Robert II (Scotland)

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Robert II of Scotland (born March 2, 1316 in Paisley , Renfrewshire , † April 19, 1390 in Dundonald Castle , Ayrshire ; actually Robert Stewart ) was King of Scotland from 1371 until his death . Before taking office at the age of 55 years he was Steward (Steward) of Scotland. He founded the royal stewart dynasty . Robert was the only son of Walter Stewart and Marjorie Bruce , daughter of King Robert the Bruce and his first wife, Isabella of Mar . He was probably born by caesarean section ; his mother died a few hours after giving birth.

Robert II of Scotland and Euphemia of Ross

Regency

In 1318 the Scottish Parliament passed a new succession regulation: Should Robert the Bruce die without a son, his grandson would succeed to the throne. But the birth of David II in 1324 delayed Robert's accession to the throne by nearly 42 years. After the young David became king in 1329, the stewardess assumed an important role in the affairs of the Scottish government. He was one of the leaders of the Scottish Army at the Battle of Halidon Hill in July 1333. After gaining several victories over the supporters of the deposed King Edward Balliol , he and John Randolph were elected regents as the Guardian of Scotland , while David went to France was brought to safety.

After Randolph was captured by the English, Robert Stewart was sole regent. He was able to restore the royal authority over Scotland and thus enabled the return of David in 1341. On February 16, 1342 he was elevated to Earl of Atholl . At the Battle of Neville's Cross in 1346, King David was captured and Robert Stewart took office again as regent.

Resistance to David II

David returned to Scotland in 1357 after signing an agreement in Berwick-upon-Tweed that provided for the payment of a large ransom. However, due to the country's poverty, it was not possible to pay the ransom. Some installments were paid off, but David strove to settle the debt by paying the English King Edward III. or wanted to appoint one of his sons as heir to the Scottish throne. Another offense to Robert was that he was (probably wrongly) accused by David of abandoning him at Neville's Cross.

In November 1357 he was awarded the title of Earl of Strathearn .

In 1363, Robert Stewart led a rebellion against the king. But the rebellion was soon put down and he had to surrender. He was imprisoned with four of his sons, including in Loch Leven Castle , where 200 years later his direct descendant, Queen Mary of Scots, was arrested. He was released shortly before David's death in February 1371 and was crowned King of Scotland a month later.

king

Royal seal

According to the laws passed by Robert the Bruce in 1318, Robert Stewart came to the throne and was crowned king in Scone in March 1371 . He was not a particularly active king and hardly cared about the affairs of state. Influential nobles took control of several areas of the state. In 1378 war broke out again against England , but the king did not personally participate in the fighting. After Edinburgh was burned down, among other things , the conflict ended in 1388 with the Scots' victory in the Battle of Otterburn .

Due to the advanced age and frailty of the monarch, in 1389 Parliament appointed his second oldest surviving son, Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, as regent. The king died in Dundonald Castle in 1390 and was buried in Scone. His eldest surviving son, John, appeared as Robert III. the succession to the throne.

family

In his first marriage, Robert married Elizabeth Mure of Rowallan, with whom he had the following children:

His first marriage was controversial for a long time. He had married Elizabeth Mure, his former mistress, in 1336. But many did not consider the marriage lawful, which also affected the children from that marriage. In 1349 the marriage was repeated to legitimize the marriage. This fact would later lead to a conflict between the descendants of the first marriage (including James I ) and those of the second marriage.

In his second marriage he married Euphemia de Ross , the widow of his former colleague John Randolph. She gave him the children:

Robert II also had eight illegitimate children from mostly unknown women; including John, the progenitor of the Earls of Bute .

Through the marriage of his daughter Joan to John Lyon of Glamis, King Robert is a direct ancestor of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and thus also of the reigning Queen of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II and her descendants.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ SI Boardman: Stewart, David, first earl of Strathearn and first earl of Caithness (b. In or after 1357 ?, d. 1386?). 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. ↑ The heirs of David, Earl of Strathearn (d. Before 1389) by William Addams Reitwiesner, on wargs.com, viewed August 1, 2011
predecessor Office successor
New title created Earl of Atholl
1342-1371 		Title merged with crown
New title created Earl of Strathearn
1357-1371 		Title merged with crown
David II King of Scotland
1371-1390 		Robert III
personal data
SURNAME Robert II
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stewart, Robert, 1st Earl of Atholl, 1st Earl of Strathearn
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Scotland
DATE OF BIRTH March 2, 1316
PLACE OF BIRTH Paisley , Renfrewshire
DATE OF DEATH April 19, 1390
Place of death Dundonald Castle , Ayrshire