CAHUN, WILLIAM [SSNE 6046]

Surname

CAHUN, CAHOUN, KAHUN, CAHUNDZ, COLQUHOUN

First name

WILLIAM, WILLEM, WILLAM

Title/rank

CAPTAIN OF HORSE

Nationality

SCOT

Region

LUSS AND COLQUHOUN, ARGYLL

Text source

William Cahoun was born in Scotland and was the son of Alexander Colquhoun of Luss and Colquhoun and his wife, ? Buchanan. William entered Swedish service around 1565 along with his brother Hugh [SSNE 778]. They brought troops of cavalry across for the use at the battle of Axtorna. In 1567 William and another Scottish officer Thomas Buchan appealed to King Erik XIV regarding a matter of pay: they had acted as security for another Scot who had reneged on his promise to bring troops to Sweden. Although the king had then advanced 1200 thaler to Cahoun and Buchan, the money had never been forwarded from Mechelen. William was part of the revolt against Erik XIV in 1568 - in fact his troop of cavalry were the highest paid at the time, getting 36 daler per horse, of which there were 360 and thus owed a total of 77760 daler, and serving the man who became King Johan III from February to July 1568. An unnamed servant of his who had couriered correspondence to Kalmar was paid 20 "peningar" on 22 June 1568. He served along with Andrew Keith [SSNE 1534]. The Swedish king had to rely on a foreign merchant, Willem van Wijk, to pay for Cahoun's and Keith's troops. Apparently William was taken prisoner by the Danes in 1568, although he must have been released as from 1570-1574, he spent most of his service in Reval and Livland. He also received 100 daler from duke Johan in 1568, along with Andrew Keith and Henry Camar. A muster roll survives from 1569 showing William's troop to be 100 men strong. In 1570 Johan III sent Keith, Cahoun and another officer William Moncrieff letters dismissing his Scottish troops with a few months pay. His son, (or nephew? see Hugh's entry) Peter emigrated to Poland. His coat of arms exists and is reproduced in Möllers' article. The family eventually became ennobled as Canonhielm and descendants also used the form Gahn

Swedish Riksarkiv, Kammararkivet I, Bergsbrukshandlingar före 1620, vol.3; Swedish Riksarkiv, Militieräkenskaper 1537-1619, 1569; Swedish Riksarkiv, Ämnessamlingar, strödda historiska handlingar, vol.6; T. Fischer, The Scots in Sweden (Edinburgh, 1907), pp.48-9; J. Berg and B. Lagercranz, The Scots in Sweden (Stockholm, 1962), p.13, pp.21-2; James Dow Ruthven’s Army in Sweden and Estonia, Historiskt Arkiv 13 (Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien, Stockholm, 1965), pp.25-30; P. Möller, 'Colquhon-Cahun-Gahn-Canonheilm; en boskillnad' in Person Historisk Tidskrift, (1966), pp.85-125; Strödda militiehandlingar före 1631, Armen, undated; G. Arteus, Till Militärstatens Förhistoria: Krig, professionalisering och social förändring under Vasasönernas regering (Stockholm, 1986), p.169. 

Service record

SWEDEN, DUKE JOHAN'S ARMY

Arrived 1565-01-01

Departed 1568-01-01, as CAPTAIN OF HORSE

Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY

SWEDEN, REVAL, ESTONIA, LIVONIA

Arrived 1568-12-01, as CAPTAIN

Departed 1574-12-31, as CAPTAIN

Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY