Origins
of the Melville Family Name
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The Melville name and where
it came from
The name
originated from the barony of Malaville or Malleville in the Pays de Caux in
Normandy
. Guillame (William) de Malleville accompanied William the Conqueror to
England
and fought at the
Battle
of
Hastings
. Like many of major Scottish families, the de Mallevilles came to
Scotland
with King
David I when he returned in 1124 after 30 years spent at the English
court. They were granted lands in Midlothian, outside
Edinburgh
by King David. The first record of the name was as a witness to a charter
granted by Malcolm IV, later in the 12th century. Galfrid de Maleville was a
guardian of Edinburgh
Castle in Malcolm's reign. A Richard Maluvell was one of those
captured with King William at the
Battle
of Alnwick in 1174. Richard Maluvell's grand-daughter inherited the Barony of
Melville which passed to the Ross family when she married Sir John Ross of
Halkhead and the barony remained in that family until 1705.
Members of
the family spread across
Scotland
and there are a number of documents with their signatures during the 12th and
13th century. When King Edward I of England demanded that all Scottish
landowners and clergy should render homage to him and sign the "Ragman
Rolls" in 1296, there were signatures from no less than twelve
"Maleuill" (and other variant spellings), from as far afield as
Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Stirling, Fife, Roxburgh and Peebles. Sir Johannes Maleuill,
who signed the Rolls, was one of the major barons of
Scotland
at that time. His descendant, Sir John Melville of Raith was a favourite of King
James V in the 16th century and obtained lands at Murdocairnie in
Fife
. Despite the royal patronage, he was an early supporter of the religious
Reformation. As a friend of some of those who conspired to kill Cardinal Beaton
of
St Andrews
, he was subsequently executed in 1550 on the evidence of a forged letter.
Sir Robert
Melville of Murdocairnie was the keeper of the Palace
of Linlithgow at the end of the reign of Mary
Queen of Scots. Twenty years later, as an ambassador at the court of
Queen Elizabeth, he was so outspoken about the sentence of death which had been
pronounced on Mary by an English court, that he was threatened with
imprisonment, despite his diplomatic status. Later, he became Vice-Chancellor of
Scotland
and took the title "Lord Murdocairnie". In 1616 he was created Baron
Melville of Monymail. His son, also a judge, was given the title Lord Monymail
in 1627 by King Charles I.
The fourth
Lord Melville, a staunch Protestant, supported an unsuccessful rebellion by
James, Duke of Monmouth, the illegitimate son of King Charles II. He had to flee
abroad but returned with Queen Mary and William of
Orange
and became Secretary of State for
Scotland
and the first Earl of Melville. Despite trying to exercise a moderating
influence on the conflict between the presbyterian and episcopal factions, there
was nevertheless a witch-hunt of episcopalian ministers by the Church of
Scotland. He married the granddaughter of the Covenanting general, Sandy Lesley
and through his wife inherited the title of the earldom of Leven and the Castle
of Balgonie in
Fife
. Subsequent heirs have held the courtesy title of Lord Balgonie.
The family
seat is Glenferness in Nairnashire. Melville Castle in Lothian, the original
family home, was rebuilt by the Dundas
family who took the title "Viscount Melville" although they have no
connection with the Melville line.
The Melville
clan has two mottoes - "Pro rege et patria" which means "For king
and country" and "Denique coelum" which means "Heaven at
last".
(Reproduced
from www.rampantscotland.com/clans/blclanmelville.htm)
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