Maule

A surname of Norman origin, from Maule in France. It is believed that a younger son of the Sieur de Maule accompanied William the Conqueror on his invasion of England in 1066 and was granted manors in Yorkshire. One of his sons may have accompanied David, Earl of Huntingdon, when he travelled north to claim his kingdom as David I. The name is found thereafter around Midlothian. William de Maule fought at the Battle of the Standard in 1138, but died without issue, and it is thought that Roger de Maule, probably his brother, was the progenitor of the Maules of Panmure who were to become the principal family. Sir Thomas Maule, Roger’s grandson, was governor of Brechin Castle and held it against Edward I of England. He was killed during the siege and his brother, the sheriff of Forfar, was compelled to swear fealty to Edward in 1292. In common with most of the Scottish nobility who submitted to the English king the Maules were quick to support Robert the Bruce and the cause of Scottish independence. Sir Henry Maule was knighted personally by Robert. Bruce’s son, David II, appointed Maule governor of the castle of Kildrummy. Sir Thomas Maule of Panmure, grandson of the constable of Kildrummy, fought with the Earl of Mar at the Battle of Harlaw against the Lord of the Isles in 1411, when he was killed. His great-great-grandson, another Sir Thomas, fell on Flodden field in 1513. The Maules were supporters of the Earls of Lennox in their attempt to rescue James V from the power of the Douglases in 1526. 

Maule openly opposed the negotiations for the proposed marriage of the infant Mary, Queen of Scots, to the son of Henry VIII of England. During Henry’s invasion of Scotland (later known as the ‘rough wooing’), Maule was captured and sent to the Tower of London and was only released two years later on the intervention of the French ambassador. Patrick Maule of Panmure was in the retinue of James VI when the king travelled to London to take possession of his new throne. Charles I created him Earl of Panmure and Lord Maule of Brechin in 1646. The earl attended on the king during his imprisonment. His son, Henry, commanded a regiment in the force which was raised to attempt the rescue of the king in 1648. The earl’s eldest son and heir, George, fought for the royalists at Dunbar in 1650 and at Inverkeithing, where he was wounded. The Maules came to terms with Cromwell’s army of occupation, led by General Monck. James, the fourth Earl, proclaimed the ‘Old Pretender’ King James VIII at Brechin in 1715. He fought at the Battle of Sheriffmuir, where he was taken prisoner. He was rescued by his brother and they fled to France. His titles and estates were forfeited, but he refused to take part in the general amnesty offered by the house of Hanover, and remained in France until his death. His great-granddaughter married the son of the Earl of Dalhousie, and through her the title passed to the Ramsays.