Rattray vs. Stewart of Atholl

In 1463 Sir Silvester Rattray, who was at the time a Scottish ambassador to England, inherited large estates around Craighill, Scotland. These estates were coveted by their powerful neighbour, Stewart, Earl of Atholl who wanted to expand his holdings in the area.  Silvester was succeeded by his son, John Rattray, who with his first wife, had a son and two daughters, before she passed.  John’s son unfortunately died at a young age, serving as a professional soldier in the Netherlands.  His oldest daughter Grizel married John Stewart, Earl of Atholl, who quickly claimed half of the barony in her name and encouraged his sister-in-law to also make her claim on the land.  However, John Rattray, was a very resilient man for the time and maintained control of his lands as an aging widower.  Then at the age of 60 years old, John took a second wife by with whom he had two more sons and a daughter.

The Stewart of Athole, who believed he would inherit the Rattray estates through his wife, was upset by this turn of events and hatched a plan to finally get control of Rattray. In 1516 The Earl sent a large body of his men, called Athol-men, to the castle of Rattray were they requested hospitality and shelter for the evening.  Because these travelers were vassals of his son-in-law, John Rattray granted their request for lodging.  According to an account of the time, the Stewarts waited until the dead of the night, when all was quiet, and then ambushed the occupants of the castle as they slept, killing all men, women and children as they swept through the castle.  Miraculously, a nurse, taking care of the youngest Rattray son, Silvester Rattray, heard the massacre of John Rattray, taking place in his chapel while he prayed, and was able to escape with her young charge into the woods of Craighall, where they hid for sometime before making their way to the protection of Dundee.

The Earl seized the estates of Rattray and held them for a number of years.  However, once the young Silvester Rattray came of age in 1534 he made a claim to the estates of Rattray and Craighill.  The Athole family had too much power in Perthshire, no judge would dare to go against the family.  In desperation, Rattray appealed to the King himself, who appointed a Commission under the Great Seal to adjudicate the case in Dundee. After deliberation the claimant was declared the heir to his father’s estates and awarded the Barony of Rattray and Craighall. The feud between these two clans wasn’t finalized for over one hundred years after the lands of Rattray were seized.  In 1648 Patrick Rattray, chief at the time, obtained a new charter to their lands under the great seal which finally united the barony of Craighall-Rattray, under the banner of the Rattray chief.  In 1682, Patrick’s oldest son, inherited the chiefdomship of the clan and once again had to lay claim to the Rattray lands that had been siezed by the Stewarts of Atholl, 166 years earlier.