Sir Robert Graham of Kinpont (died 1437) was a Scottish landowner, and one of the key conspirators in the assassination of King James I of Scotland in 1437. [1]
Robert Graham was the third son of Patrick Graham of Kincardine. He attended the University of Paris in the 1390s, potentially in preparation for entering the priesthood. His escutcheon is described as "On a chief indented, three escallops". [2]
In 1399 he married Marion Oliphant, daughter of John Oliphant of Aberdalgie. [3] Robert's brother Sir Patrick Graham (died 1413) acquired the Earldom of Strathearn through his 1406 marriage to Euphemia Stewart, Countess of Strathearn. Robert became tutor to his nephew, Malise Graham. [4] He is described as "a grete gentilman ... a man of grete wit and eloquence, wounder suttilye willyd and expert in the lawe". [4]
The Grahams were supporters of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, and his son Murdoch. When Murdoch and his two sons were executed by James I in 1425, Robert Graham was imprisoned in Dunbar Castle, but was free by 1428. [3] Around 1425, James I deprived Malise Graham of the Earldom of Strathearn, on the pretext that he had inherited from his mother. At the time, Malise was a minor and was also being held hostage in England. Some say this action which turned Robert Graham against his King although others question such a motivation. [4] The earldom was granted to Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, the uncle of James I, and Robert appears to have continued in the service of the new Earl.
Walter was next in line to the throne, and, though a distant relation, Graham's nephew – Malise – was the next in line after Walter. Walter and Robert both had further grievances against the King, and worked together to bring about his murder which was carried out by Graham. [3]
... Yitte dowte I nott but theat yee schulle see the daye and tyme that ye schulle pray for my sowle, for the grete good that I have done to yow, and to all this reume of Scotteland, that I have thus slayne and deliverde yow of so crewell a tyrant...
... Yet I do not doubt but that you shall see the day and time that you shall pray for my soul, for the great good that I have done to you, and to all in this realm of Scotland, that I have thus slain and delivered you of so cruel a tyrant...
— Sir Robert Graham [5]
In 1436, after a disastrous military expedition to Roxburgh, Sir Robert denounced the monarch in Parliament, [4] and attempted to arrest him. [6] He was arrested and imprisoned, but escaped. A conspiracy was formed between Sir Robert, the Earl of Atholl, and Atholl's grandson Robert Stewart. [4]
On the night of 20 February 1437, James was lodging in the Dominican Friary in Perth. Robert Stewart allowed the conspirators, including Sir Robert Graham and his son Thomas, into the lodging. Although the King attempted to hide in a drain, he was discovered and stabbed to death. [3] Sir Robert is said to have dealt the fatal blow. [6] The assassins escaped, but without killing the Queen, Joan Beaufort, who quickly assumed power as regent for the young James II. There was no wider support for the conspiracy, and the King's assassins were soon rounded up and brutally executed. Sir Robert was discovered in Perthshire and brought to Stirling, where he was executed in April. [3]
In 17th-century litigation surrounding the Earl of Airth and his claim on the Earldom of Strathearn, it was argued by the Crown that to recognise the Earl of Airth's claim would be a justification of Sir Robert Graham's murder of the King. [7] However, more recent historians have doubted that the deprivation of Malise Graham was such a strong motivation for Sir Robert's actions. [8]
James I was King of Scots from 1406 until his assassination in 1437. The youngest of three sons, he was born in Dunfermline Abbey to King Robert III and Annabella Drummond. His eldest brother David, Duke of Rothesay, died under suspicious circumstances while detained by his uncle, Robert, Duke of Albany. James's other brother, Robert, died young. Concerns for James's safety deepened in the winter of 1405–1406 prompting plans to send him to France. In February 1406, James took refuge in the castle of the Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth after his escort was attacked by supporters of Archibald, 4th Earl of Douglas. He remained there until mid-March when he boarded a vessel bound for France. On 22 March, an English vessel captured the ship and delivered James to Henry IV of England. The ailing Robert III died on 4 April and the 11-year-old James, now the uncrowned King of Scotland, would remain in captivity for eighteen years.
Earl of Caithness is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland, and it has a very complex history. Its first grant, in the modern sense as to have been counted in strict lists of peerages, is now generally held to have taken place in favor of Maol Íosa V, Earl of Strathearn, in 1334, although in the true circumstances of 14th century, this presumably was just a recognition of his hereditary right to the ancient earldom/mormaership of Caithness. The next year, however, all of his titles were declared forfeit for treason.
Earl of Airth was a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created on 21 January 1633 by Charles I, for William Graham, 7th Earl of Menteith. It became extinct on the death of his grandson in 1694.
