Biggar and the House of Fleming

470 BIGGAR AND THE HOUSE OF FLEMING.
the barony of Biggar for his patrimony. He married one of
the daughters and heiresses of Sir Simon Fraser of Oliver
Castle ; and thus the Flemings obtained considerable posses-
sions in Tweeddale, and also a right to add the arms of the
Frasers — viz., second and third azure, and three cinquefoils
argent — to their escutcheons. It was, no doubt, in conse-
quence of obtaining these possessions that he was appointed
to the office of Sheriff of Peeblesshire. We see no reason to
credit the statement made by Crawford, and repeated by many
subsequent writers, that Patrick Fleming received the barony
of Biggar as part of his wife's heritage. We can, in fact, find
no proof whatever that her father, Sir Simon Fraser, or any
one of her relatives, was ever proprietor of the lands of Biggar.
The documents in the charter chest of the Fleming family
throw no light on this subject. The oldest family documents
still extant, in which the Flemings of Biggar are mentioned, is
dated 1357. This is a charter granted by Malcolm, Earl of
Wigton, to his kinsman, Malcolm Fleming, Laird of Biggar, of
all his lands of Auchmoir, etc., with their pertinents, wadset to
him by Sir Thomas Morham, Knight, for 200 merks. There is,
indeed, an old paper in the chest referred to, entitled, " Cata-
logue of the knights, lords, and earls of the house of flemyng,
as they ar recorded in their Charters," and evidently written
during the seventeenth century, in which it is stated that a
Sir Malcolm Fleming of Biggar lived in the reign of David I.
This statement was made, perhaps, on the authority of some
document or charter then extant, though it cannot now be
found.
Malcolm, the elder son, appears to have given a warm sup-
port to the cause of Robert Bruce. He was, no doubt, present
with his retainers at the battle of Bannockburn. Robert
Bruce, in consideration of his eminent services, conferred upon
him the charters of several lands. We give a translation of
one of them as a specimen. " Robert, King of Scotland. Be
it known that we have given, and by this our present charter
confirmed, to Malcolm Fleming, our well-beloved and faithful
soldier, for his homage and service, the whole barony of Kirk-
intilloch, with its pertinents, which formerly belonged to John
Comyn, Knight, holding and to be held by the said Malcolm
and his heirs from us and our heirs, by all its proper boundaries