Marjorie Bruce

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Marjorie Bruce. Detail from her funerary monument

Marjorie Bruce (or Margorie Bruce ; * around 1296, † March 2, 1316 in Paisley or around 1317) was a Scottish noblewoman.

origin

Marjorie came from the Bruce family . She was the only child from the first marriage of Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick and his first wife, Isabella of Mar . She was named after her grandmother Marjorie, Countess of Carrick . Her mother died when she was a toddler, presumably she died in childbed .

Childhood and youth

At the beginning of the First Scottish War of Independence , Marjorie's father was supposed to hold his daughter hostage on July 9, 1297 during negotiations with the English, but there is no evidence that he did so. Her father submitted to the English King Edward I in 1302, however, in 1306 Robert Bruce rose to the rank of King of Scots and thus openly rebelled against the suzerainty of the English king. Young Marjorie may have attended her father's coronation in Scone in March 1306 . After the defeat in the Battle of Methven in June 1306, Marjorie, who was no more than twelve years old, fled with her father, his second wife Elizabeth de Burgh and other relatives. After the defeat at Dalry in July or August 1306, Bruce separated from his family, who fled to northern Scotland under the leadership of the Earl of Atholl . They first sought refuge in Kildrummy Castle . When they learned that an English army was approaching, Atholl and the women fled further north. Maybe they wanted to reach the Orkneys , which were under Norwegian rule. They would have been safe there, because Isabella Bruce , a sister of Robert Bruce, was Queen of Norway. However, when the group reached Tain , they were captured by the Earl of Ross . Edward I had Atholl executed and the women severely punished. Marjorie, like her aunt Mary and the Countess of Buchan , was to be locked in a cage and hung up in the Tower of London . Any contact other than the Constable of the Tower should be banned. Shortly afterwards, the king revoked this order, instead Marjorie was taken to the Gilbertine convent Watton in Yorkshire . It was only after the English defeat at the Battle of Bannockburn that she was exchanged with her stepmother Elizabeth and her aunt Mary for the Earl of Hereford , who had been captured in the battle . On October 2, 1314, it was sent to Carlisle in preparation for its exchange, and it was exchanged no later than March 23, 1315.

Memorial in Paisley near where Marjorie is said to have fallen from his horse
Funerary monument of Marjorie Bruce in Paisley Abbey

Marriage and death

After her release, she was married in 1315 to Walter Stewart, who was a few years her junior . The marriage of the king's only child at that time to Walter Stewart was considered a sign of friendship between the Bruce and Stewart families and certainly a reward for their loyal support. As a dowry, she received the Barony of Bathgate and other lands from her father . A few months later, according to legend, she fell from her horse, heavily pregnant. She was the mother of a healthy son, but died a few hours after giving birth. Allegedly her son was born with a caesarean section , which a passerby who happened to be present is said to have performed. But it is more likely that Marjorie died in childbed . She was buried in Paisley Abbey .

The circumstances of Marjorie's death are unproven. It is possible that she was exchanged at the end of 1314 and married shortly afterwards. So her son could have been born around 1315 and she herself died about two years later.

When she died, Marjorie was her father's only legitimate child. Shortly before their wedding, the king had ruled that in the event of his death and the childless death of his brother Edward Bruce , Marjorie should be his heir. During a parliament in 1318 it was determined that Marjorie's son should inherit the throne if the king should die without male heirs. This case occurred in 1371 when David II , the only son of Robert Bruce, died childless. Thus Marjorie's son became King of Scots as Robert II .

See also

literature

  • Ronald McNair Scott: Robert the Bruce, King of Scots . P. Bedrick Books, New York 1989, ISBN 0-87226-320-7 .
  • Rosalind K. Marshall: Scottish queens, 1034-1714 . Tuckwell, East Linton, Scotland 2003, ISBN 1-86232-271-6 .
  • Richard D. Oram: The kings & queens of Scotland . Tempus, Stroud, Gloucestershire 2004, ISBN 0-7524-3814-X .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ GWS Barrow: Marjorie Bruce (c. 1296-1316). 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
  2. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 191.
  3. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 200.
  4. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 49.
  5. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 55.
  6. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 98.
  7. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 230.
  8. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, pp. 227-228.
  9. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 231.
  10. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 508.
  11. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 151.
  12. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 397.
  13. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 412.
  14. ^ Paisley on the web: Marjory Bruce. Retrieved August 25, 2015 .
  15. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 170.
  16. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 174.
  17. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, pp. 411-412.
personal data
SURNAME Bruce, Marjorie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bruce, Margorie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Daughter of the Scottish King Richard I (Robert the Bruce) and mother of Robert II.
DATE OF BIRTH around 1296
DATE OF DEATH March 2, 1316 or around 1317
Place of death Paisley