Clan Leask
Encyclopedia
Origins
There is more than one theory as to the origin of the name Leask. One is from the Anglo-SaxonOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
word lisse which means happy. Another is that it comes from the Norse meaning of stirring fellow. Another is that it comes from Liscus which was the name of the chief of a tribe called the Haedui. The Haedui were a tribe of Gauls
Gauls
The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
as described by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
in his Gallic Wars. Another theory concerns the Castle of Boulogne, once the possession of Charlemagne, at one time belonged to a family called de Lesque.
William de Laskereske's signature appears on the Ragman Roll of 1296.
14th century
Later William Leask was granted the lands of Leskgoroune by King David II of ScotlandDavid II of Scotland
David II was King of Scots from 7 June 1329 until his death.-Early life:...
, son of Robert the Bruce
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...
. William was also the first known chief of the Clan Leask.
The second chief was baillie of the barony of Findon. He inherited lands from Henry de Brogan, Lord of Achlowne, in 1390; later, in the 15th century, another branch of the family sprung up on Orkney after Jamis of Lask, younger son of Thomas de Lask of that Ilk settled there.
16th century
During the Anglo-Scottish WarsAnglo-Scottish Wars
The Anglo-Scottish Wars were a series of wars fought between England and Scotland during the sixteenth century.After the Wars of Scottish Independence, England and Scotland had fought several times during the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In most cases, one country had attempted to...
the clan suffered when they fought against the English at the Battle of Flodden Field
Battle of Flodden Field
The Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field or occasionally Battle of Branxton was fought in the county of Northumberland in northern England on 9 September 1513, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey...
in 1513. Both William, the fifth chief of the clan and his eldest son Alexander were killed. William's younger son also called William became the 6th chief of the clan. William Lesk of that Ilk, the seventh chief supported the infant King James VI of Scotland in opposition to his mother Mary, Queen of Scots after the murder of Lord Darnley and her scandalous marriage to Bothwell.
17th century
Between 1615 and 1616, there appears to have been a disagreement of some sort between the Leasks and the neighbouring Clan GordonClan Gordon
Clan Gordon, also known as the House of Gordon, is a Scottish clan. The chief of the clan was the powerful Earl of Huntly, now also Marquess of Huntly.-Origins:...
. In all the recorded cases the Gordons appear to have been the aggressors; Adam Gordon, brother of the Laird of Gight
Gight
Gight is the name of an estate in the parish of Fyvie in the Formartine area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom. It is best known as the location of the 16th-century Gight Castle, ancestral home of Lord Byron. The Gight Woods are presently a protected natural forest....
assaulted Alexander Leask, then the son of the chief was attacked by George Gordon and finally William Leask of that Ilk was ambushed by John Gordon of Ardlogy and a party of armed men.
Also in the 17th century the Leasks suffered terribly by investing heavily in the Darién scheme
Darién scheme
The Darién scheme was an unsuccessful attempt by the Kingdom of Scotland to become a world trading nation by establishing a colony called "New Caledonia" on the Isthmus of Panama in the late 1690s...
. The venture was a disaster with a vast amount of Scotland's wealth being lost which in some part led to the union of Scotland and England Alexander Leask of that Ilk, the thirteenth chief was forced to give up his estates which were taken over by Robert Cumming
Clan Cumming
Clan Cumming, also known as Clan Comyn, is a Scottish clan from the central Highlands that played a major role in the history of 13th century Scotland and in the Wars of Scottish Independence and were instrumental in defeating the English at the Battle of Roslin in 1303...
.
The clan today
In 1963, a descendant managed to buy back a portion of the family lands and established the Leask Society with the support of other prominent Leasks such as Lieutenant General Sir Henry Leask, sometime governor of Edinburgh CastleEdinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
and General Officer commanding the Army in Scotland. In 1968 Moira Anne Helgesen was granted the chiefship of the clan by the Lord Lyon, where apon she changed her name and became: Madam Anne Leask of Leask. She died in April 2008 and will be succeeded in the chiefship of the clan by
Jonathan Leask, who beaome the 23rd chief of Clan Leask.