Patrick, 5th Earl of Atholl

Patrick, 5th Earl of Atholl (also Padraig ) (* around 1222, † 1242 in Haddington ) was a Scottish magnate .

Origin and youth

Patrick was the second son of Thomas of Galloway and his second wife Isabella, Countess of Atholl . His older brother died as a child, after which Patrick became his heir after the death of his father in 1231. It is not known exactly who took over the administration of Atholl when he was a minor. Atholl was likely under the administration of Alan Durward from 1233 to about 1237 , who may have acquired guardianship over Patrick. In 1237 an Earl of Atholl, possibly Durward, who was not named, testified to the Treaty of York . After the death of Patrick's uncle Alan, Lord of Galloway in 1234, his reign Galloway was to be divided among his three daughters according to feudal law. The local nobles wanted to prevent a split and told King Alexander II that they would rather accept Patrick as the next legitimate legitimate relative as Lord of Galloway. The king still had Galloway divided among the daughters.

Unexplained death and succession

Around 1242 Patrick was able to take up his inheritance in Atholl, but that same year his body was found along with the bodies of several of his followers in his burned down residence in Haddington when a tournament was taking place there. His killers were never identified, and there is no apparent motive for the crime. Patrick's related Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith and other members of the Comyn family accused John Bisset and his uncle Walter Bisset of Aboyne of being responsible for the murder of Patrick. Walter Bisset was married to Patrick's aunt Ada , and the Comyns now claimed that the Bissets wanted control of Patrick's holdings in Galloway and Ireland. Or maybe these accusations were just an excuse to disempower a rival noble family. Several contemporary chroniclers suspected this, and King Alexander II also hesitated to condemn the Bissets. It was only after pressure from Alexander Comyn, 6th Earl of Buchan and Patrick Dunbar, 5th Earl of Dunbar , that the king was compelled to banish Walter Bisset. Atholl now fell to Forueleth , Patrick's maternal aunt, and to her husband David Hastings .

Web links

• Patrick, fifth earl of Atholl (c. 1222-1242). 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
• Patrick of Galloway, 5th Earl of Atholl on thepeerage.com

Individual evidence

1. ^ Archibald AM Duncan: Scotland. The Making of the Kingdom (The Edinburgh History of Scotland; Vol. I ). Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh 1975. ISBN 0-05-00203-7-4 , p. 544.
2. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 37.
3. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 40.

predecessor	Office	successor
Thomas (de iure uxoris)	Earl of Atholl 1231-1242	David Hastings (de iure uxoris)