Sir William Douglas of Ninthdale1

M, #8251, b. circa 1370, d. May 1394

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Sir William Douglas of Ninthdale was born circa 1370 in Scotland.1,4
  • Marriage*: He married Egidia Stewart, daughter of Robert II Stewart King of the Scots and Eupheme de Ross Countess of Moray, Queen Consort of the Scots, in 1387 in Scotland.1,4
  • Death*: Sir William Douglas of Ninthdale died in May 1394 in Scotland.4
  • Biography*: Sir William Douglas of Nithsdale (c. 1370 – c. 1392 AD) was a Scottish Knight and Northern Crusader.

    Early life
    William Douglas was an illegitimate son of Archibald the Grim, 3rd Earl of Douglas and an unknown mother.

    A man of apparently dashing bearing, Douglas was with the Franco-Scots army when it unsuccessfully besieged Carlisle Castle in 1385, the defending Governor being Lord Clifford. He is recorded as there performing feats of valour and killing many Englishmen. According to Andrew of Wyntoun:

    "A yhowng joly bachelere
    Prysyd gretly wes off were,
    For he wes evyr traveland
    Qwhille be se and qwhille be land
    To skathe his fays rycht besy
    Swa that thai dred him grettumly" (Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland ix, c.21)

    Marriage
    Douglas certainly had gained his spurs by 1387 when he married Egidia (or Gelis) Stewart, princess of Scotland, a daughter of King Robert II. According to the Liber Pluscarden, Egidia Stewart's beauty was well renowned. Charles V of France had "sent a certain most subtle painter to do her portrait and portray her charms, intending to take her to wife." But the King of France and all other of Egidia's admirers had lost out to the chivalric charms of Douglas. As part of her marriage portion went the lands of Nithsdale in south-western Scotland, Herbertshire in the county of Stirling and an annuity of £300.

    Ireland
    Within his first year of marriage the young Nithsdale led a punitive raid against Irish raiders who had been troubling the tenantry of his father's Fiefdom of Galloway. In early summer 1388, with a party of 500 well prepared veteran men-at-arms he sailed into Carlingford Lough, landed outside the town and summoned their leaders. The chief of the townsfolk offered a sum for a temporary truce, to which Nithsdale agreed. Secretly the townsfolk sent off to Dundalk for reinforcements, with which they were obliged. 800 spearmen from Dundalk surprised the Scots camp by night, and were supported by a sortie from Carlingford town. The Scots, veterans of years of brutal Border warfare, drove the Irishmen off, captured the town and burnt it, seized the Castle and captured 15 ships in the harbour. En route back to Scotland Nithsdale "ravaged" the Isle of Man. Nithsdale's expeditionary force sailed back into Loch Ryan with enough time to participate in the raiding of Northern England that was to culminate in the Battle of Otterburn on 19 August, in which he fought with distinction.

    Feuding, Crusading and Death
    The year after Otterburn a truce was called between Scotland and England. Nithsdale on a knightly quest for glory decided, about 1389, to join the Teutonic Knights, who were fighting the Lithuanians in eastern Europe. Nithsdale had previously quarrelled with Lord Clifford, a former adversary at Carlisle and whose forebear had claimed Douglasdale under Edward I of England's oppression. While both were abroad, it is alleged that Clifford challenged Nithsdale to single combat, and that Douglas even went to France to obtain special armour for the fight. Clifford, however, died on 18 August 1391, but Nithsdale is said to have kept their 'tryst', and whilst walking upon on the bridge leading to the main gate at Danzig was "killed by the English". The burghers of Danzig decided that "upon account of a signal service which the Douglas family did to this city in relieving it in its utmost extremities against the Poles, the Scotch were allowed to be free burghers of the town". Subsequently the stone facia of the Hohe Thor (High Gate) was adorned with the coat of arms of this nobleman and for centuries it was commonly referred to as the Douglas Port or Douglas Gate, described as such as late as 1734.

    As Nithsdale had drawn most of his rentals from the burgh of Dumfries in 1392 his death is assumed to have occurred that year or shortly afterwards.

    Issue
    By Princess Egidia, Nithsdale had two children:
    Egidia Douglas, known as the "Fair Maid of Nithsdale" married:
    1. Henry Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Orkney (d. 1422)
    2. Sir Alasdair Stewart (executed 1425) son of Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany
    Sir William Douglas, Knt., Lord of Nithsdale (d.c.1419), knighted when very young as he is described as chevalier in a safe-conduct dated 30 January 1406, when he could not have been more th

    Wikipedia
    William Douglas was the son of Sir Archibald Douglas and Beatrice Lindsay, and nephew of "Sir James the Good", Robert the Bruce's trusted deputy. From the time of his father's death at Halidon Hill, he is described as being a ward of his kinsman and godfather, William Douglas, Knight of Liddesdale and was educated in France. In 1342, under pressure from Liddesdale, his uncle Hugh the Dull resigned the Lordship of Douglas to him, though Liddesdale rapaciously administered his estates while it was in his ward-ship, and assumed direct ownership of some of the Douglas territories.

    Douglas returned to Scotland, upon reaching his majority in 1348, and immediately started to put his house in order. In 1346-47 following the Battle of Neville's Cross, King David II, and other nobility, including Liddesdale, were held captive by the English. Edward Baliol used the opportunity to ravage the whole of the south of Scotland. Douglas gathered his men and drove the English out from his ancestral lands of Douglasdale. Douglas went in the style of his uncle, the Good Sir James, and for the following few years waged guerrilla war against the English in the Ettrick Forest and Jedforests.

    Douglas next became one of the commissioners to negotiate with the English for the release of David II of Scotland.

    Death of the Knight of Liddesdale
    In 1353, Edward Baliol was ensconced at Buittle in his ancestral territories in Galloway. Douglas led a raid there to eject him due to Baliol's forfeiture of those lands that had been made over to Sir James Douglas in 1324. Following this raid, returning through the Forest, Douglas came across Liddesdale hunting on what Douglas viewed as his desmesne. This was the match that lit the fuse of years of resentment over Liddesdale's assumption of the Douglas patrimony, notwithstanding Liddesdale's murder of Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie which John of Fordun gives as a reason for the enmity between the men. Liddesdale, once in high standing with the Crown, had fallen into disfavour following his murder of Ramsay and another Knight, Sir David de Barclay. Douglas set upon Liddesdale and killed him. In February 1354, William of Douglas received a new charter from King David bestowing all the lands held by his uncle Sir James, his father Sir Archibald, and Liddesdale itself.

    War with England and Battle of Poitiers
    In 1355 the truce with England expired and Douglas with the Earl of Dunbar and March, whose lands had been ravaged, decided to take Norham Castle in retaliation. One of Douglas' captains, Sir William Ramsay of Dalhousie, was instructed to despoil the lands around Norham and burn the town in an effort to entice the garrison out to battle. Ramsay did so and the English under the castle's constable, Sir Thomas Grey of Heaton and Lord Dacre, gave chase. Douglas and March meanwhile were encamped seven miles away in woodland to the south of Duns, when Ramsay had reached them. The English pursuers were ambushed by the Scots force, and completely overwhelmed. Following this Battle of Nesbit Moor, Douglas and March joined with the Earl of Angus in making an assault upon Berwick, but the Scots had to retire from there before the advancing army of Edward III. King Edward laid waste to the Lothians in an event that would be known as the "Burnt Candlemas". His supply lines were overstretched, and following the sinking of his fleet, and the Scots scorched earth policy, Edward had to turn homewards, but not before being ambushed and nearly taken by Lord Douglas's men outside Melrose.

    Following Edward's retreat into England, Douglas arranged a truce with William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton that would last until Michaelmas.

    He also arranged a Safe conduct to visit the captive King David. Following this Douglas crossed with a large following to France and took up arms with Jean le Bon against Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince. Douglas was present at the Battle of Poitiers where he was knighted by the French King. Douglas fought in the King's own Battle, but when the fight seemed over Douglas was dragged by his men from the melee. Froissart states that "... the Earl Douglas of Scotland, who fought a season valiantly, but when he saw the discomfiture he departed and saved himself; for in no wise would he be taken by the Englishmen, he would rather there be slain". After the defeat there Douglas escaped, but left a number of his men either slain or captive, including his first cousin latterly the 3rd Earl of Douglas, Archibald the Grim.

    Douglas returned to Scotland by mid Autumn, and was involved in peace negotiations with the English, one aspect of the treaty was the creation of March Wardens of which Douglas was one. Under the auspice of this office, Douglas seized Hermitage Castle in Liddesdale from the English in response to their depredations on Eskdale. Douglas was part of the parliament that met at Berwick in 1357, which finalised the release of King David through the Treaty of Berwick, Douglas himself being one of the securities for his release.

