Malise, 6th Earl of Strathearn

Deed of donation from Malise III to Inchaffray Abbey

Malise, 6th Earl of Strathearn (also Malise III, Earl of Strathearn or Scottish Gaelic Maol Íosa, 6th Earl of Strathearn ) (* around 1261, † between January 28, 1313 and 1317) was a Scottish magnate . He played an important political role during the troubled times of the First Scottish War of Independence . Like many other magnates, his loyalty wavered between defending Scottish independence and submitting to English suzerainty, eventually losing his title and lands.

origin

Malise came from an old Gaelic family that had held the title of Earl of Strathearn since the beginning of the 12th century . He was the eldest son of Malise, 5th Earl of Strathearn and of his second wife Matilda , daughter of Gilbert, Jarl of Orkney and Earl of Caithness .

Activity as a magnate during the Scottish succession dispute

Malise was still a minor when his father died in 1271. He was probably given a guardian to manage his estates, but his name is not known. After 1281 he came into his inheritance and took over the administration of the estates of his father as well as the title Earl of Strathearn. In 1284 he was one of the 39 magnates who, after the death of the king's son Alexander Margarete , became the granddaughter of King Alexander III. , recognized as a potential heir to the throne. In 1290 he took part in the parliamentary assembly in Birgham , which approved Margaret's marriage to the English heir to the throne, Edward . A few months later he witnessed the Treaty of Salisbury , which confirmed the marriage alliance with England. However, the young Margaret died in October 1290, so the succession to the throne in Scotland was completely unclear. From June 1291 Strathearn was one of the auditors of John Balliol on the court assembly that should decide on the claims of the aspirants to the throne . In July 1291 he swore allegiance to King Edward I of England , who presided over the meeting, as overlord of Scotland. Strathearn was in Berwick in October and November 1292 when John Balliol was finally appointed King of Scots.

Role in the Scottish War of Independence

Supporting John Balliol's claim to the throne

When the English king continued to claim supremacy over Scotland in the next few years, Strathearn supported King John Balliol, who rejected the English king's claims. Like other Scottish magnates, Strathearn was summoned by the English king in June 1294 to campaign in the war with France , but he did not comply. But when Balliol apparently wanted to give in to the increasing English pressure, Strathearn was a member of the Parliamentary Assembly in Stirling in July 1295 , which elected a Regency Council, whereby the king was actively disempowered. Strathearn was one of four earls elected to serve on the twelve-member council. At the beginning of 1296 he defeated the alliance with France, which was like a declaration of war on England. When it came to war with England, Strathearn was one of the Scottish magnates who launched an attack on Carlisle in northern England in the spring of 1296 . After that, he likely retreated north.

Staggering attitude in the fight against the English

After the Scottish defeat at Dunbar and the collapse of the Scottish resistance, Strathearn submitted to the English king at Stirling, who took over the administration of Scotland in August 1295. Edward I left Strathearn's possessions, but forced him to hold his two younger sons Gilbert and Robert hostage. The two sons were held in the Tower of London . Nevertheless, Strathearn joined after the English defeat at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297 in the rebellion led by William Wallace against English rule. It is possible that his two sons had previously switched to the English side and died in the service of the English king during the campaign to Flanders . In October 1297, Strathearn took part in the William Wallace-led raid into Northumberland , but nothing is known about his further activities during the Revolutionary War until 1303. Probably he had retired to Strathearn and did not take an active part in the fighting against England. In view of the oppressive military superiority of the English and the change of sides of other Scottish magnates such as Robert Bruce , Strathearn again submitted to the English king in 1303. When Edward, the Prince of Wales advanced into northern Scotland in the late summer of 1303, Strathearn was one of his entourage. Strathearn had to hold his only remaining son Malise hostage. For this, the English king appointed him deputy warden of Scotland north of the Forth , and for the next few years Strathearn served the English king cautiously but loyally.

Robert Bruce rejected claim to the throne

In March 1306, however, Robert Bruce continued the rebellion against English rule and rose to be King of the Scots. How Strathearn behaved in the next few months is not exactly clear. As an ally and relative of the Comyns, Strathearn generally distrusted Bruce, who murdered John Comyn of Badenoch in February 1306 , and believed that his rebellion would be quickly put down. He did not attend Bruce's coronation, but a little later he still paid Bruce homage . After Bruce's defeat in the Battle of Methven in June 1306, he quickly submitted to the English commander Aymer de Valence . In November, however, the English king had him brought as a prisoner to Rochester Castle in southern England , where he was held in mild custody.

