See also
1. Patrick MURRAY, son of Alexander DE MORAVIA ( -1380), died on 1 January 1413.
... of Falahill. Patrick Murray of Falahill, acquiring land about Philiphaugh, had a charter dated February 20, 1477; died at the close of the 15th century. Succeeded by his son B133 John Murray of Falahill.
Patrick MURRAY had the following children:
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2. John MURRAY, son of Patrick MURRAY, died on 20 February 1477. He married Janet FORRESTER. He married Margaret HEPBURN.
... of Falahill and Philiphaugh. John Murray of Fallahill. This Chieftain the celebrated "Outlaw Murray" who with five hundred of his own men bid defiance to the king of Scotland James VII (IV?, 1488-1513), is immortalized in a beautiful ballad of the Scottish Border, "For ages" wrote Sir Walter Scott, "a popular song in Selkirkshire." He was high sheriff of Selkirkshire 1509; married Margaret Hepburn, daughter of Patrick Hepburn and lady Janet Douglas ( J 241 Murray of Stanhope) she was the great-granddaughter of King James I. He was killed in 1510. Had two sons and three daughters. He was succeeded by his elder son.
See the words to the Ballad "The Bonny Earl of Murray"
The Sang of the Outlaw Murray.
by Sir Walter Scott
This ballad appears to have been composed about the reign of James V. It commemorates a transaction, supposed to have taken place betwixt a Scottish monarch, and an ancestor of the ancient family of Murray of Philiphaugh in Selkirkshire. The editor is unable to ascertain the historical foundation of the tale; nor is it probable that any light can be thrown upon the subject, without an accurate examination of the family charter chest. It is certain, that, during the civil wars betwixt Bruce and Baliol, the family of Philiphaugh existed, and was powerful; for their ancestor, Archibald de Moravia, subscribes the oath of fealty to Edward I.A.D. 1296. It is, therefore, not unlikely, that, residing in a wild and frontier country, they may have, at one period or other, during these commotions, refused allegiance to the feeble monarch of the day, and thus extorted from him some grant of territory or jurisdiction. It is also certain, that, by a charter from James IV., dated November 30, 1509, John Murray of Philiphaugh is vested with the dignity of heritable sheriff of Ettrick Forest, an office held by his descendants till the final abolition of such jurisdictions by 28th George II. cap. 23. But it seems difficult to believe that the circumstances, mentioned in the ballad, could occur under the reign of so vigorous a monarch as James IV. It is true, that the Dramatis Personae introduced seem to refer to the end of the fifteenth, or beginning of the sixteenth, century; but from this it can only be argued, that the author himself lived soon after that period. It may, therefore, be supposed (unless farther evidence can be produced, tending to invalidate the conclusion), that the bard, willing to pay his court to the family, has connected the grant of the sheriffship by James IV. with some further dispute betwixt the Murrays of Philiphaugh and their sovereign, occurring, either while they were engaged upon the side of Baliol, or in the subsequent reigns of David II. and Robert II. and III., when the English possessed great part of the Scottish frontier, and the rest was in so lawless a state as hardly to acknowledge any superior. At the same time, this reasoning is not absolutely conclusive. James IV. had particular reasons for desiring that Ettrick Forest, which actually formed part of the jointure lands of Margaret, his queen, should be kept in a state of tranquillity.—Rymer, Vol. XIII. p. 66. In order to accomplish this object, it was natural for him, according to the policy of his predecessors to invest one great family with the power of keeping order among the rest. It is even probable, that the Philiphaugh family may have had claims upon part of the lordship of Ettrick Forest, which lay intermingled with their own extensive possessions; and, in the course of arranging, not indeed the feudal superiority, but the property, of these lands, a dispute may have arisen, of sufficient importance to be the ground-work of a ballad.—It is farther probable, that the Murrays, like other border clans, were in a very lawless state, and held their lands merely by occupancy, without any feudal right. Indeed, the lands of the various proprietors in Ettrick Forest (being a royal demesne) were held by the possessors, not in property, but as the kindly tenants, or rentallers, of the crown; and it is only about 150 years since they obtained charters, striking the feu-duty of each proprietor, at the rate of the quit-rent, which he formerly paid. This state of possession naturally led to a confusion of rights and claims. The kings of Scotland were often reduced to the humiliating necessity of compromising such matters with their rebellious subjects, and James himself even entered into a sort of league with Johnie Faa, the king of the gypsies.—Perhaps, therefore, the tradition, handed down in this song, may have had more foundation than it would at present be proper positively to assert.
The merit of this beautiful old tale, it is thought, will be fully acknowledged. It has been, for ages, a popular song in Selkirkshire. The scene is, by the common people, supposed to have been the castle of Newark, upon Yarrow. This is highly improbable, because Newark was always a royal fortress. Indeed, the late excellent antiquarian Mr. Plummer, sheriff-depute of Selkirkshire, has assured the editor, that he remembered the insignia of the unicorns, &c. so often mentioned in the ballad, in existence upon the old tower at Hangingshaw, the seat of the Philiphaugh family; although, upon first perusing a copy of the ballad, he was inclined to subscribe to the popular opinion. The tower of Hangingshaw has been demolished for many years. It stood in a romantic and solitary situation, on the classical banks of the Yarrow. When the mountains around Hangingshaw were covered with the wild copse which constituted a Scottish forest, a more secure strong-hold for an outlawed baron can hardly be imagined.
