Alan Durward

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Alan Durward coat of arms

Alan Durward (also: Alan Doorward ; Scottish Gaelic : Ailean Dorsair ; † 1275 ) was a Scottish magnate. He was the leading Scottish politician during the minority of King Alexander III.

Origin and heritage

Alan Durward came from the de Lundin family , who named themselves after Lundie in Angus . He was a son of Thomas Hostiarius (also Thomas Durward ). During the reign of King Wilhelm I, his father held the honorary post of royal door guard and was named after this post. After the death of his father, Alan Durward inherited extensive holdings in northern Scotland. In addition to Lundie, these were properties around Lumphanan Castle in Mar and lands in Mearns , Cluny and Aberdeenshire . Probably Coull Castle in Aberdeenshire was also one of his possessions. Before 1233 Durward also became Lord of Urquhart at Loch Ness , where he likely began building a castle. Urquhart had received his father from Guthred MacWilliam in 1212 in gratitude for putting down the rebellion . Due to its extensive holdings in northern Scotland, Durward became a rival to the Comyn family , who acquired Buchan around 1212 and Lochaber and Badenoch around 1229 .

The ruins of Urquhart Castle, which Durward believed to have begun

Claims to the titles of Earl of Atholl and Earl of Mar

The ambitious Durward tried to be raised to Earl in order to become one of the leading Scottish magnates. From around 1233 he held the title of Earl of Atholl , although it is unclear whether he had acquired the guardianship of Patrick , the minor heir of the title. It is possible that he had married Foruleth , an aunt of Patrick, who also had an inheritance claim to the title would have. In 1237 an unspecified Earl of Atholl, probably Durward, testified to the Treaty of York . After 1237, the title fell to the young Patrick, who was related to Durward's rival Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith . But Durward not only took the title Earl of Atholl, but laid claim to the title of Earl of Mar . His ancestor Malcolm of Lundie had a daughter of Gille Críst, 3rd Earl of Mar married. Durward now raised a claim to the title against William of Mar , as the claims of Gille Christ's daughter had been ignored at his death. However, his claims were rejected. William, the new Earl of Mar married a daughter of William Comyn, Earl of Buchan , probably also to strengthen his alliance with the Comyns against Durward. Durward's rivalry with the Comyns was fueled by his close relationship with the Bisset family , who were also rivals of the Comyns. When Walter Bisset was accused of the murder of Patrick of Atholl in 1242, the Earl of Dunbar and the Comyns raided the holdings of the Bissets and perhaps the lands of Durward to the north. The two barons who jointly held the office of Justiciars of Scotia were powerless against the feud. Thereupon the king removed her from office and instead appointed Alan Durward as Justiciar of Scotia and thus the royal representative for the areas north of the Forth . To end the feud, he exhibited in Mar a squad on. With this force he horrified the besieged Bisset Aboyne Castle and escorted him to the king. With the creation of the contingent, Durward renewed his claim to Mar. Despite Durward's support, Walter Bisset was exiled from Scotland at the end of 1242 under pressure from the Earl of Dunbar and the Comyns.

Rise to the leading advisor to Alexander II.

Although Durward had failed to be recognized as an Earl, he rose to be one of the leading Scottish barons before 1244. King Alexander II tried to limit the influence of the two rival aristocratic factions around Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith and Patrick, 5th Earl of Dunbar. He therefore chose Durward, who so far had little political influence and was not included in either of the two groups, as his new main advisor. Durward was the first Scottish magnate who was allowed to conjure up the Treaty of Newcastle in 1244 , which Alexander II and the English King Henry III. had closed. Durward was now so popular with the king that he married his only illegitimate daughter, Marjory . By the time the king died, Durward was apparently able to severely limit the Comyns' influence.

Leading Scottish politician during the minority of Alexander III.

