Frasers of Philorth > Volume 1

138 THE FRASERS OF COWIE, DURRIS, AND PHILORTH.
because they were god-brother and god-sister to one another, a Papal
dispensation was necessary. He consents to severe penalties if he should
fail to perform his engagement, viz., a fine of 300 rnerks to the king ; 300
merks to the Bishop of Aberdeen, to be employed in building and repairing
the cathedral ; and 400 merks to Margery Calder for her virginity, and
loss, skaith, etc. ; in all, 1000 merks ; and he also binds himself to reside
with the Thane until the dispensation should arrive, and he should marry
the lady. The indenture concludes thus : — " And becaus the saide Alexander
Frasser has na seyle present of his awne, he has procurit with instance the
seyl of ane honorabil lorde, Hew Frasser of the Lowet," and it is signed
" Alexander Fraser de Fillorth manu propria."
Mr. Laing, in the second volume of his "Ancient Scottish Seals," No. 389,
has fallen into the strange error of calling this Laird of Philorth a son of the
Lord Lovat, whose seal is appended to the indenture. He has been misled
by this fact, and has made the statement without due caution and inquiry.
The late Mr. Cosmo Innes, in " The Book of the Thanes of Cawdor," edited
by him, says that the marriage took place, and that there was issue from
it. 1 Not being acquainted with the pedigree of the Philorth family, he had
fair ground for believing this; but the following facts will show him to have
been mistaken, for though it is possible that the marriage may have been
solemnised, the Laird of Philorth never had the power to make the settle-
ments upon Margery Calder, for which he bound himself in the indenture ;
and from there being no mention of her, nor of him as a married man, in the
proceedings of the inquest of 1491, or the appointment of his guardians in
1496, it is more probable that it never occurred. It is most certain that no
issue of it was in existence at his decease.
In 1488-89, the Laird of Philorth gave a bond of manrent to William,
Earl of Erroll, by which he bound himself to be the Earl's man, — as it was
then termed, — and to serve him truly for three years, in return for his sup-
port. 2 To this bond, as to the former indenture, he had to affix the seal of an
acquaintance, who, in this case, was William Cheyne, because he had none of
his own ; but he signed it in the same manner, " Alexander Fraser manu
1 Family tree attached to Book of the 2 Miscellany of Spalding Club, vol. ii. p.
Thanes of Cawdor. 257.