Captivity in England

After the death of Edward I in July 1307, the new King Edward II gave Strathearn the opportunity to defend himself, since he protested his innocence. Strathearn stated that in 1306 he did not want to break his oath to the English king and had refused to recognize Bruce as king. Thereupon the Earl of Atholl took him prisoner and forced him under threat of death to pay homage to Bruce. Atholl then had the Strathearn holdings plundered. Before the Battle of Methven, Robert Bruce asked Strathearn for arms help, but the latter wanted to betray Bruce and join the forces of Aymer de Valence. Bruce found out about this, however, besieged Strathearn in his estate at Kenmore and had his possessions again plundered. Despite this declaration and his oaths of loyalty to the English crown, Strathearn initially remained in custody.

Battle on the English side, loss of his title and death

In November 1307 Strathearn was relocated to York Castle . He was only released again in November 1308. Although the English king now paid him a small pension, he forbade him to return to Scotland until 1310. Strathearn initially stayed in Berwick, but he now supported the English king with absolute loyalty. In 1312 he belonged to the English garrison of Perth . His son had meanwhile also been released, but had then joined Robert Bruce. When the Scots captured Perth in early 1313 , Strathearn was captured by his own son and brought before Robert the Bruce. Robert Bruce did not dispossess him, but forced him to hand over his title and possessions to his son. His further fate is unknown, he probably died shortly before 1317. He was buried in the Inchaffray Abbey family foundation .

Marriage and offspring

Strathearn had married Agnes . She was probably a daughter of Alexander Comyn, 6th Earl of Buchan , according to other sources her name was Emma or Marjory. Malise had at least four children with her:

Malise, 7th Earl of Strathearn
Gilbert († after 1297)
Robert († after 1297)
Matilda († 1348) ⚭ Robert de Thony

His wife survived him and was believed to be the Countess of Strathearn, accused during a parliament of 1320 of supporting the Soules conspiracy .

Strathearn was the last Old Gaelic earl to make donations to the Inchaffray Abbey Family Foundation . These donations were very modest and were made in 1282 and 1283, shortly after he had come of age.

literature

Cynthia J. Neville: The political allegiance of the earls of Strathearn during the war of independence . In: The Scottish Historical Review , 65 (1986), pp. 133-153.

Web links

Cynthia J. Neville: Strathearn, Malise, sixth earl of Strathearn (bc 1261, d. In or before 1317). 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
Malise, 6th Earl of Strathearn on thepeerage.com
Mormaer and Earls of Strathearn. fmg.ac, accessed on August 31, 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. 116.
^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 62.
^ Cynthia J. Neville: The political allegiance of the earls of Strathearn during the war of independence . In: The Scottish Historical Review , 65 (1986), p. 137.
^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 91.
↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 185.
^ Cynthia J. Neville: The political allegiance of the earls of Strathearn during the war of independence . In: The Scottish Historical Review , 65 (1986), p. 140.
^ Cynthia J. Neville: The political allegiance of the earls of Strathearn during the war of independence . In: The Scottish Historical Review , 65 (1986), p. 141.
↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 201.
^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 219.
↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 103.
↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 100.
^ Cynthia J. Neville: The political allegiance of the earls of Strathearn during the war of independence . In: The Scottish Historical Review , 65 (1986), p. 145.
^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 387.
^ Cynthia J. Neville: The political allegiance of the earls of Strathearn during the war of independence . In: The Scottish Historical Review , 65 (1986), p. 151.
↑ 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. 132.

predecessor	Office	successor
Malise	Earl of Strathearn 1271-1313	Malise

personal data
SURNAME	Malise, 6th Earl of Strathearn
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Malise III, Earl of Strathearn; Maol Íosa, 6th Earl of Strathearn
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Scottish magnate
DATE OF BIRTH	around 1261
DATE OF DEATH	between January 28, 1313 and 1317

[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. 116.

[2] Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 62.

[3] Cynthia J. Neville: The political allegiance of the earls of Strathearn during the war of independence . In: The Scottish Historical Review , 65 (1986), p. 137.

[4] Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 91.

[5] Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 185.

[6] Cynthia J. Neville: The political allegiance of the earls of Strathearn during the war of independence . In: The Scottish Historical Review , 65 (1986), p. 140.

[7] Cynthia J. Neville: The political allegiance of the earls of Strathearn during the war of independence . In: The Scottish Historical Review , 65 (1986), p. 141.

[8] Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 201.

[9] Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 219.

[10] Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 103.

[11] Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 100.

[12] Cynthia J. Neville: The political allegiance of the earls of Strathearn during the war of independence . In: The Scottish Historical Review , 65 (1986), p. 145.

[13] Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 387.

[14] Cynthia J. Neville: The political allegiance of the earls of Strathearn during the war of independence . In: The Scottish Historical Review , 65 (1986), p. 151.

[15] 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. 132.