Male Giffard (1100 - abt. 1150)

Descendants

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Joe Cochoit [send private message]

Biography

Male Giffard is a member of Clan Hay.

The origins of Hugh Giffard of Yester are not known. This profile exists to connect him to his known brothers William and Walter Giffard.

The origins of Hugh Giffard of Yester indicate that he and his brothers are the first of the Giffards in Scotland. Given the standing of Hugh with the Huntington retinue, it is very likely that he is a descendant of the well known Norman family of Giffard who held the honor of Longueville-la-Gifart in France. These Giffards were companions of William I, and received large land holdings in England after the conquest. Hugh Giffard appears to have no land holdings in England other than a portion of Potton which was granted by the Huntingtons circa 1160. This makes it most difficult to trace his Anglo-Norman origin in England. It has been suggested he was a son of Osbert Giffard of Brimesfield, but proper dating shows this to be impossible. The father of Hugh Giffard would have had to be born circa 1100, and no viable candidate of that generation of English Giffards emerges to date. I have found a few minor clues which may point toward the line of Osbern Giffard, who was the ancestor of the Brimesfield Giffards. As Hugh Giffard seemed to have no appreciable land holdings in England, it is likely that his father would be a second or unknown younger son of a major line. Speculating that Hugh may have been connected to the Brimesfield (Gloucestershire) line, his father possibly could have been a younger son of Elias Giffard I considering the known date parameters.

Sources

• Scottish Record Society (Edinburgh, 1916) Vol. 74: "Calendar of Writs Preserved at Yester House, 1166-1503"

• Page 1: 1166-1171: "William, King of Scots... I have granted... to Hugh Giffard... all the lands Hugo holds by grant from King Malcolm, my brother, and Ada the Countess, my mother, and Herbert the Chamberlain, namely Jhestrith..."

• This individual (or object) is the subject of an article or stub at Wikipedia.