Walter Leslie († 1382)

Sir Walter Leslie (also Lesley , * around 1320; † February 27, 1382 in Perth ) was a Scottish nobleman and one of the outstanding knights of his time. Through his marriage he was entitled iure uxoris to the title of Earl of Ross .

Life

His father was a younger son of Sir Andrew Leslie of that Ilk († 1324), his mother was Mary Abernathy.

In his younger years he was credited with a number of tournament victories , and he is said to have distinguished himself several times in the fight against the Saracens . There is documentary evidence that he and his older brother Norman († 1366) received an English pass on August 20, 1356 to undertake a trip to Prussia in support of the Teutonic Order . Another English assurance of safe conduct was given for October 1358. Presumably he then supported the French in the Hundred Years War .

On October 14, 1363, King David II awarded him an annual pension of £ 40 for services rendered. In the same year he received from King Edward III. safe escort from England together with his brother Norman to travel to the " Holy Land ". They traveled through France and Italy, appearing as witnesses to an agreement signed by the Florence authorities with the infamous White Company , a group of English mercenaries under Sir John Hawkwood who had fought in the Hundred Years War and are now hiring out in Italy. In 1365 Walter and Norman had reached Cyprus , where in 1365 Peter I , King of Cyprus and Titular King of Jerusalem, joined in his crusade against Alexandria . The Egyptian city was conquered and sacked on October 9, 1365.

Walter returned to Scotland in 1366 and was warmly received by King David II. Due to his previous successes, he was already a royal favorite. In recognition of his latest heroic deeds as a crusader, the king arranged for him to marry Euphemia , then 11 years old , the designated heiress of Uilleam, 5th Earl of Ross , whom David forced to admit the marriage. The wedding took place on September 13, 1366 at the latest, the papal dispensation for this was given on November 24, 1366.

In the following years he traveled both in Scotland and abroad. Between 1366 and 1370 he attested to some royal documents for David II, after which he supported the French troops in the fight against English armies. In the Battle of Pontvallain on December 4, 1370, he rendered such outstanding service that the French King Charles V awarded him an annual pension of 200 gold francs.

After the death of his father-in-law in 1372, he took possession of his lands in Ross . From the right of his wife he was entitled to the title of Earl of Ross . Nevertheless, for unclear reasons, he did not call himself “ Comes ” or “Earl” in documents at that time , but only “ Dominus de Ross” or “Lord of Ross”.

He died in Perth on February 27, 1382. From his marriage to Euphemia he had two children:

• Alexander Leslie, 7th Earl of Ross († 1402);
• Mary Leslie, 9th Countess of Ross († 1435) ⚭ Donald MacDonald, Lord of the Isles († 1423).

literature

• James Balfour Paul (Ed.): The Scots Peerage . tape 7 . Douglas, Edinburgh 1909, p. 239 f . ( archive.org [accessed April 28, 2019]).

Web links

• Walter Leslie, Earl of Ross on thepeerage.com , accessed April 28, 2019.
• Earl of Ross (Leslie). fmg.ac, accessed on April 28, 2019 . 

predecessor	Office	successor
Uilleam	Earl of Ross (iure uxoris) 1372-1382	Euphemia