The Stewarts are not a clan in the usual sense (though there were Highland branches), nor are they a family. The name originates in an occupation, and in one of its many versions is the most common surname in modern Scotland. Known as "The Protectors", the Stewarts developed alliances for common prosperity and defense that ultimately brought them to the throne, where they reigned as monarchs of Scotland and England for more than three centuries.
The origin of the Stewart structure was Alan fitz Faald, the Celtic Breton, who came to Britain with or shortly after William the conqueror. Two of his sons entered the service of David I of Scotland, and one of them, Walter fitz Alan, became Hereditary High Steward of Scotland.
LENNOX - Gaelic in origin: "levenach" - smooth stream - also "Vale of Leven", the name for the lands commanded during the 12th century by the family, and ultimately incorporated into the lands of the Earl of Lennox recognized by King James III in 1473.
The title Earl of Lennox is a very ancient one. The area know as Dumbartonshire today (and parts of Renfrewshire, Stirlingshire, and Perthshire) was the district of old Levanax ruled by one of the Celtic princes known as Mormaers. From this region arose the powerful earldom of Lennox which became part of the Royal House of Stewart. The Stewarts, in whose family the Earldom lay, were descended from Alan, 2nd son of Sir John Stewart of Bonkill, son of the 4th High Stewart of Scotland. Sir John fell fighting with Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk.
The Earls of Lennox were among the most powerful nobles in the realm by the late 13th century. The first Earl of Lennox is thought to have been a fourth generation descendant of Ecgfrith of Northumbria whose son Arkil came north to the court of Malcolm III in the late 11th century. Arkil's grand-daughter married into the native Celtic stock, and their son become the first Earl. The fifth Earl, Malcolm, supported the Bruce claim to the crown of Scotland. The line was interrupted when Duncan, 8th Earl, was executed along with his son-in-law and grandson on the "heading hill" of Stirling. James I's hatred of all those connected to Murdoch, Duke of Albany, following the murder of the king's brother, resulted in the execution of both Albany and Lennox (Duncan) in 1425. His widow retained the Lennox lands, but she spent the rest of her life in virtual exile on an island in Loch Lomand. The succession of title was disputed , and the lands were divided. The title passed through a younger daughter of the widow's sister who had married into the Stewarts of Darnley to Walter de Fasselane. Thereafter, the Earldom of Lennox and Lordship of Darnley were held conjointly by the Stewarts.
The line continued to John, Lord Darnley who assumed the title Earl of Lennox in 1488. In 1503, Mathew, the second Stewart Earl of Lennox, obtained from James IV the hereditary sheriffdom of Dunbartonshire, which was made an adjunct of the earldom. In 1513, Mathew, along with the Earl of Argyll, commanded the right wing of the Scots army at Flodden, where he was slain. The fourth Stewart Earl married the daughter of the union of the Dowager Queen Margaret Tudor and the Earl of Angus. The son of the fourth Stewart Earl was Henry, Lord Darnley. Henry Stewart became King Henry (consort to the queen) upon his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, and was later murdered. (His death was a factor in his widow being deposed and ultimately executed at Fotheringay Castle.) Their son became James VI of Scotland and I of England.
On Henry's death, the Earldom came to the Crown. It was revived for his uncle, Darnley's brother, then for his great uncle, and again for Esme Stuart, Lord d'Aubigny, by King James VI, as male heirs failed. In 1581 the honours of Lennox were elevated to a dukedom, but on the death of the 6th Duke they reverted to the King, Charles II, who bestowed them upon an illegitimate son, from whom descends the present Duke of Richmond and Gordon and Lennox. Evidence of the surname appears in the earliest Register of Lyon Court where arms were granted to John Lennox of Woodhead. The name is found in Campsie, a few miles to the north of Glasgow, where the families of Woodhead had their residences. The Lennoxes of Woodhead, later of Lennox Castle near Glasgow, claimed the right to succeed to the title and honours of the ancient Earls of Lennox. Although their claim to the peerage was never established, they were recognized as chief family of the name. Lennox Castle was sold in 1927 and the chief seat became Downton Castle near Ludlow.
As for the Stewarts, David II, son of the great Robert Bruce, died without direct heir in 1371. Robert, then his High Steward (and son of Bruce's daughter), became Robert II. With Robert II began the line of monarchs who reigned in Scotland and England for nearly 350 years. While there are many branches of the family, there are no surviving heirs of direct lineage to Mary Queen of Scots or other historical Scottish monarchs.
The Lennox name is affiliated with the branch of the Stewarts that includes Boyd, Denniston, France, Francis, Lisle, Lombard, Lyle, Mentieth, Moodie, and Stuart. This is a branch different than the other branches: Stewart of Atholl, Stewart of Appin, Stuart of Bute, and Stewart of Galloway.
John Lennox Boyle, son of Harold Nickerson Boyle, Jr., was named after John Lennox, Esq. of Glasgow, Scotland, and is a direct descendant of Mary Lennox, wife of John Martyn Boyle, of Blowing House Hill, St. Austles, Cornwall, England.
Motto: I'll defend
Crest: Two Broadswords in saltire
behind a swan's head and neck all Proper
Badge: A Rose slipped Gules