The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
From Flanders fields to Scotland
Retired economist Dr Alex Fleming tells Michael Alexander about centuries of Flemish migration to Courier Country
M igration has never been far from the news recently, whether it has been issues surrounding Brexit or debate over the number of refugees we should or shouldn’t take from Syria.
But it is historic immigration from Flanders in northern Belgium which has been the focus of work by Dr Alex Fleming, who recently co-edited a book with Professor Roger Mason called Scotland And The Flemish People.
The publication has drawn on research by the Institute of Scottish Historical Research at St Andrews University and examines Flemish migration to Scotland over a 500-year period starting in the 12th Century.
While it is probably an exaggeration to say that up to a third of the current Scottish population may have had Flemish ancestors, Dr Fleming said there’s no doubt Scotland is a “mongrel nation” with a long tradition of welcoming migrants from the Continent and plenty evidence to attest to their impact.
“The earliest Flemish settlers in Britain came with William the Conqueror’s invading force in 1066,” said Dr Fleming, who held positions at the Bank of England, the World Bank and St Andrews University.
“The Flemish had the right wing of the battle formation. They were closely allied with the Normans, not least because William’s wife was the daughter of a count of Flanders.
“William rewarded the Flemish for their help with land in England, so an initial Flemish foothold in England was established.
“Some 60 years later David I ascended to the Scottish throne and his wife Maud, of Flemish heritage, came up from England with him accompanied by a retinue of her kinsmen.
“The areas of Scotland most associated with the settlement of these Flemings were Upper Clydesdale and Moray, but Fife, Angus, and Perthshire also played host to these early incomers.”
Dr Fleming explained that more Flemish likely came north to Scotland when, in 1154, English King Henry II expelled all mercenaries, a good number of whom were Flemish, from England.
But a very productive trading relationship between Flanders and Scotland between the 12th and 15th centuries also led to migration.
Much of this involved the export to
Flanders of Scottish wool and other sheep-related products, with high-end goods of various types flowing in the opposite direction.
During the 13th and 14th centuries the weaving industry rapidly developed in Flanders, leading to an increasing call on land for sheep grazing.
This was accompanied by a significant growth in the population of Flanders. This overpopulation led to people leaving Flanders for economic reasons. Some may have come to Scotland.
Moreover, with the strong trading linkage Flemish merchants came to eastern burghs such as Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, Edinburgh, and Berwick (when under Scottish control) as well as the coastal villages adjoining the Forth Estuary.
“In the 16th and 17th centuries another phase of Flemish migration to Scotland took place, although the numbers of people involved may have been relatively small,” said Dr Fleming.
“The root cause of this was religious persecution. Reformation ideals found great support in the cities of Flanders, where there had been a long-held tradition of free thinking, autonomy, and openness. But the Catholic Spanish rulers of Flanders sought to aggressively stamp out these ideals, encouraging many Flemish to flee.”
The Flemish were renowned defensive fortification builders in the medieval period, and evidence of this can still be seen today in mottes in various parts of Scotland as well as the remains of castles. Examples in Fife include Kellie, Loch Leven and Aberdour castles and a motte at Leuchars. Huntingtower Castle near Perth has a Flemish origin, as has Edzell Castle in Angus.
Place names also bear witness to Flemish settlement. In Fife, for instance, there was a place named Flemingbeath; in the area north of the Tay there was a Flemingis-land and a Flemington.
Architecture and the Scottish vocabulary have also been influenced while surnames such as Fleming, Sutherland, Murray, Innes, Douglas, Lindsay, Dowie, Frame and Crabbe are also among those with likely Flemish links.
“More controversial perhaps is the role that the Flemish are believed to have played in the formation of the games of golf and curling,” he said.
“Both games may well have had their origins in Flanders, being brought to Scotland by migrants and traders in the medieval period.
“They were then refined and adapted in the Scottish context evolving into the popular games we know today.”