The Falcon and the Hawk

The Hays of Erroll are the Lord High Constables of Scotland, a hereditary title which is ranked in importance second to Royal blood.

Of all the tales of concerning the creation of a family name, that of the Hays of Erroll, Perthshire, must be one of the most romantic. The culmination of the story is epitomised in the “Falcon or Hawk’s stone” – but the tale itself begins around the year 980.

About this time, the Scottish kings were constantly engaged in battling against invading Danish warriors. On one particular occasion, the marauding Danes decided to attack and land their galleys not far from Arbroath, known at that time as Aberbrothock.

Their plan was to march until they came to the richer lands further south, where they would seize and retain the better farmlands and mining areas. The landing at Arbroath was only to be a starting point, as they had already dismissed the countryside as too barren and tree covered to be of sufficient value for their purposes.

The fighting abilities and fearsome reputation of the Danes were well known, and for a lengthy period of progress, the fears of the local Scots were seen to be justified.

Having already put the town of Montrose to the torch and slain each and every Scot they felt posed even a minor threat, they crossed through Angus to the Firth of Tay and proceeded to the neighbourhood of Luncarty, which is around four miles to the north of Perth.

The King of the time, Kenneth the third, was regarded as a good ruler, and determined to bring peace and stability to his people, but he realised that the Danes had to be stopped and he had no option but to fight his ground.

He called for all Scots to join him and repel the invader, offering as reward ten “pundits” of money, or land to that value for any Scot who could bring him the head of a dead Dane.

The call was instantly obeyed and an army led by the King himself, with Malcolm Prince of Cumberland and Duncan Thane of Atholl, taking up the flanks on either side of him.

The battle started with a fusillade of darts and arrows by the Scots. But the Danes were not to be easily repelled, especially as they had caught wind of the price to be paid for each Danish head by the Scots King.

The battle appeared to be at a stalemate, and then with an extra thrust, the Danes managed to turn the Scots around, and they fled in retreat, with the Danes in pursuit.

As the Scots army fled in panic, they had to run through a narrow land. At this point a farmer by the name of Hay, who had been tilling a nearby field, rushed towards the retreating Scots and shouted.

“What, had you rather be slaughtered by your merciless foes that die honourably in the field. Come, rally, rally!”

And he persuaded the Scots to turn around, face their enemy and led them back into the field of battle, holding his yoke ahead of him in order to offer himself some protection.

The Danes, confused by this turn of event, halted in their pursuit, deducing that in fact a fresh number of men were now with the Scots. This gave the Scots the breathing space and encouragement needed and they attacked again, this time routing the Danes and winning the day.

After the battle the grateful King entertained the Hays in his castle at Perth and gifted them land. The Hay farmer was as wise as he was brave, and he requested the lands in what is now known as the Carse of Gowrie, which he knew would be rich and profitable.

The King agreed that the extent of the land would be the distance flown over by a falcon. This was a fitting tribute and honourable way of determining such a gift.

Hawking or falconry was an established sport of Kings and noblemen around that time, and a gift of land mapped out by the flight of such a noble bird would be a suitable method of deciding such a reward. In the event, the old oak tree from which the falcon flew was probably in the area of Perth known as Barrmill, and the flight of falcon until it rested on a stone at what is now St. Madoes, giving its name to this day to the Hawk’s stone.

Therefore the Hays of Erroll owned lands stretching from what is now Perth along the north side of the Firth of Tay until beyond St. Madoes. To this day the Hay family crest depicts a falcon and a yoke.

Yet another legend tells of the creation of the name. The King approached the ploughman whose heroic actions had saved the day. The ploughman, being tired, exclaimed at the King ‘Ooh Hey or Hay’, at which the King decreed that his name would be Hay, in place of the man’s original name, which was D’Luce.

In this version of events, the King offered Hay as much land as a hare would run, or a hawk would fly over. Wisely, he chose the latter, supposing that a hawk would cover far more acres.

But yet another, and perhaps the most plausible explanation of the origins of the Hay name is that the family is supposed to descend from a Norman by the name of De La Haya. A Sieur de la Haya accompanied William the Conqueror on his trip to England in 1066. The armorial bearings of the Hay family are similar to those of the de la Haya families in Italy, France and England.

Family fortunes

The Hays were active in their local areas, and in the 13th century were noted to be generous benefactors to the Abbey at Coupar Angus and to the Blackfriars Monastry in Perth. When William de Haya was created an Earl of Erroll by James II in 1452, he ordered that the gift of 20 shillings annually should be paid out of the lands of Inchyra. He also granted the friars £4 a year to be ‘used for the salvation of his own soul, that of his wife, the Countess and the souls of his successors, predecessors and parents.’ He ordered that a daily mass was to be said in order to fulfil his wishes. Should the mass be missed for any reason, his donation would be transferred to another monk or chaplain in the area of Coupar Angus or any church in the vicinity.

By the middle of the 15th century, a William de la Haya was raised to the peerage by James 2nd, becoming the Earl of Erroll, and his successors continued to play a vital part in the wars of the country. William the 4th Earl died at Flodden, fighting alongside his King.

The 8th Earl was also a strong supporter of his sovereign, but this was not to reap such rewards as in the past. His loyalty lay in his Roman Catholic faith and Queen Mary, and he even took part in a conspiracy with King Philip of Spain and the Spanish Duke of Parma against the new King James 6th and 1st of Scotland.

The Hay conspiracy forces defeated the royal army at Glenlivet, and Erroll was forced to flee the country and was then excommunicated from the church.

But he was eventually allowed to return home and achieved that outstanding feat of regaining the King’s trust – a King whom he had tried to overthrow.

This 8th Earl died at his home at Slains on the 16th July, 1631, declaring on his deathbed that the costly and showy funeral usually accorded to great nobles should not take place, but instead he was to be buried with simplicity in the old church yard at Slains, and the money thus saved distributed to the poor on his estate.

A hundred years later, the succession of the Hay family had almost died out several times, but through marriage and side stepping the direct descent, the title had now an addition, through marriage, as the heir to the Earls of Erroll was also the Lord, Kilmarnock.

This title was almost cut short within a few years.

This Earl of Kilmarnock had made the mistake of fighting for the Hanoverians when only 12 years old. But by the arrival of Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745, he had changed sides.

He was described as amiable, but unfortunate, and his reasons for leaving the Hanoverian cause were simple. He had become disenchanted with the pension, or lack of it, meted out by the Government, and was reported to have been so poor that he had to cadge meals from his neighbours in order to eat. His wife, who was the Countess of Linlithgow and Callander in her own right, was a vivacious character, who invited General Hawley of the Hanoverians into her home, Callander House, and delayed him sufficiently until she was sure that the Highland troops had time enough to take up advantageous positions on the moor close by.

In July, 1746, the Earl appeared before the House of Lords and was found guilty of treason. Death by hanging quickly followed.

Some of his titles and lands were forfeited but by the time his grandson inherited the remaining estates and became the 13th Earl of Erroll he was forgiven by the King of the day, George the Third.