    Earl of Douglas and Mar
    Douglas was created Earl of Douglas on 26 January 1358. In 1364, he joined David II in seeking a treaty with England which would have written off Scotland's debt to England in return for depriving his nephew, Robert the Steward, formerly an ally of Douglas, of the succession. Edward III's son, Lionel of Antwerp, would have taken the Scottish throne, although the independence of Scotland was to be guaranteed, and a special clause provided for the restoration of the English estates of the Douglas family.
    The plan never succeeded and, on the accession of Robert II, Douglas was nevertheless reconciled and appointed Justiciar South of the Forth in 1372. The last years of his life were spent in making and repelling border raids. He died at Douglas in May 1384.

    Marriage and Issue
    William, Earl of Douglas married in 1357, Margaret, Countess of Mar and had two children:
    James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas (1358–1388)
    Isabel Douglas, Countess of Mar (1360–1408)

    The Earl of Douglas also fathered an illegitimate son by his wife's sister-in-law, Margaret Stewart, widow of Thomas, Earl of Mar and Countess of Angus in her own right:
    George Douglas, inherited the estates of Angus and was later created Earl of Angus.
    Margaret Douglas, received in 1404 the lands of Bonjedward from her sister Isabel of Mar.5,6

Family 1: Margaret Stewart Countess of Angus b. c 1350, d. b 23 Mar 1417

Family 2: Egidia Stewart b. bt 1356 - 1372, d. a 1388

  • Last Edited: 23 Nov 2014

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10813.htm#i108128
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10813.htm#i108126
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10949.htm#i109487
  4. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
  5. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
  6. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Douglas,_1st_Earl_of_Douglas.
  7. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Douglas,_1st_Earl_of_Angus.

Egidia Stewart1

F, #8252, b. between 1356 and 1372, d. after 1388

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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Family: Sir William Douglas of Ninthdale b. c 1370, d. May 1394

  • Last Edited: 1 Feb 2015

Archibald Douglas 3rd Earl of Douglas1

M, #8253, b. circa 1325, d. circa 24 December 1400

Seal of Archibald the Grim
Lord of Galloway
Earl of Douglas

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Archibald Douglas 3rd Earl of Douglas was born circa 1325 in Scotland.1,2
  • Marriage*: He married Joan Moray, daughter of Maurice Moray 8th Earl of Strathern and Joan Menteith, after 23 July 1362 in Scotland.1
  • Death*: Archibald Douglas 3rd Earl of Douglas died circa 24 December 1400 in Threave, Wigtownshire, Scotland.2
  • Burial*: He was buried after 24 December 1400 in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland.2
  • Biography*: Archibald the Grim also known as Blak (Black) Archibald (c. 1328–1400), 3rd Earl of Douglas, Earl of Wigtown, Lord of Douglas, Lord of Bothwell and Lord of Galloway was a late medieval Scottish magnate.

    Archibald the Grim was a bastard son by an unknown mother of Sir James Douglas, Robert I's trusted lieutenant.

    A cousin of William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, he inherited the earldom of Douglas and its entailed estates as the third earl following the death without issue of James 2nd Earl of Douglas at the Battle of Otterburn.

    Early life
    He was an infant when his father went on the crusades and was killed at the Battle of Teba whilst fighting the Moors. According to Walter Bower, "He was dark and ugly more like a coco [cook-boy] than a Noble". It has been suggested that the young Archibald spent time with his cousin William at the court in exile of King David II at Château Gaillard in Normandy. It was only natural for them to take service with the French King. This was in keeping with the spirit of the Auld Alliance.

    Battle of Poitiers
    Archibald's first major appearance in history is recorded in 1356 at the Battle of Poitiers where he was captured by the English. Archibald had accompanied his cousin, William Lord of Douglas, to serve King John II of France in his wars against the Black Prince. Edward III of England had concluded truce negotiations with the Scots lasting from the 25th March until Michaelmas, following the Burnt Candlemas of the 2nd of February. During the truce, Earl William had secured safe passage to travel to Château Gaillard to visit David II; amongst his entourage was the 28 year old Archibald. Once in France, in the chivalric spirit of the age the Douglases joined the French army, to prevent their harnesses rusting through inactivity.

    The Battle was a disastrous defeat for the French. It was suggested by Froissart that part of the blame lies with Earl William, for his suggestion to the French King that his Knights dismount and fight on foot. Whatever the causes King John was captured along with many noblemen, amongst whom was Black Archibald. Earl William evaded capture.

    Archibald's armour and harness was of fine construction and he was thought to be a valuable prisoner by his captors.

    Escape
    His escape from English hands was occasioned by one Sir William Ramsay of Colluthie, also a detainee. In the presence of one of the guards, Ramsay pretended to be furious with Archibald and accused him of the theft of his cousin's armour. Furthermore he stated that his cousin had been felled by an English arrow and had died as a result of his lack of protection. Ramsay than insisted that Archibald take off his boots. Archibald concurred and by the time he had removed one, Ramsay started beating him around the head with it. One of the guards intervened to stop Ramsay, insisting that Archibald was the son of a great Noble and should be respected. Ramsay retorted "Not he, I tell you, he is a scullion and a rogue", then to Archibald, "Go you rascal, and seek your master's body amongst the slain, so that we may at least give him a decent burial". Ramsay paid the fee of 40 shillings, the ransomable rate of an esquire. Ramsay cuffed Archibald round the head once more and bade him begone. Archibald made his way back to Scotland, and deprived the Black Prince's army of what would have been a considerable ransom.

    Rise to prominence
    Black Archibald was appointed Constable of Edinburgh Castle in 1361, which along with the office of Sheriff of Edinburgh, he held until 1364. In that year he was appointed Warden of the Western March. This was an uneasy appointment as the English held Annandale, which formed the greater part of his new jurisdiction.

    In the following years he carried out numerous raids against the English. In 1368 Douglas was appointed Lord Warden of the Marches and was successful in ousting the English from Annandale completely by 1383.

    de Moravia Marriage
    Archibald further increased his power by his marriage to the widow and heiress Joanna de Moravia in 1362. Joanna's great-grandfather-in-law, Andrew Moray, was a co-commander with William Wallace, and she was the daughter of Maurice de Moravia, Earl of Strathearn. Archibald is said to have offered five English Knights battle in single combat for her hand. The Lady of Bothwell and heiress to the de Moravia dynasty, Joanna brought with her large estates and Lordships throughout Scotland which Archibald claimed de jure uxoris. This included the semi-ruined Bothwell Castle, which he promptly started to rebuild. The marriage was a device of the king to ensure that the Moray inheritance would be passed into safe (and loyal) hands. Since the death of Joanna's first husband, Sir Thomas de Moravia, the Lord of Bothwell, in 1361, she and her widowed mother had been wards of the court. Joanna was declared to be not only heiress of her father's unentailed lands, but also those of her first husband. The estates stretched from Aberdeenshire, Moray and Ross in the north, to Lanarkshire and Roxburghshire in the south. Although Douglas did not inherit his wife's father's Earldom of Strathearn, Douglas would be able to use his new found kindred ties to the advantage of the King in the centre of the kingdom.

    Embassies
    Archibald was sent on two embassies to France, one in 1369 and the other in 1371. The first of these was to protest against the appeal launched by the newly divorced Queen Margaret at the court in Avignon of Pope Urban V. The second embassy was to Paris, with a view to renewing the Auld Alliance. This embassy was ordered by the new Stewart king Robert II, three days after his accession. The result of this diplomacy resulted in the Treaty of Vincennes, the first ratification of the alliance since the Treaty of Corbeil, 55 years previously.

    Lord of Galloway
    In 1369, Archibald had been appointed Lord of Galloway by King David, "becaus he tuke git trawell to purge the cuntrey of Englis blude". Galloway was a difficult fiefdom to rule. Prior to his assumption of the title, it had been the patrimony of the Balliols, both the ousted King John and his pretender son Edward Balliol. The Balliols had inherited it through King John's grandmother Dervorguilla of Galloway, daughter and heiress of Alan, Lord of Galloway, the last of the Norse-Gaelic Kings of Galloway. The Galwegians had distinctive laws and customs and, as with the Kingdom of the Isles, did not feel subservient to the Scottish crown, but rather to their ancient Kings of which they viewed the Balliols as representing. In 1353 Earl William had succeeded in bringing the eastern part of the fiefdom under the control of the Scottish crown. By 1372 after reaffirming control in the east, Archibald acquired the Earldom of Wigtown from Thomas Fleming, Earl of Wigtown, thus consolidating his power over the whole of Galloway, the first time under one man since 1234. This transfer of the Earldom of Wigtown was ratified by Robert II, on the 7th November the same year. Archibald's conquest of Galloway was depicted on his seal, which depicts two "wild men" holding up his arms.

    In 1378 Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie, a nephew of Archibald Douglas, took Berwick by surprise with 50 men, and was immediately besieged by the town's governor Thomas de Musgrave. Douglas and Lord Lyndsay of the Byres massed a relief army at Haddington, little more than 500 in number, but marched anyway hoping to collect more men on the way. When Archibald's army approached Berwick his scouts informed him that the English army around the castle numbered around 10,000, with archers, siege engines, heavy horse and ships blockading the river. Douglas then retreated to Melrose, followed by the English army. Just short of Melrose, Musgrave attacked. Fortunately Archibald's army had now been reinforced. During the ensuing Battle of Melrose, Musgrave was unhorsed and forced to yield for ransom. With Musgrave and other leaders captured, the remaining English not already slain fled back to Berwick with news of their defeat.

