William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (November 2020) |
William Douglas | |
---|---|
Earl of Douglas | |
Tenure | 26 January 1358 – 1 May 1384 |
Predecessor | New Creation |
Successor | James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas |
Other titles | Earl of Mar Lord of Liddesdale |
Born | c. 1323 Douglas, Lanarkshire, Scotland |
Died | 1 May 1384 (aged 60–61) Douglas, Lanarkshire, Scotland |
Buried | 1384 Melrose Abbey[1] |
Nationality | Scottish |
Residence | Hermitage Castle Tantallon Castle |
Noble family | Clan Douglas |
Spouse(s) | Margaret, Countess of Mar |
Issue | James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas Isabel Douglas, Countess of Mar George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus (illegitimate) Lady Margaret Douglas (illegitimate) |
Parents | Sir Archibald Douglas Beatrice de Lindsay |
William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas (c. 1323 – 1 May 1384) was a Scottish nobleman, peer, magnate, and head of the Black Douglas family. Under his leadership, the Black Douglases continued their climb to pre-eminence in Scottish politics begun under his uncle, Sir James the Good, as well as their military dominance of the south of Scotland.
Early life
William Douglas was the son of
Douglas returned to Scotland in 1348 and immediately started to put his house in order. In 1346-47 following the
Douglas next became one of the commissioners to negotiate with the English for the release of David II of Scotland.[6]
Death of the Knight of Liddesdale
In 1353,
War with England and Battle of Poitiers
In 1355 the truce with England expired and Douglas with the
After taking the town of Berwick, they failed to take the castle and 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. English supply ships were lost in a storm. The Scots' scorched earth policy prevented raiding for supplies, and Edward had to turn homewards, but not before being ambushed and nearly taken by Lord Douglas's men outside Melrose.[12][13] Following Edward's retreat into England, Douglas arranged a truce with William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton that would last until Michaelmas.[14]
He also arranged a
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
Earl of Douglas and Mar
Douglas was created
In 1364, Douglas joined King David II in seeking a treaty with England that would have written off Scotland's debt to England in return for depriving his nephew,
The plan never succeeded, and on the accession of Robert the Steward as King Robert II, Douglas was nevertheless reconciled and appointed Justiciar South of the Forth in 1372. The last years of Douglas' life were spent in making and repelling border raids. He died at Douglas, South Lanarkshire, on 1 May 1384.
Marriage and issue
William Douglas married in 1357, Margaret of Mar, the daughter of Domhnall II, Earl of Mar and Isabella Stewart, who succeeded her brother Thomas as Countess of Mar.[24] They had two children:
- James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas (1358–1388)
- Lady Isabel Douglas, Countess of Mar (1360–1408)
The Earl of Douglas also fathered two illegitimate children by
- George Douglas (1380–1403), who inherited the estates of Angus and was later created Earl of Angus, being the heir of his mother.
- Lady Margaret Douglas, who received in 1404, the lands of Bonjedward from her half-sister, Lady Isabel Douglas.[25]
He is also said to have been the father of another illegitimate daughter, Joan Douglas, who married William Dacre, 5th Baron Dacre.[26]
In literature
William Douglas is one of the characters in The Road to Poitiers by Jonathan Lunn.[27]
References
Notes
- ^ Maxwell, vol I, p.93
- ^ G.E. Cokayne, with various editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), Volume IV, pg.430. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
- ^ Maxwell, Vol I, p.76
- ^ Fraser, Vol I, p.217
- ^ Fraser, VolI, p.217
- ^ Fraser, Vol I p.218
- ^ Maxwell, VolI p.57
- ^ Fordun, p.360 clxx
- ^ Maxwell, Vol I pp.78-79
- ^ Fraser, vol i, pp222-228
- ^ Maxwell, Sir Herbert (1902). A History of the House of Douglas from the Earliest Times Down to the Legislative Union of England and Scotland. London: Freemantle & Co. p. Vol I p. 79.
- ^ Fordun, CLXXVI, p. 374
- ^ Maxwell, vol I, p. 80
- ^ Maxwell, vol I, p. 80
- ^ Froissart,CLXII, pp.124-126
- ^ Fordun, CLXXVII pp.375-376
- ^ Fordun, p.377 note
- ^ Maxwell, Vol 1, p.80
- ^ Fraser, Vol.I,p.233
- ^ Maxwell, Vol.I, p.81
- ^ Fraser Vol.I, p.234
- ^ Tabraham, Tantallon Castle, p.16
- ^ Salter, The Castles of Lothian and the Borders, pp.86–88
- ^ G.E. Cokayne, with various editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), Volume IV, page 431. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
- ^ Fraser, Vol.I, pp.290-91
- ^ Cokayne, George Edward "Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Great Britain, Vol. 3" pg. 2
- ^ Lunn, Jonathan, The Road to Poitiers, Canelo Adventure 2024.
Sources
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Douglas". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Brown Michael, Black Douglases: War and Lordship in Late Medieval Scotland, 1300-1455. Tuckwell Press. 1998
- Brenan, Gerald, A History of the House of Percy II vols. London 1902
- Fordun, John of, Chronica Gentis Scotorum, ed.Skene, W.F., Edinburgh 1871.[1]
- Fraser, Sir William, The Douglas Book IV vols. Edinburgh. 1885
- The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707 [2], K.M. Brown et al. eds (St Andrews, 2007–2011).
- Froissart Chronicles, trans. Lord Berners, ed. Macaulay, G.C. London 1904.[3]
- Grey, Sir Thomas, Scalacronica, trans. Maxwell. Glasgow 1904.[4]
- Maxwell, Sir Herbert, A History of the House of Douglas II vols. London. 1902
- Sadler, John, Border Fury-England and Scotland at War 1296-1568. Pearson Education. 2005.