Scottish Clans - Clan CRAIG

SCOTTISH CLANS - CRAIG


MOTTO I HAVE GOOD HOPE	CLAN TARTAN CRAIG

The surname Craig was found from very ancient times, possibly well before the Norman Conquest, in the eastern portion of Scotland. It can be found in many different forms and spellings, including Craig, Craigh, Creag, Creagh, some of which are still used today. Clan Craig emerged and developed in and around Aberdeen, seated at Craigfintray Castle. One branch of the Clan is often associated with Clan Gordon, the other with the Huntly clan. Several of the clan recognised the sovereignty of King Edward I of England on his brief conquest of Scotland in 1296. J

ohn Craig brought out the clan at the battle of Culblean in 1335. One of the oldest Chiefs of Clan Craig is Sir Thomas Craig. Born in 1538, Sir Thomas was a great institutional writer on Scottish feudal law, his work Jus Feudale is still referred to by lawyers today. His son, Sir James Craig of Craig Castle became one of the Scottish undertakers of the Ulster Plantation 1610. Interestingly, it has been determined that if a person’s Craig forefathers emigrated to America from Northern Ireland, there is a good chance that he was a descendant of this James. This would be especially true if he or she emigrated before or around the time of the Revolutionary War. Another descendant, James Craig, became the first Prime Minister of Ireland in 1921, having been an organizer of the Ulster Volunteer Force in the struggle against Home Rule. He was then elevated to the Peerage, taking the title ‘Viscount Craigavon’. The new town of Craigavon in County Armagh was named after him.

The Craig crest includes a horseman grasping a broken lance. It is representative of a group of ‘broken men’ from other clans who had sought, and were granted, the protection of the clan. The clan motto, sometimes expressed in it’s french form “J’ai Bonne Esperance”, means I have good hope.

The Craig tartan developed from two different sources. One as the result of the Earl of Mar allowing the Craigs to add the colour red to his own black and white tartan. The other, and more traditional one, is formulated from the colours of rocks, (Crag) from which the name Craig originated, hence the colours gray, green, black, yellow, and orange on the tartan.