Person Page - 339

William Douglas 1st of Douglas¹

• Relationships: 17th great-grandfather of Dougald MacFarlane, 16th great-grandfather of Margaret MacDonell, 21st great-grandfather of Donald James MacFarlane

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• Birth*: William Douglas 1st of Douglas was born in 1174 in Scotland.¹
• Death*: He died circa 1214.^1,2
• Biography*: William of Douglas (died c.1214) was a medieval nobleman 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 Bán 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 Margaret, a sister of Freskin of Kerdal, a Flemish laird from Moray.[3] He had issue:
  
  Archibald I (1166-1213), Lord of Douglas, married Margaret, daughter of Sir John Crawford of Crawfordjohn
  Bricius de Douglas (ca. 1195-1222), Bishop of Moray
  Alexander de Douglas (ca. 1195-1238), a canon of Spynie, vicar capitular of Elgin
  Henry de Douglas (ca. 1195-1245), a canon of Spynie
  Hugh de Douglas (ca. 1171-1245), a canon of Spynie, Archdeacon of Moray
  Freskin de Douglas (1205-September 1232), parson of Douglas, later Dean of Moray
  Margaret de Douglas (1177-1260), married Hervey de Keith, Marischal of Scotland.²