Turnbull clan

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Turnbull is the name of a Lowland Scottish clan, formerly associated with the Border Reivers. The clan does not currently have a chief therefore it is considered an Armigerous clan.

1 History
2 Castle
3 See Also
4 Sources

[edit] History

[edit] Origins of the name

Wars of Scottish Independence;The origin of the Turnbull name was told by Hector Boece, in his History of Scotland. Boece tells the legend that during the Wars of Scottish Independence William of Rule saved King Robert Bruce by wrestling to the ground a bull that had charged at the King. For this feat, the King rewarded William with the lands of Philiphaugh, now part of Selkirk, and dubbed Rule "Turnebull" (the "e" was later dropped from the name).

Competing theories suggest that Turnbull is derived from the Old English "Trumbald" or French "Tumbald" (meaning "strong and bold"), or that Robertus de Turnbulyes, who swore fealty to King Edward I of England in 1296, could be the family father.

Despite the dispute over the origin of the Turnbull name, historians agree that:

Robert the Bruce awarded lands in Philiphaugh to William Turnebull.
William Turnebull assumed a bull's head as his heraldic symbol with the motto, "I Saved The King" — both of which have been incorporated into the Turnbull Clan crest.
The name Turnebull was not recorded before 1315, when William was awarded the aforementioned lands in Philiphaugh — and following this time, use of the Rule surname dwindled while use of the Turnebull surname increased.

The Turnbulls were to become one of the most turbulent of the Borders families. Prior to the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333, Turnbull, accompanied by a huge mastiff, approached the English host and challenged anyone to single combat.

The Turnbulls held land throughout the Borders. William Turnbull received a charter from Robert the Bruce in 1315 to land near Philiphaugh, and John Turnbull received the lands of Hundleshope from King David II of Scotland.

[edit] 15th to 16 Centuries

John Turnbull, nicknamed ‘outwith sword’, for his fierce temper, is listed as a Scots prisoner of war in England around 1400. William Turnbull held a papal appointment in 1433 and this same name appears as one of the canons of Glasgow Cathedral in 1452. Stephen Tournebulle represented Scottish interests at the University of Orleans at the beginning of the sixteenth century. William Turnbull, Bishop of Glasgow, procured from the pope a charter to establish a university in the city in 1450. The bishop’s vision was realised when the University of Glasgow was founded in 1451.

[edit] Turnbulls in the New World

William Turnbull, a noted nineteenth-century American ornithologist, was born in Midlothian in 1820. Herbert Turnbull, who died in 1961, was a distinguished mathematician responsible for major contributions to the study of algebra.