The Black Douglases

[john.duguid@lineone.net]

>the claim to the Sinclair's. The Celtic border family Douglas and the
Anglo-Norman Sinclair family are tied tightly by blood.<

Like many great families the origins of the Black Douglases are uncertaim but it is very unlikely that they were Celtic. Recent research suggests that they came to Scotland in the mid 12th century with the process of settlement that brought a great number of Frech and Flemish families to Scotland. I think that the first settler may have been a knight from Flanders called William son of Erkenbald who settled in the Upper Clyde valley.The Douglas  heraldry also gives a clue to their origins . The three silver stars on the Douglas sheild indicates  that they were closely related to the Murray (de Moravia) family from Flanders. 

Yours Aye 

John
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