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A Possible History of the Name
"Dougray"
by "M"
If you are one for driving in France and happen to be Scottish,
one place
that is worth a visit is the Cathedral at Reims, where the famous
Scottish knight The Black Douglas is buried.
Interestingly enough the name 'ray' is a derivative of the French roi
meaning King. 'Douglas of the King' may refer to the Black Douglas, who
became a protector of the French King, thus Douglas du Roi, then
shortened to Dougray.
The Scot mercenaries were Le Garde Ecosse, the body guards to the
French
kings until the dissolution of the Knights Templar in the 1550's in
Scotland.
Prior to the Huguenots persecutions, the Templars were banned in
France from 1307 through to the 1500. Robert the Bruce was
excommunicated from the Catholic church and he gave shelter to the
fleeing Templars.
'Black Douglas' was James Douglas who fought alongside Robert the
Bruce and who assisted him in the battle of Bannockburn. His links with
the Knights Templar are very mysterious, but what is now agreed by
historians is that battalions of Knights Templar appeared over the brow
of a hill at Bannockburn and the sight of them was enough to make the
English flee.
Douglas took Bruce's heart to the holy land and in a battle with the
'Moors' is reputed to have thrown the casket of the heart into the
desert sand. How the Douglas' end up in France is due to the connections
between the Knights Templar and the French Kings, who eventually band
the Order and at the time of Robert the Bruce the Templars were given a
haven in Scotland away from the persecutions in France. The Black
Douglas was not negro, the Black refers to his dark hair and dark temper
as he was known to get pretty angry and bloody with his enemies.
There is a geniune connection between Dougray and the Huguenots, who
were the Protestant reformers of France. They were persecuted to death
for years from 1550 through to 1660s and only won freedom of religion
during the French Revolution with the 'Rights of Man'. Areas in France
associated with the Huguenots are mainly around Navarre. The French film
La Reine
Margot (English titled - Queen Margot), with
Vincent Perez is an astonishing account of the depth of the persecution.
In fleeing to Scotland and the choice of the Dougray family to go to
Scotland shows an early connection with Scotland prior to the
persecutions. This connection with Protestant France and Scotland is
linked by the other persecutions in France of the Templars who also took
the route to Scotland. The Templars were a threat to the Catholic Church
and there is a link between them and the Huguenots. The Huguenots were
often forced to recant their faith and made to rejoin the catholic
church.
The Templars have their own history of Scotland but they no longer
exist - myths connect them to the Holy Grail, the Stone of
Destiny...etc.
Anyway that is one interpretation of Douglas Ray or Dougray. Of course
it could also be a corruption of Duchroy, which if you look that up
leads to similar connections with the French court. I do recommend
the books on the Templars and Masons for further investigations.
- submitted by Scotswoman, and History Major, "M"
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