The Mormaer or Earl of Atholl was the title of the holder of a medieval comital lordship straddling the highland province of Atholl, now in northern Perthshire. Atholl is a special Mormaerdom, because a King of Atholl is reported from the Pictish period. The only other two Pictish kingdoms to be known from contemporary sources are Fortriu and Circinn. Indeed, the early 13th century document known to modern scholars as the de Situ Albanie repeats the claim that Atholl was an ancient Pictish kingdom. In the 11th century, the famous Crínán of Dunkeld may have performed the role of Mormaer.
The Mormaer or Earl of Menteith was the ruler of the province of Menteith in the Middle Ages. The first mormaer is usually regarded as Gille Críst, simply because he is the earliest on record. The title was held in a continuous line from Gille Críst until Muireadhach IV, although the male line was broken on two occasions. A truncated version of the earldom was given two years later to Malise Graham, 1st Earl of Menteith, in compensation for loss of the Earldom of Strathearn, which was a likely result of the execution of the Duke of Albany.
Earl or Mormaer of Strathearn is a title of Scottish nobility, referring to the region of Strathearn in southern Perthshire. Of unknown origin, the mormaers are attested for the first time in a document perhaps dating to 1115. The first known mormaer, Malise I, is mentioned by Ailred of Rievaulx as leading native Scots in the company of King David at the Battle of the Standard, 1138. The last ruler of the Strathearn line was Malise, also Earl of Caithness and Orkney, who had his earldom forfeited by King Edward Balliol. In 1344 it was regranted by King David to Maurice de Moravia, a royal favourite who had a vague claim to the earldom as Malise's nephew and also stepfather.
William Graham, 7th Earl of Menteith, 1st Earl of Airth, was a 17th-century Scottish nobleman. A supporter of King Charles I, he held offices including Lord President of the Court of Session and was a Privy Counsellor. Although he fell from favour, he continued to support the Royal cause during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, when his estates were damaged by the troops of Oliver Cromwell. He married Agnes, daughter of Patrick, Lord Gray, and had a son John Graham, Lord of Kinpont, who had a son William Graham, 8th Earl of Menteith who prior to his death was styled William Graham, Lord of Kinpont.
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.
Malise III of Strathearn was a Scottish nobleman, the ruler of the region of Strathearn.
Malise IV of Strathearn was a Scottish nobleman, the seventh known ruler of Strathearn. He was an ardent supporter of King Robert the Bruce, in contrast to his father, Malise III, who sided with Edward I of England.
Hugh [probably Gaelic: Aodh], was the third successor of Ferchar mac in tSagairt as Mormaer of Ross (1323–1333).
Clan Murray is a Highland Scottish clan. The chief of the Clan Murray holds the title of Duke of Atholl. Their ancestors were the Morays of Bothwell who established the family in Scotland in the 12th century. In the 16th century, descendants of the Morays of Bothwell, the Murrays of Tullibardine, secured the chiefship of the clan and were created Earls of Tullibardine in 1606. The first Earl of Tullibardine married the heiress to the Stewart earldom of Atholl and Atholl therefore became a Murray earldom in 1626. The Murray Earl of Atholl was created Marquess of Atholl in 1676 and in 1703 it became a dukedom. The marquess of Tullibardine title has continued as a subsidiary title, being bestowed on elder sons of the chief until they succeed him as Duke of Atholl.
Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, Strathearn and Caithness was a Scottish nobleman, the son of Robert II of Scotland. Stewart advocated for the ransom and return to Scotland of the future king in exile, James I, in 1424. In 1425 he served as a member of the jury of 21 which tried and executed his nephew Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany. Eventually, however, Atholl turned against the King and conspired in his assassination in 1437. He was tried for murder and was executed after three days of torture.
Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas was a Scottish nobleman and general during the Hundred Years' War.
Euphemia de Ross (1329–1386), a member of Clan Ross, was Queen of Scots as the second wife of Robert II of Scotland.
Maurice de Moravia, Earl of Strathearn (1276–1346), also known as Maurice Moray or Murray, was a Scottish nobleman.
John Campbell, Earl of Atholl was a Scottish nobleman.
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.
Malise Graham, 1st Earl of Menteith was a 15th-century Scottish magnate, who was the heir to the Scottish throne between 1437 and 1451, if Elizabeth Mure's children were not counted as lawful heirs.
Sir John Menteith of Ruskie and Knapdale was a Scottish nobleman during the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is known for his capture of Sir William Wallace in 1305 and later joined with King Robert I of Scotland and received large land grants in Knapdale and Kintyre for his service. He is described as "guardian" of the Earldom of Menteith, as his great-nephew Alan II, Earl of Menteith was a minor at the time of the death of Alan I, Earl of Menteith.