CLAN & FAMILY CARRUTHERS: Who is a Carruthers?

CARRUTHERS IS A CARRUTHERS, IS A CARRUTHERS?

As our Gathering quickly approaches, we have been asked by someone from the US, based on information they had found elsewhere: ‘What or who constitutes a member of our clan and family’?

The origins of Carruthers in Annandale have therefore to be at the forefront of our minds and as such we will answer the question in 4 parts:

1) Where do we come from?

2) Who are Carruthers?

3) Are we all related to the Chiefly line?

4) Is a Carruthers really a Carruthers?

Just for clarification, there has been of late an attempt to reposition the topographical origins of Carruthers from Annandale into Renfrewshire near Glasgow. This is by the usual culprits and is based on some strange agenda and backed by very weak research. It is in an attempt to link the family of Carruthers with the family of Carruth.  They are however two very distinct and separate families, as has been proven here.

Where do we come from?

All the respectable historians suggest that our name comes from land around a fort (Caer) owned/led by the war chief Rhydderch (Ruthers) in Annandale. There are many archeological sites in Annandale, most of which that have lasted were Roman. It is further stated that the monastery at Hoddam, used stones from one of these Roman Forts to build its own structures.

However, it is well documented that our name is topographical in nature i.e. taken from a place where we inhabited or lands we owned. The name Carruthers has its roots in the Brythonic language of the Celts (P) who lived throughout of what is now know as Britain. The Celtic language classed as P to differentiate it from Q Celtic language of the Gael from Ireland, remained in use in our homelands until around 1018. At this point the Saxon tongue, with a smuttering of Norse and Latin, led to the use of Old Scots by the peoples in our region of the Scottish Borders. 

The name itself, according to many historians comes from the lands of ‘Carruthers’, which took their name from the fort of Rydderch. Rydderch, in the old Cumbric dialect is pronounced Ruthers and is mirrored in ancient and modern Welsh, which hold the remnants of the Brythonic language. Combining Caer and Ruthers, we have the name Caer-ruthers progressing to our root name of Carruthers, and the surname we all are proud to carry. But where was the fort and who was Rydderch?

Behind the old parish of Carruthers, on which the Carruthers farm sits, the farm being named after the area and not the owners, is a hill called Birrens/Carruthers hill.  On its summit there are the remains of what is purported as being an enclosure and farmstead 750m west of ‘Carruthers’ by ‘ancient monuments UK’. It is listed by ‘Historic Environment Scotland’ as a Prehistoric domestic and defensive enclosure located in Middlebie, which the parish of Carruthers, along with the parish of Pennersaughs conjoined with, in the traditional County of Dumfriesshire. It is described as being of national importance because it has an inherent potential to make a significant addition to the understanding of the past, in particular the study of enclosures and defended settlements in later prehistoric SW Scotland. Enclosures and defended settlements were built at various times from at least the end of the late Bronze Age (around 800 BC) until probably the end of the early Middle Ages (around 1000 AD).

However, it is clear that at some sites the first defensive systems began to appear in the Bronze Age. Researchers on the subject, describe the ‘fort’ at Birrens hill as originating in the late 1st millennium BC or more probably the early 1st millennium AD. This fits in well with with era of the Selgovae tribe inhabiting the area and progressively the Roman occupation in Albion (Scotland) AD 71 –  211, leaving Brittania totally in AD 410. Based on its location and the groundworks left on Birrens/Carruthers hill it is believed thast they are in fact  the Caer (fort) of Rydderch.  During this period and beyond in Celtic society the name Rydderch was a common enough name for celtic leaders, from local chiefs to kings, and it is recognised as a compound of the elements ‘rhi’ (ruler) and ‘derch’ ( exalted/high). Because of the timeline of the fort and the naming of the lands around it, it is safe to assume that ‘our’ Ryddrch was a local chief and the outlines of the fort are still there and are part of one of our tours. 

So who are Carruthers?  

According to the ‘Records of the Carruthers Family’ which states and interestingly is the first use of the term ‘clan’ rather than family within it : ‘the Carruthers Clan lived within Annandale and were chiefly located at Mouswald and Holmains and numerous adjacent places, the district was situated in what was known as the West March of Scotland’ this is supported by many others to include Black, as is our origins in the area

Traditionally ‘our’ line and we use that loosely as not all of our name will come from the chiefly line and we will explain this later, is deemed to be of a Celtic root.  However, using the best testing available to us, current big y-DNA 700 research through the Carruthers Research Project suggests that the main line of Carruthers has been in Scotland for around 2500 years, that’s approximately 4oo-500 years BC but has its roots in what is now Sweden, but with no link to Gotland/Gutland has been found. As such, there is no real romantic origin linking us with Vikings  (700-1100 ad) and no glamourized image of their dragon ships sailing up the Solway Firth and onto our ancestral lands.  Further there definitely is no link to the Gaels or what is now called Ireland as our roots either. It seems it is more simple than that and our line arrived in Annandale from the east coat of Scotland, intermarried with the Celtic tribe of the area ie the Selgovae, children appeared from the union and voila! 

