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Gilbert Blackhall or Blakhal (died 1671) [1] was a Scottish Catholic missionary priest. He is now remembered for his autobiographical writings.
Blackhall's background is believed to have been in Aberdeenshire. [2] He spent a period as a soldier of fortune. [1] He entered the Scotch College, Rome in 1626, was ordained priest, and returned to Scotland in 1630. He encountered opposition from Jesuits there, however, and left for Paris, where he became confessor to Lady Isabella Hay, eldest daughter of Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll. [3] Going to Brussels in search of patronage, he had an audience with Isabella Clara Eugenia, right at the end of her life. By persistence he found Lady Isabella a pension, enabling her to return to Scotland. He himself turned down a position, thought to be with the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary. But Isabella Clara Eugenia's death in 1633 closed down chances for Scots in Brussels at court. [4] Lady Isabella was in a house of canonesses at Mons, in 1637. [1]
In 1637 Blackhall returned to Scotland, where he did missionary work in Aberdeenshire and Banffshire. He also acted as chaplain to Sophia Hay, Countess of Aboyne at Aboyne Castle; she was the sister of Lady Isabella. [1] [3] The Countess died in 1642, leaving her only child Henrietta Gordon. [5]
Blackhall returned to France in 1643, with the view of inducing the Marchioness of Huntly, Henrietta's grandmother, to bring her to France to be educated. He initially failed in this plan, and applied to Anne of Austria, the Queen of France, to use her influence, ultimately successfully. [3]
Meanwhile, Henrietta had become a Protestant, but was anyway taken to France. Blackhall had a brief period as head of the Scots College, Paris in 1653. [1]
Blackhall wrote his autobiography in Paris in 1653. [1] It contains accounts of his relations with Lady Isabella Hay, with the Countess of Aboyne, and with Henrietta Gordon. The title is A breiffe Narration of the Services done to three noble Ladyes, by Gilbert Blakal, Preist of the Scots Mission in France, in the Low Countries, and in Scotland. Dedicated to Madame de Gourdon, one of the forsaid three, and now Dame d'Attour to Madame. It was edited by John Stuart from the original manuscript in the possession of James Francis Kyle, and printed at Aberdeen for the Spalding Club in 1844. [3]
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1886). "Blackhall, Gilbert". Dictionary of National Biography . Vol. 5. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly, styled Earl of Enzie from 1599 to 1636, eldest son of George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly by Lady Henrietta Stewart, daughter of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, born at Huntly Castle, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, in Scotland was brought up in England as a Protestant, and later created Viscount Aboyne by Charles I.
Marquess of Huntly is a title in the Peerage of Scotland that was created on 17 April 1599 for George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly. It is the oldest existing marquessate in Scotland, and the second-oldest in the British Isles; only the English marquessate of Winchester is older. The Marquess holds the following subsidiary titles: Lord Gordon of Strathaven and Glenlivet and Earl of Aboyne, and Baron Meldrum, of Morven in the County of Aberdeen.
John Campbell, 1st Earl of Loudoun was a Scottish politician and Covenanter.
Clan Gordon is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the most powerful Scottish clans. The Gordon lands once spanned a large territory across the Highlands. Presently, Gordon is seated at Aboyne Castle, Aberdeenshire. The Chief of the clan is the Earl of Huntly, later the Marquess of Huntly.
George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly,, styled Lord Strathavon until 1795 and known as The Earl of Aboyne from 1795 to 1836, was a Scottish peer and soldier.
Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Huntly, who adopted the family name of Gordon from about 1457, was a powerful 15th-century Scottish magnate. He was knighted in 1439/1440 and was Lord of Badenoch, Gordon, Strathbogie and Cluny.
George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly was a Scottish nobleman and Chancellor of Scotland from 1498 to 1501.
Annabella of Scotland was a Scottish princess, a member of the House of Stewart, and by her two marriages Countess of Geneva and Countess of Huntly. Both of her marriages were annulled, the first without being consummated and the second on grounds of consanguinity.
Lady Catherine Gordon was a Scottish noblewoman and the wife of Yorkist pretender Perkin Warbeck, who claimed he was Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. After her imprisonment by King Henry VII of England, she became a favoured lady-in-waiting of his wife, Elizabeth of York. She had a total of four husbands, but there are no records of any surviving children.
Edward Denny, 1st Earl of Norwich, known as The Lord Denny between 1604 and 1627, was an English courtier, Member of Parliament, and a peer.
Lewis Gordon, 3rd Marquess of Huntly, also known as LordLudovick Gordon, was a Scottish nobleman. He was the third son of George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly.
James Gordon, 2nd Viscount Aboyne was the second son of George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly, a Scottish royalist commander in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
Henrietta Gordon was a Scottish-born courtier, a maid of honour to Princess Henrietta, youngest daughter of Charles I of England.
George Conn was a Scottish Roman Catholic priest, a Franciscan and papal diplomat in England.
Alexander Livingston, 1st Earl of Linlithgow PC was a Scottish nobleman, courtier, and politician. His wife was Helenor Hay, Countess of Linlithgow who was a Royal tutor.
Sir Robert Gordon of Gordonstoun was a Scottish politician and courtier, known as the historian of the noble house of Sutherland.
Lady Anna Mackenzie (1621–1707), also Ann MacKenzie, was a Scottish courtier, wife of the first Earl of Balcarres and the mother of the second and third. After her first husband died, she married Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll. She was a governess to William III when he was a child. Mackenzie suffered because she was a Jacobite and her second husband was executed for leading a rising against James VII and II which was intended to support the Monmouth Rebellion. She worked to keep together the estates of Balcarres despite the tumultuous times in which she lived and her family's support of the Jacobite cause. Her memoirs were published more than a century after her death.
Henrietta Stewart (1573–1642) was a Scottish courtier. She was the influential favourite of the queen of Scotland, Anne of Denmark.
Sophia Hay was a Scottish noblewoman.
James Crichton of Frendraught or Frendraucht was a Scottish landowner involved in a fire on 18 October 1630. Eight guests were killed at Frendraught Castle and arson was suspected. The facts of the case were widely disputed.
