JAMES, 2ND EARL OF DOUGLAS AND MAR(c. 13581388)

This article appears in Volume V08, Page 443 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: INV-JED

JAMES, 2ND EARL OF DOUGLAS AND MAR(c. 13581388) , married Lady Isabel Stewart, daughter of Robert II. In 1385 he made war on the English with the assistance of a French contingent under John de Vienne. He allowed the English to advance to Edinburgh, wisely refusing battle, and contented himself with a destructive counter-raid on Carlisle. Disputes soon arose between the allies, and the French returned home at the end of the year. In 1388 Douglas captured Hotspur Percy's pennon in a skirmish near Newcastle. Percy sought revenge in the battle of Otterburn (August 1388), which ended in a victory for the Scots and the capture of Hotspur and his brother, though Douglas fell in the fight. The struggle, narrated by Froissart, is celebrated in the English and Scottish ballads called " Chevy Chase " and " The Battle of Otterburn." Sir Philip Sidney " never heard the olde song of Percy and Douglas that I found not my heart mooved more than with a trumpet " (Apologie for Poetrie). The 2nd

earl

EARL

left no legitimate male issue. His natural sons William and Archibald became the ancestors of the families of Douglas of
' A descendant of a younger son of the

original

ORIGINAL

William de Douglas.
Un the murder of the knight of Liddesdale, his lands, with the exception of Liddesdale and the Hermitage forfeited to the crown and then secured by his nephew, fell to his nephew, Sir James Douglas of

Dalkeith

DALKEITH

and Aberdour (d. 1420), whose great-grandson James Douglas, 3rd Lord

Dalkeith

DALKEITH

(d. 1504), became

earl

EARL

of Morton in 1458 on his

marriage

MARRIAGE

with Lady Joan Stewart, third daughter of
James I. His grandson, the 3rd earl, left daughters only, of whom the eldest, Margaret, married James Hamilton, earl of Arran, regent of Scotland, ancestor of the dukes of Hamilton; Elizabeth married 'in 1543 James Douglas, who became by this

marriage

MARRIAGE

4th earl of Morton.
Drumlanrig (see QUEENSBERRY) and Douglas of Cavers. His sister Isabel became countess of Mar, inheriting the lands of Mar and his unentailed estates.
The earldom and entailed estates of Douglas reverted by the patent of 1358 to ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS, 3RD EARL OF DOUGLAS, called The Grim " (c. 1328-c. 1400), a natural son of the " good" Sir James. With his

cousin

, the 1st earl of Douglas, he had fought at Poitiers, where he was taken prisoner, but was released through ignorance of his real rank. On his return to Scotland he became constable and sheriff of Edinburgh, and, later, warden of the western marches, where his position was strengthened by his becoming lord of Galloway in 1369 and by his purchase of the earldom of Wigtown in x372. He further increased his estates by his marriage with

Joanna

JOANNA (1479-1555)

Moray, heiress of Bothwell. During the intervals of war with the English he imposed feudal law on the border chieftains, drawing up a

special

SPECIAL

code for the marches. He was twice sent on missions to the French court. The power of the Black Douglas overshadowed the crown under the weak rule of Robert III., and in 1399 he arranged a marriage between David, duke of Rothesay, the king's son and

heir

HEIR (Lat. heres, from a root meaning to grasp, seen in heres or erus, master of a
house
- HOUSE
- HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)
, Gr. xeip, hand, Sans. hat ana, hand)

, and his own daughter, Marjory Douglas. Rothesay was already contracted to marry Elizabeth Dunbar, daughter of the earl of March, who had paid a large sum for the honour. March, alienated from his allegiance by this breach of faith on the king's part, now joined the English forces. 'A natural son of Archibald, Sir William of Douglas, lord of Nithisdale (d. 1392), married Egidia, daughter of Robert III.
Archibald the Grim was succeeded by his eldest son,ARCHIBALD, 4TH EARL OF DOUGLAS, 1St duke of Touraine, lord of Galloway and Annandale (1372-1424), who married in 1390 Lady Margaret Stewart, eldest daughter of John, earl of Carrick, afterwards King Robert III. In 1400 March and Hotspur Percy had laid waste eastern Scotland as far as

Lothian

LOTHIAN

when they were defeated by Douglas (then master of Douglas) near Preston. With the regent, Robert, duke of Albany, he was suspected of complicity in the murder (March 1402) of David, duke of Rothesay, who was in their custody at Falkland Castle, but both were officially declared guiltless by the parliament. In that year Douglas raided England and was taken prisoner at Homildon Hill by the Percys. He fought on the side of his captors at Shrewsbury (1403), and was taken prisoner by the English king Henry IV. He became reconciled during his captivity with the earl of March,whose lands had been conferred on Douglas, but were now, with the exception of Annandale, restored. He returned to Scotland in 1409, but was in constant communication with the English court for the release of the captive king James I. In 1412 he had visited Paris, when he entered into a personal alliance with John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy, and in 1423 he commanded a ' contingent of 10,000 Scots sent to the help of Charles VII. against the English. He was made lieutenant-general in the French army, and received the peerage-duchy of Touraine with remainder to his heirs-male. The new duke was defeated and slain at Verneuil (1424) with his second son, James; his persistent ill-luck earned him the title of the Tyneman (the loser).

End of Article: JAMES, 2ND EARL OF DOUGLAS AND MAR(c. 13581388)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/INV_JED/JAMES_2ND_EARL_OF_DOUGLAS_AND_.html">
JAMES, 2ND EARL OF DOUGLAS AND MAR(c. 13581388)
</a>

(Previous)
JAMES V

(Next)
JAMES, DAVID (1839-1893)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email