William Douglas of Douglas († 1298)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Seal of William Douglas

Sir William Douglas of that Ilk (also William Douglas, Lord of Douglas or William Douglas le Hardi ) (* before 1256, † November 9, 1298 in London ) was a Scottish nobleman and military.

origin

William Douglas came from the Douglas family , who had owned properties in Scotland as crown vassals since the 12th century . He was probably the second, but eldest surviving son of William "Longleg" Douglas († between 1270 and 1274). In 1256 he was still a minor. He received his nickname le Hardi ( German  the tough ) before 1267, when he valiantly defended his father's castle despite several wounds Douglas Castle . After the death of his father before 1274 and his older brother Hugh , he inherited the feudal barony of Douglas and the Fawdon estate in Northumberland in northern England in January 1289 at the latest . He was knighted around 1288 .

Assaults as Lord of Douglas

Douglas was a rough and ruthless man, but he came from an old and influential noble family. In 1288 in Tranent in Haddingtonshire he kidnapped Eleanor de Lorain , the widow of the English nobleman William Ferrers , and married her. She had traveled to Scotland to claim her share of the Qunicy legacy in Galloway . For this illegal marriage he was imprisoned in 1290 by the English King Edward I in Leeds Castle in southern England . On February 18, 1291, he was sentenced to a fine of £ 100. Succession to the throne was open in Scotland at the time. At the request of the Scottish magnates, the English king was to decide on the legality of the candidates for the Scottish throne . Eduard I. decided that under his chairmanship over 100 representatives should take part in the negotiations. Douglas was apparently not one of these representatives, which suggests that he was not one of the Scottish nobles who swore allegiance to the English king as overlord on July 5, 1291. When three representatives of the aspirant to the throne John Balliol appeared with him in Douglas Castle, he had them thrown into dungeon. He had one beheaded, the second died in dungeon, while he finally released the third. This accused Douglas before Balliol, who had in the meantime been appointed King of the Scots by Edward I. In addition, his own mother sued him around 1292 because he withheld the Wittum she was entitled to . In addition to the lands to which she was entitled, she claimed compensation of 140 Merks for lost income. Douglas had the agents of the Magistrate from Lanark seized and held them one night in the castle. He promised to release her, but delayed it for another day. As an apology, he said that he needed the time to raise the money. Douglas was supposed to answer for his offenses before the Scottish Parliament in February 1293, but he did not appear and was convicted in absentia. In August 1293, however, he appeared in front of parliament to defend himself. It is not known what sentence Douglas was sentenced to.

Military during the Scottish War of Independence

The Council of State, which in fact took power from King John Balliol in 1295, appointed Douglas commandant of Berwick Castle despite his offenses . When war broke out with England in 1296 , the army of King Edward I of England conquered Berwick on March 30 after a brief siege . Then Douglas and the about 200-strong crew of the castle surrendered. The soldiers were allowed free retreat, but Douglas had to accompany the king in mild detention until the end of the campaign. The English king was able to defeat Scotland quickly, and Douglas, as one of the first Scottish magnates, swore the oath of allegiance to him on June 10, 1296. He then got his possessions back on August 28th. On May 24, 1297 he received the request to follow the instructions of the agents of the English king. Eduard I was undoubtedly planning to call him up to his army, with which he wanted to wage a campaign in Flanders in the war against France . Douglas then changed sides before the end of May 1297 and joined the rebellion of William Wallace . Together with Wallace, he attacked the Justiciar William Ormsby , appointed by Edward I, in Scone , who only barely escaped. Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick , who was on the English side, then plundered Douglasdale and captured Douglas' family. A little later, however, he also changed sides and rebelled against the English king together with James Stewart , a brother-in-law of Douglas. Douglas joined them, presumably to save his family. As early as July 7, 1297, however, they had to surrender to an English army under Henry Percy and Robert Clifford in Irvine . His allies Stewart and Carrick extradited Douglas to the English and made him responsible for the rebellion. Douglas was incarcerated in Berwick Castle. Despite the chains on him, he behaved wildly and abusive, so that his overseers asked the king not to pardon him under any circumstances and to release him again. After the English defeat at the Battle of Stirling Bridge , Douglas was brought south in September. From October 13, 1297, he was held prisoner in the Tower of London , accompanied by a servant . He had four pence a day at his disposal for a living , but Edward I probably gave his property to Sir Robert Clifford while he was still alive. Douglas died in captivity in the Tower, but Barbour's claim that he was poisoned is unlikely.

Marriages and offspring

Douglas was married twice. In his first marriage he had married Elizabeth , a daughter of Alexander of Dundonald . With her he had a son:

Douglas had two other sons with his second wife, Eleanor :

His eldest son James became one of Robert Bruce's most loyal supporters when he rose to be King of Scotland in 1306. He recaptured his father's estates and became the progenitor of the Black Douglas and Earls of Douglas line . His third son Archibald became the progenitor of Red Douglas , the red line of Douglas.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 118.
  2. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 99.
  3. ^ Michael Prestwich: Edward I. University of California, Berkeley 1988, ISBN 0-520-06266-3 , p. 471
  4. ↑ Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 183.
  5. ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 220.
predecessor Office successor
Hugh Douglas Laird of Douglas
around 1289-1298 		James Douglas
personal data
SURNAME Douglas, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sir William Douglas of Douglas; William le Hardi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH before 1256
DATE OF DEATH November 9, 1298
Place of death Tower of London