I was just pondering once again on the early Raitts. It is probably fairly safe to say that all modern Raitts (including Rait and Reat, but excluding those who have had their name changed to Raitt) - and by modern I also include 18th and 19th century Raitts - throughout the world and especially in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States, emanate from Raitts in Britain, particularly Scotland. I would go further and say too that it is likely that English Raitts from that period (such as John Raitt, merchant and sheriff in Maryland in the mid 18th century) had their origins in Scotland - and by that I mean not necessarily they themselves, but their ancestors, perhaps great and great great grandfathers. This would imply that they are also descended from the Raits of Hallgreen. A quick rough count shows that there were around at least 50 Rait(t) sons between 1405 or so, when Sir Alexander de Rait fled from Nairn to The Mearns, and the 1720s when Hallgreen was sold - and these 50 males are descended from Alexander’s son, Mark - we know nothing of the male descendants of Alexander’s other son John and the latter’s son Henry. And don’t forget there were probably also male descendants from Thomas de Rate, the king’s shield bearer in Kincardineshire in the mid 14th century and other Raitts in the 14th and 15th centuries who may have been relatives.  We do know that the line of the Raits of Anniston, starting with the birth of William in 1718 died out in the early 1900s. But it is a certainty that many of these other males will have had sons of their own and whose lines have carried on down to today even if the loss of records means we cannot quite make the precise links. Equally, more than a few of these Raitts became adventurers, merchants and soldiers overseas, and an ambitious number will have gravitated to London for the far greater opportunities presented there for business, civil service, soldiering and the like - and their descendants would have likely been born there or elsewhere in England.

Now that leaves the cluster of Bavarians in the 15th and 16th centuries. They may have been descended from one of the Raits of Hallgreen who went there for business, military, education or religious reasons. On the other hand, Gabriel Raitt, knight, is found there in 1367 some forty years before Sir Alexander fled to The Mearns. There is no mention of him in Nairn, but quite possibly he was a son or grandson of Gervase or Andrew or maybe one of the Ayrshire de Rathes or Perthshire de Raaites - perhaps stopping on the way to or back from a Crusade. And it might be these Raitts in Bavaria which gave rise to the later suggestion that the origin of the Raitts was some red-headed German, from Rhaetia, who came to Scotland at the time variously of Malcolm II or Malcolm IV.  Both, especially the latter, would certainly fit in with the timescale for Gervase de Rait and his brother Andrew (and also with my Alpine DNA!). But there are some inconsistencies with this story. The earliest source is Mackenzie (about 1672, but published 1687) [see Raitt Name] who says that it was a German called Rait from Rhetia who came to Scotland during the reign of Malcom II (1005-1034) and was given lands in Nairn which he and his family kept until Sir Archibald killed the Thane of Cawdor and fled to The Mearns. Then we have Nisbet (about 1722) who drew on Mackenzie’s information, but gives the monarch as Malcolm IV (1141-1165) rather than Malcolm II and the killer as Sir Alexander rather than Sir Archibald. Finally there is Anderson (much much later in 1878) who gives essentially the same story, though he gives the header names as Rait and Rate rather than Rait and Rhet as in Mackenzie and Nisbet. Anderson says the German from Rhetia arrived during the reign of Malcolm the Maiden (i.e. Malcolm IV) who gave him lands in Perthshire (rather than Nairn). Although he mentions Sir Gervase Rait, he does not mention Nairn (though to be fair neither Mackenzie nor Nisbet link Gervase with Nairn - they just call him of that Ilk), though he does repeat that it was Sir Alexander who slew and fled. He also provides a list of later notables who bore the name Rait. I wonder why he said Perthshire and not Nairn - was it because Rait (village) in Perthshire was more known to him than the ruined Rait castle outside Nairn?

Another thing I wondered was when did they (whoever authorities they were) come up with the idea that the coat of arms of Sir Gervase de Rathe/Rait was a black engrailed cross on a gold background? The earliest mention of the arms of Gervase is his seal on the Ragman Roll in 1296 - described plainly as an engrailed cross. It is not until about 1445 when the Armorial de Berry was compiled that we learn that the Rait (of Halgreen) coat of arms was a black engrailed cross on a gold background - but this was compiled long after Gervaise was dead. All later rolls, as well as much later heraldry specialists such as Mackenzie and Nisbet (see above) continued this fact. (In contrast, in three early rolls (one from 1285 and two from 1295) it is noted that Andrew’s arms were a red invected (possibly engrailed) cross on silver.) Why Andrew’s colours should be spelled out, but not Gervase’s is a mystery. However, the fact that the Rait’s of Halgreen were clearly described as having a black engrailed cross on a gold background in the early to mid 1400s would suggest to me that it was Sir Alexander who bore these arms when he arrived in The Mearns from Nairn around 1405. This would further suggest, even imply, that he was a (direct?) descendant of Sir Gervase (as opposed to Andrew). If Gervase died about 1297 and Alexander was let’s just say around 30 when he left Nairn, then he would have been born about 1370 or so and thus just possibly Gervase could have been his great great (great?) grandfather!

Monday 22 August 2016

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