Archibald Douglas († 1333)

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Sir Archibald Douglas of Liddesdale (called Tynman ) (* around 1294 , † July 19, 1333 near Berwick-upon-Tweed ) was a Scottish magnate , military and Guardian of Scotland at the time of the Scottish Wars of Independence .

origin

Archibald Douglas was the youngest son of William "le Hardi" Douglas († 1298) and his second wife Eleanor († after 1305). He was possibly born in 1294, because in 1296 a two-year-old son of William Douglas is mentioned.

Promotion to magnate

When Archibald came of age, his half-brother Sir James Douglas was the main supporter of the Scottish King Robert I. Thanks to the influence of his brother, he received possessions at Morebattle in Roxburghshire and Kirkandrews in Dumfriesshire , as well as Crimond and Rattrey in Aberdeenshire in the 1320s . In 1327 he was one of the leaders of a Scottish raid into northern England in the wake of his half-brother . After the death of his brother James in 1330 Archibald was responsible for the education of his son and heir Archibald . He married his own underage daughter to Alexander Bruce, 1st Earl of Carrick , which allowed him to increase his influence.

Role in the Second Scottish War of Independence

Military activity at the beginning of the disinherited invasion

At the beginning of the Second Scottish War of Independence , when Edward Balliol invaded Scotland with a small army of the so-called disinherited in the summer of 1332 , Douglas was a member of the Scottish army, which under the command of Patrick Dunbar, 8th Earl of Dunbar, the south bank of the Firth of Forth should defend. The Scottish army, which was supposed to defend the north bank, suffered a heavy defeat against the disinherited at the Battle of Dupplin Moor . As a result, Douglas gained further importance as numerous Scottish magnates had died in the battle. Together with the Earl of Dunbar, he besieged the disinherited in Perth after the battle . However, when there was an uprising in Galloway in favor of Balliol, the Scots broke off the siege. Douglas moved to Galloway with the new Guardian Andrew Murray . When Balliol then moved to Galloway, Murray and Douglas pursued him without taking him to battle. Together with John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray and others, he surprised Balliol in December 1332 when he was in Annan with only a few followers . Balliol was only just able to escape to England.

Memorial stone to the battle at Halidon Hill in which Douglas fell

Guardian of Scotland

Balliol and the disinherited were now openly by the English King Edward III. supported. Douglas was thanks to his success with Annan and because of the reputation of his family, the obvious candidate for the office of Guardian of Scotland after the previous Guardian Andrew Murray had fallen into English captivity in April 1333. Douglas used the office to enrich himself by unfairly occupying Liddesdale and other properties in southern Scotland. As early as March 1333 he had led a raid on Cumberland in which Gilsland was sacked. When in May 1333 the English King Edward III. besieged the important border town of Berwick , Douglas raised an army to relieve the town. But he was afraid to face the English in open battle. Instead, he undertook a destructive raid into the north of England to persuade the English king to break off the siege. However, the English king continued the siege, and to prevent the city from falling, Douglas had to move to Berwick. In the following battle at Halidon Hill , the Scottish army suffered a crushing defeat, Douglas himself was killed in the battle. His strategy had forced the Scots into the battle he wanted to avoid, and after his death he was blamed for the defeat. His two sons fled into exile.

Marriage and offspring

Archibald Douglas had married Beatrice Lindsay († after 1337), a daughter of Alexander Lindsay of Crawford. With her he had at least two sons and a daughter:

His widow was captured by Edward Balliol in 1335 when Cumbernauld Castle was captured. After the defeat of Halidon Hill, his two sons fled into exile in France, where his eldest son John died. His younger son was able to inherit on his return from France and was named Earl of Douglas in 1358 .

literature

  • Herbert Maxwell: A History of the House of Douglas. From the earliest times down to the legislative union of England and Scotland. Volume 1. Freemantle, London 1902, ( digitized ).
  • Michael Brown: The Black Douglases. War and Lordship in Late Medieval Scotland, 1300-1455. Tuckwell Press, East Linton 1998, ISBN 1-86232-036-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 102.
  2. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 385.
  3. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 357.
  4. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 91.
  5. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 92.
  6. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 96.
  7. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 104.
  8. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 112.
  9. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 126.
  10. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 129.
  11. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 134.
  12. ↑ cf. Maxwell: A History of the House of Douglas. Volume 1. 1902, p. 75 .
  13. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 206.
predecessor Office successor
Andrew Murray Guardian of Scotland
1333 		John Randolph
personal data
SURNAME Douglas, Archibald
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Archibald Tynman Douglas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish nobleman and military
DATE OF BIRTH around 1294
DATE OF DEATH July 19, 1333
Place of death at Berwick-upon-Tweed