William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Scottish noble (c. 1323–1384)}}

{{otherpeople|William Douglas}}

{{Other people|William Douglas}}

{{Infobox Monarch

{{Lead too short|date=November 2020}}

| name =William Douglas

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}

| title =Earl of Douglas

{{Use British English|date=June 2014}}

| image =[[Image:Seal_of_1st_Earl_of_Douglas.jpg‎|thumb|250px|centre]]

{{Infobox peer

| caption =Seal of the 1st Earl of Douglas

| reignname = William Douglas

| title = [[Earl of Douglas]]

| image = Seal of 1st Earl of Douglas.jpg

| caption = Seal of William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas.

| tenure = 26 January 1358 – 1 May 1384

| coronation =

| othertitles other_titles = [[Earl of Mar]]<br/>Lord of [[Liddesdale]]

| predecessor =[[Sir Archibald''New Douglas]]Creation''

| successor = [[James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas]]

| marriedspouse = [[Margaret, Countess of Mar]]

| issue = [[James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas]]<br/>[[Isabel Douglas, Countess of Mar]]<br/>[[George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus]] (illegitimate)<br/>Lady Margaret Douglas (illegitimate)

| parents = [[Archibald Douglas (died 1333)|Sir Archibald Douglas]]<br/>Beatrice de Lindsay

| royal house =

| dynastybirth_date = c. =Douglas1323

| birth_place = [[Douglas, South Lanarkshire|Douglas]], [[Lanarkshire]], Scotland

| royal anthem =

| fatherdeath_date = 1 May {{death =[[Siryear Archibaldand Douglas]]age|1384|1323}}

| death_place = Douglas, Lanarkshire, Scotland

| mother =[[Beatrice Lindsay]]

| date of birth burial =[[1327]] 1384

| place of birth burial = [[ScotlandMelrose Abbey]]<ref>Maxwell, vol I, p.93</ref>

| datenationality of death =[[May ]], [[1384Scotland|Scottish]]

| residence = [[Hermitage Castle]]<br/>[[Tantallon Castle]]

| place of death =[[Douglas, South Lanarkshire]]

|noble family=[[Clan Douglas]]}}

| date of burial =[[1384]]

| place of burial =St Bride's Kirk, Douglas

|}}

'''William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas''' (c.[[1327]]-[[ 1323 – 1 May 1384]]), was a [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scottish]] nobleman, peer, magnate, and head of the Black Douglas family. Under his leadership, the Black Douglases continued their climb to pre-eminence in Scottish politics begun under his uncle, Sir James the Good, as well as their military dominance of the south of Scotland.

==Early life==

He was the son of [[Sir Archibald Douglas]] and Beatrice Lindsay, and nephew of [[James Douglas (the Black)|"Sir James the Good"]], [[Robert I of Scotland|Bruce]]'s trusted deputy. He was educated in [[France]], and returned to Scotland in 1348. In 1353 he killed his uncle [[Sir William Douglas of Liddesdale]], a knight, in [[Ettrick, Scotland|Ettrick Forest]]. Liddesdale was known as the "Flower of Chivalry", and had been warden of the western Marches, along the English border, during the minority of King [[David II of Scotland|David II]]. He had helped drive English invaders from the area, but had lost the king's favour when he murdered Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie, sheriff of [[Teviotdale]]. Some of his lands passed to his kinsman and murderer.

William Douglas was the son of [[Archibald Douglas (died 1333)|Sir Archibald Douglas (died 1333)]] and Beatrice de Lindsay, the daughter of Sir Alexander de Lindsay of [[Crawford, South Lanarkshire]].<ref>G.E. Cokayne, with various editors, ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14'' (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), Volume IV, pg.430. Hereinafter cited as ''The Complete Peerage''.</ref> He was the nephew of [[James Douglas, Lord of Douglas|"Sir James the Good"]], the trusted deputy of King [[Robert I of Scotland]]. From the time of his father's death at the [[Battle of Halidon Hill]], Douglas is described as being a [[ward (legal)|ward]] of his kinsman and godfather, [[William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale|William Douglas, Knight of Liddesdale]], and was educated in [[Kingdom of France|France]].<ref>Maxwell, Vol I, p.76</ref> In 1342, under pressure from Liddesdale, his uncle [[Hugh Douglas, Lord of Douglas|Hugh the Dull]] resigned the Lordship of Douglas to him, though Liddesdale rapaciously administered his estates while it was in his ward-ship, and assumed direct ownership of some of the Douglas territories.