    It is around this time that Archibald started work on his fortalice at Threave Castle, and endowed Sweetheart Abbey, near Dumfries, with an hospital. Rather than taking over Buittle, traditional seat of the Balliols during the construction of Threave, he took up residence at Kirkcudbright, traditional seat of the earlier Lords.

    In territorial possessions alone Archibald, Lord of Galloway appeared now to have reached if not overtaken his cousin William, 1st Earl of Douglas.

    Earl of Douglas
    In 1384, William the first Earl of Douglas died of a seizure at Douglas, and was succeeded by his son James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas, who was killed during his victorious Battle of Otterburn four years later in 1388. Archibald inherited his cousin's earldom and all the entailed Douglas lands making him the most powerful magnate in Scotland.

    During the intervals of war with the English he imposed feudal law on the border chieftains, drawing up a special code for the marches. The power of the Black Douglas overshadowed the crown under the weak rule of Robert III. Archibald appeared to have strengthened his line's connection with that of the Royal Stewarts, when in 1390 he arranged the marriage of his son and heir, Archibald, Master of Douglas to the Princess Margaret, and in 1399 his daughter Marjorie to David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay; both of these spouses were children of Robert III, Rothesay being the heir apparent to the throne. Rothesay was already contracted to marry Elizabeth Dunbar, daughter of George I, Earl of March, who had paid a large sum for the honour. March, alienated from his allegiance by this breach of faith on the king's part, now joined the English forces.

    Death
    The Earl of Douglas died at Threave Castle, around Christmas 1400, and was buried at Bothwell.

    Marriage and children
    Around 1362 Douglas married Joanna de Moravia, daughter of Maurice de Moravia, 1st Earl of Strathearn. They had four children.
    Archibald Douglas, who succeeded as 4th earl
    James Douglas, later the 7th earl
    Marjory Douglas, married 1st David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, 2nd Walter de Haliburton the Treasurer of Scotland
    Helen, married Sir George de Lawedre of Haltoun, Lord Provost of Edinburgh
    Earl Archibald had an illegitimate son:
    Sir William Douglas of Nithsdale (assassinated c. 1392), married Egidia Stewart daughter of Robert II.3

Family 1: Joan Moray b. bt 1339 - 1354, d. bt Jan 1404 - Aug 1409

Family 2: Beatrice de Lindsay b. c 1350

  • Last Edited: 14 Nov 2017

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10813.htm#i108126
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10799.htm#i107988
  3. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Douglas,_3rd_Earl_of_Douglas.
  4. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10810.htm#i108096

Joan Moray1

F, #8254, b. between 1339 and 1354, d. between January 1404 and August 1409

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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Family: Archibald Douglas 3rd Earl of Douglas b. c 1325, d. c 24 Dec 1400

  • Last Edited: 24 Sep 2014

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10813.htm#i108126
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10789.htm#i107890
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10787.htm#i107868
  4. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10810.htm#i108096

Sir James Douglas 6th of Douglas1

M, #8255, b. circa 1295, d. 1330

Tomb of Sir James, St Bride's Kirk, Douglas

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Sir James Douglas 6th of Douglas was born circa 1295 in Scotland.3
  • Death*: He died in 1330 in Scotland; Slain.2
  • Biography*: Sir James Douglas also went by the nick-name of James 'the Good'. He was styled as Lord of Douglas.

    Sir James Douglas (also known as Good Sir James and the Black Douglas), (circa 1286 – 25 August 1330), was a Scottish soldier and knight who fought in the Scottish Wars of Independence.

    Early life
    He was the eldest son of Sir William Douglas, known as "le Hardi" or "the bold", who had been the first noble supporter of William Wallace (the elder Douglas died circa 1298, a prisoner in the Tower of London). His mother was Elizabeth Stewart, the daughter of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland, who died circa 1287 or early 1288. His father remarried in late 1288 so Douglas' birth had to be prior to that; however, the destruction of records in Scotland makes an exact date or even year impossible to pinpoint.

    Douglas was sent to France for safety in the early days of the Wars of Independence, and was educated in Paris. There he met William Lamberton, Bishop of St. Andrews, who took him as a squire. He returned to Scotland with Lamberton. His lands had been seized and awarded to Robert Clifford. Lamberton presented him at the occupying English court to petition for the return of his land shortly after the capture of Stirling Castle in 1304, but when Edward I of England heard whose son he was he grew angry and Douglas was forced to depart.

    Alliance with Bruce
    For Douglas, who now faced life as a landless outcast on the fringes of feudal society, the return of his ancestral estates was to become an overriding consideration, inevitably impacting on his political allegiances. In John Barbour's rhyming chronicle, The Brus, as much a paean to the young knight as the hero king, Douglas makes his feelings plain to Lamberton;
    “     Sir, you see,
    How the English tyrant forcibly
    Has dispossessed me of my land
    And you are made to understand
    That the earl of Carrick claims to be
    The rightful king of this country.
    The English, since he slew that man,
    Are keen to catch him if they can;
    And they would seize his lands as well
    And yet with him I faith would dwell!
    Now, therefore, if it be your will,
    With him will I take good or ill.
    Through him I hope my land to win
    Despite the Clifford and his kin.”
    —The Brus, John Barbour

    This was a particularly dramatic moment in Scottish history: Robert Bruce, earl of Carrick had slain John Comyn, a leading Scottish rival, on 6 February 1306 at Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries. Bruce immediately claimed the crown of Scotland, in defiance of the English king. Less than seven weeks after the killing in Dumfries, Bruce was crowned King on 25 March. It was while he was on his way to Scone, the traditional site of Scottish coronations, that he was met by Douglas, riding on a horse borrowed from the bishop. Douglas explained his circumstances and immediately offered his services;

    “And thus began their friendship true
    That no mischance could e'er undo
    Nor lessen while they were alive.
    Their friendship more and more would thrive.”
    —The Brus, John Barbour

    Douglas was set to share in Bruce's early misfortunes, being present at the defeats at Methven and Battle of Dalrigh. But for both men these setbacks were to provide a valuable lesson in tactics: limitations in both resources and equipment meant that the Scots would always be at a disadvantage in conventional medieval warfare. By the time the war was renewed in the spring of 1307 they had learnt the value of guerrilla warfare – known at the time as 'secret war' – using fast moving, lightly equipped and agile forces to maximum effect against an enemy often locked in to static defensive positions.

    The Douglas Larder
    Douglas's actions for most of 1307 and early 1308, although confined for the most part to his native Douglasdale, were essential to keeping the enemy in the South and freeing Bruce to campaign in the north. He soon created a formidable reputation for himself as a soldier and a tactician. While Bruce was campaigning in the north against his domestic enemies, Douglas used the cover of Selkirk Forest to mount highly effective mobile attacks against the enemy. He also showed himself to be utterly ruthless, particularly in his relentless attacks on the English garrison in his own Douglas Castle, the most famous of which quickly passed into popular history. Barbour dates this incident to Palm Sunday 1307, which fell on 19 March. Some question whether this date is too early as Bruce and his small army were not yet established in south-west Scotland, suggesting Palm Sunday 1308 – 17 April – as a more accurate date. However, Barbour states that at the time of the Douglas Larder that the Scots were not yet established in south-west Scotland and indeed that Douglas was the only one of Bruce's men anywhere in the area, there is reason to think that Barbour's date is probably correct. Barbour says that the Larder was the first act toward becoming established in that part of Scotland.

    With the help of local farmer Thomas Dickson, a former vassal of his father, Douglas and his small troop were hidden until the morning of Palm Sunday, when the garrison left the battlements to attend the local church. Gathering local support he entered the church and the war-cry 'Douglas!' 'Douglas!' went up for the first time. Some of the English soldiers were killed and others taken prisoner. The prisoners were taken to the castle, now largely empty. All the stores were piled together in the cellar; the wine casks burst open and the wood used for fuel. The prisoners were then beheaded and placed on top of the pile, which was set alight. Before departing the wells were poisoned with salt and the carcases of dead horses. The local people soon gave the whole gruesome episode the name of the 'Douglas Larder.' As an example of frightfulness in war it was meant to leave a lasting impression, not least upon the men who came to replace their dead colleagues. Further attacks followed by a man now known to the English as 'The blak Dowglas', a sinister and murderous force "mair fell than wes ony devill in hell." It would seem in this that Douglas was an early practitioner of psychological warfare – as well as guerrilla warfare – in his knowledge that fear alone could do much of the work of a successful commander.

