I mak sikkar – Gary J. Kirkpatrick Art and Travel Blog

Born in Granada, Spain, María Eugenia Ignacia Agustina de Palafox y Kirkpatrick (1826-1920) is the most highly placed and famous character in the Kirkpatrick family tree. From an aristocratic family, she became Empress of France when she married Napoleon III in 1853. I do not know when our trees cross, although it is likely before 1600 when Scots began to relocate to Ireland in large numbers, and perhaps well before. No claims to the throne coming from me!

Her grandfather was the Scotsman William Kirkpatrick of Closeburn ((1764–1837), who was US Consul from 1800-1817, and he was a wine merchant in Malaga, Spain. He’d exiled in Spain after supporting the Stuart pretensions to the throne made returning to Scotland problematic. As United States Consul in Malaga between 1800 and 1817, William Kirkpatrick excelled in commerce, with excellent connections in Europe and America. ” Allied with similar families from across Europe, the Kirkpatricks revolutionized trade and industry in southern Spain and even had a hand in introducing grapevines to Australia.” Geni

His daughter and mother to Eugenia was María Manuela Enriqueta Kirkpatrick de Closeburn y de Grevigné. Eugenia’s father was Don Cipriano de Palafox y Portocarrero, Grandee of Spain, 15th Duke of Peñaranda de Duero, 9th Count of Montijo, 15th Count of Teba, 8th Count of Ablitas, 8th Count of Fuentidueña, 14th Marquess of Ardales, 17th Marquess of Moya and 13th Marquess of la Algaba^. Her mother, María Manuela Enriqueta Kirkpatrick de Closeburn y de Grevigné, gave birth to María Francisca de Sales “Paca” de Palafox Portocarrero y Kirkpatrick, who became Duchess of Alba, and later to Eugenia. There was a son who died young.

In 1834 María Manuela Enriqueta took daughters Eugenia and her older sister to Paris, fleeing a cholera outbreak. There the red haired Eugenia became an athletic and affable student, if mediocre academically. She liked horseback riding and swimming. She was very interested in politics and came to support the Bonapartist cause. Eugenia met Napoleon at a reception he hosted after he became the President of the Second Republic at the Elysée Palace on April 12, 1849. They wed on 29 January 1853 in a civil ceremony at the Tuileries in Paris, which is connected to the Louvre, and on the 30th in a religious ceremony at Notre Dame Cathedral.

Napoléon and Eugénie had one child together, Napoléon, Prince Imperial (1856–1879). They lived in England after their exile. She died on a visit to Spain.

Emperor Napoléon III and Eugenia de Palafox Portocarrero y Kirkpatrick — Empress Eugenia with Emperor Napoléon III and Prince Napoleón Eugenio Luis (b 1856) circa 1858

Our guide at Closeburn Castle, María Navarro de Sepúlveda, said Eugenia was on the wild side. For example she purportedly enraged the Ottoman Sultan by taking a son in her arm. She supported many conservative causes, reflected in her staunch support of monarchies. She opposed the unification of Italy, in large measure due to her loyalty to the Pope. On the other hand, she advocated equality for women, supporting such causes as the effort to make George Sand the first female member of the Académie Française. She was a supporter of the arts, establishing the Musée Chinois at Fontainebleau.

She was no wall flower, that seems certain. She was active in governing France, officially representing the Emperor when he traveled outside France, while acting as his adviser on many matters. Among other official activities, she was present at the opening of the Suez Canal. She opposed a Prussian candidate for the vacant Spanish throne in the controversy that precipitated the Franco-German War of 1870. See Britannica.com

She had a strong influence on fashion and was memorialized in film. The Eugénie hat, popularized by Greta Garbo, was worn dramatically tilted and drooped over one eye. More representative of the empress’ actual apparel was the late 19th-century paletot, a coat with bell sleeves and a single button enclosure at the neck. Her character played a role in six films, and in the miniseries Sisi of 2009 vintage. The asteroid 45 Eugenia was named after her. She has a place in the official website of the Chateau of Versailles. There is much more of note. There are numerous books and articles about Eugenia:

Aubry, Octave (1939). Eugenie: Empress of the French. London: Cobden-Sanderson. Du Camp, Maxime (1949). Souvenirs d’un Demi-Siècle: Au Temps de Louis-Philippe et de Napoléon III 1830-1870 (in French). Hachette. Duff, David (1978). Eugenie and Napoleon III. New York: William Morrow. ISBN 0688033385. Filon, Augustin (1920). Recollections of the Empress Eugénie. London: Cassell and Company, Ltd. Retrieved 14 August 2013. Horne, Alistair (1965). The Fall of Paris: The Siege and the Commune 1870-71. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Kurtz, Harold (1964). The Empress Eugénie: 1826–1920. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. LCCN 64006541. Leroy, Alfred (1969). The Empress Eugénie. London: Heron Books. McQueen, Alison (2011). Empress Eugénie and the Arts: Politics and Visual Culture in the Nineteenth Century. Burlington: Ashgate. ISBN 9781409405856. “Hôtel du Palais”. Merimée. Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 10 June 2013. Prince, Danforth; Porter, Darwin (2010). Frommer’s France 2011. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470641774. Sencourt, Robert (1931). The Life of the Empress Eugénie. London: Ernest Benn. Seward, Desmond (2004). Eugénie: The Empress and her Empire. Stroud: Sutton. ISBN 0-7509-29790. Stoddart, Jane T. (1906). The Life of the Empress Eugénie. London: Hodder & Stoughton. Tschudi, Clara (1899). Eugenie: Empress of the French. A Popular Sketch. London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co. Wawro, Geoffrey (2003). The Franco-Prussian War: The German Conquest of France in 1870-1871. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521584364. See Wikipedia

