Malise, 5th Earl of Strathearn

Malise, 5th Earl of Strathearn (also Malise II, Earl of Strathearn or Scottish Gaelic Maol Íosa, 5th Earl of Strathearn ) (* before 1220 , † before November 23, 1271 ) was a Scottish magnate . As the first Earl of Strathearn , he had greater political importance.

origin

Malise came from an old Gaelic family that had held the title of Earl of Strathearn since the beginning of the 12th century . His father was Robert, 4th Earl of Strathearn , his mother's name is not known.

Role in the power struggle between Alan Durward and the Earl of Menteith

With the death of his father in 1244 he became his heir and took on the title of Earl of Strathearn. Shortly after the death of his father, he took part in a meeting of the Scottish magnates in February 1245 and a few months later in another meeting of the magnates in York , Northern England . At first sight, the meeting in York was about a confirmation of the Treaty of York signed in 1237 , in which Scotland had renounced the counties of Northern England. In fact, the English King Henry III tried . but to limit the political influence of Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith in Scotland and gain further influence himself. Strathearn sealed a declaration with other magnates in which they assured the English king of their friendship and thereby secretly allied themselves with the Earl of Dunbar against the Earl of Menteith.

Role during the minority of Alexander III.

When it came after the sudden death of King Alexander II in 1249 while the new King Alexander III was a minor . when a power struggle between the Earl of Menteith and Alan Durward came about, Strathearn was reluctant to openly join any of the competitors. After Menteith succeeded in taking over the leadership of the Regency Council, Strathearn did not openly oppose him. Through his marriage to Marjory de Muschamp , Strathearn had inherited extensive land holdings in Northumberland , Northern England, in 1250 , making him a crown vassal of the English king. When the English king asked him in 1254 to take part in a campaign in the English-owned Gascony , Strathearn sent Alan Durward as a representative. Durward managed to get the support of the English king in Gascony and was able to overthrow the Regency Council led by Menteith in 1255. He was openly supported by Strathearn. Strathearn was now a member of the new Regency Council, which, however, was dependent on the support of the English king. The English king commissioned him, especially for the safety of his daughter Margarete , the wife of Alexander III. to pay attention. After the young Alexander III. 1258 even took over the government, the work of the Regency Council ended.

Further activity

Strathearn was in Gascony in the summer of 1259, although the purpose of his trip is not known. In 1260 he was back in Scotland, where he became involved in the dispute over the inheritance of the Earldom Menteith. After the death of Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith at the end of 1258, the title fell to his widow Isabell . However, John Comyn , a nephew of Walter Comyn, claimed the title as his heir. With the assistance of several magnates, including Strathearn, John Comyn accused the widow and her new husband, John Russell , of poisoning his uncle. But as early as the spring of 1261, when John Comyn tried to get the title confirmed during a council meeting, Strathearn was one of the magnates who firmly opposed Comyn's violation of the law. Then Strathearn withdrew from the royal court and devoted himself to the administration of his possessions.

Strathearn made small donations to Inchaffrey Abbey , but he was far less generous to the Family Foundation when compared to his operations. Although he confirmed the donations of his predecessors in 1247, he made no major donations of land. Instead, he gave the abbey the rights to the parish church of Cortachy, which his second wife had received as a dowry, or in 1266 the rights to use the quarries near Nethergask . He also made only minor donations to Lindores Abbey , which had received generous donations from his ancestors, which is a sign that he no longer had any ties to the monastery. Strathearn died in late 1271. According to a contemporary chronicler, Strathearn died in France, but this is probably a mistake and was based on the Earl's earlier trip to France. He was buried in Dunblane Cathedral.

Grave memorial of Strathearn and one of his wives, believed to be Mary of Man, in Dunblane Cathedral

Marriages and offspring

Strathearn has been married four times. The first marriage was in 1243 or 1244 with Marjory , a daughter of the northern English magnate Sir Robert de Muschamp . After her father's death in 1250, Marjory became one of the heirs to his extensive estates. Strathearn was given properties with Wooler , but there were protracted arguments over the division of the property, especially with Marjory's sister, Isabel Huntercombe . Strathearn had two daughters with Marjory:

Muriel (1244–1291) ⚭ William, 5th Earl of Mar
Mary († around 1322) ⚭ Sir Nicholas Graham of Dalkeith and Abercorn

Marjory died in 1255, making the two daughters heirs to part of the Muschamp inheritance. In July 1255, Strathearn paid £ 100 to the English Crown to keep the tutelage of his daughters and the administration of their inheritance. Both daughters were married before 1271, with which they or their husbands received their share of the Muschamp inheritance. Strathearn married Mathilda , daughter of Gilbert, Earl of Caithness and Orkney , after the death of his first wife before late 1257 . With her he had at least one son:

Malise, 6th Earl of Strathearn (around 1261 – before 1317)

Before 1262, Strathearn had married Emma , her third marriage , whose origin is unknown. In his fourth marriage he married Maria († 1302) in 1265 , a daughter of Ewen of Argyll and widow of King Magnus III. of man . Strathearn had two other children, although it is unclear whether they came from his second or third marriage:

Robert († after 1303)
Cecilia († after 1271)

His heir became his eldest son, Malise. His widow Maria survived him, after his death she married Sir Hugh Abernethy and then the English baron William Fitzwaren . In 1292 she still referred to herself as the Countess of Strathearn.

literature

Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983.

Web links

Malise, 5th Earl of Strathearn on thepeerage.com
Mormaer and Earls of Strathearn. fmg.ac, accessed on August 30, 2014 .

Individual evidence

↑ Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 100.
↑ Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 101.
^ ^A ^b Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 111.
^ Alan Young: The Political Rôle of Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith, during the Minority of Alexander III of Scotland. In: The Scottish Historical Review. 57, 1989, p. 139.
↑ Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 103.
↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 55.
^ ^A ^b Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 105.
↑ Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 109.
↑ Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 116.
↑ Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 112.
↑ Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 113.

predecessor	Office	successor
Robert	Earl of Strathearn 1244-1271	Malise

personal data
SURNAME	Malise, 5th Earl of Strathearn
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Malise II, Earl of Strathearn; Maol Íosa, 5th Earl of Strathearn
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Scottish magnate
DATE OF BIRTH	before 1220
DATE OF DEATH	before November 23, 1271

[1] Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 100.

[2] Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 101.

[Neville111.-3] A ^b Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 111.

[4] Alan Young: The Political Rôle of Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith, during the Minority of Alexander III of Scotland. In: The Scottish Historical Review. 57, 1989, p. 139.

[5] Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 103.

[6] Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 55.

[Neville105.-7] A ^b Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 105.

[8] Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 109.

[9] Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 116.

[10] Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 112.

[11] Cynthia J. Neville: The earls of Strathearn from the twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century, with an edition of their written acts . Dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1983, p. 113.