The tradition of Ettrick Forest bears, that the Outlaw was a man of prodigious strength, possessing a batton or club, with which he laid lee (i.e. waste) the country for many miles round; and that he was at length slain by Buccleuch, or some of his clan, at a little mount, covered with fir-trees, adjoining to Newark castle, and said to have been a part of the garden. A varying tradition bears the place of his death to have been near to the house of the Duke of Buccleuch's game-keeper, beneath the castle; and, that the fatal arrow was shot by Scot of Haining, from the ruins of a cottage on the opposite side of the Yarrow. There was extant, within these twenty years, some verses of a song on his death. The feud betwixt the Outlaw and the Scotts may serve to explain the asperity, with which the chieftain of that clan is handled in the ballad.
In publishing the following ballad, the copy principally resorted to is one, apparently of considerable antiquity, which was found among the papers of the late Mrs. Cockburn, of Edinburgh, a lady whose memory will be long honoured by all who knew her. Another copy, much more imperfect, is to be found in Glenriddel's MSS. The names are in this last miserably mangled, as is always the case when ballads are taken down from the recitation of persons living at a distance from the scenes in which they are laid. Mr. Plummer also gave the editor a few additional verses, not contained in either copy, which are thrown into what seemed their proper place. There is yet another copy, in Mr. Herd's MSS., which has been occasionally made use of. Two verses are restored in the present edition, from the recitation of Mr. Mungo Park, whose toils, during his patient and intrepid travels in Africa, have not eradicated from his recollection the legendary lore of his native country.
The arms of the Philiphaugh family are said by tradition to allude to their outlawed state. They are indeed those of a huntsman, and are blazoned thus; Argent, a hunting horn sable, stringed and garnished gules, on a chief azure, three stars of the first. Crest, a Demi Forester, winding his horn, proper. Motto, Hinc usque superna venabor.
Murray the Outlaw lived at Hangingshaw, in a castle, well hidden in the depth of Ettrick Forest, and from there he ruled a great swathe of land, and its people.
Murray was a huge man, said to be seven feet high and, although feared, was respected by the people who depended on him for their well-being and safety.
He made his own laws and saw that they were kept. Likely wrongdoers would be aware that Murray had his very own hanging tree, which he kept in good working order.
Now the king, James IV, was well liked, and was a tolerant man. Yet he was not prepared to continue to allow no-go areas within his kingdom and decided that it was time that Murray must fall in line.
He sent his Earl of Arran to Hangingshaw and invited Murray to come back to Edinburgh under safe conduct to declare his allegiance to the king.
Murray declined. He wasn’t prepared to risk his neck in Edinburgh and elected to remain in the security of Hangingshaw.
Disappointed, but not surprised, the king assembled an impressive force and declared his intention of leading a hunting expedition in Ettrick Forest. Murray got the message and he offered to meet the king to settle their differences. Being reluctant to challenge Murray in his own ground and very anxious to avoid bloodshed, the king agreed.
A meeting was held at Permanscore, a remote spot, in the hills between the Tweed and the Yarrow.
The meeting was a great success and both men apparently enjoyed each other’s company. As a gesture of submission, Murray offered the king the keys to his castle, whereupon the king appointed Murray Sheriff of Ettrick Forest with all the powers that went with it.
The poacher made a good gamekeeper and the arrangement worked well for both parties and, for many years, Murray served the king, and himself well, until one day he was killed by a Scott’s arrow near Newark Castle. The Scotts of Buccleuch had long been at feud.
This Chieftain, the celebrated "Outlaw Murray" who with five hundred of his own men bid defiance to the king of Scotland James IV, is immortalized in a beautiful ballad of the Scottish Border, "For ages" wrote Sir Walter Scott, "a popular song in Selkirkshire." He was high sheriff of Selkirkshire 1509; married Margaret Hepburn, daughter of Patrick Hepburn and lady Janet Douglas (who was the great-granddaughter of King James). He was killed in 1510.
Janet FORRESTER and John MURRAY had the following children:
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Margaret HEPBURN was the daughter of Patrick HEPBURN (bef1466-1508) and Lady Janet DOUGLAS (bef1435-bef1490). She and John MURRAY had the following children:
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3. Margaret MURRAY, daughter of Patrick MURRAY, married James STEWART.
4. James MURRAY, son of John MURRAY and Janet FORRESTER, died circa 1529. He married unk CRANSTON.
... of Fallahill.
unk CRANSTON was the daughter of Sir John CRANSTON ( - ). She and James MURRAY had the following children:
| 12 | Patrick MURRAY ( -1580). Patrick was a Laird of Philiphaugh, Sheriff of Selkirkshire. He died in 1580. |
5. Andrew MURRAY, son of John MURRAY and Margaret HEPBURN, died on 31 December 1485.
... of Falahill.
Andrew MURRAY had the following children:
| 13 | John MURRAY ( -1513). John died on 9 September 1513. |
6. Elizabeth MURRAY, daughter of John MURRAY and Margaret HEPBURN, married James DOUGLAS.
Sir James DOUGLAS had the title '5th of Cavers'.
7. Patrick MURRAY, son of John MURRAY and Margaret HEPBURN, died on 27 February 1493.
Patrick Murray acquired the lands of Philiphaugh.
8. Peter MURRAY, son of John MURRAY and Margaret HEPBURN, died on 27 July 1511.
... of Falahill. Peter was a Master of the Cordiners.
9. Charles MURRAY, son of John MURRAY and Margaret HEPBURN, died on 20 May 1491.
10. Roger MURRAY, son of John MURRAY and Margaret HEPBURN, died on 1 January 1504.
... of Falhill.
11. William MURRAY, son of John MURRAY and Margaret HEPBURN, died on 30 April 1499.
... in Sundhope. William Murray had a nephew John Murray of Blackbarony who was the first of the later Murrays of Blackbarony and also from whom the Elibanks and the Dunernes were descended.