Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany
Murdoch Stewart | |
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Margaret, Countess of Menteith |
Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany (
After his father died in 1420, and while the uncrowned King
Early life
Stewart was born in 1362, the only son of
Murdoch Stewart was raised in a large family, having eight sisters:
- Janet Stewart (married Sir David de Moubray)
- Mary Stewart (married Sir William Abernathy, 6th of Saltoun)
- Margaret Stewart (married to Sir John Swinton, 14th of that Ilk)
- Joan Stewart (married Sir Robert Stewart, Lord of Lorn)
- Beatrice Stewart (married Sir James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas)
- Isabella (Isobel) Stewart (married to Alexander Leslie, 7th Earl of Ross and later to Walter de Haliburton, 1st Lord Haliburton of Dirleton)
- Lady Marjorie Stewart (married to Sir Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell)
- Lady Elizabeth Stewart (married to Malcolm Fleming, ancestor of Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming)
His mother Margaret died in 1380. His father Duke Robert married a second time, to Muriella de Keith, with whom he had four children, the elder of whom was
In 1389, at around age 27, Murdoch was appointed
War and capture
Stewart served in Scottish military actions against the English in the early 15th century and was captured at the Battle of Homildon Hill, which took place on 14 September 1402 in Northumberland, England. Led by Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, the Scottish army had invaded England bent on plunder, in part to avenge the killing and capture of Scottish nobles in the Battle of Nesbit Moor on 22 June 1402.[2] While returning to Scotland, they were intercepted by English forces led by Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland. The result was a decisive defeat of the Scottish army.
Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights,
Balk’d in their own blood did Sir Walter see
OnHotspurtook
Mordake the Earl of Fife, and eldest son
To beaten Douglas; and the Earl of Athol,
Of Murray, Angus, and Menteith:
And is not this an honourable spoil?
A gallant prize? ha, cousin, is it not? ---Henry IV, part 1, act 1, scene 1.
Murdoch Stewart (described above as "Mordake the Earl of Fife") was held as a prisoner in England for the next twelve years.
Politics
Murdoch Stewart's captivity in England did not prevent his father from ruthlessly pursuing the family interest, often through violent means. On 26 March 1402 the Duke of Albany's nephew,
At this time Murdoch Stewart was still a prisoner in England, but in 1416 he was exchanged for Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, and he returned to Scotland. The Albany Stewarts took James's lands under their own control, depriving the king of income and any of the regalia of his position. James was referred to in the official records as merely 'the son of the late king'.[5]
Governor of Scotland and Duke of Albany
In 1420, on his father's death, Murdoch, now aged 58, finally inherited the
Ransom and return of James I
In August 1423 it was agreed that an embassy should be sent to England to negotiate James's release.[7] A ransom treaty of 60,000 marks (an enormous sum) was agreed at Durham on 28 March 1424, to which James attached his own seal—he and his queen, accompanied by an escort of English and Scottish nobles, proceeded to Melrose Abbey, arriving on 5 April where he met Albany to receive the governor's seal of office.[8][9] Upon the return of James I to Scotland, Albany lost his position as Regent.
James began to consolidate his position. His coronation took place at Scone on 21 May 1424. At his coronation parliament the king—probably with the intent of securing a cohesive political community loyal to the crown—knighted 18 prominent nobles including Albany's son Alexander Stewart.[10]
At this stage, it is probable that the king felt unable to take action against the Albany Stewarts while Murdoch's brother,
Arrest
Murdoch was arrested, along with his younger son Lord Alexander Stewart. Albany was at first confined in the castle at
James's older brother David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay had died young, in Falkland Castle, while in the care of Murdoch's father, Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany. Though Albany had been exonerated by Parliament, the suspicion of foul play remained. Moreover, neither Duke Robert nor his son Murdoch had exerted themselves in negotiating James's release while in English captivity. This may well have left James with the suspicion that the Albany Stewarts had personal designs on the throne of Scotland.[13]
At this time Albany's other son Walter was already in prison. James, Murdoch's youngest son (also known as
Trial and execution
Duke Murdoch, his sons Walter and Alexander, and Duncan, Earl of Lennox were in
Walter was condemned on 24 May. Albany and his son Alexander were tried before the same jury the following day. All the prisoners were publicly beheaded on Heading Hill "in front of" Stirling Castle.[16][17][18] Albany was attainted and all of his peerage titles were forfeited. He was buried at Blackfriars' Church, Stirling.[19]
In the destruction of his close family, the Albany Stewarts, James I gained the substantial rents from the family's three forfeited earldoms of Fife, Menteith and Lennox, a blow from which the Albany Stewarts never recovered. More importantly, he secured his reign from the threat which had been constantly posed to him by the Albany Stewarts since his older brother's death, probably at their hands, decades before.[20]
Marriage and children
Murdoch was married to Isabella, daughter of Donnchadh, Earl of Lennox. They had four sons and a daughter:
- Robert Stewart (d. 1421)
- Walter Stewart(executed 1425). Married to Janet Erskine; father of:
- Andrew Stewart, 1st Lord Avondale who became Lord of Avondale in 1459, and Lord Chancellor of Scotland in the same year, becoming one of the leading servants of King James III of Scotland. He would hold the office of Chancellor for 25 years, dying in 1488.[21]
- Walter Stewart of Morphie
- Alexander Stewart
- Andrew Stewart, 1st Lord Avondale
- Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven, married to Margaret Tudor as her 3rd husband; her 1st was James IV of Scotland.
