Elizabeth and George Gordon

 

George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly - Wikipedia

Elizabeth Gordon, Countess of Huntly - Wikipedia

Guillaume Couillard

Guillaume Couillard was a French colonist who was born on October 11, 1588, in Saint-Servan, France1. He was the first French colonist to be ennobled by King Louis XIV in New France2. He was a carpenter, sailor, and caulker by trade2. He married Guillemette Hébert in Quebec City on August 26, 16212. He died on March 4, 1663, in Quebec City1.

Guillaume Couillard was one of the first people to own an African slave in Canada1. The slave’s real name is unknown but the name his master gave him is well-documented: Olivier Le Jeune1. Ndiaye says Couillard likely owned one of the first African slaves in Canada and he says that slave would have lived in Couillard’s house1.

Olivier Le Jeune was the first recorded slave purchased in New France1. He was a young boy from Madagascar, believed to have been approximately seven years of age when he was brought to the French colonial settlement of Quebec in New France by Scottish privateer David Kirke or one of his brothers, Lewis and Thomas Kirke during their capture of the settlement on behalf of the English Crown1. Olivier Le Jeune was designated as a national historic person in 2022.

Olivier Le Jeune was designated as a national historic person in 2022. He was the first documented person of African descent to have lived on a permanent basis in Canada (New France) during the first half of the 17th century. He was also the first person of African descent known to have been enslaved in the colony, decades before it became a participant in the Atlantic slave trade.

Orkney

Orkney is an archipelago of more than 70 islands in the north of Scotland. It has a long and rich history that dates back to Mesolithic times. One of the clans that held lands in Orkney was **Clan Sinclair**, who were also the Earls of Orkney and Earls of Caithness. Clan Sinclair is a Highland Scottish clan that traces its origin to Normandy and later to Roslin in Lothian. The clan's motto is "Commit thy work to God" and its crest is a cock's head with an oak branch in its beak¹.

Clan Sinclair got Orkney through a series of marriages and grants. According to some sources, the first Sinclair who married into the Orkney earldom was **William Sinclair**, who wedded **Isabel of Orkney**, the daughter of **Malise II**, the Earl of Orkney, around 1330. Their son, **Henry Sinclair**, was granted the earldom of Orkney by **King Haakon VI of Norway** in 1379, as Orkney was then under Norwegian rule. Henry Sinclair was also Lord of Roslin and Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He was succeeded by his son, **Henry II Sinclair**, who was confirmed as Earl of Orkney by **King Eric III of Norway** in 1404. However, in 1468, Orkney was pledged to Scotland by **King Christian I of Denmark and Norway** as part of his daughter's dowry for marrying **King James III of Scotland**. The Sinclairs were then forced to resign their earldom and accept a new Scottish title instead. They retained their lands in Caithness and Roslin though.

According to some sources, Orkney and Shetland never operated under the clan system, unlike the Scottish Highlands. Surnames were either based on the father's name (patronymic) or on the place of origin (toponymic), and could change until the 18th century. Therefore, it is unlikely that all the inhabitants of Orkney were considered members of Clan Sinclair, even though they held the earldom. However, some people may have adopted or inherited the Sinclair surname over time, especially if they had ties to Caithness or Roslin.
Some of the common surnames in Orkney are:

- **Sinclair**: As mentioned before, this surname comes from Clan Sinclair who were Earls of Orkney and Caithness¹. It is the most common surname in Orkney according to a census in 1841.
- **Flett**: This surname is thought to derive from a place name in Shetland, another island group near Orkney². It is the second most common surname in Orkney according to the same census.
- **Spence**: This surname may come from an Old French word meaning "dispenser" or "steward", indicating an occupation. It is the third most common surname in Orkney according to the same census¹.
- **Muir**: This surname may come from a Scots word meaning "moor" or "heath", indicating a place of origin³. It is the fourth most common surname in Orkney according to the same census.
Other common surnames in Orkney include Gair, Gilchrist, Gillies, Harcus, Heddle, Kirkness, Linklater, Marwick and Rendall.

(2) A history of names from the Scottish Highlands and Islands. https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/history-names-scottish-highlands-and-islands-1475387
(3) Surname Database: Orkney Last Name Origin. https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Orkney
(4) Orkney Census Surname Index • FamilySearch. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Orkney_Census_Surname_Index
(5) Most Common Surnames in Orkney, With Meanings - Forebears. https://forebears.io/scotland/orkney/surnames
(1) Orkneyjar - Orkney Frequently Asked Questions. http://orkneyjar.com/orkney/faq.htm .
(2) History of Orkney - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Orkney
(3) Orkney, Scotland Genealogy • FamilySearch. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Orkney,_Scotland_Genealogy
(4) Orkneymen | The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/orkneymen
(5) Orkney - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkney
(6) History of Orkney - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Orkney
(1) Sinclair Clan History. https://www.scotclans.com/blogs/tu2/sinclair-clan-history
(3) Clan Sinclair History. http://www.clansinclair.org/history.htm
(4) The Sinclair Lineage. http://sinclair.quarterman.org/ian.html
(5) Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_I_Sinclair,_Earl_of_Orkney
(6) Clan Sinclair - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Sinclair
(1) History of Orkney - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Orkney
(2) Orkney Islands | History, Geography, & Facts | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Orkney-Islands
(3) Orkney - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkney
(5) Orkney, Scotland Genealogy • FamilySearch. https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Orkney,_Scotland_Genealogy

