Clan Murray

Clan Murray () is a Highland Scottish clan. The chief of the Clan Murray holds the title of Duke of Atholl. Their ancestors were the Morays of Bothwell who established the family in Scotland in the 12th century. In the 16th century, descendants of the Morays of Bothwell, the Murrays of Tullibardine, secured the chiefship of the clan and were created Earls of Tullibardine in 1606. The first Earl of Tullibardine married the heiress to the Stewart earldom of Atholl and Atholl therefore became a Murray earldom in 1626. The Murray Earl of Atholl was created Marquess of Atholl in 1676 and in 1703 it became a dukedom. The marquess of Tullibardine title has continued as a subsidiary title, being bestowed on elder sons of the chief until they succeed him as Duke of Atholl. The Murray chiefs played an important and prominent role in support of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 13th and 14th centuries. The Murrays also largely supported the Jacobite House of Stuart during the Jacobite risings of the 18th century. Clan Murray hold the unique position of commanding the only private army in Europe known as the Atholl Highlanders.