    In August 1308 Douglas met the king for a joint attack on the MacDougalls of Lorn, kinsmen of the Comyns, the climax to Bruce's campaign in the north. Two years before, the Macdougalls had intercepted and mauled the royal army at the Battle of Dalrigh. Now they awaited the arrival of their opponents in the narrow Pass of Brander, between Ben Cruachan and Loch Awe in Argyllshire. While Bruce pinned down the enemy in a frontal advance through the pass, Douglas, completely unobserved, led a party of loyal Highlanders further up the mountain, launching a surprise attack from the rear. Soon the Battle of Pass of Brander turned into a rout. Returning south soon after, Douglas joined with Edward Bruce, the king's brother, in a successful assault on Rutherglen castle near Glasgow, going on to a further campaign in Galloway.

    Roxburgh Falls
    In the years that followed Douglas was given time to perfect his skills as a soldier. Edward II came north with an army in 1310 in fruitless pursuit of an enemy that simply refused to be pinned down. The frustrations this obviously caused are detailed in the Vita Edwardi Secundi, a contemporary English chronicle;

    The king entered Scotland with his army but not a rebel was to be found...At that time Robert Bruce, who lurked continually in hiding, did them all the injury he could. One day, when some English and Welsh, always ready for plunder, had gone out on a raid, accompanied by many horsemen from the army, Robert Bruce's men, who had been concealed in caves and woodland, made a serious attack on our men...From such ambushes our men suffered heavy losses. For Robert Bruce, knowing himself unequal to the king of England in strength or fortune, decided it would be better to resist our king by secret warfare rather than dispute his right in open battle.

    Edward was even moved to write to the Pope in impotent fury, complaining that "Robert Bruce and his accomplices, when lately we went into parts of Scotland to repress their rebellion, concealed themselves in secret places after the manner of foxes."

    In the years before 1314 the English presence in Scotland was reduced to a few significant strongholds. There were both strengths and weaknesses in this. The Scots had no heavy equipment or the means of attacking castles by conventional means. However, this inevitably produced a degree of complacency in garrisons provisioned enough to withstand a blockade. In dealing with this problem the Scots responded in the manner of foxes; and among the more cunning of their exploits was Douglas' capture of the powerful fortress at Roxburgh. His tactic, though simple, was brilliantly effective. On the night of 19/20 February 1314 – Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday – several dark shapes were seen beneath the battlements and mistakenly assumed to be cattle. Douglas had ordered his men to cover themselves with their cloaks and crawl towards the castle on their hands and knees. With most of the garrison celebrating just prior to the fast of Lent, scaling hooks with rope ladders attached were thrown up the walls. Taken by complete surprise the defenders were overwhelmed in a short space of time. Roxburgh Castle, among the best in the land, was slighted or destroyed in accordance with Bruce's policy of denying strongpoints to the enemy.

    Battle of Bannockburn
    The greatest challenge for Bruce came that same year as Edward invaded Scotland with a large army, nominally aimed at the relief of Stirling Castle, but with the real intention of pinning down the foxes. The Scots army – roughly a quarter the size of the enemy force – was poised to the south of Stirling, ready to make a quick withdrawal into the wild country to the west. However, their position, just north of the Bannock Burn, had strong natural advantages, and the king made ready to suspend for a time the guerrilla tactics pursued hitherto. On the morning of the 24 June, the day of the main battle, Barbour states that Douglas was made a knight, which would have been curiously late in his career. Many believe that Douglas was made a knight banneret. The knight banneret was established under Edward I. A knight banneret was not one with command responsibilities so much as one with greater honours. A knight banneret fought under their own banner unlike a knight bachelor who was limited to a pennon. In his The Bruce, John Barbour states in Book XV that Douglas fought under his own banner hence Douglas had to be a knight banneret. Barbour does states Douglas and others were knighted on the field of the Battle of Bannockburn, "each in their own degree" which would seem to say that not all were knights bachelor. Others believe that he was knighted late in his career. There is disagreement on the point.

    Traditional Scottish accounts state that during the battle, Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray commanded the vanguard, the left wing though nominally led by the young Walter Stewart was commanded by his cousin Douglas, Edward Bruce took the right wing, and King Robert the rearguard. However contemporary English accounts state that the Scottish army consisted of three units, so the idea that Douglas and Stewart commanded a unit could be later invention or the English account is simply mistaken.

    Once the English army was defeated Douglas requested the honour of pursuing the fleeing Edward and his party of knights, a task carried out with such relentless vigour that the fugitives, according to Barbour, "had not even leisure to make water." In the end Edward managed to evade Douglas by taking refuge in Dunbar Castle.

    Bannockburn effectively ended the English presence in Scotland, with all strongpoints – outwith Berwick – now in Bruce's hands. It did not, however, end the war. Edward had been soundly defeated but he still refused to abandon his claim to Scotland. For Douglas one struggle had ended and another was about to begin.

    Warlord
    Bannockburn left northern England open to attack; and in the years that followed many communities in the area became closely acquainted with the 'Blak Dowglas.' Along with Randolph, Douglas was to make a new name for himself in a war of mobility, which carried Scots raiders as far south as Pontefract and the Humber. But in a real sense this 'war of the borders' belonged uniquely to Douglas, and became the basis for his family's steady ascent to greatness in years to come. War ruined many ancient noble houses; it was the true making of the house of Douglas. The tactics used by Douglas were simple but effective: his men rode into battle – or retreated as the occasion demanded – on small horses known as hobbins, giving the name of 'hobelar' to both horse and rider. All fighting, however, was on foot. Scottish hobelars were to cause the same degree of panic throughout northern England as the Viking longships of the ninth century.

    With the king, Moray and Edward Bruce diverted in 1315 to a new theatre of operations in Ireland, Douglas became even more significant as a border fighter. In February 1316 he won a significant engagement at Skaithmuir near Coldstream with a party of horsemen sent out from the garrison of Berwick. The dead included one Edmond de Caillou Gascon governor of Berwick Castle, and seemingly a nephew of Piers Gaveston, the former favourite of Edward II. Douglas reckoned this to be the toughest fight in which he had ever taken part. Further successes followed: another raiding party was intercepted and defeated at Lintalee, to the south of Jedburgh; a third group was defeated near Berwick, where their leader, Robert Neville, known as the 'Peacock of the North', was killed. Such was Douglas' status and reputation that he was made Lieutenant of the Realm, with the Steward, when Bruce and Moray went to Ireland in the autumn of 1316.

    Douglas' military achievements inevitably increased his political standing still further. When Edward Bruce, the king's brother and designated successor, was killed in Ireland at the Battle of Faughart in the autumn of 1318, Douglas was named as Guardian of the Realm and tutor to the future Robert II, after Randolph if Robert should die without a male heir. This was decided at a parliament held at Scone in December 1318, where it was noted that "Randolph and Sir James took the guardianship upon themselves with the approbation of the whole community."

    Myton and Byland
    In April 1318 Douglas was instrumental in capturing Berwick from the English, the first time the castle and town had been in Scottish hands since 1296. For Edward, seemingly blind to the sufferings of his northern subjects, this was one humiliation too many. A new army was assembled, the largest since 1314, with the intention of recapturing what had become a symbol of English prestige and their last tangible asset in Scotland. Edward arrived at the gates of the town in the summer of 1319, Queen Isabella accompanying him as far as York, where she took up residence. Not willing to risk a direct attack on the enemy Bruce ordered Douglas and Moray on a large diversionary raid into Yorkshire.

    It would appear that the Scottish commanders had news of the Queen's whereabouts, for the rumour spread that one of the aims of the raid was to take her prisoner. As the Scots approached York she was hurriedly removed from the city, eventually taking refuge in Nottingham. With no troops in the area, William Melton, Archbishop of York, set about organising a home guard, which of necessity included a great number of priests and other minor clerics. The two sides met up at Myton-on-Swale, with inevitable consequences. So many priests, friars and clerics were killed in the Battle of Myton that it became widely known as the 'Chapter of Myton.' It was hardly a passage of any great glory for Douglas but as a strategy the whole Yorkshire raid produced the result intended: there was such dissension among Edward's army that the attempt on Berwick was abandoned. It was to remain in Scottish hands for the next fifteen years.

    Four years later Edward mounted what was to be his last invasion of Scotland, advancing to the gates of Edinburgh. Bruce had pursued a scorched-earth campaign, denying the enemy essential supplies, so effective that they were forced to retreat by the spur of starvation alone. Once again this provided the signal for a Scottish advance: Bruce, Douglas and Moray crossed the Solway Firth, advancing by rapid stages deep into Yorkshire. Edward and Isabella had taken up residence at Rievaulx Abbey. All that stood between them and the enemy raiders was a force commanded by John de Bretagne, 1st Earl of Richmond, positioned on Scawton Moor, between Rievaulx and Byland Abbey. To dislodge him King Robert used essentially the same tactics as that of Brander in 1308: while Douglas and Moray attacked from the front a party of Highlanders scaled the cliffs on Richmond's flank and attacked from the rear. The Battle of Old Byland turned into a rout, and Edward and his queen were forced into a rapid and undignified exit from Rievaulx, the second time in three years that a Queen of England had taken to her heels.

