Skene
The traditional origin of this name is found in an eleventh-century legend of the Robertsons. It is said that a younger son of Robertson of Struan saved the life of the king by killing a savage wolf with only his small dagger, or ‘sgian’. He was rewarded with a grant of lands in Aberdeen-shire which he named after the weapon which had brought him the good fortune, and the family thereafter were named for their ownership of this land. The feat is commemorated in the chief’s shield, which displays three wolves’ heads impaled on daggers, or as they have now been blazoned, ‘durks’.
The first recorded bearer of the name was John de Skeen, who lived during the reign of Malcolm III. After Malcolm’s death, he supported Donald Bane, a rival to the succession of King Edgar. His lands were forfeited, and they were only restored when the Skenes joined the army of Alexander I marching against rebels in the north in 1118. His great-grandson, John de Skene, held the lands during the reign of Alexander III, and his son, Patrick, appears on the Ragman Roll in 1296, submitting to Edward I of England. However, the Skenes staunchly supported Robert the Bruce, and after his victory their lands were erected into a barony. Adam de Skene was killed at the Battle of Harlaw in 1411. Four generations later, Alexander Skene de Skene is listed among the dead on the ill-fated field of Flodden in 1513. Yet another Skene laird fell at the Battle of Pinkie in 1547.
The Skenes were not Covenanters, and for their support of Charles I they were forced into exile. The chief took service with the Swedish armies under King Gustavus Adolphus. In 1827 the direct line of the Skenes of Skene died out and the estates passed to a nephew, James, Earl of Fife.
Other prominent branches of the family include the Skenes of Dyce, Halyards, Rubislaw and Curriehill. Sir John Skene of Curriehill was a prominent sixteenth-century lawyer who was appointed to the Supreme Court Bench in 1594, taking the title, ‘Lord Curriehill’. He was knighted by James VI, and his son was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia in 1626. Sir John’s 2nd son, John Skene of Hallyards, also rose to high judicial office as the Lord Clerk Register. One of the Skenes of Hallyards later founded Skeneborough on the shores of Lake Camplain in Canada. James Skene of Rubislaw was a close friend of the novelist, Sir Walter Scott, and is said to have provided Scott with some inspiration for both Quentin Durward and Ivanhoe. William Forbes Skene, the celebrated writer and historian, was appointed historiographer royal for Scotland in 1881.
On 17 February 1944, the Lord Lyon recognised Danus George Moncrieffe Skene of Halyards as chief of the name and arms of Skene. The matriculation also recognises the new chief’s son, Dugald, as heir apparent. Danus Skene of Skene, who is a teacher with degrees from the Universities of Sussex, Chicago and Aberdeen, matriculated his arms as Skene of Halyards in 1992. It was established that John Skene of Halyards, son of Sir John Skene and his wife, Barbara Forbes of Cragievar, has lineally descended from the second son of James Skene of that Ilk, who died around 1604. John of Halyards, matriculated his arms in the Lyon register in 1672, differences from the chiefly arms by the addition of a gold crescent on the shield. In the petition of Danus Skene, it was asserted that there was good reason to believe that, on the death of Alexander Skene of that Ilk with no issue in April 1827, the succession passed to the next most senior line – the Skenes of Halyards. This argument was accepted subject to the proviso that the Lord Lyon’s decision was ‘for aught yet seen’, which means that if a rival claimant, nearer in blood to the old chiefly line, comes forward in the next ten years, then the case can be re-opened. As no other claimant has emerged in the past one hundred and sixty-seven years, it seems reasonable to conclude that the Skenes once more have a bloodline chief under whose standard they
can rally.