Leadership of the government from 1249 to 1251

Durward probably took part in the campaign of Alexander III in 1249 . against the West Scottish Islands , where he fell ill and died. Apparently the king had not made any arrangements for a reign before his death. The king's son and successor, seven-year-old Alexander III. , was enthroned just five days after his father's death. Durward hurried from the west coast of Scotland to the coronation site at Scone to hold his position. He claimed the right to knight the young king before his enthronement. As a model he served here William Marshal , who in 1217 Heinrich III. knighted and then headed the Regency Council. This privilege was denied Durward by Walter Comyn and other Scottish magnates. As a compromise solution, the King was knighted by David Bernham , Bishop of St Andrews. Despite this setback, Durward continued to claim the office of Justiciars of Scotia and the direction of the Scottish government. He was assisted by Robert Menzies as Chamberlain and Robert Kenleith as Chancellor . They always had government documents attested by many magnates in order to gain general recognition. It quickly became clear, however, that Durward did not have the authority and backing among the Scottish magnates to lead the government without the support of the king. Walter Comyn remained undisputedly the most powerful Scottish magnate and a rival of Durward. The author of the Melrose Chronicle claimed that Durward turned to the Pope to legitimize his daughter as the king's descendant. As the king's niece, she would have become his heir to the throne as long as the king himself had no children. This would of course have strengthened Durward's position, but apart from the entry in the chronicle there is no further evidence of this.

Fall and Exile

In 1250 several prelates complained about attacks by nobles who were not punished by Durward. Probably under pressure from these prelates, a group of Scottish magnates, probably the Comyns, turned to the English King Henry III in 1251. They asked him for assistance, officially arranging for the wedding of Alexander III. with Margarete , a daughter of Heinrich III. requested. This marriage had already been agreed in 1244 and was celebrated at Christmas 1251 in York , northern England . However, the Comyns were looking for an opportunity to overthrow Durward, and the English king also wanted a Scottish government that would support his interests more than Durward did. Durward had asked the curia for permission , among other things , that Alexander III. should be anointed and crowned according to the Western European model. This would have upgraded the rank of the Scottish king, which is why the English king had successfully appealed against it. Immediately after the wedding, Walter Comyn and the Earl of Mar made grave allegations against Durward. Durward and his supporters faced arrest, whereupon they fled. The new Scottish government was dominated by Walter Comyn, although the latter still did not take office. The new Regency Council also included two representatives of the English king, John de Balliol and Robert de Ros , but their influence remained limited. After this setback, Durward managed to come to an understanding with the English king. In July 1252 he was officially allowed to go into exile in England. But now he did not just want to come to an understanding with the English king, but had, like Walter Comyn before, recognized that he needed his support. Therefore, he took part in the expedition of the English king to Gascony as a representative for the Earl of Strathearn from 1253 to 1254 . From France, Durward accompanied the English heir to the throne Eduard to northern Spain to his wedding in Burgos . During the expedition, Durward also denounced his Scottish opponents, promised the English king support for his political goals and thus won his trust. Henry III. compensated him with £ 50 for his expenses, instead of this sum Durward was given in 1257 the administration of Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire, England . The castle remained in Durward's possession until October 1274, when Durward was exempted from tax of the valley location on the lands belonging to the castle.

Leadership of the government from 1255 to 1257

Even more important for Durward was that the English king supported his plans to regain power in Scotland. In August 1255 the English king moved to the Scottish border while the Earl of Gloucester crossed the border with a force. Walter Comyn then tried to negotiate, but the beginning of September came the allied with Durward Earl of Dunbar in Edinburgh Castle and brought Alexander III. and Queen Margaret in his power. When Comyn then assembled an army, Durward, Dunbar and Gloucester moved with the royal couple near the English border. Nineteen Scottish magnates, including Dunbar, the Earl of Carrick , the Earl of Fife , the Earl of Strathearn and the Steward , called on behalf of Alexander III. a new, fifteen-member Regency Council. The English king sealed this declaration. In the face of this pressure, the Comyns gave up and disbanded their army. The new Regency Council now included opponents of the Comyns, while Walter Comyn and his relatives, but also the Earl of Mar and other supporters, were excluded from the government. They were even forbidden from contact with the king.

The new Regency Council, officially led by the Earl of Dunbar, was to lead the government for seven years until the king came of age. Durward was not only a member of the Regency Council, but again claimed the important office of Justiciars of Scotia. In contrast to the previous Regency Council, however, no member was designated as the Guardian of Scotland. Probably to improve his position, Durward continued his feud with William, Earl of Mar, and again claimed the title. He doubted the legitimate birth of William's father and grandfather. Durwards attempt failed again. Again it quickly became clear that Durward did not have broad support in Scotland. The church in particular was critical of him, not least because he had banned three bishops from the royal court as supporters of the Comyns. Durward could not prevent Gamelin , who had served the Comyns as Chancellor and was elected Bishop of St Andrews in 1254, was ordained bishop in December 1255 with the assistance of Pope Alexander IV . When Gamelin wanted to return to Scotland after his ordination, the Regency Council denied him entry, whereupon Durward and the other members were excommunicated .