    More raids
    In 1327 the hapless Edward II was deposed in a coup led by his wife and her lover, Roger Mortimer, Lord Wigmore. He was replaced by Edward III, his teenage son, though all power remained in the hands of Mortimer and Isabella. The new political arrangements in England effectively broke the truce with the former king, arranged some years before. Once again the raids began, with the intention of forcing concessions from the government. By mid-summer Douglas and Moray were ravaging Weardale and the adjacent valleys. On 10 July a large English army, under the nominal command of the young king, left York in a campaign that resembles nothing less than an elephant in pursuit of a hare. The English commanders finally caught sight of their elusive opponents on the southern banks of the River Wear. The Scots were in a good position and declined all attempts to draw them into battle. After a while they left, only to take up an even stronger position at Stanhope Park, a hunting preserve belonging to the bishops of Durham. From here on the night of 4 August Douglas led an assault party across the river in a surprise attack on the sleeping English, later described in a French eye-witness account;

    The Lord James Douglas took with him about two hundred men-at-arms, and passed the river far off from the host so that he was not perceived: and suddenly he broke into the English host about midnight crying 'Douglas!' 'Douglas!' 'Ye shall all die thieves of England'; and he slew three hundred men, some in their beds and some scarcely ready: and he stroke his horse with spurs, and came to the King's tent, always crying 'Douglas!', and stroke asunder two or three cords of the King's tent.

    Panic and confusion spread throughout the camp: Edward himself only narrowly escaped capture, his own pastor being killed in his defence. The Battle of Stanhope Park, minor as it was, was a serious humiliation, and after the Scots outflanked their enemy the following night, heading back to the border, Edward is said to have wept in impotent rage. His army retired to York and disbanded. With no other recourse Mortimer and Isabella opened peace negotiations, finally concluded the following year with the Treaty of Northampton, which recognised the Bruce monarchy and the independence of Scotland.

    Final campaign
    Robert Bruce died in 1329. According to Jean Froissart, when he was dying Bruce asked that Sir James, as his friend and lieutenant, should carry his heart to the Holy Land and present it at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem as a mark of penance. John Barbour, alternatively, has Bruce ask that his heart should simply be carried in battle against "God's foes" as a token of his unfulfilled ambition to go on crusade. Given that Jerusalem had been in Muslim hands since 1187, this second is perhaps more likely. When Bruce was dead, his heart was cut from his body and placed in a silver and enamelled casket which Sir James placed around his neck. Early in 1330, Douglas set sail from Berwick upon Tweed, accompanied by seven other knights with twenty six squires and gentlemen.

    The party stopped first at Sluys in Flanders. There they received confirmation that Alfonso XI of Castile was preparing a campaign against the Muslims of the kingdom of Granada. Accordingly, they sailed on to Seville, where Sir James and his solemn relic were received by Alfonso with great honour.

    Douglas and his company joined Alfonso's army, which then was setting out for the frontier of Granada to besiege the castle of Teba. Uthman, the Berber general in command of the Moorish forces, marched to relieve the border stronghold. At some point during the siege, Douglas was killed. Sources and commentators differ as to how. According to Jean Froissart and the Gran Cronica de Alfonso XI, Douglas was killed in a skirmish as a result of making a premature attack on the enemy. Citing John Barbour, some modern commentators prefer to believe he died in the decisive battle that took place some days later. Barbour describes a grand battle in Spain but the setting is vague and the outcome ambiguous.

    According to the Gran Cronica de Alfonso XI, Uthman, unable to bring the Christians to battle, devised a stratagem in an attempt to force them to abandon the siege. A body of cavalry was sent to make a diversionary attack across the Guadalteba river, luring Alfonso out to fight while Uthman circled round to attack the Christian camp and destroy the besieging army's supplies. Alfonso, however, having received intelligence of Uthman's preparations, kept most of his army back in camp while he sent a contingent to meet the demonstration on the river. It is as part of this force that some commentators assume Douglas and his company joined the battle. When Uthman arrived at the enemy camp he found Alonso's men armed and ready. He abandoned his attack and rode to support the diversionary force on the river where, unable to withstand the Castilian assault, his men were already starting to fall back.

    According to John Barbour's description of Douglas' last battle, when the enemy broke, Sir James and his companions followed hard behind. Having outstripped most of his men in the pursuit, Douglas suddenly found himself far out in front with only a few of his followers around him. As he rode back to rejoin the main body, he saw Sir William St. Clair of Rosslyn surrounded by a body of Moors who, seizing their opportunity, had quickly rallied and counter attacked. With the few knights who were with him, Douglas turned aside to attempt a rescue but, outnumbered twenty to one, the group was overrun. It has become a popular legend that Douglas then took from his neck the silver casket which contained the heart of Bruce and threw it before him among the enemy, saying, "Now pass thou onward as thou wert wont, and Douglas will follow thee or die." This anecdote has its origin in a 16th century addition to Barbour's poem which, however, describes Douglas making the gesture at the beginning of his final battle. It was Sir Walter Scott in Tales of a Grandfather who created the image of Douglas throwing Bruce's heart as his dying act.

    Sir James and all the men caught with him were killed, including Sir William St. Clair of Rosslyn and Sir Robert Logan of Restalrig. Barbour states that, after this battle, Douglas' body and the casket with Bruce's heart were recovered. His bones, the flesh boiled off them, were taken back to Scotland by Sir William Keith of Galston in Ayrshire (who had missed the battle because of a broken arm), and deposited at St Bride’s chapel. The tradition that Sir Simon Locard was a member of the company and also survived, is not found in any of the sources. The heart of Bruce was taken by Moray,
    the regent, and solemnly interred under the high altar of Melrose Abbey.

    Memorial plaque at Teba
    The poet and chronicler John Barbour provides us with a pen portrait of the Black Douglas, among the first of its kind in Scottish history;
    “But he was not so fair that we
    Should praise his looks in high degree.
    In visage he was rather grey;
    His hair was black, so I heard say,
    His limbs were finely made and long,
    His bones were large, his shoulders strong,
    His body was well-knit and slim
    And those say that set eyes on him,
    When happy, loveable was he,
    And meek and sweet in company,
    But those with him in battle saw
    Another countenance he wore!

    —the Brus, John Barbour

    Succession
    Sir James had two children by unknown mothers:
    William, Lord of Douglas killed 1333 at the Battle of Halidon Hill
    In 1333 succeeded by his half-brother, Hugh the Dull, Lord of Douglas (c. 1294–1342)
    In 1342 succeeded by his nephew (by youngest half-brother Archibald), William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, (1327–1384)
    Archibald the Grim (1325–1400), Lord of Galloway succeeded his once removed cousin as Earl of Douglas in 1388.
    By 1333 the 'bloody heart' was incorporated in the arms of Sir James' son, William, Lord of Douglas. It subsequently appeared, sometimes with a royal crown, in every branch of the Douglas family.2,4

Family:

  • Last Edited: 13 Nov 2017

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10799.htm#i107988
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109499
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109499
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10799.htm#i107988
  4. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Douglas,_Lord_of_Douglas.

Elizabeth Stewart1

F, #8256, b. circa 1245

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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Family: Sir William 'Le Hardi' Douglas of that Ilk b. c 1250, d. c 1298

  • Last Edited: 4 Dec 2014

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109499
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p514.htm#i5133

Sir William 'Le Hardi' Douglas of that Ilk1

M, #8257, b. circa 1250, d. circa 1298

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Sir William 'Le Hardi' Douglas of that Ilk was born circa 1250 in Scotland.3
  • Marriage*: He married Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of Alexander Stewart 4th High Steward of Scotland and Jean Macrory, circa 1295 in Scotland.1
  • Death*: Sir William 'Le Hardi' Douglas of that Ilk died circa 1298 in Scotland.2
  • Biography*: Sir William Douglas "le Hardi" (the Bold), Lord of Douglas (born after 1243 – c. 1298) was a Scottish nobleman and warlord.

    Early life
    William Douglas was the son of William Longleg, Lord of Douglas and it is supposed by his possible second wife, Constance of Fawdon. He first is recorded at an Assize at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1256, when his father made over a Carucate of land at Warndon, Northumberland to him. Douglas' father William Longleg was Lord of Fawdon, and had as his superior Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus, Longleg was acquitted of withholding rents by a jury, Umfraville notwithstanding attacked Fawdon, imprisoned Longleg at Harbottle Castle and made off with some £100 sterling of goods. William Douglas was injured in the fight. Ita quod fere amputaverunt caput ejus – So as to nearly cut off his head.

    Eighth Crusade
    Sir William Fraser puts forward a theory that David Hume of Godscroft is mistaken about the William Douglas that went Crusading, and suggests that it is this William Douglas, the son the rather than the father, who accompanied David I Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl, and other Scots nobility on the Eighth Crusade in 1270, as recorded by John of Fordun in his Chronica Gentis Scotorum. Fraser also concedes that there is no existing evidence left to verify this, except the reference in Godscroft's work.

    Lord of Douglas
    Douglas' father, Longleg died at some point c. 1274 and there is some confusion as to whether his eldest son Hugh predeceased him, however William the Hardy was certainly in possession of his estates by the end of the decade. Douglas was knighted before 1288, when he was called upon by Sir Andrew Moray, to imprison his uncle Sir Hugh de Abernethy at Douglas Castle. Abernethy had been party to the murder of Donnchadh III, Earl of Fife, one of the six Guardians of Scotland. Abernethy died in custody despite attempts by Edward I of England to have him released.

