Clan Stewart
Clan Stewart (Gaelic: Stiùbhart) is a Scot-
tish Highland and Lowland clan. The clan
is recognised by Court of the Lord Lyon;
however, it does not have a Clan Chief
recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms.
Because the clan has no chief it can be
considered an armigerous clan; however,
the Earls of Galloway are now considered
to be the principal branch of this clan, and
Without a univeral ancestoral home the Stewarts have spread across Scotland
the crest and motto of The Earls of Gallo-
way’s arms are used in the Clan Stewart
crest badge. The Court of the Lord Lyon
recognises two other Stewart/Stuart clans,
Clan Stuart of Bute and Clan Stewart of
Appin. Clan Stuart of Bute is the only one
of the three clans at present which has a
recognised chief.
Origins of The Clan
The Stewarts who became monarchs of
Scotland were descended from a fam-
ily who were seneschals (stewards) of
Dol in Brittany, France. After the Nor-
man conquest of England, the Stew-
arts acquired estates in England as the
FitzAlan family, also Earls of Arundel.
Walter Flaad or Walter fitz Alan the
steward came to Scotland when David
I of Scotland claimed his throne. It is
from their office as stewards that the
surname Stewart came. Walter was
created High Steward of Scotland and
was granted large estates in Renfrews-
hire and East Lothian. Walter was one
of the commanders of the royal army
which defeated Somerled of the Isles
(ancestor of Clan Donald) at the Battle
of Renfrew in 1164.
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 Royal House of Stewart
Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of
Scotland married Marjory, daughter of
king Robert the Bruce. When Robert’s
son, David II of Scotland died, he was
succeeded by Walter Stewart’s son,
Robert II of Scotland. King Robert
II had many sons; the eldest, John,
succeeded to the throne of Scotland as
Robert III of Scotland. The royal line
of male Stewarts was uninterrupted
until the reign of Mary, Queen of
Scots. As a family the Stewarts (Stu-
arts) held the throne of Scotland and
later England until the death of Anne,
Queen of Great Britain in 1714.
Scottish Independence
During the Wars of Scottish Indepen-
dence, James Stewart, 5th High Stew-
ard of Scotland swore fealty to Edward
I of England. However, he later sided
with Robert the Bruce and William
Wallace in the struggle for Scottish
independence.
Scottish-Norwegian War
Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward
of Scotland, also known as Alexander
of Dundonald Castle, commanded the
Scottish army at the Battle of Largs in
1263 against Viking invaders.
Tartan
The usual tartan for the Stewarts or
Stuarts is a red coloured pattern known
as the Royal Stuart Tartan. According to
historian Henry James Lee the effect of a
large body of men crossing a hill in the
red Stuart tartan, contrasting with the
dark coloured heath has been described
“as if the hill were on fire”.

Albany Stewarts
The Dukedom of Albany is a peer-
age title that was bestowed on some
younger sons in the Scottish and
later the British royal family, partic-
ularly in the House of Stuart. Robert
II’s third son was Robert Stewart, 1st
Duke of Albany, who was Regent of
Scotland during part of the reigns
of his father, brother, and nephew
James I of Scotland. Robert II’s fourth
son was Alexander Stewart, Earl of
Buchan, who was famed as the Wolf of
Badenoch and was responsible for the
destruction of Elgin cathedral

When James I of Scotland came of Dress Tartan Royal Tartan

age, he curbed the power of his cous-
ins, the Albany Stewarts. He beheaded
Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany,
eldest son of the former regent Robert
Stewart. Two of Murdoch’s sons,
Walter and Alexander (Alasdair), were
both executed.