Douglas returned to Scotland in 1348 and immediately started to put his house in order. In 1346-47 following the [[Battle of Neville's Cross]], [[David II of Scotland|King David II]], and other nobility, including Liddesdale, were held captive by the English. [[Edward Baliol]] used the opportunity to ravage the whole of the south of Scotland. After his return, Douglas gathered his men and drove the English out from his ancestral lands of Douglasdale.<ref>Fraser, Vol I, p.217</ref> Douglas went in the style of his uncle, the Good Sir James, and for the following few years waged a guerrilla war against the English in the [[Ettrick Forest]] and [[Jedforest]]s.<ref>Fraser, VolI, p.217</ref>

Douglas was created [[Earl of Douglas]] in 1358, a year after marrying [[Margaret, Countess of Mar|Margaret]], sister and heiress of [[Thomas, Earl of Mar]], which brought him the estates of Mar. He styled himself [[Earl of Mar]], until his own elevation to the peerage.

Douglas next became one of the commissioners to negotiate with the English for the release of [[David II of Scotland]].<ref>Fraser, Vol I p.218</ref>

During a short truce with the warden of the English marches he had served in France, being wounded at [[Battle of Poitiers (1356)|Poitiers]] in 1356, where Scottish troops supported the French as part of the [[Auld Alliance]]. He was one of the securities for the payment of David II's ransom following the [[battle of Neville's Cross]], and in consequence of the royal misappropriation of some moneys raised for this purpose, Douglas was for a short time in rebellion in 1363. In 1364 he joined David II in seeking a treaty with England which would have written off Scotland's debt to England in return for depriving his nephew Robert the Steward, formerly an ally of Douglas, of the succession. [[Edward III of England|Edward III's]] son [[Lionel of Antwerp]] would have taken the Scottish throne, although the independence of Scotland was to be guaranteed, and a special clause provided for the restoration of the English estates of the Douglas family.

==Death of the Knight of Liddesdale==

The plan never succeeded, and on the accession of [[Robert II of Scotland|Robert II]], Douglas was nevertheless reconciled, being appointed [[Justiciar]] South of the Forth in [[1372]]. The last years of his life were spent in making and repelling border raids. He died at [[Douglas, South Lanarkshire|Douglas]] in May 1384, leaving a son [[James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas|James]], who succeeded him as earl, and a daughter, [[Isabel Douglas, Countess of Mar|Isabel]], who became Countess of Mar in her own right.

In 1353, [[Edward Baliol]] was ensconced at [[Buittle]] in his ancestral territories in [[Galloway]]. Douglas led a raid there to eject him due to Baliol's forfeiture of those lands that had been made over to Sir James Douglas in 1324.<ref>Maxwell, VolI p.57</ref> Following this raid, returning through the Forest, Douglas came across Liddesdale hunting on what Douglas viewed as his [[desmesne]]. This was the match that lit the fuse of years of resentment over Liddesdale's assumption of the Douglas patrimony, notwithstanding Liddesdale's murder of Sir [[Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie]] which [[John of Fordun]] gives as a reason for the enmity between the men.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/johannisdefordun02ford#page/360/mode/2up Fordun, p.360 clxx]</ref> Another more likely explanation for the killing was Liddesdale's treasonous agreement with the English to gain his own freedom from captivity. Liddesdale, once in high standing with the Crown, had fallen into disfavour following his murder of Ramsay and another Knight, Sir David de Barclay. Douglas set upon Liddesdale and killed him. In February 1354, William of Douglas received a new [[charter]] from King David bestowing all the lands held by his uncle Sir James, his father Sir Archibald, and [[Liddesdale]] itself.<ref>Maxwell, Vol I pp.78-79</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/douglasbook01fras#page/627/mode/2up Fraser, vol i, pp222-228]</ref>

==War with England and Battle of Poitiers==

William Douglas also fathered an illegitimate son by his wife's sister-in-law, Margaret Stewart, widow of Thomas of Mar and Countess of Angus in her own right. The son, [[George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus|George]], inherited the estates of Angus, and was later created [[Earl of Angus]].

In 1355 the truce with England expired and Douglas with the [[Patrick V, Earl of March|Earl of Dunbar and March]], whose lands had been ravaged, decided to attack [[Norham Castle]] in retaliation. One of Douglas' captains, Sir William Ramsay of Dalhousie, was instructed to despoil, ransack and ravage the lands around Norham and burn the town in an effort to entice the garrison out to battle. Ramsay did so and the English under the castle's constable, Sir [[Thomas Grey of Heaton]] and [[William Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre|Lord Dacre]], gave chase. Douglas and March, meanwhile were encamped seven miles away in woodland to the south of [[Duns, Scottish Borders|Duns]], when Ramsay had reached them. The English pursuers were ambushed by the Scots force and completely overwhelmed. Following this [[Battle of Nesbit Moor (1355)|Battle of Nesbit Moor]], Douglas and March joined with the [[Thomas Stewart, 2nd Earl of Angus|Earl of Angus]] along with French allies commanded by Sir Eugene de Garencieres took [[Berwick upon Tweed|Berwick]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maxwell |first1=Sir Herbert |title=A History of the House of Douglas from the Earliest Times Down to the Legislative Union of England and Scotland |date=1902 |publisher=Freemantle & Co |___location=London |page=Vol I p. 79}}</ref>

