Clan Strange
Encyclopedia
Origins of the Clan
This name Strange is often found more commonly as Strang, and is probably derived from the NormanNorman language
Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. Norman can be classified as one of the northern Oïl languages along with Picard and Walloon...
or French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word ‘étrange’, meaning ‘foreign’. When rendered as ‘Strang’, its etymology was believed in the past to derive from the Scots dialect word for ‘strong’. Home le Estraunge was in the service of the Scottish king around 1255. Thomas de Strang held land around Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
in 1340. John Strang married, sometime around 1362, Cecilia, sister of Richard Anstruther of that Ilk, and received as part of the marriage settlement some of the lands of Balcaskie.
The origins of the name Strange or Strangeman was a nickname meaning 'the strange', from a person who was new to the community. This name is also found to be of English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
descent and is found in many ancient manuscripts in the above country. Examples of such are a Stephen le Strange, County Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls
Hundred Rolls
The Hundred Rolls are a census of England and parts of what is now Wales taken in the late thirteenth century. Often considered an attempt to produce a second Domesday Book, they are named for the hundreds by which most returns were recorded....
', England, in the year 1273 and a John le Straunge, County Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, was also recorded in the same year in this ancient document. Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep records of the population at any given time. When the overlords acquired land by either force or gifts from their rulers, they created charters of ownership for themselves and their vassals. Other examples of this name were found in the person of a Willemus Straunge who was recorded in the 'Poll Tax', of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in the year 1379.
In 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...
William Strang of Balcaskie is mentioned in deeds around 1466. John Strang of Balcaskie acquired the ands of Ewingston and received a charter of confirmation in 1482.
16th Century & Anglo-Scottish Wars
During the Anglo-Scottish WarsAnglo-Scottish Wars
The Anglo-Scottish Wars were a series of wars fought between England and Scotland during the sixteenth century.After the Wars of Scottish Independence, England and Scotland had fought several times during the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In most cases, one country had attempted to...
of the 16th century Chief John Strang of Balcaskie was slain leading men of the clan against the English army at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
Battle of Pinkie Cleugh
The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland on 10 September 1547, was part of the War of the Rough Wooing. It was the last pitched battle between Scottish and English armies, and is seen as the first modern battle in the British Isles...
in 1547.
17th Century
John Strang of Balcaskie sold the estate in 1615 and became a colonel in Cochrane’sClan Cochrane
Clan Cochrane is a Lowland Scottish clan.-Origins:Traditionally the original ancestor of the Clan Cochrane in Scotland was a Scandinavian Viking who settled in what is now known as Renfrewshire. It is evident that the name is of territorial origin and that the Cochranes took the name of the lands...
Scots Regiment. Sir Robert Strange was descended from a younger son of the house of Balcaskie whose family had settled in Orkney at the time of the Reformation. He was intended for a career in the law, but instead took ship on a man-of-war heading for the Mediterranean. On his return he took up the art of engraving.
18th Century & Jacobite Uprisings
When the Jacobite army of Prince Charles Edward Stuart entered EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in September 1745, Sir Robert Strange was appointed to the Prince’s Life Guard, where he served until after the defeat at the Battle of Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
in 1746. He managed to escape after several months as a fugitive in the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
and returned to obscurity in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. In 1751 he moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he engraved several important historical prints and began to receive critical acclaim. In 1760 he left to tour Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and produced some outstanding engravings. He died in 1792, and is generally considered the father of the art of engraving historical prints.
Clan Strange Today
In February 1995 Major Timothy Strange of Balcaskie was confirmed by Lord Lyon as Chief of the Clan Strange.Clan Profile
- Arms: Argent, a chevron between three lozenges Sable.
- Crest: Dexter, on a Wreath Argent and Sable a cluster of grapes Proper; sinister, on a Wreath Argent and Sable a castle Proper, masoned Sable
- Mottos: Dexter, Dulce quod utile (That which is useful is sweet); sinister, Stet fortuna domus (The good fortune of the house stands)
- Supporters: Dexter, an ancient Caledonian warrior; sinister, an ancient Danish warrior (a detailed description of the warriors is given in the Lyon Register)
- Standard: The arms in the hoist and of two tracts Argent and Sable with the Crest depicted thrice, and on two transverse bands Gules the Motto 'Dulce quod utile' in letters Or
- Pinsel: Argent, on a Wreath of the Liveries a cluster of grapes Proper within a strap Sable and buckle embellished Or and inscribed with the Motto 'Dulce quod utile' in letters of the field and all within a circlet Or fimbriated Gules bearing the title 'Strange of Balcaskie' in letters Sable, and in the fly on an Escrol Gules surmounting a cluster of grapes Proper the slogan 'A balcaskie' in letters of the Field.