, Freskin 'Dominus de Duffus', ancestor of the earls of Sutherland ^{1 2}

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  General Notes:

"Freskin, whose curious name has been the subject of some speculation. He is said to have been a person of Flemish origin, whom David I. took north with him from the Lowlands and settled in Moray, when he suppressed an insurrection of the natives of that province in 1130. From the terms of a charter granted to one of his sons by William the Lion, it would appear that Freskin held from King David the lands of Strabrok in Linlithgowshire, along with his lands in Moray, but he is nowhere designed 'Flandrensis ' or le Flamyng, as was the custom when Flemings were mentioned in early charters. It may be, as has been surmised, that his name is the same as Fresicus, the Low Latin for Friscian, and was therefore sufficiently distinctive. On the other hand, Freskin may be a corruption of some compound of the Gaelic Fear, with a noun or adjective descriptive of some trait of character or physical peculiarity."

from Scots Peerage (vol 2)




"The district thus known as Sudrland was at an early period under the sway of the Norse Earls, who also held Caithness, Ross, and Moray. The last of these who held the district was Earl Thorfinn, from 1014 to 1056, but before his death the power of the Kings of Scotland was beginning to make itself felt in Sutherland. It was in the time of Harald Maddadson, however, that King David I., between 1146 and 1153, was able to grant lands near Dornoch to Andrew, the first recorded Bishop of Caithness, and thus lay the foundations of a more civilised policy. Between 1203 and 1211 there is evidence that a large portion of the ancient ' Sudrland ' had passed into possession of the family who have held the territory ever since in direct lineal succession.

Freskin, a person of unknown descent, but who is believed to be of Flemish origin, upon whom King David I., in pursuance, it is said, of a colonising policy, bestowed wide landed possessions...... At least Freskin is said to have held these lands of King David I., for Freskin himself is named only once, in a charter granted to his son William, between 1166 and 1171, by King William the Lion, which confirms the lands named as having been held by Freskin. Freskin therefore must have died before 1166."

from Scots Peerage (vol 8) ^{1 3}

Freskin married.