After taking the town of Berwick, they failed to take the castle and had to retire from there before the advancing army of [[Edward III of England|Edward III]]. King Edward laid waste to the Lothians in an event that would be known as the "[[Burnt Candlemas]]". His supply lines were overstretched. English supply ships were lost in a storm. The Scots' scorched earth policy prevented raiding for supplies, and Edward had to turn homewards, but not before being ambushed and nearly taken by Lord Douglas's men outside [[Melrose, Scottish Borders|Melrose]].<ref>Fordun, CLXXVI, p. 374</ref><ref>Maxwell, vol I, p. 80</ref> Following Edward's retreat into England, Douglas arranged a truce with [[William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton]] that would last until [[Michaelmas]].<ref>Maxwell, vol I, p. 80</ref>

He also arranged a [[Safe conduct]] to visit the captive King David. Following this, Douglas crossed with a large following to France and took up arms with [[John II of France|Jean le Bon]] against [[Edward of Woodstock]], the [[Black Prince]]. Douglas was present at the [[Battle of Poitiers (1356)|Battle of Poitiers]] where he was knighted by the French King. Douglas fought in the King's own [[Battle (formation)|Battle]], but when the fight seemed over Douglas was dragged by his men from the melee. [[Froissart's Chronicles|Froissart]] states that "... the Earl Douglas of Scotland, who fought a season valiantly, but when he saw the discomfiture he departed and saved himself; for in no wise would he be taken by the Englishmen, he would rather there be slain".<ref>Froissart,CLXII, pp.124-126</ref> After the defeat there Douglas escaped, but left a number of his men either slain or captive, including his first cousin latterly the 3rd Earl of Douglas, [[Archibald the Grim]].<ref>Fordun, CLXXVII pp.375-376</ref><ref>Fordun, p.377 ''note''</ref>

Douglas returned to Scotland by mid-autumn, and was involved in peace negotiations with the English; one aspect of the treaty was the creation of [[Lord Warden of the Marches|March Wardens]], of which Douglas was one. Under the auspice of this office, Douglas seized [[Hermitage Castle]] in Liddesdale from the English in response to their depredations on [[Eskdale, Scotland|Eskdale]].<ref>Maxwell, Vol 1, p.80</ref> Douglas was part of the parliament that met at Berwick in 1357, which finalised the release of King David through the [[Treaty of Berwick (1357)|Treaty of Berwick]], Douglas himself being one of the securities for his release.<ref>Fraser, Vol.I,p.233</ref>

==Earl of Douglas and Mar==

Douglas was created '''[[Earl of Douglas]]''' on 26 January 1358.<ref>Maxwell, Vol.I, p.81</ref><ref>Fraser Vol.I, p.234</ref> To reflect his new-found status, he built [[Tantallon Castle]], a medieval castle surrounded by a curtain wall.<ref>Tabraham, ''Tantallon Castle'', p.16</ref> The castle became the home of Douglas' sister-in-law and mistress, [[Margaret Stewart, 3rd Countess of Angus]], the mother of his illegitimate son, [[George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus|George Douglas]], who would later be created [[Earl of Angus]] by the right of his mother.<ref>Salter, ''The Castles of Lothian and the Borders'', pp.86–88</ref>

In 1364, Douglas joined King David II in seeking a treaty with England that would have written off Scotland's debt to England in return for depriving his nephew, [[Robert the Steward]], formerly an ally of Douglas, of the succession. King Edward III's son, [[Lionel of Antwerp]], would have taken the Scottish throne, although the independence of Scotland was to be guaranteed, and a special clause was to be provided for the restoration of the English estates of the Douglas family.

The plan never succeeded, and on the accession of Robert the Steward as King Robert II, Douglas was nevertheless reconciled and appointed [[Justiciar of Lothian|Justiciar South of the Forth]] in 1372. The last years of Douglas' life were spent in making and repelling border raids. He died at [[Douglas, South Lanarkshire]], on 1 May 1384.

==Marriage and issue==

William Douglas married in 1357, [[Margaret, Countess of Mar|Margaret of Mar]], the daughter of [[Domhnall II, Earl of Mar]] and Isabella Stewart, who succeeded her brother Thomas as [[Earl of Mar|Countess of Mar]].<ref>G.E. Cokayne, with various editors, ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14'' (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), Volume IV, page 431. Hereinafter cited as ''The Complete Peerage''.</ref> They had two children:

*[[James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas]] (1358–1388)

*[[Isabel Douglas, Countess of Mar|Lady Isabel Douglas, Countess of Mar]] (1360–1408)

The Earl of Douglas also fathered two illegitimate children by [[Margaret Stewart, 4th Countess of Angus|Margaret Stewart]], the widow of [[Thomas, Earl of Mar]], who had been Douglas's brother-in-law. She was also [[Earl of Angus|Countess of Angus]] in her own right:

*[[George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus|George Douglas]] (1380–1403), who inherited the estates of [[Angus, Scotland|Angus]] and was later created [[Earl of Angus]], being the heir of his mother.

