sh of Spynie near Elgin
and other extensive lands in Moray, which had been given to him in
addition to his southern territories of Strabrock, now Uphall and
Broxburn[24] in Linlithgowshire, which he already held from the
Scottish king. Freskyn was thus no Fleming, but a lowland Pict or
Scot, as the tradition of his house maintains,[25] and he was a
common ancestor of the great Scottish families of Atholl, Bothwell,
Sutherland, and probably Douglas. No member of the Freskyn family is
ever styled "Flandrensis" in any writ.

We find in the extreme north of Scotland, in the first half of the
twelfth century, apart from the Mackays, three leading families with
great followings, which were destined to play an important part in the
future government of Sutherland and Caithness, and with which we shall
have to deal in detail later on.

First, there was the family of the so-called Norse jarls, descended in
twin strains from Paul and Erlend, Thorfinn's sons, owing allegiance
to the Norwegian crown in respect of Orkney and Shetland and also
holding the earldom of Caithness in moieties or in entirety, nominally
from the Scottish king. Secondly, we have the family of Moddan, Celtic
earls or maormors, with extensive territories held under the kings
of Alban and Scotland for many centuries before this time, but
dispossessed in part by the Norse. Thirdly, we have the family of
Freskyn de Moravia then established at Strabrock in Linlithgowshire,
who about 1120 or 1130 received, for his loyalty and services,
extensive lands at Duffus and elsewhere in Morayshire, and probably
about 1196 the lands in south Caithness known as Sudrland or
Sutherland, from the Scottish crown.

Of this third line of De Moravias or Morays, two distinct branches
settled north of the Oykel. First, we have Hugo Freskyn, son, it is
said, but, as we shall see, really grandson, of the original Freskyn
and son of Freskyn's elder or eldest son William.[26] This William no
doubt fought for, and may, or may not, have held land in Sutherland,
but his son Hugo certainly had all Sutherland properly so called, that
is, Sudrland, or the Southland of Caithness comprising the parishes of
Creich, Dornoch, Rogart, Kilmalie (afterwards Golspie), Clyne, Loth,
and most of Lairg and Kildonan,[27] formally granted to him, and he
held also the Duffus Estates in Moray, by sea only thirty miles south
of Dunrobin.

The second branch was that of the younger Freskin de Moravia,
great-