Black Morrow, also known as Black Murray, is the name given to a bandit whom according to tradition was killed by a MacLellan near Kirkcudbright

Kirkcudbright

Kirkcudbright, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.The town lies south of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie, in the part of Dumfries and Galloway known as the Stewartry, at the mouth of the River Dee, some six miles from the sea...

 in Galloway

Galloway

Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. There are several different versions of the story, in which the slain bandit is variously described as a Gypsy, a Moor

Moors

The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...

, or even Irish. The stories may be explanations for the Moor's head

Maure

A Maure, since the 11th century, is the symbol of an African head. The term has Phoenician and Greek origins; see Moors.- U Moru :The main symbol in the coat of arms in Corsica is U Moru, Corsican for "The Moor", originally a female Moor blindfolded and wearing a necklace made of beads...

 that appears on the crest that appears on the Arms

Coat of arms

A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...

 of Lord Kirkcudbright

Lord Kirkcudbright

The title Lord Kirkcudbright was bestowed on Sir Robert Maclellan of Bombie in 1633 by King Charles I of England on a visit to Scotland. Maclellan had already been created a baronet in the Nova Scotia in 1631....

, and in consequence the modern crest badge

Scottish crest badge

A Scottish crest badge is a heraldic badge worn to show allegiance to an individual or membership in a specific Scottish clan. Crest badges are commonly called clan crests, but this is a misnomer; there is no such thing as a collective clan crest, just as there is no such thing as a clan coat of...

 used by Clan MacLellan. The blazon

Blazon

In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...

 for which is a naked arm supporting on the point of a sword, a moor's head.

According to one tradition he and his followers occupied Clan MacLellan lands. He was killed by Sir William MacLelllan when discovered in a drunken sleep, allowing the MacLellans to regain control of their land. Another version states that a £50 reward was offered for his capture or death and that MacLellan bought the land with the reward. In an elaborate version of the story MacLellan deliberately replaced spring-water in a well with spirits in order to get Black Morrow drunk. The location of the spring in woodland is now known as Black Morrow Wood.

Racial identity

The name "Black Morrow" is assumed to derive from the term "Blackamoor" referring to the Moors

Moors

The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...

 of North Africa and Spain. As the date of the incident is not specified in the earliest surviving accounts it is not possible to know whether this implies that Black Morrow was an actual Moor or whether the name was intended to refer to his swarthy skin or barbarous reputation, perhaps analogous to "Black Douglas". Some accounts refer to him as "Irish" and others as a "gypsy".

Some writers in the 19th century attempted to use the story as evidence of native racial diversity in Britain. David MacRitchie

David MacRitchie

David MacRitchie was a Scottish folklorist and antiquarian.-Early Life:David MacRitchie was the younger son of William Dawson MacRitchie and Elizabeth Elder MacRitchie. He was born in Edinburgh and attended the Edinburgh Southern Academy, the Edinburgh Institute and the University of Edinburgh...

argued that Black Morrow was probably a gypsy, but claimed that the gypsies were not immigrants but ancient Britons from a primeval dark-skinned race.