Katherine Ruthven

Katherine Ruthven, Lady Glenorchy, died 1584. Estate manager and Protestant patron. Daughter of Janet Haliburton, and William Ruthven, 3rd Lord Ruthven.

Katherine Ruthven was raised at Ruthven Castle (Huntingtower) near Perth and probably given a Protestant education alongside her five brothers and six sisters. In 1551, she married 'Grey Colin' Campbell, 6th Laird of Glenorchy (1499–1583) whose main base lay at Balloch Castle at the east end of Loch Tay Perthshire. Katherine Ruthven was a supporter of the Protestant Reformation and patronised Protestant ministers. She played an important role in running the extensive Glenorchy estates stretching across the Central Highlands, and most probably understood and spoke Gaelic. She was well-known at the court of Mary Queen of Scots and was a close personal friend of William Maitland of Lethington, the Queen's Secretary, and of leading royal advisers including the earls of Argyll, Morton, and Moray, and Moray's wife, Annas Keith. Unusually in the early modern period, some of her correspondents addressed her as 'Kait' or such affectionate titles as 'luffing ant '. She was involved in all aspects of family strategy and business, taking a leading role in the marriage negotiations of her children, especially Duncan, her eldest son and heir. However, after he succeeded in 1583 the two were at loggerheads regarding the dower portion owed to her as a widow and control over the family. Along with her husband, Katherine had re-established control over the family and, with their four surviving sons and four daughters, secured the lineage of the house of Glenorchy (later earls of Breadalbane). Katherine Ruthven's lively and interesting personality shines through her correspondence, providing a fascinating glimpse into the world of a 16th-century noblewoman who moved easily between Highland and Lowland society.