The barbarian invasions

 The Goths were Germans coming from what is now Sweden and were followed by the Vandals, the Burgundians, and the Gepidae. The aftereffect of their march to the southeast, toward the Black Sea, was to push the Marcomanni, the Quadi, and the Sarmatians onto the Roman limes in Marcus Aurelius’ time. Their presence was brusquely revealed when they attacked the Greek towns on the Black Sea about 238. Timesitheus fought against them under Gordian III, and under Philip and Decius they besieged the towns of Moesia and Thrace, led by their kings, Ostrogotha and Kniva. 

Beginning in 253, the Crimean Goths and the Heruli appeared and dared to venture on the seas, ravaging the shores of the Black Sea and the Aegean as well as several Greek towns. In 267 Athens was taken and plundered despite a strong defense by the historian Dexippus. After the victories of Gallienus on the Nestus and Claudius at Naissus (Nish), there was for a time less danger. But the countries of the middle Danube were still under pressure by the Marcomanni, Quadi, Iazyges, Sarmatians, and the Carpi of free Dacia, who were later joined by the Roxolani and the Vandals. In spite of stubborn resistance, Dacia was gradually overwhelmed, and it was abandoned by the Roman troops, though not evacuated officially. When Valerian was captured in AD 259/260, the Pannonians were gravely threatened, and Regalianus, one of the usurpers proclaimed by the Pannonian legions, died fighting the invaders. The defense was concentrated around Sirmium and Siscia-Poetovio, the ancient fortresses that had been restored by Gallienus, and many cities were burned.

In the West the invasions were particularly violent. The Germans and the Gauls were driven back several times by the confederated Frankish tribes of the North Sea coast and by the Alemanni from the middle and upper Rhine. Gallienus fought bitterly, concentrating his defense around Mainz and Cologne, but the usurpations in Pannonia prevented him from obtaining any lasting results. In 259–260 the Alemanni came through the Agri Decumates (the territory around the Black Forest), which was now lost to the Romans. Some of the Alemanni headed for Italy across the Alpine passes; others attacked Gaul, devastating the entire eastern part of the country. 

Passing through the Rhône Valley, they eventually reached the Mediterranean; and some bands even continued into Spain. There they joined the Franks, many of whom had come by ship from the North Sea, after having plundered the western part of Gaul. Sailing up the estuaries of the great rivers, they had reached Spain and then, crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, had proceeded to Mauretania Tingitana. Gallienus, outflanked, entrusted Gaul and his young son Saloninus to Postumus, who then killed Saloninus and proclaimed himself emperor. 

The several invasions had so frightened the people that the new emperor was readily accepted, even in Spain and Britain. He devoted himself first to the defense of the country and was finally considered a legitimate emperor, having established himself as a rival to Gallienus, who had tried in vain to eliminate him but finally had to tolerate him. Postumus governed with moderation, and, in good Roman fashion, minted excellent coins. He, too, was killed by his soldiers, but he had successors who lasted until 274.

One reason for the fall of the Western Roman Empire was the expansion of the Goths. Unlike their present-day namesakes, these were a Scandinavian people from the Gothic lands of what is now southern Sweden, although the Gothic leadership and “high society” likely came from the island of Gotland, which lies in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Latvia. Sometime around the years 100 BC to 100 CE, the northern Goths first moved to Poland, and after settling the area around Gdánsk for four-five generations, continued on along the Vistula and Danube rivers and then spread across modern Russia and Ukraine and occupied much of the land between the Baltic and the Black Sea, an area known as Reidgotaland or Aujum/Oium in historical sources, where they became known as the Ostrogoths. 

It should be noted that, contrary to popular belief, the term Visigoth was not originally used to describe the Goths (and various indigenous steppe-nomadic cultures) that formed Reidgotaland aka the Kingdom of Aujum.

The Huns, a warring nomadic people attacking Reidgotaland from central Asia in the 270s CE, caused the Goths — who by now had split up into two major historical groups — the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths — to flee across the Danube river into the relative safety of the Roman Empire. Some Ostrogoths were left behind and had no choice but to join the Hunnic hordes, these Goths became the Gothunni, and are by all accounts known as “hraið-gutar” in Old Norse in Icelandic literary sources, which means “horse goths.”