Patrick Dunbar, 8th Earl of Dunbar

Coat of arms of the Earls of Dunbar

Patrick Dunbar, 8th Earl of Dunbar (also Patrick (V) Dunbar ; Earl of March and Earl of Moray ) (* 1285 , † 1369 ) was a Scottish magnate and military. In the wars between Scotland and England he changed sides several times before he finally supported the fight for Scottish independence .

origin

Patrick Dunbar was the eldest son of his father of the same name, Patrick Dunbar, 7th Earl of Dunbar and his wife Marjory Comyn . After his father's death in 1308, he inherited his possessions and the title of Earl of Dunbar , with his father also dubbed himself Earl of March .

Changing attitudes in the First Scottish War of Independence

Like his father, Dunbar initially supported the English crown's claim to supremacy over Scotland. He had already taken part in the siege of Caerlaverock Castle in 1300 and was asked to keep the peace in 1307 when Edward II had become the new King of England. When the Scots under Robert I increasingly recaptured southern Scotland, the English troops could not support him in their increasingly pressurized castles, so that the Scots were able to plunder Dunbar's possessions almost unhindered. Therefore, in September 1311, he was forced to buy an armistice that was limited to February 1312. His possessions were also the target of raids by the English garrisons of Berwick and Roxburgh , who supplied themselves with food in this way. Therefore he turned to the English king in 1313 together with Sir Adam Gordon († 1328), an influential landed nobleman from Lothian , and complained about the looting by English troops in southern Scotland. Nevertheless, Dunbar continued to support the English king and granted him refuge in Dunbar Castle in 1314 after his defeat at the Battle of Bannockburn . After the English king fled to England by ship, Dunbar submitted, probably at the urging of the Earl of Fife , to the victorious Robert I. Subsequently, Dunbar actively supported the Scottish king in the war against England , but apparently mistrusted Robert I. until his death Dunbar and rewarded him little. From September 1317 at the latest, Dunbar and Alexander Seton besieged Berwick, initially unsuccessfully . In 1318 he took part in the successful siege of Berwick . In September 1319 he was one of the Scottish commanders who successfully defended Berwick against an English army . In April 1320 he testified to the Arbroath Declaration . Presumably he then belonged, like Adam Gordon, to the Scottish legation that brought the declaration to the papal curia in Avignon . Before he reached Avignon, however, he learned in France of a Scottish conspiracy that was to bring Edward Balliol to the Scottish throne. He hastily returned to Scotland. There he reported this conspiracy to the king, whereupon the alleged conspirators, including William Soulis and David Brechin , were arrested. In March 1328 he sealed peace with England . After the death of Robert I in 1329, Dunbar supported the succession to the throne from his underage son David II.

Fight against the disinherited during the Second Scottish War of Independence

When Edward Balliol in 1332 with support from the so-called disinherited in invaded Scotland , Dunbar commanded the Scottish army, which a landing of the disinherited south of the Forth should ward. After the disinherited landed on the north bank of the Firth of Forth, however, he pursued them, but could not prevent the disinherited defeat the second Scottish army on the north bank of the Forth at the Battle of Dupplin Moor . Together with the remnants of this army under Sir Archibald Douglas, he then besieged Balliol and the disinherited in Perth . For lack of supplies they had to break the siege, whereupon Dunbar moved with other Scottish magnates to Galloway to put down a rebellion there in favor of Balliol. According to information from the 16th century, he is said to have acted together with the Earl of Mar as Guardian of Scotland and took over the administration of Scotland south of the Forth, but this is unproven. As a result, neither he nor the new Guardian Archibald Douglas made peace with Edward Balliol, who had been crowned King of Scotland after the siege of Perth was lifted. According to a chronicler, after the capture of the Guardian in November 1332, he concluded an armistice with Balliol, which was limited to February 1333 and which then became irrelevant due to Balliol's defeat at Annan in December 1333 and his subsequent escape. In early 1333, Dunbar took command of the strategically important Berwick Castle , which he quickly repaired before it was besieged by Balliol from March 1333 . After the Scottish defeat in the Battle of Halidon Hill , he surrendered the castle on July 20th. Then he switched to the English side.

