{"id":276,"date":"2013-04-18T15:40:34","date_gmt":"2013-04-18T15:40:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.harknesshistory.org\/?page_id=276"},"modified":"2020-11-20T11:06:11","modified_gmt":"2020-11-20T11:06:11","slug":"how-the-name-survived","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/harkness.scot\/?page_id=276","title":{"rendered":"How the Name Survived"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cNames get rubbed smooth by use and time\u201d. This was a phrase an author, TV producer and authority on place names, Alistair Moffat used when replying to a letter on this research. These words are particularly significant in relation to the name Harkness. In fact the phrase holds the key to the history of the name \u2018Harkness\u2019. Anyone with the name Harkness knows that it is an awkward name. When asked for your name you invariably have to repeat it or even spell it. Other people try to use versions that fit more easily on the tongue, most frequent variations are Harkess, Harkin, Harcus\u00a0or Herkess<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Dumfriesshire and Roxburghshire, where the name is most prevalent, local pronunciation and dialects commonly produced \u2018Herkess\u2019 just as to this day market is pronounced ‘mercat’, \u00a0harvest is pronounced \u2018hervest\u2019 and harmless as \u2018hermless\u2019. Searching through records it is common to find variations of spelling of the name when obviously referring to the same person. As late as the Scottish census records of 1841 and 1851, when statutory records were starting to finalise the spelling of names, members of my own family were recorded as Harkin and Harkens. In the Old Parish Records of Drumelzier Parish, Tweeddale in 1707, on May 8th there is the record of a proclamation of marriage between Robert Harkness and Margorat Chisholm. On June 12th the same marriage is recorded between Robert Harcus and Margot Chisim. (The complicated issue of variations of the name is dealt with at Variations of Name<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

There are two highly significant points to this. One is that anyone who holds the name Harkness must come from a long line of ancestors who have defended the name against constant attempts by others to change and alter it. If your name is Harkness, it is only so because an unbroken line of ancestors has battled for its survival.<\/p>\n

This may also explain why there is no place called Harkness today. Thomas de Hardkneis, in 1280, was living in a golden age of Scottish history. The country was prosperous and politically stable. This was about to change suddenly and tragically. In 1286 Alexander III, king of Scots died when, near Kinghorn in Fife, his horse stumbled and he fell over a cliff. One of the earliest poems written in the Scots language about 1300 highlights the tragedy that befell the nation:<\/p>\n

\u201cSen Alexander our king was deid
\n<\/i>That Scotland left in luv and lee [peace]
\n<\/i>Away wes sonse [abundance] of aill and breid
\n<\/i>Of wine and wax, of gamin and glee.
\n<\/i>The gold wes changit all in leid [into lead]
\n<\/i>The frute failyeit on everilk tree.
\n<\/i>Christ succour Scotland and remeid
\n<\/i>That stad [state] is in perplexitie\u201d.<\/i><\/p>\n

There was no clear successor to Alexander\u2019s throne and the country was thrown into the turmoil that led to the Wars of Independence. At this time William Wallace, Robert Bruce and Sir James Douglas, the Black Douglas, all fought for Scotland\u2019s independence. The Pentland Hills were at the centre of the conflict. English armies under Edward I and his son Edward II used the Pentlands as a base, supplying their armies at the locals\u2019 expense, and the Scots employed a \u2018scorched earth\u2019 policy that must have devastated the land and livelihoods of farmers in the area. A likely sequence of events is discussed in the pages on the Douglas connection. It is almost certain, however, that the upheaval that existed in this area of Scotland over a long number of years, even centuries, would mean many families would be displaced. In addition, in the 1330s, Scotland was\u00a0devastated\u00a0by \u00a0the Black Death. In some areas a third of the population was wiped out.<\/p>\n

Without any individuals actively defending the name then it is easy to see how the place name would be lost. Today the farm which I believe was known as Hardkneys in 1280 is now called Cornton, possibly derived from Cairnton – the farm of the cairn.<\/p>\n

This also poses the question of whether everyone called Harkness maybe descended from the Thomas who is recorded as attending the enquiry in 1280. I have searched the records in Scotland and there is no other record I can find of a \u2018Harkness\u2019 place or name as early as the 13th century. From the earliest of times there would appear to be a consistent link between those of the name Harkness and the estates and lands of the Douglases which might suggest a common source. Although Thomas is a common first name in Scotland, Thomas is prominently and consistently associated with the name Harkness from the first record of the name into almost every area of Scotland in which the name occurs.<\/p>\n

It is remotely possible that Thomas’s family left the farm during the upheavals mentioned above and another family took it over and adopted the name. I think this is unlikely.<\/p>\n

No one can be certain of facts and circumstances relating to events of over 700 years ago. However, in the absence of information to the contrary, I believe it is possible that all those of the name Harkness may be of a common line of descent.<\/p>\n

Until recently this is a theory that may have been impossible to prove. However science has now brought us a possible solution \u2013 DNA. This is an issue that will be dealt with later.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/p>\n

A reference is made in the book \u201cHarkness Heroines\u201d<\/i> by Helen Harkness, a committed and industrious Harkness researcher, to \u201ca place named Harkness, on the border of Cumberland and Westmoreland by Reyner de Harkness in the year 1273AD<\/i>\u201d. This is based on information obtained by an Australian researcher from a research business called \u2018Strath Hunter Heraldry\u2019, New South Wales. With the assistance of Helen Harkness I have tried to obtain from \u2018Strath Hunter Heraldry\u2019 the source of this information with negative result. I have also contacted the Archivists for Cumberland and Westmoreland who have no knowledge of such a place or records. Search agencies specialising in medieval documents have also been consulted and produced no result. The credibility of this information, in the absence of any sources, must be suspect.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNames get rubbed smooth by use and time\u201d. This was a phrase an author, TV producer and authority on place names, Alistair Moffat used when replying to a letter on this research. These words are particularly significant in relation to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-276","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harkness.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harkness.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harkness.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harkness.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harkness.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=276"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/harkness.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1188,"href":"https:\/\/harkness.scot\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/276\/revisions\/1188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harkness.scot\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}