Clan Fletcher

Clan Fletcher
Clan Fletcher
Mac-An-Leister (Son of the Arrowmaker) Fleisdear
Motto	Alta Pete (Aim at High Things)
Profile
Country	Scotland, Ireland, England
Region	Scottish Highlands
District	Argyll
Ethnicity	Scottish
	Clan Fletcher no longer has a chief, and is an armigerous clan
Historic seat	Archallader House
Allied clans
	Clan MacGregor
Rival clans
	Clan Campbell

Clan Fletcher is a Scottish clan.^[2] The clan is officially recognized by the Lord Lyon King of Arms; however, as the clan does not currently have a chief recognized by the Lord Lyon, it is considered an armigerous clan.^[2]

History

Origins of the name

The name Fletcher is derived from the French word flechier, which means arrow maker.^[2] The first record of the name was from Jean de la Flèche, a Norman noble who was given land by William the Conqueror. His decendent later moved to Scotland. The name was a very common trade name, so much so that it became used in the Scottish Gaelic language as fleisdear.^[2] In the eighteenth century some families went full circle and anglicised the name from the Gaelic, Mac-an-leistear, back into Fletcher.^[2]

Origins of the clan

Sometime after the eleventh century a band of Mac-an-leistears settled in Glen Orchy, Argyll.^[2] There they became arrow makers to the Clan MacGregor.^[2] Other small groups of Mac-an-leisters settled in glens that belonged to other clans, in order to make arrows for them.^[2]

The first recorded clan chief was Angus Mac-an-leister, who was born in about 1450.^[2] However, Duncan Campbell of Glenorchy, who was in high royal favour with James VI of Scotland coveted the Mac-an-leister's lands.^[2] Campbell had royal authority to maintain a large band of armed retainers who he employed in a campaign of intimidation and violence.^[2] Campbell deliberately provoked a dispute with the Mac-an-leister chief and trumped up a murder charge against him.^[2] As a result, Mac-an-leister was compelled to sign a deed in which all of his family lands were ceded to the Campbells, and from then onwards they were only tenants in Glen Orchy.^[2]

17th century

Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun "the Patriot" was a fierce opponent of the union with England.^[2] He became MP for Haddington in 1678; however, he was forced to flee to Holland for having supported the Monmouth Rebellion against James II of England (VII of Scotland).^[2]

18th century and Jacobite risings

During the Jacobite rising of 1715 Archibald, ninth chief of the clan led the Mac-an-leisters in support of the Jacobites, as did his younger brother John during the Jacobite rising of 1745.^[2] However, during "the 45" the elder brother who was the chief, provided some men for the British-Hanoverian forces under his Campbell overlords and in doing so avoided forfeiture.^[2]

Castles

Castles owned by the Clan Fletcher have included amongst others:

Archallader House, three miles from Bridge of Orchy in Argyll, is ruinous sixteenth century tower house.^[3] The lands were held by the Fletchers but were lost to the Campbells who built the existing castle.^[3] In 1603 the castle was burnt by the MacGregors and again in 1689 by Jacobites, and was not restored.^[3]
Saltoun Hall, five miles west of Haddington, East Lothian was sold to the Fletchers in 1643, and was the seat of Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun "the Patriot".^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b Clan Fletcher Profile scotclans.com. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r Way, George and Squire, Romily. (1994). Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). pp. 388 - 389.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Coventry, Martin. (2008). Castles of the Clans: The Strongholds and Seats of 750 Scottish Families and Clans. pp. 199 - 200. ISBN 978-1-899874-36-1.