*Lady Margaret Douglas, who received in 1404, the lands of [[Bonjedward]] from her half-sister, Lady Isabel Douglas.<ref>Fraser, Vol.I, pp.290-91</ref>

He is also said to have been the father of another illegitimate daughter, Joan Douglas, who married [[William Dacre, 5th Baron Dacre]].<ref>Cokayne, George Edward [https://books.google.com/books?id=k7IKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA2 "Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Great Britain, Vol. 3"] pg. 2</ref>

==In literature==

William Douglas is one of the characters in The Road to Poitiers by Jonathan Lunn.<ref>Lunn, Jonathan, The Road to Poitiers, Canelo Adventure 2024.</ref>

==References==

*{{1911}}

* ''The House of Douglas'' by Sir Herbert Maxwell, Bt., M.P., etc., with an introduction by W. A. Lindsay, [[Windsor Herald]], London, 1902, volume 1 (of 2).

*[http://www.thepeerage.com/p10949.htm#i109487 thepeerage.com]

===Notes===

{{start box}}{{s-reg|sct}}

{{reflist|3}}

{{succession box |

before=New Creation|

===Sources===

title=[[Earl of Douglas]]|

* {{EB1911|wstitle = Douglas|volume=8}}

after=[[james Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas|James Douglas]]|

*[[Michael Brown (historian)|Brown Michael]], ''Black Douglases: War and Lordship in Late Medieval Scotland, 1300-1455''. Tuckwell Press. 1998

years=[[1358]]-[[1384]]|

*Brenan, Gerald, ''A History of the House of Percy II vols''. London 1902

}}

*[[John of Fordun|Fordun, John of]], ''Chronica Gentis Scotorum'', ed.[[William Forbes Skene|Skene, W.F.]], Edinburgh 1871.[https://archive.org/details/johannisdefordun01ford]

{{end box}}

*[[William Fraser (historian)|Fraser, Sir William]], ''The Douglas Book IV vols''. Edinburgh. 1885

*The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707 [http://www.rps.ac.uk/], K.M. Brown ''et al.'' eds (St Andrews, 2007–2011).

*[[Jean Froissart|Froissart]] ''Chronicles'', trans. [[John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners|Lord Berners]], ed. [[George Campbell Macaulay|Macaulay, G.C.]] London 1904.[https://archive.org/details/chroniclesoffroi00froiuoft]

*[[Thomas Grey (chronicler)|Grey, Sir Thomas]], ''Scalacronica'', trans. Maxwell. Glasgow 1904.[https://archive.org/details/scalacronicareig01grayuoft]

*[[Herbert Maxwell|Maxwell, Sir Herbert]], ''A History of the House of Douglas II vols''. London. 1902

*[[John Sadler (historian)|Sadler, John]], ''Border Fury-England and Scotland at War 1296-1568''. Pearson Education. 2005.

{{s-start}}

{{s-reg|sct}}

{{s-new| Creation}}

{{s-ttl | title = [[File:Douglas Arms 3.svg|40px]]<br> [[Earl of Douglas]] | years = 1358&ndash;1384}}

{{s-aft| after = [[james Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas|James Douglas]]

}}

{{succession box

| before = [[Margaret, Countess of Mar|Margaret Douglas]]

| title = [[Earl of Mar]] ''jure uxoris''

| after = [[James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas|James Douglas]]

| years = 1374&ndash;1384

}}

{{s-reg|sct-ba}}

{{succession box

| before = [[Hugh the Dull, Lord of Douglas]]

| title = [[File:Douglas Arms 3.svg|40px]]<br> [[Lord of Douglas]]

| after = [[james Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas|James Douglas]]

| years = 1342&ndash;1384

}}

{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Earls in the Peerage of Scotland|Douglas, William Douglas, 1st Earl of]]

[[Category:1327 births|Douglas, William Douglas, 1st Earl of]]

[[Category:1384 deaths|Douglas, William Douglas, 1st Earl of]]

[[no{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, William Douglas, 1.1st jarlEarl av Douglas]]of}}

[[Category:1320s births]]

[[Category:1384 deaths]]

[[Category:Nobility from South Lanarkshire]]

[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]

[[Category:Earls of Douglas]]

[[Category:House of Douglas and Angus|William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas]]

[[Category:People of the Hundred Years' War]]

[[Category:Burials at Melrose Abbey]]

[[Category:Earls or mormaers of Mar]]

[[Category:14th-century Scottish earls]]