    In 1289, Douglas requested the release of certain family charters from Richard, Abbot of Kelso. These charters had been kept at the Priory of Lesmahagow, a daughter house of the Tironensian Abbey of Kelso, for safety. In the receipt for these documents, Douglas styled himself Dominus de Duglas, Lord of Douglas, the first time the title had been recorded.

    Marriages

    Elizabeth Stewart
    Douglas had married Elizabeth, daughter of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland, by whom he had his eldest son James. Elizabeth Stewart appears to have died before the end of 1288, possibly in childbirth.

    Eleanor de Lovaine
    Later in 1288, William Douglas and a Borders Knight known as John Wishart surrounded the Castle of Fa'side near Tranent. The castle was held by Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby, feudal superior of the barony of Tranent. Within the Castle was Zouche's wife Eleanor, and another Eleanor, recently widowed wife of William de Ferrers of Groby, second son of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby. Eleanor Ferrers was the daughter of Matthew de Lovaine, a great grandson himself of Godfrey III, Count of Louvain. King Edward had provided a handsome dowry from her husband's English lands following his death. He had also possessed lands in five counties in Scotland, and Eleanor had come north to collect her rents. Rather than despoliate the land and the castle, Douglas contented himself by abducting Eleanor and removing her to Douglas Castle.

    Reaction to the abduction
    Eleanor – apparently not averse to the rough charms of her kidnapper – and Douglas were wed soon afterwards. King Edward was not so charmed and ordered the Sheriff of Northumberland to seize all Douglas possessions in that county and to apprehend Douglas and Wishart if the chance arose. Edward also demanded that the Guardians of Scotland immediately arrest Douglas and deliver him and Eleanor to his pleasure. The Guardians did not respond. Douglas was connected to two of the Guardians: James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland was his brother-in-law, and Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan was a brother-in-law of Eleanor de Lovaine. Furthermore, the Guardians may not have reacted well to the peremptory nature of the English king's request.

    First Imprisonment
    However, Douglas seems to have fallen into the hands of the English monarch in early 1290 and was confined at Knaresborough Castle. His imprisonment does not appear to have been unduly harsh, he was released by the spring of 1290 when his wife Eleanor posted bail for his release with four manucaptors in May 1290, these four knights, all her cousins, were John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, Nicholas de Segrave, 1st Baron Segrave, William de Rye and Robert Bardulf. He was in favour with Edward again and he and Wishart had their Northumbrian lands restored to them. Eleanor Douglas was fined £100 sterling, and by way of payment had some of her manors in Essex and Herefordshire taken by the crown in 1296.

    Build up to War
    Douglas seal is on the Treaty of Salisbury approving the putative marriage between Margaret, Maid of Norway with Edward of Caernarfon, and was amongst those nobles that hammered out the deal that would become the Treaty of Birgham. At Norham, in June 1291, the Guardians accepted King Edward as Lord Paramount of Scotland. Whilst the negotiations were progressing, regarding the choice of the next King of Scots, Edward was staying with Sir Walter de Lindsay at Thurston Manor, near Innerwick, when William Douglas paid an oath of fealty to him in the chapel there. By the end of 1291, Douglas had fallen again into disfavour and had his lands of Douglasdale forfeited to the English King. Edward appointed his own creatures as baronial officers and made one Master Eustace de Bikerton, Parson of St. Bride's Kirk, the spiritual home and burying ground of the Douglases. John Balliol was declared King of Scots on 17 November 1292, and called his first parliament on 10 February 1293. Douglas along with Robert de Brus, Earl of Carrick, Alexander, Lord of Islay, John, Earl of Caithness failed to attend and were proclaimed defaulters. Douglas attended the second parliament of King John, but was imprisoned again for failing to comply with royal officers enforcing a judgement against him, and imprisoning said officers in Douglas Castle. Whilst in prison Douglas was duty bound to be at his lands in Essex, in order to provide service for Edward, his failure cost him £20 sterling in fines.

    Siege of Berwick
    Upset at the humiliations heaped upon John Balliol and the ineffectiveness of his rule, a new Guardianship was created in 1295. These men concluded a treaty at Paris and ratified it at Dunfermline between the Kingdoms of Scotland, France and Norway, that would become known as the Auld Alliance. Douglas siding with his countrymen, was appointed Governor of Berwick upon Tweed, the most important commercial centre in Scotland at the time. When the Guardians threw down the Gauntlet to Edward, he arrived at the walls of Berwick with 5000 Cavalry and 30,000 Infantry. There followed one of the most brutal episodes in British history, the Sack of Berwick. The English army took the town by storm on Good Friday 1296 and gave no quarter to the inhabitants. The slaughter lasted for two days and the estimated death toll was between 7,500 and 8,500 men women and children. Appalled and after a resolute defence, the garrison of Berwick Castle under the leadership of William Douglas, gave themselves up to the mercy of King Edward. The garrison were freed and were allowed to march out of the castle with their arms, but Douglas was imprisoned and the last of his estates in Essex forfeit. (Douglas' two year old son Hugh had been taken into ward by the Sheriff of Essex at Stebbing, one of the forfeited properties)

    Ragman Roll
    Douglas was imprisoned in the Hog's Tower at Berwick castle and stayed there until gaining his freedom by appending his seal to the Ragman Roll, in common with the majority of the Scots nobility. Within days of his swearing his new oath of Fealty to Edward, Douglas was restored to his lands in Scotland, but not those in England. To add salt to the wound, Douglas' Land at Fawdon and others in Northumberland were made over to his old foe Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus, Douglas had no reluctance in joining the patriotic party.

    The Umfravilles' latterly forfeited Earldom of Angus was granted in 1389 to Douglas' great-grandson, George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus.

    Uprising of William Wallace
    Following the Battle of Dunbar, a large section of the Scots nobility were languishing in prison in England. The countryside was in forment and there was talk of a new champion for the Scots people, William Wallace of Elderslie had started his campaign. Douglas was summoned to attend King Edward in London on 7 July 1297, with fifty other barons to accompany him on an expedition to Flanders to aid Guy of Dampierre, Count of Flanders against Philip le Bel King of France. Douglas refused and joined company with Wallace. Most Scots magnates thought that Wallace was beneath their dignity, but Douglas had no such compunction. He was the first nobleman to join with Sir William Wallace in 1297 in rebellion; combining forces at Sanquhar, Durisdeer and later Scone Abbey where the two liberated the English treasury. With that booty Wallace financed further rebellion including the successful Battle at Stirling Bridge fought on 11 September 1297. He was joined by other patriots such as Robert Wishart Bishop of Glasgow, Sir Andrew Moray and the Morays of Bothwell, with a contingent of Douglases at the national muster at Irvine, North Ayrshire.

    Bruce raid on Douglas Castle
    When Edward heard of Douglas' supposed treason he commanded the future King of Scots Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, then governor of Carlisle for the English to take retribution. Bruce swept into Douglasdale at the king's order. However, young Bruce, who was twenty-two years old at the time, stated, "I must join my own people and the nation in which I was born." He then was joined by the men of Douglas and Lady Douglas, proceeding to join the rebels at Irvine.

    Capitulation of Irvine
    The third time Douglas was held a prisoner of Edward Plantagenet, was after 9 July 1297 when he was accused by Sir Henry de Percy of breaking his covenant of peace with Edward that was agreed to in the document known as the Capitulation at Irving Water, where Douglas was in the company of Robert Brus, Alexander de Lindsay and John and James (the latter three his brothers in law). By the time Sir Andrew de Moray and William Wallace won their great victory at Stirling, Sir William the Hardy was again Edward's prisoner at Berwick Castle; staying in what was now called 'Douglas Tower'.

    Death
    Following Wallace's success at Stirling Bridge the English fled Berwick on Tweed with Douglas and another Scottish prisoner Thomas de Morham; both were later committed to the Tower of London on 12 October 1297 with Douglas meeting his end there in 1298 due to mistreatment.

    Issue
    William the Hardy was twice married and had three sons.
    By Elizabeth, daughter of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland:
    Sir James Douglas.
    By Eleanor de Lovaine of Groby, daughter-in-law of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby and great-great-granddaughter of Godfrey III of Leuven:
    Hugh Douglas,
    Sir Archibald Douglas.4

Family 1:

Family 2: Elizabeth Stewart b. c 1245

  • Last Edited: 14 Nov 2017

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109499
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109494
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109499
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109494
  4. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Hardy,_Lord_of_Douglas.
  5. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10949.htm#i109489

Sir William (?) of Douglas1

M, #8258, b. 1240, d. 1274

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Sir William (?) of Douglas was born in 1240 in Scotland.1
  • Death*: He died in 1274 in Scotland.1
  • Biography*: William, Lord of Douglas (c. 1220 – c. 1274), known as 'Longleg', was a Scoto-Norman nobleman.

