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Your Clan History



Clan Leslie

The Clan Leslie claim descent from Bartholf, a Hungarian who obtained the Barony of Lesly in the 12th century, and it was his son Malcolm who was the first to take the name from the lands. Sir Andrew Leslie was one of the signatories of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, a letter to the Pope asserting Scottish independance. His second son married the daughter and heiress of the Earl of Ross and hence in his wife's right became Earl . On his death in 1402 the right of earldom was fought by his brother-in-law, Donald of the Isles at the Battle of Harlaw in 1411. (Additional information on the Battle of Harlaw - Clan MacLean, Clan MacBean, Clan MacQueen, Clan Shaw, Clan Cameron, and other clan. Listen to the music of "Battle of Harlaw"). The Leslies lost the title but the sixth Leslie Chief, Sir Andrew, was created Earl of Rothes by James II and the family have held the title up to the present day. William, 3rd Earl of Rothes was killed at Flodden and his son, George, was one of the chief conspirators in the assassination of Cardinal Beaton (Bethune). Andrew, 4th Earl who succeeded his father in 1588 was intimately concerned with the affairs of Mary Queen of Scots fighting on her side at Langside. George Leslie of Balgonie served with great distinction under Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden in the Thirty Years War. He returned to Scotland to command the Covenantors and captured Edinburgh Castle, as a reward, and to conciliate the Scots, Charles I created him Earl of Leven in 1641. The Leslies of Balquhain were the most distinguished branch and were involved in a long feud with the Forbes. The most notable of their family was John Leslie, Bishop of Ross who wrote, in the Scottish vernacular, "A History of Scotland" for Mary Queen of Scots, of whom he was a loyal supporter. He was also involved in the Ridolfi plot, for which he was imprisoned in the Tower of London.

Additional information can be found on the Clan Leslie Society history page.

Thanks to James Pringle Weavers for the following information

LESLIE: The name is derived from the Barony of that name in the Garioch district of Aberdeenshire, where the first record was of Bartholf of Leslie, who arrived in the train of Queen Margaret, and was granted a charter by her husband, Malcolm III 'Ceanmore' (r.1031-93). Bartholf married the King's sister, so greatly enhancing the fortunes of his posterity. The family became Constables of the Royal Castle of Inverurie, and in 1320, Sir Andrew, 6th of Leslie, was among the signatories to the Declaration of Arbroath. In 1366 his son Walter, married Euphemia, heiress to the Earldom of Ross, and in her right he became Earl - following the death of his son, the next Earl, his only grand-daughter's contrived resignation of her claim to Ross led to the Battle of Harlaw in 1411, where at least 6 sons of the House of Leslie fell. From the reign of Alexander III (1249-86), the Leslies had also held Fettykil (now Leslie) in Fife and these lands, with others in the Mearns, which had been resigned by Alexander, Earl of Ross, were confirmed to George Leslie, grandfather of Sir George of Ballinbreich who was created 1st Earl of Rothes by James II in 1437. William, the 3rd Earl, perished with King James IV and the flower of the Scottish nobility at Flodden in 1513. The elder sons of the 4th Earl were by-passed in inheritance, being branded traitors for their part in the murder of Cardinal Beaton. The 6th Earl was a Covenanting leader during the Civil War, and his kinsman, Sir Alexander Leslie of Balgonie, who had formerly served King Gustavus Adolfus of Sweden as a Field-Marshal, was appointed General of the Covenanting army which seized Edinburgh Castle with only 1000 men. Charles I made him Earl of Leven in 1641, and that earldom is now merged with the Earldom of Melville. The General Leslie responsible for the 1647 massacre at Dunaverty in Kintyre, was created Lord Newark in 1661. The Leslies of Balquhain acquired their Aberdeenshire lands about 1340, and of this line came Walter, Count Leslie of Austria; the Leslie Baronets of Wardis; and the Leslies of Warthill - a son of whom became Prince Bishop of Laibach in Austria and a Privy Councillor.

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