Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas
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Archibald Douglas | |
|---|---|
| Lord of Galloway Earl of Douglas Earl of Wigtown[1] Lord of Bothwell | |
 Seal of Archibald Douglas | |
| Predecessor | James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas |
| Successor | Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas |
| Born | 1330 Scotland |
| Died | 24 December 1400 Threave Castle |
| Buried | 1400 Bothwell |
| Noble family | Clan Douglas |
| Spouse(s) | Joanna de Moravia, Lady of Bothwell |
| Issue | Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas Marjorie Douglas Helen Douglas Sir William Douglas of Nithsdale (illegitimate) |
| Father | Sir James Douglas |
| Mother | unknown |
Archibald Douglas, Earl of Douglas and Wigtown, Lord of Galloway, Douglas and Bothwell (c. 1330 – c. 24 December 1400), called Archibald the Grim or Black Archibald, was a
Early life
He was probably not yet born when his father went on
Battle of Poitiers
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Archibald's first major appearance in history is recorded in 1356 at the
The battle was a disastrous defeat for the French. It was suggested by
Archibald's armour and harness were of fine construction, and he was thought to be a valuable prisoner by his captors.
Escape
His escape from English hands in 1356 was aided by Sir William Ramsay of Colluthie, also a prisoner of the English. 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 then 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, 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 ransom rate for 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.[9]
Rise to prominence
Black Archibald was appointed Constable of Edinburgh Castle which along with the office of Sheriff of Edinburgh by 1360,[10] which offices he held until 1364. In that year, he was also 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 de Moravia was the daughter of
Embassies
Archibald was sent on two embassies to France, in 1369 and 1371. The first of these was to protest against the appeal launched by the newly divorced
Lord of Galloway
In 1369, Archibald had been appointed
By 1372, after reaffirming control in the east, Archibald acquired the
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 assembled 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
In territorial possessions alone Archibald, Lord of Galloway appeared now to have matched, 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
In 1390 he captured Lochnaw Castle.[15]
Death
The Earl of Douglas died at Threave Castle, around the Christmas of 1400, and was buried at Bothwell.
Marriage and children
Around 1362 Douglas married Joanna de Moravia, daughter of
- Archibald Douglas, who succeeded as 4th earl
- James Douglas, later the 7th earl
- Marjorie Douglas, married 1st David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, 2nd Walter de Haliburton the Treasurer of Scotland
- Helen, married Governor of Edinburgh Castle.
- Eleanor Douglas, married John de Dundas
Lord Douglas had an
- Sir William Douglas of Nithsdale (assassinated 1391), married Egidia Stewart daughter of Robert II
References
Notes
- ^ Maxwell, Vol I, p118
- ISBN 9781145804951. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- ^ MacDougall, p 55
- ^ a b ibidem
- ISBN 1862320365.
- ^ Maxwell, Vol I p80, p115
- ^ MacDougall, p44
- ^ Froissart, CLXII, p126
- ^ Maxwell Vol I, pp. 115-116
- ^ Brown, Michael (1998). The Black Douglases. East Linton, Scotland: Tuckwell Press Ltd. p. 54.
- ^ ibidem p118
- ^ Brown, p.58-9
- ^ Maxwell, p117
- ^ Fraser Vol I, p. 329
- ^ Castles of the Clans, Martin Coventry
- ^ Smith, p.251 where it states that the "first laird of Haltoun was George de Lawedre who married a sister of Lord Douglas."
Crawfurd, p.91. gives the wife of George Lauder of Haltoun (d.c1430), as Helen, sister to Lord Douglas.
Primary sources
- Brown, Michael, The Black Douglases, Tuckwell Press, East Linton, 1998
- Fraser, Sir William, The Douglas Book (4 Vols). Edinburgh 1885 [1]
- Fordun, John of, Chronica Gentis Scotorum, ed.Skene, W.F., Edinburgh 1871.[2]
- Froissart Chronicles, trans. Lord Berners, ed. Macaulay, G.C. London 1904.[3]
- MacDougall, Norman, An Antidote to the English — the Auld Alliance 1295-1560, Tuckwell Press, East Linton, 2001
- Maxwell, Sir Herbert. A History of the House of Douglas (2 vols), Freemantle & Co., London 1902
- Smith, J Stewart-, The Grange of St Giles. Edinburgh, 1898
- George Crawfurd's Peerage, 1776
Secondary sources
- Nigel Tranter, ISBN 0-340-39115-4. Lords of Misrule, 1388-1396. A Folly of Princes, 1396-1402. The Captive Crown, 1402-1411.
Attribution
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Douglas". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 443.
