Alexander Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan

Grave slab in Dunkeld Cathedral

Alexander Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan , iure uxoris Earl of Ross, Lord of Badenoch (* around 1343 - † July 24, 1394 ), called Wolf of Badenoch , was a Scottish nobleman .

Life

Alexander Stewart was born as the fourth son of the future King Robert II , who was still Steward of Scotland at the time. His mother, although the legality of this marriage was in doubt, his first wife Elizabeth Mure von Rowallan.

At the instigation of Margaret Drummond, the second wife of King David II , Alexander was arrested in January 1368 for resisting David II's pro-England policies. He was taken to his father Robert and his three brothers in custody at Loch Leven Castle ; he was not released until 1370 - after David II's divorce and shortly before his death.

After his father's coronation as King of Scotland, he was appointed "King's Lieutenant" and chief judge of all lands north of the Moray Firth in 1372. This appointment led in 1380 to the (first) clash between him and the Bishop of Moray.

In the summer of 1382 he married Euphemia, 6th Countess of Ross, and became Earl of Ross by her right . During this time he was appointed Earl of Buchan and feudal Lord of Badenoch himself . He left his wife a little later because of a lover named Mariota. Euphemia appealed to the bishops of Moray and von Ross about this adultery. She was right, Alexander was excommunicated on November 2nd, 1389 and sentenced to £ 200. The earl then burned the cities of Forres and Elgin, including the cathedral in Elgin. However, the following ecclesiastical punishments made him repentant. After fulfilling the demands of the Bishop of Moray and repenting in the presence of his father, he was finally given absolution by the Bishop of St. Andrews.

He had seven illegitimate descendants (possibly all with Mariota); the sons Alexander , Andrew, Duncan, James, Walter and Robert and the daughter Margaret (⚭ Robert, Earl of Sutherland ).

In the (today's ruin) of the cathedral of Dunkeld there is a grave with a lying statue and almost illegible inscription, which is considered to be his final resting place.

Legend

Legend has it that Alexander's death played chess with the devil: In Ruthven Castle (now Huntingtower Castle ), his last manor, he was visited by a tall, dark-clad man. He wished to play a game of chess with Alexander, but Alexander lost. When his opponent checked him out, a violent storm arose; Wind, thunder and lightning pounded the castle. The storm did not end until the next morning. Alexander's men were found outside the castle, all burned black as if struck by lightning. Alexander Stewart himself lay dead in the hall, outwardly unharmed, even if all the nails were pulled out of the soles of his boots. The procession to his funeral took place two days later. The coffin took the first place in the procession, whereupon another terrible storm rose. It wasn't until the coffin was moved to the last place that the storm subsided.

literature

• John Milne: Erskine, Earl of Buchan . In: James Balfour Paul (Ed.): The Scots Peerage . tape 2 : Banff-Cranstoun . David Douglas, Edinburgh 1905, p. 262–265 (English, Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
• Frederick M. Powicke, Edmund B. Fryde (Eds.): Handbook of British Chronology . Royal Historical Society, London 1961.

Web links

Commons : Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Alexander Stewart, 1st Earl of Buchan, on thepeerage.com , accessed September 10, 2016.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Powicke & Fryde, 1961 , p. 487
2. ↑ According to The Scots Peerage there is evidence that he lived until March 24, 1406.
3. ↑ Powicke & Fryde, 1961 , p. 471

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Earl of Buchan 1382-1394	Robert Stewart
Euphemia	Earl of Ross (de iure uxoris) 1382-1394	Alexander Leslie