The ruins of Dunbar Castle, which played an important role during the Second Scottish War of Independence

Temporarily support of the English king

Although Dunbar was replaced by the English as commandant of Berwick Castle, the English King Edward III. rewarded him with land in Northumberland with an annual income of £ 100 and the right to fortify Dunbar Castle again with financial support from the King. In February 1334 Dunbar first took part in the Scottish Parliament convened by Balliol in Edinburgh , which approved the cession of large parts of southern Scotland to the English king. Then on February 21 he also took part in the English Parliament in York , where he met Edward III. paid homage. At the beginning of June he was part of Balliol's entourage when he took part in the enthronement of Richard Bury as Bishop of Durham, Dunbar was one of the few Scottish magnates who witnessed Balliol's official cession of southern Scotland to the English king on June 12 in Newcastle .

Another change of sides and fight against the English

After a widespread Scottish revolt against English supremacy in the summer of 1334, Dunbar was the only Scottish magnate who still supported Balliol and the English. The devastation caused by the looting of the English army in south-east Scotland moved Dunbar to change sides again. Before February 1, 1335, Dunbar had openly joined the followers of David II, whereupon his holdings in Northumberland were confiscated by the English king and given to Henry Percy . In April 1335 he participated in the Scottish Parliament in Dairsie , during which the Scottish magnates decided to vacate the Lowlands in view of the imminent campaign of the English king . At the end of July, together with the Earl of Moray and other Scots, he attacked the Count of Namur and defeated him in the battle near Boroughmuir when he was on the way to the English army with his entourage. The Earl fled to the ruins of Edinburgh Castle , where he had to surrender on July 31st. In November 1335, Dunbar joined the Guardian Andrew Murray when he left Kildrummy Castle for relief and took part in the Battle of Culblean . In the further course of the war, the two English commanders Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury in 1337, decided to besiege Dunbar Castle. Dunbar himself was not in the castle during the siege, whose stubborn defense was led by his wife Agnes . In view of the planned campaign to France , the English finally broke off the siege. In 1339 Dunbar took part in the siege of Perth, and in the Battle of Neville's Cross in 1346 he commanded the left wing of the Scottish army. However, when Robert Stewart fled the battlefield with the 3rd Scottish Battalion, Dunbar followed him. With that he contributed significantly to the heavy Scottish defeat.

Next life

After the death of his brother-in-law John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray, who died at Neville's Cross, Dunbar took on the title of Earl of Moray . David II awarded this title to the English Duke of Lancaster after his release in 1357 , but Dunbar seemed to have continued to use the title. Most importantly, he retained control of his late brother-in-law's possessions. In November 1355, Dunbar took part in the raid, during which the Scots briefly retook Berwick. In 1358 he was briefly imprisoned by Sir James Lindsay for an unknown reason . He finally supported a rebellion in 1363 together with the heir to the throne Robert Stewart and the Earl of Douglas , which was supposed to be directed against the lavish courtship of David II, but in reality was directed against the imminent marriage of the king to Margaret Logie, which was Stewart's succession could still endanger. In July 1368 he attested a document from the king for the last time, the last time he was mentioned in 1369.

Marriages and inheritance

Dunbar had married Ermigarda for the first time before 1304 . He presumably had a son with her, who was presumably John . He served as a hostage in England in 1351 and 1354 instead of the Scottish King David II, but apparently died before 1357. Around 1320 Dunbar had married Agnes Randolph , the eldest daughter of Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray and his wife Isabel Stewart . Since she was his cousin, they needed papal dispensation for the marriage . Since he died with no surviving descendants, his nephew George Dunbar became his heir.

Literature and web links

• Fiona Watson: Dunbar, Patrick, eighth earl of Dunbar or of March, and earl of Moray (1285-1369). 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 de Dunbar, 8th Earl of Dunbar on thepeerage.com , accessed January 23, 2019.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 124.
2. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 136.
3. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 330.
4. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 152.
5. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 314.
6. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 182.
7. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 184.
8. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 207.
9. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 219.
10. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 365.
11. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 83.
12. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 85.
13. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 91.
14. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 92.
15. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 103.
16. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 111.
17. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 144.
18. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 152.
19. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 156.
20. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 158.
21. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 162.
22. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 173.
23. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 190.
24. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 203.
25. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 213.
26. ^ Ranald Nicholson: Edward III and the Scots. The formative Years of a Military Career . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1965, p. 232.
27. ↑ Michael A. Penman: The Scots at the Battle of Neville's Cross, October 17, 1346 . In: The Scottish Historical Review (80), 2001, p. 159.

predecessor	Office	successor
Patrick Dunbar	Earl of Dunbar 1308-1369	George Dunbar