Walter Fitz Alan, 1st High Steward of Scotland

Walter Fitz Alan (also Walter Fitzalan ; Walter the Stewart , Latin Walter filio alani Dapifero ) (* around 1110, † 1177 ) was a Scottish nobleman from the house of FitzAlan . He was hereditary High Steward of Scotland and is the progenitor of the Stewart family .

origin

Walter was the third son of Alan Fitz Flaad from his marriage to Aveline , a daughter of Arnulph de Hesding, Seigneur de Hesdin . His father came from Brittany and had acquired Oswestry Castle in Shropshire and considerable other lands in England in the service of King Henry I of England . His older brother William Fitz Alan inherited Oswestry and the other English estates after his father's death around 1114.

Ascent to the steward of the kings of scots

As a younger son, Walter had little hope of his father's inheritance. He entered the service of the Scottish King David I around 1136 and became a close confidante of the king. Towards the end of the reign of David I. he received the office of Dapifer ( English steward ) of the king. He kept this office during the reign of Malcolm IV , the grandson and successor of David I, who confirmed the office as an inheritance, and during the reign of Malcolm's brother Wilhelm I. Walter received extensive estates from the kings, including Renfrew , the northern half of Kyle in central Ayrshire and estates in Berwickshire , Roxburghshire and Haddingtonshire . Walter gave part of these lands as a fiefdom to Anglo-Norman knights, some of whom came from the Welsh Marches , like himself . When Malcolm IV confirmed the hereditary position of Dapifer in 1157, Walter had risen to become one of the great Scottish magnates. He made his position clear by building and expanding Renfrew and Dundonald Castle and by founding Paisley Priory . For this he brought monks from Wenlock Priory in Shropshire to Scotland around 1163 and provided them with plenty of land. Before his death he gave also Melrose Abbey with Mauchline . In 1164, under his leadership, a Viking incursion from the Kingdom of the Isles under Somerled was repulsed to Renfrewshire.

Marriage and offspring

Walter married Eschina de Molle , who came from his southern Scottish family. She was the widow of Robert de Croc and a daughter of Thomas de Londoniis , and as her father's heir she brought properties in Roxburghshire into the marriage. With her he had at least one son and one daughter:

• Alan fitz Walter (around 1150–1204);
• Marjory FitzAlan ⚭ Robert de Montgomery († around 1179), son of Arnulf de Montgomery .

Possibly he had another son, unknown by name, to whom the English family line of the Stuarts of Hartley Mauduit can be traced back.

literature

• James Balfour Paul : The Scots Peerage. Volume 1, David Douglas, Edinburgh 1904, pp. 10 ff. ( Archive.org ).
• Charles Mosley (Ed.): Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage . Volume 2, Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, Wilmington 2003, p. 2763.

Web links

• Walter Fitz Alan, 1st High Steward of Scotland on thepeerage.com
• GWS Barrow: Fitzalan, Walter (c. 1110-1177). 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

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. 136.
2. ^ 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. 139.
3. ^ 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. 180.
4. ^ 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. 417.

predecessor	Office	successor
––	High Steward of Scotland around 1150–1177	Alan fitz Walter