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Scottish Tattoo Designs >> Forbes

Forbes Clan Tattoos - In this part of north-east Scotland which spreads itself from the mountain ranges of Aberdeenshire to the coast of Banff and Buchan, lie the lands of the Clan Forbes; here the great housed and estates of the clan once there were no fewer than a hundred and fifty of them were situated along the winding rivers that flow eastward and northward especially along the valley of the Don.

Overlooking the Don stands Castle Forbes, built in 1815 by James Ochoncar, 17th Lord Forbes, and still occupied by the direct descendents of Duncan Forbes upon whom the lands were conferred in a charter dated 1271 by Alexander III.

James, son of the first Lord Forbes, himself had three sons: William, the third Lord Forbes: Duncan, who founded the family of the Forbes of Corsindae and Monymusk; and Patrick of Corse, squire to James III, whose line became the Baronets of Cragievar.

Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, a long and bitter struggle was waged against the great house of Gordon, although the Forbes's traditional enemies were the Leslies. In the 1520's these feuds reached a climax, with murders by both sides occurring constantly.

Clan Forbes Motto: Grace Me Guide

See also: Claddagh, Thistle Tattoos, Scottish Lion Tattoo Designs, Welsh Dragon Tattoos, Scottish Tattoo Designs, Celtic Tattoo Designs, Family Crests, Deer