Sir John OLIPHANT, Knight Of Aberdalgy

Abt 1408 - 1444  (~ 36 years)

• Name	John OLIPHANT
  Prefix	Sir
  Suffix	Knight Of Aberdalgy
  Born	Abt 1408	Aberdalgie, Gask, Perthshire, Scotland
  Gender	Male
  FamilySearch ID	L5YR-QRG
  Name	John Oliphant  [1]
  _UID	F4ABFB9AC41C4DBC95774BCF3E9EE29B9CBA
  Died	23 Jan 1444	Killed in the Battle of Arbroath, Scotland
  Person ID	I28946	Carney Wehofer 2024 Genealogy
  Last Modified	16 Apr 2024

  
  

  Father	Sir William Of Gallery OLIPHANT,   b. 1379, Perth, Perthshire, Scotland ,   d. Aft 3 Dec 1425, London, England  (Age 46 years)
  Mother	Lady Isobel STEWART,   b. 1378, Tullibardine Perthshire, Scotland ,   d. 26 Oct 1446, Perth, Perthshire, Scotland  (Age 68 years)
  Married	1394	Innermeath, Perth, Scotland
  Family ID	F12681	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Isabel Or Margaret OGILVY,   b. Abt 1420, Auchterhouse, Angusshire, Scotland ,   d. Aft 1471  (Age ~ 52 years)
  Married	Aberdalgie, Perth, Scotland   [1]
  Children	1. Sir Laurance (Lawrence) OLIPHANT,   b. Abt 1439, Aberdalgie, Gask, Perthshire, Scotland ,   d. 8 Apr 1500, Arbroath, Forfarshire, Scotland  (Age ~ 61 years)   2. Christian OLIPHANT,   b. Abt 1441,   d. Bef 26 Jan 1517, Balthayock, Perth, Scotland, United Kingdom  (Age ~ 76 years)   3. Elizabeth OLIPHANT, co-heiress of Dron,   b. 1442, Scotland ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	16 Apr 2024
  Family ID	F12680	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  23 Jan 1444 Killed in the Battle of Arbroath He was killed at Arbroath on 24 January, 1445, assisting the Ogilvies against the Lindsays of Crawford in a dispute which had arisen as to the ownership of the office of Bailie of Arborath Abbey. Battle of Arbroath Part of Gordon ? Lindsay feud Arbroath Abbey - geograph.org.uk - 3180.jpg Arbroath Abbey where the battle took place Date24 January 1445 or 1446 LocationArbroath, Scotland ResultVictory for Alexander Lindsay, Master of Crawford Belligerents Clan Ogilvy Clan Gordon Clan Oliphant Clan Seton Clan ForbesClan Lindsay Commanders and leaders Alexander Ogilvy, 2nd Baron of InverquharityAlexander Lindsay, Master of Crawford Casualties and losses 500.[1]At least 100.[1] vte Clan Gordon-Clan Lindsay feud The Battle of Arbroath was fought on 24 January 1445 (or by another version in 1446) at Arbroath in Scotland. It was between rivals claimants to the post of Baillie of the Regality.[1] Contents Background The conflict began after the monks of the Abbey of Aborath, appointed Alexander Lindsay, Alexander Lindsay, Master of Crawford as the "Bailie of the Regality", a position charged with dispensing justice throughout the domain of the monastery.[2] The monks soon regretted the appointment, as the Master of Crawford began quartering large numbers of his men in the abbey, whose behavior vile and cruel.[2]. The monks described the Master of Crawford as "uneasy to convent", and soon dismissed the Master of Crawford.[2] Afterwards the appointed Alexander Ogilvy, 2nd Baron of Inverquharity, as Bailie.[2] It should be noted that Alexander Ogilvy not only had the right of election, but also had hereditary claims to the office.[2] The Master of Crawford disputed the rights Ogilvy had to the position.[2] When unable to reconcile the dispute, he arbitrated with the sword.[2] The Master of Crawford, who would become the 4th Earl of Crawford, was the son of David Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Crawford, and son of Marjory Ogilvy, daughter of Alexander Ogilvie of Auchterhouse.[3] The battle On 24 January 1445, the Master of Crawford arrived at the gates of the abbey with over one thousand men, mostly Lindsays, including a group of Hamiltons from Clydesdale.