I Mak Sikker (or ‘Siccar’)

My ancient relative Roger de Kirkpatrick was possibly my 17th great-grandfather. He was born circa 1280 at Closeburn Castle. He died at Caerlaverock Castle, Dumfries-shire , Scotland circa 1322. He was involved in the successful quest of Robert the Bruce for the Scottish crown in the later part of the first decade of the 14th century, for which he achieved a degree of fame.

In 1286 Alexander III died, leaving only a three year old granddaughter to succeed him. She died at age 7 on the way to Scotland to marry six-year-old son Edward of Carnarvon, an arrangement designed to solve the succession problem. Some thirteen contenders for the throne emerged. Civil war threatened. The Scots asked Edward I of England to decide the matter, which he did, in favor of John Balliol., passing by the grandfather of Robert, also Robert the Bruce although probably written as Robert de Brus, whose claim came by virtue of his grandfather, David I of Scotland.

Edward undermined John’s subsequent rule. This led to the rebellion by William Wallace, subject of the film “Braveheart,” based on the epic poem The Actes and Deidis of the Illustre and Vallyeant Campioun Schir William Wallace. Wallace’s effort ended with his execution, brutal as was then common, leading in turn to Bruce and Red Corwyn becoming Joint Guardians.

Things were going poorly between Corwyn and Bruce aka Brus. The story goes that to resolve matters between them Bruce had proposed an agreement whereby either Bruce turn over his lands in exchange for Corwyn’s support of Bruce’s claims to the throne, or vice versa. Corwyn chose the land over the crown. However he backed out of the agreement, reporting the matter to Edward I. Robert set out for Lochmaben Castle in Scotland, meeting Roger and others there, proceeding to Dumfries, near Kirkpatrick-Fleming, to meet with Comyn.

The meeting took place on February 10, 1306. “Comyn, perhaps suspecting that his treachery had been discovered, appointed the Grey Friars Church in the Convent of the Minorites. Here Bruce passionately upbraided him for his treachery, a violent altercation ensued, Comyn gave him the lie, whereupon he instantly drew his dagger and stabbed him. Hastening from the Church, he met his friends, who seeing him hastening from the Church, and pale, eagerly inquired the cause. I doubt,’ said he, ‘I have slain the Comyn.’ ‘Doubt’ st thou,’ said Kirkpatrick, ‘ I mak sicker’ <sic>’ and rushed into the Church. See Kirkpatrick of Closeburn.

Churches were considered sacrosanct, making them a safe place. Both Roger and Robert were subsequently ex-communicated.

Here’s a slightly different account “Running from the church he <Robert> met his two friends, Sir Roger Kirkpatrick and Sir James Lindsay, who asked ³What tidings?²… I doubt I have slain Comyn,²” whereupon Kirkpatrick cried, ³You doubt, I mak sickar (I¹ll make certain)². Roger ran into the church, killed Comyn with his daggar .<sic> and also Comyn¹s uncle, Sir Robert Comyn, who had come to his nephew¹s rescue. For this act of sacrilege in a sacred church, Pope Clement V excommunicated both Bruce and Kirkpatrick.² In 1306 Robert “…commanded Sir Roger to adopt as his crest a hand grasping a bloody dagger with the words I mak Sickar¹, to commemorate ³his swift vengeance on one who had been a traitor to his country. ” See Tripod.com

Whichever of these two accounts is more accurate, “I mak Sikker” is something they all have in common. This motto was granted to the Kirkpatricks by Robert after he became king, shortly after this event. The motto remains on the coat of arms to this day.

I mak siccar, Kirkpatrick Coat of Arms, Closeburn Parish Church — Kirkpatrick Coat of Arms at the Closeburn Parish Church

Closeburn Parish Church — The coat of arms is right above the arch

The event is commemorated on a nearby plaque on Castle Street in Dumfries “… to signify the location of the Comyn murder, such a crucial event in the history of Scotland. “See Historyscotland.com

plaque2 — Plaque in Dumfries, a town near the Castle.

Robert (b 1274) reigned from 1306 until his death in 1329, succeeded by his son David II. Roger served as emissary to Edward during Robert’s Reign.

In the next post I will write about the origins of the de Kirkpatrick family.

The Kirkpatrick Empress of France

I Mak Sikker: Roger de Kirkpatrick and Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland

I Mak Sikker (or ‘Siccar’)