Clan Keith is a Highland and Lowland Scottish clan, whose chief historically held the hereditary title of Marischal, then Great Marischal, then Earl Marischal of Scotland.
History
Origins of the clan
thumb|right|Arms of Keith, Earl Marischal:Argent, on a chief gules, three palets or.
The place-name Keith comes from a Cumbric or Pictish form of the Modern Welsh coed ("wood").
A warrior of the Chatti tribe is said to have killed the Danish General, Camus, at the Battle of Barrie in 1010.
Sir William Keith the Marischal who died in 1407 married the heiress of Sir Alexander Fraser and in doing so added great estates in Buchan, Kincardine and Lothian to his existing patrimony. They later fought another battle against the Gunns, known as the Battle of Champions (probably 1478). This battle was fought between twelve men of the Clan Gunn and twenty four men of the Clan Keith. Most of the Gunns, including the chief of the clan, were killed. However, Keith of Ackergill was soon after killed by the Gunns in a revenge attack.
16th and 17th centuries
thumb|right|The ruins of [[Dunnottar Castle, a seat of the chiefs of Clan Keith]]
William Keith, 3rd Earl Marischal, along with the Earl of Glencairn invited John Knox the religious reformer back to Scotland in 1559. He also served as ambassador for James VI to various countries. He was an important intermediary between George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal and the king, the king and courtiers, and the king and foreign governments.
After Charles II of England was crowned in 1651, William Keith, 7th Earl Marischal, was captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London.
In 2002, the 13th Earl of Kintore, who was the previous Chief of Clan Keith, entered into a peace treaty the previous chief of Clan Irvine, with at an elaborate ceremony on the banks of the River Dee to end their 600-year feud.
Chief
The current Chief of Clan Keith is Sir James William Falconer Keith of Urie, 14th Earl of Kintore, 14th Lord Keith of Inverurie and Keith Hall, 4th Viscount Stonehaven, 4th Baron Stonehaven, 5th Baronet, 6th of Ury (b. 15 April 1976).
Clan tartan, crest and motto
thumb | right | alt= The Keith Clan tartan | Keith Clan tartanThe Keith clan tartan is registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans (SRT) with a date of 1 January 1838. The Scottish Tartans Authority (STA) and Scottish Tartans World Register (STWR) reference numbers are both 253. The designer is not specified and the tartan was registered prior to the establishment of the SRT.
Registration notes:
The clan crest and motto
The clan crest is a roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) also known as the western or European roe. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The Clan Keith motto is translated as 'Truth conquers'.
Castles
- Keith Marischal House, three miles south of Pencaitland, East Lothian, is an L-plan tower house that dates from the sixteenth century. It is on the site of an earlier castle that was built by the Keiths from the fourteenth century.