    The years of the minority of King Alexander III (1249–1262) featured an embittered struggle for the control of affairs between two rival parties, the one led by the nationalistic Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith, the other by pro-English Alan Durward, Justiciar of Scotia. The former dominated the early years of Alexander's reign. In 1255 an interview between the English and Scottish kings at Kelso led to Menteith and his party losing to Durward's party. Later both parties called a Meeting of the great Magnates of the Realm to establish a regency until Alexander came of age. William Lord of Douglas was one of the magnates called to witness. Douglas was a partisan of Durward's party. This can be explained by the fact that although most of his territories lay in Douglasdale, through his wife, Constance, he had obtained the rich Manor of Fawdon in Northumberland and it would do well to keep English Royal favour.

    David Hume of Godscroft, the arch-panegyricist of the House of Douglas, states that Longleg married Marjorie, Countess of Carrick and had by her two sons and a daughter, the daughter inheriting the Earldom of Carrick. Marjorie went on to marry Robert the Bruce, father to King Robert I of Scotland, this however does not make any sense historically.

    William Longleg, Lord of Douglas (died c. 1274) married Constance Battail of Fawdon, and had two sons and a daughter:
    Hugh I, Lord of Douglas (died c. 1274)
    William the Hardy, Lord of Douglas (1240–1298)
    Willelma de Douglas (d. 1302.)2

Family:

  • Last Edited: 15 Nov 2017

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109494
  2. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Longleg,_Lord_of_Douglas.

Archibald I (?) of Douglas1

M, #8259, b. 1213, d. 1240

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: Archibald I (?) of Douglas was born in 1213 in Scotland.3
  • Death*: He died in 1240 in Scotland.2
  • Biography*: Archibald of Douglas (b.before. 1198 – d.c. 1238) was a Scottish Nobleman. He was the son of William of Douglas.

    Life
    The earliest attestation of his existence is in a charter of confirmation dated prior to 1198. This charter of Jocelin, Bishop of Glasgow, granted the rights of a toft in Glasgow to Melrose Abbey. Archibald's name appears between that of Alan, High Steward of Scotland and Robert de Montgomery. Also before 1198, Archibald appears in another document, again before 1198, in which he resigns the lands of Hailes held by him of the Abbey of Dunfermline, to Robert of Restalrig. Between 1214 and 1226, Archibald acquired the use of the lands of Hermiston and Livingston, with Maol Choluim I, Earl of Fife as his feudal superior. Archibald of Douglas must have been knighted before 1226 as he appears in another charter of Melrose Abbey as 'Dominus de Douglas' witnessing William Purves of Mospennoc granting the Monks of Melrose rights to pass through his lands. Another witness is Andrew, Archibald's knight which highlights his influential position. Archibald de Douglas appears as a signatory to several royal charters following 1226, and he appears to have spent a considerable time in Moray as episcopal charters of his brother Bricius de Douglas show. He was in the retinue of the King Alexander II, at Selkirk, in 1238 when the title Earl of Lennox was regranted to Maol Domhnaich of Lennox. Douglas disappears from historical record after 1239 and it is presumed that he died about this time.

    Marriage and issue
    Archibald of Douglas is thought to have married Margaret, daughter of Sir John Crawford of Crawfordjohn and had issue:
    William of Douglas (c.1220–c.1274)
    Andrew Douglas of Hermiston, progenitor of the Lords of Dalkeith & Earls of Morton and Lords of Mains.4

Family:

  • Last Edited: 15 Nov 2017

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109494
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109495
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109494
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109495
  4. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_I,_Lord_of_Douglas.

William (?) of Douglas, 1st of Douglas1

M, #8260, b. 1174, d. circa 1213

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Birth*: William (?) of Douglas, 1st of Douglas was born in 1174 in Scotland.2
  • Death*: He died circa 1213 in Scotland.3
  • Biography*: William of Douglas (died c.1214) was a medieval nobleman of Flemish origin living in Clydesdale, an area under the control of the King of the Scots.

    Enigmatic origins
    The origins of William are uncertain, the first of the name of Douglas to appear on historic record. He appears as witness to a charter of Jocelin, Bishop of Glasgow in 1174 in favour of the monks of Kelso Abbey, at which time he was in possession of the Lands of Douglas.

    Sholto/William
    David Hume of Godscroft in his history refers to the progenitor of the House of Douglas, Sholto. Gleaned from the works of Buchanan and Boece, Godscroft's narrative explains that during the reign of a King Solvathius, Sholto Douglas was instrumental in putting down an uprising by a usurper Donald Bain in 767AD, and as reward was granted the lands that would after be called Douglas.

    Both Balfour Paul and Maxwell agree that this origin tale is mythic, but do contest that William of Douglas was active at the time of the real rebellion of the Meic Uilleim, under their chief Domnall mac Uilleim. The earlier historians may have confused the mythic Donald Bain with Domnall Ban mac Domnaill, the penultimate Meic Uilleim chief.

    This may be corroborated by the facts that the lands of Douglas marched with those of the leader of King William I of Scotland's retaliatory forces, Lochlann, Lord of Galloway. William may well have been a vassal of the Lord of Galloway. Furthermore, all of William's sons with the exception of the eldest were to hold privileged ecclesiastic positions within the former Meic Uilleim territories in Moray.

    Issue
    William of Douglas may have married a sister of Freskin of Kerdal, a Flemish laird from Moray. He had issue:
    Archibald I, Lord of Douglas
    Bricius de Douglas, Bishop of Moray
    Alexander de Douglas, a canon of Spynie, vicar capitular of Elgin
    Henry de Douglas, a canon of Spynie
    Hugh de Douglas, a canon of Spynie, Archdeacon of Moray
    Freskin de Douglas, parson of Douglas, later Dean of Moray
    Margaret de Douglas, married Hervey de Keith, Marischal of Scotland.4

Family:

  • Last Edited: 9 Dec 2017

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109495
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109495
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109496
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10950.htm#i109496
  4. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I,_Lord_of_Douglas.

Duncan Joseph MacFarlane1

M, #8261, b. 9 July 1927, d. 9 August 1927

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Last Edited: 12 Mar 2016

Citations

  1. [S770] Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics, online https://www.novascotiagenealogy.com/, Death Registration
    Year 1927
    Book 117
    Page 701.

Hughena H. MacFarlane1

F, #8262, b. 12 October 1948, d. 12 October 1948

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Last Edited: 12 Mar 2016

Citations

  1. [S770] Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics, online https://www.novascotiagenealogy.com/, Death Registration
    Year 1946
    Page 4953.

James Hugh MacFarlane1

M, #8264, b. 21 September 1940, d. 2 December 1940

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Last Edited: 12 Mar 2016

Citations

  1. [S770] Nova Scotia Historical Vital Statistics, online https://www.novascotiagenealogy.com/, Death Registration
    Year 1940
    Book 192
    Page 6876.

Sir William Halyburton of Dirletoun1

M, #8265

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Last Edited: 6 Jan 2013

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p14225.htm#i142248

Malise (?) 8th Earl of Strathearn1

M, #8266, b. circa 1290, d. 1350

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Marriage*: Malise (?) 8th Earl of Strathearn married Matlida de Ross, daughter of Hugh de Ross 4th Earl of Ross and Matilda Bruce, bewteen 1325-1328 in Scotland.1
  • Birth*: Malise (?) 8th Earl of Strathearn was born circa 1290 in Scotland.3
  • Death*: He died in 1350 in Scotland.4
  • Biography*: He succeeded to the title of Earl of Caithness between 1320 and 1329. He gained the title of 8th Earl of Strathearn between 1323 and 1329. In 1331 he seems to have enjoyed revenues of a quarter of the Earldom of Caithness. In 1332 he was attainted and his honours forfeited.3 He gained the title of Earl of Orkney before 1334.

    Maol Íosa V of Strathearn (also Maol Íosa of Orkney) was the last of the native Gaelic family of Strathearn mormaers. He ruled Strathearn as mormaer/earl between 1330 and 1334, and was Earl of Orkney between 1331 and 1350.

    His career began promisingly. On the death of his father Maol Íosa IV in 1329, he inherited Strathearn. In 1330, he inherited the title Earldom of Orkney (with the Mormaerdom of Caithness) through his great-grandmother, Earl Gilbert (Gille Brighde)'s daughter Maud, who had married Maol Íosa II.

    Maol Íosa's downfall came as a result of a renewed Balliol onslaught which followed the death of King Robert I. Maol Íosa sided with Edward Balliol and the English, and fought for the Balliol side at the Battle of Halidon Hill. However, the Anglo-Balliol alliance turned its back on Maol Íosa, and awarded the Mormaerdom to John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey.

    On the return to power of King David II, Maol Íosa was forgiven, but his Mormaerdom was not restored, instead going to Sir Maurice de Moravia. Maol Íosa spent the rest of his days vainly trying to regain it.

    Maol Íosa married twice, the second time to Marjory, daughter of Aodh, Earl of Ross. He had four daughters, but no sons.