[2] Alexander Ogilvy of Inverquharity, was fortunate that he was entertaining guests on the day of the attack; Alexander Gordon, 1st Earl of Huntly, Sir John Oliphant of Aberdagie, Maxwell of Tealing, Brucklay of Gartley, Forbes of Pitsligo, and Gordon of Borrowfield, were all in the Baron's company.[2] Though outnumbered, Ogilvy and his allies drew up the lines of battle.[2] Alexander Ogilvy's force was supported by men from Clan Oliphant, Clan Seton, Clan Gordon and Clan Forbes.[2] Meanwhile, the Earl of Crawford rode with great haste from Dundee in order to prevent hostilities.[2] The Earl rode across the field, between the two armies, to confer with Ogilvy.[2] but one of the men assembled under Ogilvy, mistook his approach for hostilities, threw a spear which struck the Earl in the mouth, killing him instantly.[2] Although an accident, this ended any chance for a peaceful resolution.[2] The battle began, both lines with spears at the ready.[2] It is said in an account of the battle by Buchanan, that the Lindsays cried out "Why do you bring those goads with you, as if you had to do with oxen? Pray, throw them away, and let us fight it out with out swords, hand to hand, by true valour, as becomes men."[2] As a result, both sides abandoned their spears, with the exception of a hundred of the Clydesdale men, who held the points of their spears in their hands behind them.[2] When they entered combat, the Clydesdale men held the spears out, creating a spear wall, which broke the ranks of the Ogilvy line.[2] The Ogilvy force retreated, and made a last desperate stand about three miles away, at the village of Leysmill, where they rallied and turned to face the pursuers.[2] This second battle raged into the night, and Ogilvy and Pitsligo fell.[2] The Lindsays, though victorious, suffered heavy casualties at Leysmill, and were unable to pursue the Ogilvys further when they fell back to Kinnell, the men carrying the bodies of Ogilvy and Pitsligo with them.[2] It was determined that the body of Ogilvy should be interred in the aisle of the church in Kinnell.[2] This couplet was engraved on the aisle where he was buried: "While the girss grows green and the water rins clear, Let nane but Ogilvys lie here".[2] Aftermath Though the battle ended in Clan Lindsay's favor, they lost a disproportionate number of men, and the Earl of Crawford.[2] Alexander Ogilvy, Forbes of Pitsligo, Brucklay of Gartley, Gordon of Borrowfield, and Sir John Oliphant of Aberdalgie perished.[2] Following the battle, the Master of Crawford, who would later be known as "The Tiger Earl of Crawford", unleashed what remained of his army upon the lands of his enemies: "and the flames of their castles, the slaughter of their vassals, the plunder of their property, and the captivity of their wives and children, instructed the remotest adherents of the Bailie of Aborath, how terrible was the vengeance which they had provoked."[2] From this time forward, clan Lindsay had an aversion to the color green, and from the battle originated the couplet: "An Ogilvy in Green, Should never be seen".[2] It appears to have become a curse to the Lindsays, who were later defeated at the Battle of Brechin against the Earl of Huntley.[2] The Earl of Crawford attributed this loss to the Lindsays being dressed primarily in green, much like the Ogilvys at Arborath.[2] The body of Alexander Ogilvy, 2nd Baron of Inverquharity, was uncovered at the Church of Kinnell in 1885, during a demolition. A local tale stated that for hundreds of years, the large boots and spurs of the Baron hung over the aisle.[2] The remains found were of a "gigantic" man, confirming the stories of the great stature of Ogilvy.[2] The spur, having been recovered, now sits in the vestibule of the present church at Kinnell.[2]

  
  

• Sources

  [S1160] FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 16 Apr 2024), entry for John OLIPHANT, person ID L5YR-QRG. (Reliability: 3).