Erskines - Beyond the ordinary
Je Pense Plus "I think more." This is where our journey began.
The origin of the Earls of Mar is described by Lord Hailes as "lost in antiquity". According to the most eminent of Scottish Peerage Lawyers, Mr. John Riddell, "the Earldom of Mar is the oldest Scottish Earldom by descent, as it is in many respects the most remarkable in the British Empire, for the direct heir-at-law is the representative, through an illustrious ancestry, of personages who were Earls of Mar ab initie. The Earldom of Mar may be justly considered the premier Earldom of Scotland".
On the substitution of the feudal system for the ancient Celtic usages in Scotland, the Mormaers (Great Stewards) came to be designated Earls or Comes and are so named in the Charter founding the Abbey of Scone in 1114 in which appears the name "Rotheri Comes". He is also mentioned in the Book of Deer in 1122 of his predecessors who were almost independent rulers of one of the seven Provinces of Scotland (the land between the Dee and the Don Rivers):
1. Eimin - Mormaer of Mar - he fell at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014
2. Cainnich - Mormaer of Mar - son of Eimin
3. Donald - Mormaer of Mar - son of Cainnich
Beyond the ordinary
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