The Duncan Tartan most likely used by my Duncan cousins.
| Clan Duncan | |
|---|---|
| Dunchad / Donchadh / Donnachadh | |
Crest: On waves of the sea a demasted ship.
| |
| Motto | Disce Pati (Learn to Endure) ca. 1672 |
| Profile | |
| Region | Perthshire, Tayside, Angus, Fife, Aberdeenshire. |
| Clan Duncan has no chief, and is an armigerous clan | |
The personal name Duncan can be found in Scotland’s oldest records in its Gaelic form Dunchad/Donchadh/Donachie/Donnchadh and other spelling variants.
(Dunchad) Duncan, originally a forename[1] is without doubt one of the earliest names in Scotland – surnames being introduced by theNormans around 1120 AD – and originates from the Dalriadan CelticCeltic Scotii (Scots) from Ireland who colonised the south west of Scotland from about the 4th century AD. Dúnchad (Duncan mac Conaing) co-ruled Dalriada with Conall II (c.650 - 654).[2]
Other early accounts of the name include the 9 ft inscribed ‘Turpillian Stone’ of the 4th century AD at Crickhowell, Wales, a particularly early mention of the name Duncan. Inscribed in Ogham (an early form of Celtic writing) the stone also carried the Latin translation “TURPILLI IC IACIT PUUERI TRILUNI DUNOCATI” which roughly translates as The Fort Warrior.[3] Mention is also made of Dunchad (Duncan) the 11th Abbot of Iona, 707 – 717AD (later St. Dunchadh) and Dunchad (Duncan) the 39th Abbot in 989AD.[4][5]
Records from this time are scant and it is not until after the unification by Kenneth MacAlpin around 843 AD of theCeltic Scots of Dál Riata (Dalriada) and the aboriginal Picts of northern Britain do we start to see the name significantly being used in other parts of Scotland. One of the earliest references to Dunchad/Donchad, is found in the margins of the 11th century 'Book of Deer the oldest writings in Scots Gaelic known in Scotland today, These manuscript were written by the early Christian Monks of the Abbey of Deer in Aberdeenshire.[6]
When Duncan I took the Scottish throne, Unlike the "King Duncan" of Shakespeare's Macbeth, the historical Duncan appears to have been a young man. He followed his grandfather Malcolm II as king after the latter's death on 25 Nov. 1034, without apparent opposition. He may have been Malcolm's acknowledged successor or tánaise as the succession appears to have been uneventful. Duncan would have been wise to pacify his remaining family, especially his senior cousin Thorfinn the Mighty, Earl of Orkney; his uncle, MacBeth; and the person closest to his throne, Queen Gruoch, MacBeth’s wife. By 1040, however, Duncan had been murdered and the crown was in the hands MacBeth.
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