The name of Hay is derived from the French word “haie” which in turn came from the Old High German word, “haga”, meaning a defensive hedge or stockade. In Latin, the name was rendered Haya, in Norman French, Haye. In Gaelic, the clan name became MacGaradh, meaning a defensive wall or dike.
The legendary beginnings of one ancestral branch of the family in Scotland are traced to 971 A.D. Invading Danes were killing and pillaging through east Scotland. King Kenneth III came with an army and met the Danes at Luncarty near Perth. After the battle ensued, the Scots were being routed and began to flee through a narrow pass. A peasant farmer and his two sons, who had been plowing in a nearby field, saw what was happening and used ox yokes to bar the retreating Scots. The three then rallied the Scots and led them back into battle, using the ox yokes as weapons and turning certain defeat into victory.
King Kenneth was so pleased with this turn of events that he decreed that a falcon be released from Kinnoull Hill near Perth, and that the land it flew over until it alighted be given to the peasant farmer. The falcon flew for some six miles before alighting on a stone outcrop in St. Medoes parish, so overnight the peasant farmer became a rich and powerful man.
All of this occurred before recorded history, but in support of this romantic tale, to this day the farm where the battle took place is known as Denmarkfield, where relics of an ancient battle have been discovered, and the stone were the falcon is said to have alighted is called the “Hawkstane”(hawkstone).
The Hero of Luncarty was not named Hay. Indeed, he lived before surnames were in use in Scotland The first known Hay in Scotland was William de la Haya who was Pincera or Cup Bearer to King Malcolm IV in 1160. William was descended from Le Sieur de la Haya who came to England from the barony of La Haye du Puits in Normandy with William the Conqueror in 1066. William de la Haya’s son, another William, received the Barony of Erroll from King William the Lion in 1178 and is regarded as the first Chief of Clan Hay. He married an heiress of old Scoto-Pictish stock, Eva of Pitmilly, believed to be a descendant of the Hero of Luncarty. Thus, the legend of Luncarty was incorporated into Clan Hay, with the clan’s motto being “Serva Jugum” (Keep the Yoke), and the Arms of its chief featuring two peasant supporters, three blood-red shields, three ox yokes and a falcon as major devices
The 5th Chief, Gilbert de la Haya, was a stalwart supporter of Robert the Bruce in the Wars of Independence. King Robert made Sir Gilbert High Constable of Scotland in 1309, an office made hereditary to the Chiefs of Clan Hay in 1314. This dignity, still held by the present Chief, gives the holder precedence in Scotland before every other hereditary honor, saving only the royal family, thus making the Chief of Clan Hay the first citizen of Scotland. Sir Gilbert was one of the signers of the Declaration of Arbroath, Scotland’s Declaration of Independence.
The 9th Chief, William, was created Earl of Erroll in 1452. The 12th Chief, died with 87 Hay kinsmen at Flodden Field in 1513, leading a charge for King James IV. The 22nd Chief raised the clan for Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745. Branches of the family have become earls of Kinnoull and marquises of Tweeddale.
The current Chief is the Right Honourable Merlin Sereld Victor Gilbert Hay, MacGaradh Mor (Great Son of the Stockade), 24th Earl of Erroll, Lord Hay and Slains, 32nd Chief of Clan Hay, and Lord High Constable of Scotland. Delgatie Castle near Turriff is the international center of the Clan Hay Society.
For more information go to www.clanhay.com or www.clanhay.org
Clan Motto: Serva Jugum (Keep the Yoke)
Clan Battle Cry: A Hay! A Hay! A Hay!
Piper Music: “The Falcon’s Flight” or “Delgaty Castle”
Clan Plant Badge: Mistletoe
Animal Symbol: Falcon