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Crichton on the Net Clan Crichton Discussion Area Clan Crichton Contacts |
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Crichton on the Net Clan Crichton Discussion Area Clan Crichton Contacts |
The name Crichton comes from the the lands of Kreitton, one of the earliest baronies around Edinburgh. One of the first mentions comes from the twelfth century when Thurstan de Crechtune served as a witness to the foundation of the Abbey of Holyrood House. The family land holdings were extended in thirteenth century when Thurstan's grandson, William de Crichton, married the heiress to the barony of Sanquhar in Dumfreisshire.
In 1487, James III granted the title of Lord Crichton of Sanquhar to Robert Crichton. This title, however, turned out to be more of a curse than a blessing to those who would hold it in later years. One of the first possessors of the title to come into bad fortune was the third Lord Sanquhar, William, who was murdered by Lord Temple in 1522. The sixth Lord Sanquhar suffered both insult and injury, he died in disgrace for having killed a man in revenge for blinding him years earlier.
During the fifteenth century, Sir William Crichton--who was Scotland's High Chancellor at the time--was the organiser of the infamous "black dinner". During this fateful dinner in Edinburgh Castle, Sir William had the Earl of Douglas and brother--both rivals of Crichton--dragged from the young King James II's presence and executed both of them. The Douglases attempted revenge on several occasions, but Sir William survived them, going on to be raised to the peerage as Lord Crichton.
The second Lord Crichton, William's successor, was convicted of treason when he participated in the Duke of Albany's rebellion against James III. As a result, the Crichton lands were forfeited along with The Castle of Crichton, which later came into the possession of Mary Queen of Scots third husband, the Earl of Bothwell.
Not all of the memorable Crichtons were considered villains however, and one of the most celebrated was the veritable renaissance man James Crichton. In addition to being a scholar of nearly unmatched reputation in his day, he was also said to have been fluent in least ten languages, and was a skilled athlete and swordsman. It is claimed that, while in Paris at one point, he issued a challenge stating that he would dispute with any of the city's professors on any branch of literature or science. Legend has it that fifty of the most learned Partisans accepted his challenge and posed to him the most difficult questions they could imagine, which he reputedly answered easily. Like many of his ancestors though, James too would come to an unfortunate end. During the 1580s he accepted a position as tutor to the son of the Duke of Mantua. Apparently, the boy didn't appreciate his new tutor and organised a gang with the intention of killing him. James is said to have easily fought off and killed five of his six attackers, but dropped his guard in shock when he discovered the sixth was his young student, who promptly took the opportunity and stabbed James in the heart.
The current home of the Clan Crichton is the magnificent Castle of Monzie, which is occupied the current chiefly line, primarily descended of the Crichtons of Frendraught.
