Robertson

In the 13th and 14th centuries much time was taken up by clan feuding but they remained loyal to the Scottish Throne and the Stewarts.  

Robert Riabhach ('Grizzled') Duncanson, 4th Chief of Clann Dhonnchaidh, was a strong supporter of King James I (1406–1437) and was incensed by his murder. He tracked down and captured two of the killers and handed them over, Sir Robert Graham and Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl.

The Robertson crest badge of a right hand upholding an imperial crown was awarded by James II (1437–60) as a reward. It is in honor of Robert Riabhach that his descendants took the name Robertson.

James II also erected the clan lands into the Barony of Struan, which formerly took in extensive lands in Highland Perthshire. The clan supported the 1st Marques of Montrose in all of his battles during the Scottish Civil War. During this time, the main Robertson castle at Invervack was burned by Cromwell’s forces.

Alexander Robertson, 13th chief (b. 1668) joined the Jacobite rising of 1689 and was taken prisoner a few weeks after the Jacobite defeat at the Battle of Dunkeld.  After being released he went to live in France for thirteen years where he served for some time in the French army.

The clan’s loyalty to the Jacobite cause involved it in both the 1715 and the 1745 rebellions. After the defeat of the 1745/46 rebellions the Robertson lands became part of the Forfeited Estates, although most were returned to the then chief, another Alexander Robertson, in 1784.

The Robertson chiefs refused to 'clear' their estates of their clansmen in favor of the more profitable sheep during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This not being the best financial solution resulted in the dispersion of the entire clan lands by the 20th century.