The Keith Clan

Since it is possible The Keith Lodge of Peterhead was named after the Earl Marischal George Keith, I feel it is appropriate to give a little bit of background on the Keith clan.

The name Keith means 'Wood Dweller' or 'Dwells in the Woods', In Gaelic it is Ceiteach.

 

Pictured on the right is the Keith Family Crest with their Motto above, which reads 'Veritas Vincit' which means 'Truth Conquers'

The Keith Clan were a great Celtic family, The name appears in a number of locations in Scotland, the earliest being a Norman adventurer, Hervey Keith who married an heiress of the warrior Marbhachair. Hervey was granted the lands of "Keth" from King David 1st around 1150. His son became Marischal (in charge of the horses) of the King of Scots. Sir Robert de Keth led the Scots cavalry at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 but died later at the Battle of Durham in 1346. The Keith's were made Hereditary Great Marischal by Robert the Bruce, a rank they held until 1715. In 1458 Sir William Keith was made Earl Marischal by James 2nd, a title which gave the Keith's a great deal of influence. James, brother of the 10th Earl Marischal, became a famous soldier, taking part in the Jacobite uprising of 1715, and then rising to become both a general in the Russian Army and later, a Field Marshal  in the army of the German Frederick the Great.