Agnes Randolph

Lady Agnes Randolph (also Agnes Dunbar, Countess of Dunbar or Countess of March ), called Black Agnes (* around 1308, † 1369 ), was a Scottish noblewoman . She played an important role during the Second Scottish War of Independence .

Origin and marriage

Agnes was born around 1308 as the eldest daughter of Thomas Randolph , later the Earl of Moray, and his wife Isabel Stewart. She had two brothers, Thomas Randolph, 2nd Earl of Moray , and John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray , and a sister, Isabella. She was popularly called Black Agnes after the chronicler Pitscottie because of her dark complexion . After Pittscottie, she was also exceptionally smart. Around 1320 she married Patrick Dunbar, 8th Earl of Dunbar , who also dubbed himself Earl of March . Since Dunbar was her cousin, they needed a papal dispensation for the marriage .

Black Agnes in an illustration from H. E. Marshall's Scotland's Story (1906)

Role during the Scottish War of Independence

During the Second Scottish War of Independence, after the Scottish defeat in the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333 , her husband changed sides and supported the claim to the throne of Edward Balliol, who was supported by England . Then he was allowed with the permission and financial support of the English King Edward III. Reinstall Dunbar Castle . In early 1335 at the latest, however, he switched back to the Scottish side and supported the supporters of the underage King David II. In 1337, William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury and Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel , the two English commanders in Scotland, decided strategically important Dunbar Castle to conquer.

Agnes was alone in the castle as lord of the castle when the English began the siege in January 1338. Agnes defended the castle with the remaining crew and the ladies of her retinue present. The English erected catapults and other siege machines for the siege, with which the castle was shelled. Agnes led the defense of the castle, appearing on the battlements even while the siege machines were being bombarded. According to tradition, Agnes or a lady of her retinue is said to have cleaned the battlements from dust with a clean cloth after a stone had hit the walls. When Montagu brought a siege machine called a sow to the castle, the defenders were able to destroy the machine with a stone specially prepared for it. The English soldiers who then fled were loudly mocked by Agnes.

Salisbury is said to have tried to bribe a guard to open the gate for the English. The guard took the Salisbury bribe and informed Agnes that Salisbury was waiting for him and that she was trying to arrest him at the castle with the portcullis. This failed because one of the men pushed himself in front of Salisbury and thus protected him from capture. In the end, attempts were made to blackmail Agnes: her brother, John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray, had been captured by the English and Agnes was threatened with his death. Agnes replied that you should do so, because then she would be her brother's heir. The English king was so impressed by their resistance that he interrupted his preparations for his campaign in Flanders and traveled to Dunbar. Finally he decided to break off the five-month siege, as he wanted to concentrate his forces on the war with France . The siege of Dunbar Castle is considered to be one of the last great military actions of the English in the Scottish Wars of Independence.

Moray heiress

After the death of Agnes brother John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray at the Battle of Neville's Cross in 1345, her husband Patrick Dunbar assumed the title of Earl of Moray . Although King David II bestowed this title on the English Duke of Lancaster after his release in 1357 , Dunbar seemed to have continued the title. Most of all, he retained control of his late brother-in-law's extensive estates in Dumfriesshire , Ayrshire , Aberdeenshire and Fife , which Agnes had inherited with her younger sister Isabel. Isabel had married a cousin of Dunbar, also named Sir Patrick Dunbar . With him she had a son, George Dunbar . Since Agnes and Patrick's marriage was childless, George, her nephew, inherited their estates. Agnes appeared for the last time in 1367, she died two years later in the same year as her husband.

Modern reception

Judy Chicago dedicated an inscription to Agnes Randolph on the triangular floor tiles of the Heritage Floor of her installation The Dinner Party . The porcelain tiles labeled with the name Agnes of Dunbar are assigned to the place with the place setting for Christine de Pizan .

Web links

• Fiona Watson: Dunbar, Agnes, countess of Dunbar or of March (d. 1369). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Pedigree: Agnes RANDOLPH. In: fabpedigree.com. Retrieved December 14, 2017 . 
2. ^ ^{A b} Richard Dargie: Scottish Castles & Fortifications. GW Publishing, Berks 2009, ISBN 978-0-9561211-0-3 , p. 59.
3. ^ ^{A b c} Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland, and of the Border Raids, Forays, and Conflicts . Fullarton, 1849, p. 88 ff . ( books.google.de ).
4. ↑ Agnes Randolph. In: scotsman.com. Accessed December 14, 2017 . 
5. ^ Brooklyn Museum: Agnes of Dunbar. In: brooklynmuseum.org. Retrieved December 14, 2017 .