Margaret Douglas | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1427 |
| Died | 1474 |
| Noble family | Black Douglas |
| Spouse(s) | William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas, James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl |
| Father | Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas |
| Mother | Eupheme Graham |
Margaret Douglas, Countess of Douglas (c. 1427-c. 1474), known as the Fair Maid of Galloway, was a Scottish noblewoman, and a member of the Black Douglas family towards the end of the family's position as a major power in Scotland.
Born c. 1427, she was the daughter of Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas, and Eupheme Graham, daughter of Patrick Graham, Earl of Strathearn and Euphemia Stewart, Countess of Strathearn. [1]
She acquired Galloway when her two brothers (one of whom was William Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas) were murdered at the Black Dinner at Edinburgh Castle in 1440. [2]
Margaret married her cousin William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas. [3] He was assassinated by King James II and his entourage. Margaret obtained a papal dispensation [4] to marry his brother and successor, James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, with the marriage intended to retain the Douglas estates. [5]
In 1455, her second husband rebelled against King James II, was exiled and attained. Margaret separated from him [6] and petitioned the King to end her marriage. [4] She had no children by the Earls of Douglas.
She then married John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl, [7] who was half-brother to the King as the son of Joan Beaufort and her second husband James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorne. [8] They had two daughters: [9]
Both had issue.[ citation needed ]
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She is a significant character in Black Douglas by Nigel Tranter, which is rather speculative about her relationship with the 8th and 9th Earls of Douglas.
She is the protagonist and fictional author of Maid Margaret, a 1905 novel by Samuel Rutherford Crockett and also appears as an important character in his earlier novel The Black Douglas (1899).
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John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl, also known as Sir John Stewart of Balveny, was a Scottish nobleman and ambassador.
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Joan Beaufort was Queen of Scotland from 1424 to 1437 as the spouse of King James I of Scotland. During part of the minority of her son James II, she served as the regent of Scotland, the first dowager Queen of Scotland to do so since the 13th century.
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Máel Ísu or Malise II is the fifth known mormaer, or earl, of the Scottish region of Strathearn. He was the son of Robert, 4th Earl of Strathearn.
Hugh [probably Gaelic: Aodh], was the third successor of Ferchar mac in tSagairt as Mormaer of Ross (1323–1333).
Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas was a Scottish nobleman and general during the Hundred Years' War.
James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas, 1st Earl of Avondale, latterly known as James the Gross, and prior to his ennoblement as James of Balvenie, was a late mediaeval Scottish magnate. He was the second son of Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas, and Joan Moray of Bothwell and Drumsargard, d. after 1408.
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David Stewart, Prince of Scotland, was a 14th-century Scottish magnate. He was the eldest son of the second marriage of King Robert II with Euphemia de Ross. King Robert, on 26 March 1371, the day of his coronation, created him Earl of Strathearn, and on the following day his son David performed homage to his father as of Earl of Strathearn.
Euphemia Stewart, Countess of Strathearn was a medieval Scottish noblewoman, the daughter of David Stewart, Earl Palatine of Strathearn and Caithness. She succeeded to both her father's titles after his death between 1385 and 1389, probably March 1386.
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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.
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Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith was a Scottish noblewoman. She held the title Countess of Menteith in her own right, having inherited the title c. 1360 from her mother, Mary, Countess of Menteith, who was married to Sir John Graham. Graham was styled Earl of Menteith during his marriage with Mary, whom he predeceased. The Menteith region was situated partially in southwest Perthshire and partly in Stirlingshire.
Anne Stewart, Countess of Galloway, was the wife of John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway.
Harriet Stewart, Countess of Galloway, formerly Lady Harriet Blanche Somerset, was the wife of Randolph Stewart, 9th Earl of Galloway.
James Stewart, 5th Lord Innermeath was a Scottish peer, courtier and landowner.