Lord Kinfauns is a title of nobility and baronial rank held by the Irish, Roman Catholic, Commane family, with genealogy in Burke’s Peerage.[1] The lordship was granted in 1487 by King James III of Scots and in 1608 by King James I of Ireland, but was possibly created earlier for Sir Thomas Charteris around 1340.[2][3]
History[]
The title started with Sir Thomas Charteris around 1340, according to legend. He was a Frenchman who moved to Scotland. Stories say he was a pirate before he became a knight. He helped Sir William Wallace and King Robert the Bruce fight for Scotland, earning the title for his bravery.[4][5]
In 1487, the title was officially recorded in a document called the Great Seal. The Charteris family held the title for many years. In 1552, Sir John Charteris, the second lord, was killed in a fight with another family. Another Sir John Charteris, the third lord, refused to give up during a siege in a war involving Mary, Queen of Scots.[6] Quoted in contemporary narrative as:[7]
“the Queen’s Lieutenant here, the Lord Kinfauns, [who] refused to surrender,”
In the 1600s, Sir George Hay became the sixth Lord Kinfauns and later the Earl of Kinnoull.[8] His son, a military leader also named Sir George Hay, was styled Lord Kinfauns his father's subsidiary title as a courtesy.[9] Alexander Blair Carnegie, eleventh lord, was later taken to court by his wife in the case:[10][11]
Lady Kinfauns v. Lord Kinfauns (19 July 1711)
In which he was found liable for the expense of a journey to Bath that she had undertaken against his wishes.[12]
By the 1700s, the title merged with the Lords of Gray. Later, it passed to a cousin and was long held as a subsidiary title by the Earls of Moray—one of the original seven earldoms of Scotland, known in the 10th century as mormaers (Gaelic for earl).[13] Today, the Commane family holds the title.[14]
Current Lord[]
The current Lord Kinfauns is Fergus Commane born in 1953. In the Gaelic nobility of Ireland, he is Chief of Clan Ó Comáin.
His son, Antoin Commane, is the heir to the title. Fergus is the 26th Lord Kinfauns. His wife is Maria, Lady Kinfauns.
His lordship is custodian of Killone Abbey and the Holy Well of St John the Baptist, important religious places at Newhall, County Clare, Ireland.[1]
Seat[]
The family seat is Newhall House and Estate a historic gentry estate in County Clare, Ireland.[1]
Kinfauns Name[]
The name Kinfauns comes from the Gaelic words ceann-fauns, meaning "head of the slope." This refers to the Sidlaw Hills near the village of Kinfauns in Scotland.
Duties[]
The Lords Kinfauns were granted by the Crown the hereditary office of admiralty over the River Tay in Scotland.[1] This means they protect the river’s fish and stop people from fishing illegally. Long ago, ships on the river would salute Kinfauns Castle as they passed.[15]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Burke's Peerage Revised Families. Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. Updated 2025
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Sources[]
- Peskett, H. Consultant Editor for Scotland, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. Burke's Peerage (107th Ed.), 'East Lothian Life', Autumn 2003, p. 17
- Dickinson, Professor William Croft, The Court Book of the Barony of Carnwath 1523-1542, Introduction, published by Scottish History Society, 1937. "The standard scholarly work on the history of Scottish baronies"
- Grant, Alexander, The Development of the Scottish Peerage, published in the Scottish Historical Review, 1978.
- Roberts, John Leonard. The Jacobite wars: Scotland and the military campaigns of 1715 and 1745 (Capstone, 2002)
- Szechi, Daniel. 1715: the great Jacobite rebellion (Yale University Press, 2006)
- Peskett, H. Consultant Editor for Scotland, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. Burke's Peerage (107th Ed.), 'East Lothian Life', Autumn 2003, p. 17
- Burke’s Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, Vol. 107 (London: Burke's Peerage, 2003).
- The Great Seal of Scotland, National Archives of Scotland, document reference NAS. C2/88/1608.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: “Barons in Scotland”, Vol. 4 (Cambridge: University Press, 1911).
- Scottish Castles: Tales of Nobility and Battle, Robert Hardy (Edinburgh: Scottish Heritage Publications, 2008), p. 123.
- Gaelic Place Names of Scotland, Iain Mac an Tàilleir (Inverness: Scots Gaelic Society, 1999), p. 78.
- Wallace, William. The Pirate and the Patriot: Kinfauns and Thomas de Longueville (Perth: Gowrie Publications, 1857).
- The Scottish Parliament Records, 1406-1707 (Edinburgh: Scottish Parliament Archives, 1912).
- Provosts and Magistrates of Perth: 1300-1700, J. B. Charteris (Perth: History Press, 1967).
- The Charteris Family Archive, held at the Perth Museum and Art Gallery.
- Lords of the North: The Rise of the Charteris Family (Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1921).
- Murray, David. Lords of Scone: The Family of Murray (St. Andrews: St. Andrews University Press, 1934).Gowrie, William. The Mystery of the Gowrie Conspiracy (London: Historical Times, 1882).
- The Viscounts and Earls of Kinnoull (Dundee: Dundee University Press, 1915).
- The Hays of Perthshire: Lords of Kinnoull and Kinfauns, A. MacKenzie (Perth: Perthshire Historical Society, 1978).
- Blairs of Balthyock: Neighbours and Rivals of the Charteris Family, J. Ross (Glasgow: Strathclyde University Press, 1983).
- Gray, John. The Grays of Kinfauns: Their Place in Scottish History (Perth: Local Historical Society, 1899).
- National Library of Scotland Archives, Mormaers of Scotland, Manuscript Collection.