Murdoch Stewart, Earl of Menteith

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Murdoch Stewart, Earl of Menteith (also Muireadhach ) († August 11, 1332 at Scone ) was a Scottish magnate.

Origin and youth

Murdoch came from a branch line of the Scottish Stewart family . He was a younger son of Alexander Stewart, Earl of Menteith . After his death before 1306 Murdoch's older brother Alan inherited the title. Alan supported the Scottish King Robert Bruce in the war against England . However, he was captured by the English, where he died before 1309. The young Murdoch was taken into English guardianship. From 1310 to 1311 he served as valet to Sir William de Ferrers , and from 1312 to 1313 he served as a squire in the Dundee garrison .

Role in exposing the Soules conspiracy

According to the chronicler Thomas Gray , he learned of the William Soulis conspiracy in England , whereupon he switched sides and warned Robert Bruce. This rewarded him with the elevation to Earl of Menteith , for which his niece Mary waived her claim. However, when exactly Murdoch switched sides is unclear. In January 1317 he still received English pay, but probably by December 1318 at the latest he was on the Scottish side. The Soules conspiracy was uncovered in the late spring of 1320, and by 1323 at the latest Murdoch had been made Earl of Menteith as a reward for uncovering the conspiracy. As early as the summer of 1320, the Scottish king had awarded Murdoch with the barony of Rothiemay in Banffshire . Murdoch probably belonged to the Soules conspirators from 1318 onwards, but eventually betrayed them.

Activity as Earl of Menteith

In the next few years Menteith testified to the king's documents and accompanied him several times, including to Tarbert Castle in November 1328 . At the beginning of the Second Scottish War of Independence , he fought against the disinherited , who represented the claim to the throne of Edward Balliol . At the Battle of Dupplin Moor , Menteith supported the violent attack by Robert Bruce, Lord of Liddesdale on the army of the disinherited, in which he fell.

After his death, the claim to the title fell back to his niece Mary, who married John Graham .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , pp. 379, n116.
  2. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , pp. 199-201.
  3. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 388.
  4. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 231.
  5. ↑ Michael Penman: 'A fell coniuracioun agayn Robert the douchty king': the Soules conspiracy of 1318-1320. In: The Innes Review, 50 (1999), p. 46.
  6. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 297.
  7. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 87.
predecessor Office successor
Mary Stewart, Countess of Menteith Earl of Menteith
before 1323-1332 		Mary Stewart, Countess of Menteith
personal data
SURNAME Stewart, Murdoch, Earl of Menteith
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stewart, Muireadhach, Earl of Menteith
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish magnate
DATE OF BIRTH 13th Century
DATE OF DEATH August 11, 1332
Place of death at Scone (Perth and Kinross)