Coup of the Comyns

Walter Comyn and his supporters did not give up. Comyn was able to win the support of the Earl of Ross and other north Scottish magnates. Although the Comyns shied away from an open rebellion, it resulted in feuds between Durward as Justiciar and his opponents in northern Scotland. The English king feared a civil war in Scotland and tried in vain to mediate between Durward and the Comyns in August 1257. Comyn, however, refused to make concessions. On the night of October 29, 1257 he seized Kinross with the help of Hugh Abernethy and other nobles from the young king's region. This coup disempowered the Regency Council and was at the same time a challenge to the English king. Durward and his supporters had to flee to England. The English king then called his feudal army before January 1258 to free the Scottish king from the hands of the rebels. Henry III. gave Durward and his supporter Walter Murray the border castles of Wark and Norham , while in April the English army rallied. Unlike 1255, Walter Comyn and his supporters were now ready to fight. During the winter of 1257 to 1258 they in turn raised an army, with Walter Comyn's nephew John apparently able to recruit numerous fighters in southwest Scotland as Justiciar of Galloway. In addition, the Comyns made an alliance with the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Gruffydd , who was at war with England.

Agreement with the Comyns and end of the minority government

Before the English army could leave for Scotland, however, there was a revolt of numerous English magnates in April 1258, which Henry III in June. largely disempowered. An English embassy under the leadership of the Earl of Leicester tried to negotiate in Scotland, but at the border they encountered the Scottish army. Probably at the insistence of the young Alexander, three weeks of negotiations took place in September, in which Walter Comyn finally agreed to an understanding with Durward. Durward had to give up his claims to Mar and the office of justiciar, which fell back to the Earl of Buchan . Other Comyn supporters also got their 1,255 lost offices back. In return, Durward and four of his supporters were allowed to belong to the new, now ten-member Regency Council. During the remaining period of the Scottish King's minority, there were no new open confrontations, which certainly contributed to the fact that Walter Comyn died shortly after his triumph in October 1258. The young Alexander III. did not want to be tied to either of the two rival aristocratic factions and increasingly took over the government himself, which made the magnates less important. Although Durward had clearly lost influence, he was still one of the leading Scottish politicians. In 1259 he traveled to England with the leaders of the Comyn family to receive the certificate, sealed after Durwards' coup in 1255, according to which Alexander III. was under the tutelage of the English king until 1262. When Queen Margaret traveled to England to give birth to her first child in 1260, Durward was named as one of the thirteen Scottish commissioners who were to escort the child back to Scotland in the event of the Scottish king's death. In the autumn of 1260 John Comyn accused Isabella of Menteith , the widow of his uncle Walter, of the murder of his uncle in order to bring Menteith into his possession. He was assisted by Durward and several other magnates. Alexander III was still in England at the time but returned immediately after the news from Scotland. Before April 1261, he reiterated his decision that Menteith should go to Walter Stewart . Durward and the other magnates accepted the authority of the young king, which effectively ended the minority.

Further activity under Alexander III.

In 1264, the king appointed Durward, along with Buchan and Mar, to be one of the commanders of the army that was to attack the West Scottish islands in the war with Norway . On the islands, the army waged a campaign of devastation against the lords who still supported the Norwegian king. In the 1260s, however, Durward was only irregularly part of the king's entourage. After 1268 he seemed to have withdrawn from politics entirely. The English king gave him several gifts and privileges, the last time in 1275.