As far as the use of the name Carruthers, this paints a slightly different picture and as we are topographical taking our name from an area and not patronymic, ie taking our name from one ‘father figure’, it is not that simple. The line of our chiefs and the branches from the same make up only a percentage of all Carruthers, as the name, like all surnames in Scotland did not appear until after the introduction of the Normans by invitation of David 1st (reigned 1124 – 1153) in the 1100s. It was their influence and their use of using their lands to define who they were ie Robert de/of Brus (Brix, a fiefdom in Normandy, France) led to others following suit.

Does this mean we are of Norman descent, well we are as much Norman as we are Gael or Viking,  so no, not at all.

The first recorded mention of our name was William de/of Carruthers who as a monastic patron, gave a donation to Newbattle Abbey in Midlothian just south east of Edinburgh in the reign of Alexander II  (1214-1249). As such he is deemed to be the first known of the chiefly line, and is recognised as the great-great grandfather of Thomas 1st of Mouswald. Thomas known as the clerk, received a charter of lands from Robert the Bruce in 1320 for services to his family. Until William, there is no evidence the name Carruthers was used by that family or in fact others, and most certainly not in a territorial context. The question is, was he the first, was he alone or did others on the land use it as a designation. 

Are we all related to the Chiefly line?

The first to use our name as far as we are aware through the evidence, would have been William and based on its use he was obviously the chartered owner of the lands. As such it is safe to presume his line was the first to use it. Subsequently however, tenants, workers etc would use the same territorial designation to define the area they were from. Outwith our own name, many of the first permanent Scottish surnames are territorial in origin and most certainly in the Border regions, as landowners became known by the name of the lands that they held.  In our own backyard examples would be: Murraythwaite from the lands of the same name in the parish of Cummertrees, Dumfriesshire, Kirkpatrick from the lands around the chapel of St Patrick in Closeburn, Dumfriesshire and Glendenning which, according to Black, derives from the lands of the same name in Westerkirk, Dumfriesshire and of course Moffat from the area around the town of that name in Dumfriesshire. According to ‘ScotlandsPeople’, after the landowners began using the territorial designation, tenants in turn assumed, or were given the name of their landlord, despite having no kinship with him at all. As such history shows that surnames only began to be used in Scotland in and around the 12th century, however they were initially mainly the preserve of the upper echelons of Scottish society ie landowners. Before that there were no Carruthers, per se as surnames did not exist to define individuals.

However, gradually it also became necessary to distinguish ordinary people as well, one from the other by more than just the given (Christian) name and the use of Scottish surnames spread, in our case based on living in the area of Carruthers or the lands owned by them. So not all Carruthers, even by following the male line and continued use of the name will dovetail in with the DNA of the Chiefly line.  But is that really important, does that make them less of a Carruthers? Well to some possibly as the DNA shows direct and ancient lineage to what we accept as the source snp, yet and to others, maybe not so much as it is the name and the history of our name that matters. We have to remember that when Holmains or Mouswald chose to ride out as Carruthers not all carrying the name would necessarily be direct kin to the Chief at the time, but they were also there.

So is a ‘Carruthers’ a ‘Carruthers’.

And the answer is a resounding YES.  Firstly we must accept that the use of surnames by many folks living on the lands of Carruthers and other landed families, existed well before the time of Robert the Bruce.  As such and one has to assume with over 700 years of usage, all who use it are and have the right to be known as Carruthers?  For clarification and according to our Chief whose line goes back as far as the first use of the name, all named Carruthers and derivations of the same are recognised by him as Carruthers, whether they are an distan cousins, ascendant ‘of’ the chiefly line, named through marriage, illegitimacy, a non-paternity event or adoption all are recognised of this ilk.  Therefore a Carruthers is a Carruthers, is a Carruthers and we should all be proud of the name we carry.

All of our family may wear/use the ancient Clan/Family crest badge of the seraphim volant Proper, depicted as with all heraldic and religeous representations of the same as having six wings, the upper and lowermost crossed in saltire and the middle two spread as in flight and in the centre an angelic face. This image has been used by Holmains for nearly 500 years that we are aware of and as the family crest, it is surrounded by a belt and buckle on which is inscribed the motto of our Chief: Promptus et Fidelis, ready and faithful. Wearing it is a sign of acceptance as a member of the historic Scottish Border Reiver clan and family of Carruthers and fealty to the Chief.

We hope this helps clarifies the question in full, and as such all of our name and dericatiions of the same, are welcome and this is as it should be.