William I, Lord of Douglas

Last updated

William of Douglas (died c. 1214) was a medieval nobleman living in Clydesdale, an area under the control of the King of the Scots.

Contents

Enigmatic origins

The origins of William are uncertain, the first of the name of Douglas to appear on historic record. He appears as witness to a charter of Jocelin, Bishop of Glasgow in 1174 in favour of the monks of Kelso Abbey, at which time he was in possession of the Lands of Douglas. [1] It seems he was the son of Theobald le Fleming (born 1120, Aldingham Manor, Lancashire, England died 1193, Douglasdale, Midlothian, Scotland) and his wife, the sister of Freskin de Kersdale (of Moray).

Sholto/William

David Hume of Godscroft in his history refers to the progenitor of the House of Douglas, Sholto. Gleaned from the works of Buchanan and Boece, Godscroft's narrative explains that during the reign of a King Solvathius, Sholto Douglas was instrumental in putting down an uprising by a usurper Donald Bain in 767AD, and as reward was granted the lands that would after be called Douglas. [2]

Both Balfour Paul and Maxwell agree that this origin tale is mythic, but do contest that William of Douglas was active at the time of the real rebellion of the Meic Uilleim, under their chief Domnall mac Uilleim. The earlier historians may have confused the mythic Donald Bain with Domnall Bán mac Domnaill, the penultimate Meic Uilleim chief.

This may be corroborated by the facts that the lands of Douglas marched with those of the leader of King William I of Scotland's retaliatory forces, Lochlann, Lord of Galloway. William may well have been a vassal of the Lord of Galloway. Furthermore, all of William's sons with the exception of the eldest were to hold privileged ecclesiastic positions within the former Meic Uilleim territories in Moray.

Although William de Douglas was the first known owner of Douglasdale, holding that land between 1174 and 1213, there is no reason to doubt that his father was "Theobaldo Flamatico" or Theobald the Fleming. The family's arms indicate the kinship with Murray and a descent like that of Brodie and Innes, from a third son of the house of Boulogne. In Flanders, there was a family of the Theobalds who were hereditary castellans of Ypres between about 1060 and 1127, after which their history becomes obscure. Theobald's lands in Scotland were granted to him soon after 1150 by the Abbot of Kelso. William de Douglas, the heir, having married the sister of Friskin de Kerdale or Freskin of Moray, had by her six sons; the five younger of them all went to Moray to support their uncle there and his own heir, Archenbald, stayed in Lanarkshire to inherit the Douglas estates. Archenbald married a daughter of Sir John Crawford.

Issue

William of Douglas may have married Margaret, a sister of Freskin of Kerdal, a Flemish laird from Moray. [3] He had issue:

Related Research Articles

Andrew Moray, also known as Andrew de Moray, Andrew of Moray, or Andrew Murray, was an esquire, who became one of Scotland's war-leaders during the First Scottish War of Independence. He initially raised a small band of supporters at Avoch Castle in early summer 1297 to fight King Edward I of England, and soon had successfully regained control of north Scotland for the Scots king, John Balliol. He subsequently merged his army with that of William Wallace, and jointly led the combined army to victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge on 11 September 1297. Moray was mortally wounded in the fighting at Stirling, dying at an unknown date and place that year.

Earl of Douglas Scottish title

This page is concerned with the holders of the forfeit title Earl of Douglas and the preceding feudal barons of Douglas, South Lanarkshire. The title was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1358 for William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, son of Sir Archibald Douglas, Guardian of Scotland. The Earldom was forfeited by James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, in 1455.

Clan Sutherland Highland Scottish clan

Clan Sutherland is a Highland Scottish clan whose traditional territory is the shire of Sutherland in the far north of Scotland. The chief of the clan was also the powerful Earl of Sutherland, however in the early 16th century this title passed through marriage to a younger son of the chief of Clan Gordon. The current chief is Alistair Sutherland who holds the title Earl of Sutherland.

Clan Douglas Lowland Scottish clan

Clan Douglas is an ancient clan or noble house from the Scottish Lowlands.

William fitz Duncan was a Scottish prince, the son of King Duncan II of Scotland by his wife Ethelreda of Dunbar. He was a territorial magnate in northern Scotland and northern England and a military leader.

The Meic Uilleim (MacWilliams) were the Gaelic descendants of William fitz Duncan, grandson of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, king of Scots. They were excluded from the succession by the descendants of Máel Coluim's son David I during the 12th century and raised a number of rebellions to vindicate their claims to the Mormaerdom of Moray and perhaps to the rule of Scotland.

Spynie Palace Ruined castle in Moray, Scotland, UK

Spynie Palace, also known as Spynie Castle, was the fortified seat of the Bishops of Moray for about 500 years in Spynie, Moray, Scotland. The founding of the palace dates back to the late 12th century. It is situated about 500 m from the location of the first officially settled Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Moray, Holy Trinity Church in present-day Spynie Churchyard. For most of its occupied history, the castle was not described as a palace — this term first appeared in the Registry of Moray in a writ of 1524.

William Comyn, Lord of Badenoch Scottish Nobleman

William Comyn was Lord of Badenoch and Earl of Buchan. He was one of the seven children of Richard Comyn, Justiciar of Lothian, and Hextilda of Tynedale. He was born in Scotland, in Altyre, Moray in 1163 and died in Buchan in 1233 where he is buried in Deer Abbey.

William the Hardy, Lord of Douglas Scottish nobleman and warlord

Sir William Douglas "le Hardi", Lord of Douglas was a Scottish nobleman and warlord.

Freskin

Freskin was a Flemish nobleman who settled in Scotland during the reign of King David I, becoming the progenitor of the Murray and Sutherland families, and possibly others.

William, Lord of Douglas, known as 'Longleg', was a Scottish nobleman. He was the son of Archibald I, Lord of Douglas.

William Douglas, 9th Earl of Angus was a Scottish nobleman and zealous supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Gofraid mac Domnaill, was a thirteenth-century Scottish rebel. The son of Domnall, his father's surname was almost certainly MacWilliam though Bane has been proposed.

Roberton is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Alexander Lindsay, 1st Lord Spynie 16th-17th century Scottish noble

Alexander Lindsay, 1st Lord Spynie was a Scottish nobleman. His death is the subject of the ballad Lord Spynie.

John Lyon, 8th Lord Glamis was a Scottish nobleman, judge and Lord High Chancellor of Scotland.

Richard de Moravia 13th century Scottish noble

Richard de Moravia or Richard de Moray of Culbin or of Cubyn, was a Scottish nobleman famed for his victory over the Vikings at the Battle of Embo which took place in Sutherland, Scotland in 1245.

William de Moravia, Lord of Petty, Bracholy, Boharm and Arteldol, was a Scottish noble.

Hugh de Moravia 12th-13th century Scottish noble

Hugh de Moravia, Lord of Duffus, Strathbrock and Sutherland, was a Scottish noble.

Kintrae is a hamlet in the parish of Spynie, Moray, Scotland, originally located on the southern shore of Loch Spynie. The name is Celtic, meaning “the top of the tide”.

References

Notes

Sources

Preceded by
unknown
 Douglas Arms 1.svg
Lord of Douglas
b.1174–c.1214		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.