- Andrew Stewart, 1st Lord Avondale
- Alexander Stewart (executed 1425).
- James the Fat (Seamas Mòr) Stewart, fled to Ireland and died in 1429.[22]
- Isabel, who married Sir Walter Buchanan, 12th Laird of Buchanan.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany Robert I of Scotland | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9. Marjorie Bruce | |||||||||||||||||||
19. Isabella of Mar | |||||||||||||||||||
2. Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany | |||||||||||||||||||
10. Adam Mure of Rowallan | |||||||||||||||||||
5. Elizabeth Mure | |||||||||||||||||||
1. Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany | |||||||||||||||||||
6. John Graham, Earl of Menteith | |||||||||||||||||||
3. Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith | |||||||||||||||||||
28. Alan, Earl of Menteith | |||||||||||||||||||
14. Alan II, Earl of Menteith | |||||||||||||||||||
29. Marjory of Fife | |||||||||||||||||||
7. Mary II, Countess of Menteith | |||||||||||||||||||
Legacy
Albany's sole surviving male heir was his youngest son,
Albany's wife,
See also
Notes
- ^ Roberts, John L., p.16, Feuds, Forays and Febellions: History of the Highland Clans 1475-1625 Retrieved November 2010
- ^ Tytler, Patrick Fraser (1829). History of Scotland. Edinburgh: William Tait. p. 3:128–29. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
nesbit.
- ^ Boardman,Early Stewart Kings, pp. 295–6
- ^ Penman, Kings and Queens of Scotland, p. 134
- ^ Brown, Michael, James I, p. 18
- ^ Mackie, p.97
- ^ Brown, Michael, James I, pp. 27–8
- ^ Fawcett & Oram, Melrose Abbey, p. 50
- ^ MacQuarrie, Kingship and Nation, p. 215
- ^ Stevenson, Chivalry and knighthood in Scotland, 1424-1513 pp. 171–2
- ^ Lynch, Scotland: A New History, p. 144
- ^ Brown M. H., John Stewart, ODNB
- ^ McGladdery, James II, p. 6
- ^ Brown, Michael, James I, p. 63
- ^ George Crawfurd, p.159, A General Description of the Shire of Renfrew (1818) Retrieved November 2010
- ^ Tytler (1866) vol.iii, p.192–3
- ^ Brown, Michael, James I, pp. 65–6
- ^ Tytler, Patrick Fraser, The History of Scotland, New Edition, Edinburgh, 1866, vol.iii, p.190–1 (entire paragraph).
- ^ Nelker, p.18
- ^ MacQuarrie, Kingship and Nation, p. 215–6
- ^ Nelker, p.19
- ^ Confusingly, different sources give James' death as, variously, 1429 and 1449. The earlier date is the most common but is not consistent with the putative birth dates of most of his children
- ^ "The Scottish Royal Dynasties 842–1625" (PDF). The official website of the British Monarchy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
- ^ Malcolm, David (1808). Genealogical Memoir of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Drummond. Edinburgh. pp. 31–32. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
- ^ Some sources say 1449
- ^ *James Beag Stewart at Stewarts of Balquhidder webpage Retrieved November 2010
- ^ Fraser, William (April 1879). "The Lennox". The Edinburgh Review. 149: 277. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
References
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/26499. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Campbell, Alastair, A History of Clan Campbell, Volume 2
- Crawfurd, George, p.159, A General Description of the Shire of Renfrew (1818) Retrieved November 2010
- Mackie, J. D., A History of Scotland, Penguin Books, London (1964)
- Napier, Mark (1835). History of the Partition of the Lennox. W. Blackwood and sons. p. 13. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- Nelker, Gladys P., The Clan Steuart, Genealogical Publishing (1970)