The ruined church of the Durward Sponsored Hospital at Kincardine O'Neil

Descendants and inheritance

Durward's exact date of death is unknown. He was buried in Coupar Angus Abbey , which he had given donations to Lindores and Arbroath Abbey and the hospital of Kincardine O'Neil . From his marriage to Marjory, Durward had at least one son and three daughters:

His son Thomas attested to a certificate from his father around 1256, but died before 1275 without heirs. Therefore, after Durward's death, his property was divided among his three daughters.

rating

Durward's role in the politically troubled time of the minority government in the 1250s was already valued differently by medieval chroniclers. While the Comyn's benevolent Melrose Chronicle held Durward primarily responsible for all damage that had occurred while the king was a minor, Walter Bower described him as a generous and energetic fighter who faithfully served the king and the kingdom. Older historians viewed Durward as the leader of a pro-English group in Scotland. This assignment is wrong, because during the minority of Alexander III. no political group could succeed without the support of the English king. Durward only sought the support of the English king more than his opponents because he knew that he himself did not have enough support in Scotland. When Durward was a member of the Regency Council, however, he did not necessarily pursue a policy that was friendly to England. Among other things, he prevented the Church in Scotland from collecting taxes intended to finance the English king's Sicilian adventure .

literature

  • Matthew H. Hammond: Hostiarii Regis Scotie: the Durward family in the thirteenth century. In: Stephen I. Boardman, Alasdair Ross (eds.): The exercise of power in medieval Scotland, c. 1200 - 1500. Four Courts Press, Dublin 2003, ISBN 1-85182-749-8 , pages 118-138.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ James Balfour Paul (Ed.): The Scots Peerage . Volume 5, David Douglas, Edinburgh 1908, p. 575 (English, Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  2. ^ Archibald AM Duncan: Scotland. The Making of the Kingdom (The Edinburgh History of Scotland; Vol. I ). Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh 1975. ISBN 0-05-00203-7-4 , p. 543.
  3. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 36.
  4. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 43.
  5. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 40.
  6. ^ Alan Young: Noble Families and Political Factions in the Reign of Alexander III . In: Norman H. Reid (ed.): Scotland in the Reign of Alexander III, 1249-1286 . John Donald, Edinburgh 1990, ISBN 0-85976-218-1 , p. 4.
  7. ^ Archibald AM Duncan: Scotland. The Making of the Kingdom (The Edinburgh History of Scotland; Vol. I ). Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh 1975. ISBN 0-05-00203-7-4 , p. 551.
  8. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 44.
  9. ↑ DER Watt: The minority of Alexander III of Scotland . In: Transactions of the Royal Historical Society , Vol. 21 (1971), p. 6.
  10. ↑ DER Watt: The minority of Alexander III of Scotland . In: Transactions of the Royal Historical Society , Vol. 21 (1971), p. 7.
  11. ^ Archibald AM Duncan: Scotland. The Making of the Kingdom (The Edinburgh History of Scotland; Vol. I ). Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh 1975. ISBN 0-05-00203-7-4 , p. 561.
  12. ↑ DER Watt: The minority of Alexander III of Scotland . In: Transactions of the Royal Historical Society , Vol. 21 (1971), p. 9.
  13. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 47.
  14. ^ Archibald AM Duncan: Scotland. The Making of the Kingdom (The Edinburgh History of Scotland; Vol. I ). Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh 1975. ISBN 0-05-00203-7-4 , p. 563.
  15. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 49.
  16. ↑ DER Watt: The minority of Alexander III of Scotland . In: Transactions of the Royal Historical Society , Vol. 21 (1971), p. 14.
  17. ^ Alan Young: Noble Families and Political Factions in the Reign of Alexander III . In: Norman H. Reid (ed.): Scotland in the Reign of Alexander III, 1249-1286 . John Donald, Edinburgh 1990, ISBN 0-85976-218-1 , p. 6.
  18. ↑ DER Watt: The minority of Alexander III of Scotland . In: Transactions of the Royal Historical Society , Vol. 21 (1971), p. 15.
  19. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 52.
  20. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 53.
  21. ^ Alan Young: Noble Families and Political Factions in the Reign of Alexander III . In: Norman H. Reid (ed.): Scotland in the Reign of Alexander III, 1249-1286 . John Donald, Edinburgh 1990, ISBN 0-85976-218-1 , p. 8.
  22. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 55.
  23. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 83.
  24. ^ Alan Young: Noble Families and Political Factions in the Reign of Alexander III . In: Norman H. Reid (ed.): Scotland in the Reign of Alexander III, 1249-1286 . John Donald, Edinburgh 1990, ISBN 0-85976-218-1 , p. 20.
personal data
SURNAME Alan Durward
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Alan Doorward; Ailean Dorsair
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish magnate
DATE OF BIRTH 13th Century
DATE OF DEATH 1275