Dorothea Stewart, Countess of Gowrie was a Scottish aristocrat. The dates of the birth and death of Dorothea Stewart are unknown.
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Dorothea Stewart, Countess of Gowrie was a Scottish aristocrat. The dates of the birth and death of Dorothea Stewart are unknown.
She was the oldest daughter of Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven and Janet Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Atholl and Janet Campbell. Her siblings were Henry Stewart, 2nd Lord Methven, Margaret Stewart, Mistress of Ochiltree, and Joan Stewart, Countess of Argyll.
19th-century writers examined the possibility that Dorothea Stewart was the daughter of Margaret Tudor, or her granddaughter and daughter of a Master of Methven, said to have been killed at the battle of Pinkie in 1547. [1]
Dorothea Stewart married William, Master of Ruthven on 17 August 1561 at Perth. The parish register suggests it was a double wedding, her half-sister, Elizabeth Kennedy (died 1572), the daughter of Janet Stewart and Hugh Kennedy of Girvanmains, married Patrick Vans on the same day. [2] Later, the Mistress of Ochiltree referred to Patrick Vaus of Barnbarroch in her letters as her "brother". He was the wife of her half-sister. [3]
William Ruthven became Lord Ruthven and was later made Earl of Gowrie. Their main home was Huntingtower Castle near Perth, then known as Ruthven Castle. The name Ruthven was pronounced "Ryven".
In October 1570 for her "terce" or jointure lands, Ruthven gave her Dirleton Castle and a third of the lands of Dirleton and Hassington, Haliburton, Ballernoch, Newton, and Cousland. [4]
Her husband was executed for treason in May 1584 at Stirling. [5]
She was commanded to surrender Dirleton, Ruthven, Cousland, and the Gowrie lodging in Perth to the crown in May 1584. [6]
Dorothea Stewart came to the opening of Parliament on 22 August 1584 and knelt down on the High Street crying to the king for grace for her children. James Stewart, Earl of Arran pushed her away, and she fainted and was left on the street. [7]
Dirleton Castle and other properties were restored to Lady Gowrie and her family. A disgraced courtier, William Keith of Delny stayed at her house adjacent to Holyrood Palace in July 1590. There were plans in 1591 for Dorothea Stewart to marry William Keith of Delny but James VI forbade it. [8] In July 1593 the house attracted suspicion when it was used to access the palace during the Earl of Bothwell's second Raid of Holyrood. [9]
Dorothea Stewart and her second husband Andrew Kerr of Faldonsyde complained in 1597 about a group of local men who stole rabbits from the links of Dirleton and terrorised her tenants. [10]
After the slaughter of her family at Perth on 5 August 1600, the Master of Orkney and Sir James Sandilands rode to Dirleton to arrest her two surviving sons, Patrick and William. They told Lady Gowrie her sons would be kept by Chancellor, the Earl of Montrose, a proposition which caused her great and visible distress, even though Montrose was the father-in-law of her daughter Margaret. The two young men were riding to safety in England. [11]
She was still living at Dirleton in November 1600. She hoped that the king could be persuaded to support her daughters, "quhais estait is verie desolait" and she was not able to help them herself. [12] A part of the ruined castle is known as the Gowrie lodging.
Dorothea Stewart's children included:
Earl of Gowrie is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Scotland and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, both times for members of the Ruthven family. It takes its name from Gowrie, a historical region and ancient province of Scotland. On 23 August 1581, William Ruthven, 4th Lord Ruthven, was created Earl of Gowrie by James VI, King of the Scots. He was executed for high treason, attainted and his peerages forfeited on 28 May 1584. Two years later in 1586, the attainder was reversed and his son, the second Earl, was restored as Earl of Gowrie and Lord Ruthven, but both peerages were forfeited after the alleged plot and subsequent death of the second Earl's younger brother, the third Earl, in 1600.
John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, was a Scottish nobleman who died in mysterious circumstances, referred to as the "Gowrie Conspiracy", in which he and/or his brother Alexander were attempting to kill or kidnap King James VI of Scotland for unknown purposes. The king's retinue killed both brothers during the attack, and the king survived.
Huntingtower Castle, once known as Ruthven Castle or the Place of Ruthven, is located near the village of Huntingtower beside the A85 and near the A9, about 5 km NW of the centre of Perth, Perth and Kinross, in central Scotland, on the main road to Crieff. This castle is the subject for several local ghostlore stories.
Patrick Ruthven, 3rd Lord Ruthven played an important part in the political intrigues of 16th century Scotland. He succeeded to the lordship in December 1552. The Ruthven lordship encompassed the offices of Provost and Constable of Perth, and Sheriff of Strathearn.
William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, 4th Lord of Ruthven was a Scottish peer known for devising the Raid of Ruthven.
The Raid of Ruthven, the kidnapping of King James VI of Scotland, was a political conspiracy in Scotland which took place on 23 August 1582. It was composed of several Presbyterian nobles, led by William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, who abducted the king. The nobles intended to reform the government of Scotland and limit the influence of French and pro-Catholic policy, and to prevent or manage the return of Mary, Queen of Scots from England to rule with her son in an "association". Their short-lived rule of around 10 months is known as the "Ruthven" or "Gowrie Regime".
Dirleton Castle is a medieval fortress in the village of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland. It lies around 2 miles (3.2 km) west of North Berwick, and around 19 miles (31 km) east of Edinburgh. The oldest parts of the castle date to the 13th century, and it was abandoned by the end of the 17th century.
Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven was Master of the Scottish Artillery and third, and last husband, of Margaret Tudor, eldest daughter of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York.
Cousland is a village in Midlothian, Scotland. It is located 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) east of Dalkeith and 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of Ormiston, on a hill between the Rivers Tyne and Esk.
Captain James Stewart, Earl of Arran was created Earl of Arran by the young King James VI, who wrested the title from James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran. He rose to become Lord Chancellor of Scotland and was eventually murdered in 1595.
Lord Methven was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created on 17 July 1528 by King James V of Scotland for his stepfather Henry Stewart. The title became extinct on the death of the grantee's grandson in the 1580s. The title takes its name from Methven in Perthshire.
Sir Thomas Lyon, Master of Glamis was a Scottish nobleman and official, Lord High Treasurer of Scotland.
Patrick Lindsay, 6th Lord Lindsay of the Byres, (1521–1589), Scottish courtier and Confederate lord.
Barbara Ruthven was a Scottish courtier and favourite of Anne of Denmark, expelled from court after the death of her brother.
John Stewart, 5th Earl of Atholl, (1563–1595) was a Scottish landowner.
John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl (1566-1603) was a Scottish landowner.
Elizabeth Stewart, Countess of Arran was a Scottish noblewoman and political intriguer. Several accounts of her actions and ambition were written by her political enemies.
Marie Ruthven, Countess of Atholl, was a Scottish aristocrat.
Janet Stewart, Lady Ruthven was a Scottish noblewoman.
William Stewart of Grandtully (1567–1646) was a Scottish landowner and courtier.