    Maol Íosa died in 1350. Strathearn was never returned to his heirs, who divided or competed over his more northern inheritance. A grandson named Alexander de l'Arde took seat in Caithness, whilst Erengisle Sunesson, the husband of one of his daughters (possibly named Agnes), received the earl's title of Orkney. Ultimately, lands in both of these and the Norse earldom (that by decision of Haakon VI of Norway in 1379) passed to his grandson Henry Sinclair I, Earl of Orkney, son of William Sinclair, Lord of Rosslyn, and Maol Iosa's (youngest) daughter Isobel of Strathearn.2,4

Family: Matlida de Ross b. c 1308

  • Last Edited: 31 Oct 2014

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p955.htm#i9548
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10790.htm#i107899
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p955.htm#i9548
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p10790.htm#i107899
  4. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maol_%C3%8Dosa_V,_Earl_of_Strathearn.

Matlida de Ross1

F, #8267, b. circa 1308

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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Family: Malise (?) 8th Earl of Strathearn b. c 1290, d. 1350

  • Last Edited: 21 Nov 2014

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p955.htm#i9548
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10790.htm#i107898
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p955.htm#i9548
    http://www.thepeerage.com/p10790.htm#i107897

Malise (?) 7th Earl of Strathearn1

M, #8268, b. between 1275 and 1280, d. before 1329

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Name Variation: Malise (?) 7th Earl of Strathearn was also known as Maol Iosa IV (?)3
  • Birth*: He was born between 1275 and 1280 in Scotland.2
  • Marriage*: He married Agnes (?) circa 1289 in Scotland.1
  • Marriage*: Malise (?) 7th Earl of Strathearn married Johanna Menteith, daughter of Sir John Menteith Lord of Arran and Helen (?) of Mar, in Scotland.4
  • Death*: Malise (?) 7th Earl of Strathearn died before 1329 in Scotland.2
  • Biography*: Maol Íosa IV of Strathearn, who ruled Strathearn (1317–1329), is the seventh known Mormaer of Strathearn, but of course this is simply a source problem and in no way means that he was the seventh in actuality.

    Maol Íosa was an ardent supporter of the cause of Robert de Brus during the Scottish Wars of Independence, even fighting against his father Maol Íosa III, whom he captured in 1313. Maol Íosa IV's with King Robert probably saved the life of old Maol Íosa.

    He married a woman called Johanna, by whom he sired Mormaer Maol Íosa V, the last traditional Gaelic Mormaer of Strathearn.3

Family 1: Agnes (?) b. c 1275, d. a 1311

Family 2: Johanna Menteith b. c 1300

  • Last Edited: 15 Apr 2016

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10790.htm#i107899
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10919.htm#i109189
  3. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maol_%C3%8Dosa_IV,_Earl_of_Strathearn.
  4. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_de_Menteith

Agnes (?)1

F, #8269, b. circa 1275, d. after 1311

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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Family: Malise (?) 7th Earl of Strathearn b. bt 1275 - 1280, d. b 1329

  • Last Edited: 15 Apr 2016

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10790.htm#i107899
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p19799.htm#i197986

Malise (?) 6th Earl of Strathearn1

M, #8270, b. circa 1257, d. before 1312

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Name Variation: Malise (?) 6th Earl of Strathearn was also known as Maol Iosa III (?)3
  • Birth*: He was born circa 1257 in Scotland.1,3
  • Marriage*: He married Agnes Comyn, daughter of Alexander Comyn 6th Earl of Buchan and Elizabeth de Quincy, between 1275 and 1280 in Scotland.1
  • Death*: Malise (?) 6th Earl of Strathearn died before 1312 in Scotland.2
  • Biography*: Maol Íosa III of Strathearn, who ruled Strathearn 1271 to 1317, is the sixth known Mormaer of Strathearn; but this is a source problem and in no way means that he was the sixth in reality.

    He was son of Maol Iosa II of Strathearn and his second wife Matilda of Orkney and Caithness, herself daughter of Gilbert, Earl of Orkney and Mormaer of Caithness. Through his mother, he descended from a line of Gall-Ghàidheil Earls of Orkney.

    Maol Íosa helped to keep the Kingdom of Scotland stable after the death of King Alexander III, and in an example of his behaviour, he is recorded a levying the tenants of the land belonging to Inchaffray Abbey to help preserve the peace. In 1284 he had joined with other Scottish noblemen who acknowledged Margaret of Norway as the heir to King Alexander.

    His marriage into the Comyn family put him very much in the House of Balliol camp during the Great Cause, and in fact Maol Íosa was the auditor of John Balliol at the gathering of Norham. Maol Íosa promised allegiance to King Edward I of England at Stirling in 1292, but rebelled against him along with John Balliol in 1296, and again later during the revolt of Andrew de Moravia and William Wallace. On both occasions, Edward I forgave him, partly one supposes because initially Maol Íosa helped Edward, turning over the rebellious leader of Clann MacDuib.

    After the Rising of Robert de Brus, Maol Íosa attempted steer a middle course, but the English king did not trust him, and he was in English custody until 1310. After his release, Maol Íosa remained loyal to the English King (now Edward II), and assisted the English defence of Perth in 1313. He was captured by his son, Maol Íosa IV.

    His son obviously persuaded King Robert to spare the father's life, but Maol Íosa nevertheless died in 1317.3

Family: Agnes Comyn b. c 1250, d. a Nov 1310

  • Last Edited: 31 Oct 2014

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10919.htm#i109189
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p39903.htm#i399022
  3. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maol_%C3%8Dosa_III,_Earl_of_Strathearn.

Agnes Comyn1

F, #8271, b. circa 1250, d. after November 1310

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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Family: Malise (?) 6th Earl of Strathearn b. c 1257, d. b 1312

  • Last Edited: 21 Jun 2013

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p10919.htm#i109189
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p40253.htm#i402524
  3. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p523.htm#i5225

Malise (?) 5th Earl of Strathearn1

M, #8272, b. circa 1220, d. before 10 October 1303

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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  • Name Variation: Malise (?) 5th Earl of Strathearn was also known as Maol Iosa II (?) 5th Earl of Strathearn.3
  • Birth*: He was born circa 1220 in Strathern, Scotland.1,3
  • Marriage*: He married Maud (?), daughter of Gilbert (?) Earl of Orkney, before December 1257 in Scotland.1,3
  • Death*: Malise (?) 5th Earl of Strathearn died before 10 October 1303 in Scotland.2
  • Biography*: Maol Íosa II of Strathearn (Máel Ísu or Malise II of Strathearn) who ruled Strathearn 1245–1271, is the fifth known Mormaer of Strathearn, but of course this is simply a source problem and in no way means that he actually was the fifth.

    Maol Íosa II, was the first known son of Mormaer Robert. He has been noted as the first Mormaer to encourage the movement of French and English settlers into his Mormaerdom, or at least to allow an influx of French-speaking warriors into his entourage (Neville, 2005, pp. 23–4). We might regard it as part of the same phenomenon that following the reign of Maol Íosa II, the Mormaers of Strathearn thereafter remained pivotal and dynamic figures in the larger world of northern British politics, never again confining themselves purely within their mormaerdom.

    Maol Íosa was an intelligent figure who managed to retain the favor of both the Scottish and English kings, and steer a middle line between the Comyn-Durward rivalry that dominated Scottish court politics in the middle of the 13th century.

    Maol Íosa married four times. These marriages included a marriage to the daughter of the Earl of Orkney, and one to the daughter of Ewen MacDougall. He had two known sons, Maol Íosa and Robert; and three known daughters, Muriel, Maria and Cecilia.

    Maol Íosa II died in 1271, and was succeeded by his son, Maol Íosa III.3

Family: Maud (?)

  • Last Edited: 9 Sep 2019

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p39903.htm#i399022
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p39907.htm#i399070
  3. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maol_%C3%8Dosa_II,_Earl_of_Strathearn.

Maud (?)1

F, #8273

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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Family: Malise (?) 5th Earl of Strathearn b. c 1220, d. b 10 Oct 1303

  • Last Edited: 31 Oct 2014

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p39903.htm#i399022
  2. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert,_Earl_of_Orkney.
  3. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maol_%C3%8Dosa_II,_Earl_of_Strathearn.

Maude d'Aubigny1

F, #8276, b. circa 1150, d. after 1210

The ancestry chart of Archibald MacFarlane (ID # 34) is presented because he unites the ancestry of both his parents. If an individual appears more than once in Archibald's chart this indicates descent from the individual in more than one line. By clicking on the each instance (i.e. Ancestry of Archibald MacFarlane (#5)) each line of descent will be shown.

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Family: Gilbert (?) 3rd Earl of Strathearn b. b 1150, d. 1223

  • Last Edited: 30 Dec 2018

Citations

  1. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p468.htm#i4679
  2. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p462.htm#i4614
  3. [S746] Wikipedia, online http://Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_d%27Aubigny,_3rd_Earl_of_Arundel.
  4. [S742] The Peerage, online thepeerage.com, http://www.thepeerage.com/p27849.htm#i278482