotland. One of the most important
sources of the name was Logan in Ayrshire but there are examples
of the name in Dryburgh in the Borders in 1204, Adam de Logan
in Gowrie in 1226 and Thurbrand de Logan in Cunningham, Ayrshire.
There were four landowners of that name who signed the "Ragman
Roll" of King Edward I in 1296.
Two knights
named Logan accompanied Sir James Douglas on his journey to
take Robert the Bruce's heart to the Holy Land. They died with
Douglas fighting the Moors in Spain in 1329.
There was
a landed family of Logans in Forfar, Angus for hundreds of years
until the last of the lairds died without issue in 1802. Other
Logans were established in lands in West Linton (south of the
Pentland Hills in the Scottish Borders).
Sir Robert
Logan of Restalrig in Edinburgh married a daughter of King Robert
II and was Admiral of Scotland in 1406. The family owned Fast
Castle in Berwickshire but they fell from favour and the last
Logan of Restalrig died an outlaw and the castle was taken over
by the Homes.
Logie/Loggie
were located in different parts of the country from Logan. Wauter
de Logie also signed the Ragman Roll and Sir John of Logy is
reputed to have been one of the nobles who conspired with King
Edward II of England and the Earl of Warenne when they attempted
an invasion of Scotland in 1320. A coat of arms was granted
to Logie of that Ilk (signifying a clan chief) but they were
never subsequently recorded in the registers of the Lyon Court.
"The
Scottish Gael" was the first work in English to try to
give a history of Highland dress and it was written by James
Logan in 1831. In modern times, Jimmy Logan is the most famous
of a large theatrical family.
The
Logan clan motto is "Hoc Marjorum Virtus" which means
"This is the valour of my ancestors".
BADGE:
Conasg (ulex Europaeus) whin or furze.
SLOGAN: In the north, Druim-an-deur; in the south, Lesteric
lowe!
Return
To Scottish Clans
|
|