Blackwatch Tartan Hunting Tartan

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 Main Branches of Stewart
As the Chief of the Stewarts was also the
occupant of the throne, the relationship
between the various branches or members
of the family differed from the usual ties
between clansmen and their Chief. The
family did however have their own badge
and tartan to distinguish them. Apart from
the royal house of Stewart, the three main
branches of the clan that settled in the Scot-
tish Highlands during the 14th and 15th
centuries were the Stewarts of Appin, Stew-
arts of Atholl and Stewarts of Balquhidder.
Today the Earls of Galloway are considered
the senior line of the Clan Stewart.
Stewarts of Appin
The Stewarts of Appin descend from Sir
John Stewart of Bonkyll, son of Alexander
Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland. Sir
John’s younger son, James Stewart, was
killed in 1333 at the Battle of Halidon Hill.
His grandson married the heiress of the
Lord of Lorne (chief of Clan MacDougall).
He was the first Stewart Lord of Lorne. The
Stewarts of Appin supported the royalist
cause during the Civil War of the 17th cen-
tury and also supported the deposed Stuart
monarchs during the Jacobite rising of 1715
and Jacobite rising of 1745.
Stewarts of Atholl
The Stewarts of Atholl are descended from
a son of Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan,
the “Wolf of Badenoch”. James Stewart built
a strong castle at Garth where he settled at
the end of the 14th century. Queen Joanna,
widow of James I of Scotland married the
Black Knight of Lorne who was descended
from the fourth High Steward. Their son
was John Stewart of Balveny who was grant-
ed the Earldom of Atholl by his half-broth-
er, James II of Scotland. He supported his
brother, commanding the royal forces that
opposed the rebellion by the Lord of the
Isles. The fifth Stewart Earl of Atholl died
with no male issue and his daughter
married
William Murray, second Earl of Tullibar- Stewart (died 1425), Keeper of Dumbarton
dine, who succeeded as Earl of Atholl. Many Castle, younger son of Murdoch Stewart,
Stewarts continued to live in the Atholl area 2nd Duke of Albany, son of Robert Stewart,
with many claiming descent from the Wolf 1st Duke of Albany, younger son of King
of Badenoch. They were mainly transferred Robert II of Scotland.
by allegiance to the Murray Earls of Atholl
and were known as Athollmen. This is main-
tained today with the Atholl Highlanders,
Europe’s only legal private army. Gener-
al David Stewart of Garth, an Athollman,
was an officer in the Black Watch regiment
and his book, Sketches of the Highlanders
and Highland Regiments, popularized his
homeland in Victorian England.
James Stewart of Sticks and Ballechin (d.
1523), illegitimate son of James II, King of
Scotland, was the ancestor of several other
Stewart families in Atholl, including the Coat-of-Arms of Appin
Stewarts of Arnagang, Ballechin, Innervack,
Killichassie, the later Kynachins, Loch of
Clunie, and Stewartfield.
Stewarts of Balquhidder
Stewarts came to Balqhidder in about 1490,
when William Stewart, grandson of the only
son of the Duke of Albany to escape the per-
secution of James I, was appointed ballie of
the crown lands of Balquhidder.
Coat-of-Arms of Atholl
Stewarts of Bute
The chiefs of the Clan Stuart of Bute are de-
scended from Sir John Stewart, illegitimate
son of Robert Stewart who reigned as Rob-
ert II of Scotland by Moira Leitch (accord-
ing to tradition
Earl Castle Stewart
Earl Castle Stewart, in the County Tyrone, is
a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was creat-
ed in 1800 for Andrew Thomas Stewart, 9th
Baron Castle Stuart.
The Earls Castle Stewart claim to be the Coat-of-Arms of Bute
head representatives in the pure male line
of the Scottish Royal House of Stuart. They
are directly descended from Sir Walter
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 Castles
Edinburgh Castle; one of the most notable castles owned by Earl’s Palace, Kirkwall built by Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Or-
the Stewarts as the royal family. kney.

Stirling Castle; one of the most notable castles owned by the Bishop’s Palace, Kirkwall originally a Norwegian fort, owner-
Stewarts as the royal family. ship later passed to Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney.
Scalloway Castle built by Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney.
Linlithgow Palace was one of the principal residences of the
Stewart and Stuart monarchs of Scotland. Earl’s Palace, Birsay built by Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Or-
kney.
Falkland Palace was acquired by the Stewart family in the
14th century and was owned by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany. It was Crookston Castle has been owned by various branches of
a royal palace of the Scottish kings. the Clan Stewart.

Castle Stuart was the home of the line of Stuarts who held the Rothesay Castle was built by the Stewarts at the beginning
title Earl of Moray. of the 13th century.

Castle Stalker was a seat of the Stewarts of Appin. Drumin Castle was the home of Alexander Stewart, Earl of
Buchan (the Wolf of Badenoch).
Lochranza Castle was granted to Walter Stewart, the Earl of
Menteith in 1262 by Alexander III of Scotland. Ardvorlich Castle, stronghold of the Stuarts of Balquhidder

Dundonald Castle built in the 13th century by Alexander Garth Castle, stronghold of the Clan Stewart.
Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland. Used by the Stewart monarchs.
Grandtully Castle, stronghold of the Clan Stewart.
Craigmillar Castle, Edinburgh, castle of the royal Stuarts. Garlies Castle, stronghold of the Clan Stewart.

Doune Castle; built in the 14th century by Robert Stewart, Castle Campbell, originally called Castle Gloom, it passed
Duke of Albany. by right of marriage to the Campbells who changed the name to Cas-
tle Campbell by an Act of Parliament in 1489.

Castle Stalker, seat of the Doune Castle, Seat of

Stewarts of Appin Robert Steward

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