William (Douglas) Douglas Laird of Liddesdale (abt. 1300 - 1353)

Born about 1300 in Scotland

Ancestors

Died Aug 1353 at about age 53 in Ettrick Forest, Selkirkshire, Scotland

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William (Douglas) Douglas Laird of Liddesdale was a member of Scottish Nobility. Join: Scotland Project Discuss: Scotland

Biography

William (Douglas) Douglas Laird of Liddesdale is a member of Clan Douglas.

Sir William Douglas was a member of the aristocracy in Scotland.

William (Douglas) Douglas Laird of Liddesdale is Notable.

Sir William Douglas, b. before 1326, d. August 1353. Sir William Douglas was born before 1326. He was the son of Sir James Douglas of Lothian and Joan (?). He married, secondly, Elizabeth Maxwell, daughter of Sir John Maxwell of Carlaverock. He married, firstly, Margaret de Graham, daughter of Sir John de Graham of Abercorn and Dalkeith, after 1345. He was murdered in August 1353 by William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, his cousin and godson, in Ettrick Forest.^[1], and died without male issue. Sir William Douglas also went by the nickname of 'the Flower of Chivalry'. He was created 1st Earl of Atholl on 18 July 1341. He abdicated as Earl of Atholl after July 1341 in favour of Robert Stewart, grandson of King Robert I. On 3 November 1351 he entailed his lands of Liddesdale on the sons of his brother, John Douglas. ^[2]

Child of Sir William Douglas and Elizabeth Maxwell

Mary Douglas d. c 30 Jun 1367

Sir William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale (circa. 1300-k.1353) was also known as the Knight of Liddesdale and the Flower of Chivalry. He was a Scottish nobleman and soldier active during the Second War of Scottish Independence.

William Douglas, knight of Liddesdale, otherwise well known in Scottish history by the title of the Flower of Chivalry, has been reckoned, on the authority of John de Fordun, to have been a natural son of Sir James Douglas, the companion in arms of Robert Bruce, and as such he is generally mentioned by our Scottish historians. Others, however, make him out to have been lawful son of Sir James Douglas of Loudon. It is in vain to inquire into the date of birth, or early life of the distinguished personages of this period, as the first notice we generally receive of them is in some historic action, when they had attained the age of manhood. Sir William became possessor of the lands of Liddesdale, through marriage with Margaret Graham, daughter of Sir John Graham, lord of Abercorn. ^[3]

The Lord of Liddesdale

The "Lord of Liddesdale" was a magnate in the medieval Kingdom of Scotland; the territorial lordship of Liddesdale was first created by David I of Scotland, perhaps between 1113 and 1124 when the latter was Prince of the Cumbrians. From an early period the caput of the lordship was Hermitage Castle, the strength of Liddesdale. King David gave the territory to Ranulf de Soules, a knight from the Cotentin Peninsula. It was forfeited by the Soulis (de Soules) family in the 14th century and eventually passed to the Douglases, only to be lost to the Hepburns by order of James IV. Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus was renumerated for this loss by the lordship of Bothwell Castle, although the Hepburn Earls of Bothwell retained the territorial designation ^[4]

Hermitage Castle

The chief point of interest in the Liddesdale valley is Hermitage Castle, a massive H-shaped fortress of enormous strength, one of the oldest surviving castles in Scotland. It stands on a hill overlooking Hermitage Water, a tributary of the Liddel. It was built in 1244 by Nicholas de Soulis, and was captured by the English in David II's reign. It was retaken by Sir William Douglas, who received a grant of it from the king. In 1492 Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus, exchanged it for Bothwell Castle on the Clyde with Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell. It finally passed to the Duke of Buccleuch, under whose care further ruin has been arrested. It was here that Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie was starved to death by Sir William Douglas in 1342, and that James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, was visited by Mary, Queen of Scots, after the assault referred to previously. ^[5]

In 1338, the then incumbent, Englishman Sir Ralph de Neville was besieged by Sir William Douglas, The Knight of Liddesdale, known as the "Flower of Chivalry" (this sobriquet had to do with his abilities as a knight, although it is often misinterpreted by people with a rather romantic view of history). Upon his death, brought about by near kinsman and namesake, William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, the Castle fell into the hands of the Dacre family for a time. It soon fell back into the hands of Earl William through inheritance, and it was he that enabled the construction of most of the present building, possibly with the help of John Lewin, master mason at Durham Cathedral. The Earl's sons provided the seed of the two famous branches of the house – the 'Black' (for Earls of Douglas) and 'Red' (for the Earls of Angus). By 1455 the Black line had so incensed the King that James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas was forfeited, never to return, and the beneficences that they had enjoyed passed to the 'Red' line of Angus, including Hermitage Castle.^[6]

The castle became obsolete after the Union of the Crowns, in 1603 and fell into disrepair, by the turn of the eighteenth century it was a ruin. Hermitage gave its name to the Viscountcy of Hermitage, conferred in 1706 on Henry, third son of the first Duke of Buccleuch as a subsidiary title of the Earldom of Deloraine. This title became extinct in 1807. Some repairs to the castle were carried out in 1820 by the fifth Duke of Buccleuch. It is interesting to note that the Scotts (Note: James Vl granted the castle to Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch in 1594) are descended matrilinearly from the Douglases of Drumlanrig, a cadet branch, and sometimes use the surname Montagu-Douglas-Scott, thus maintaining a continuity with earlier times.

The castle remained a property of the Scotts until 1930, when it was handed over to the care of the Nation. It is now cared for by Historic Scotland, an executive agency of the Scottish Government, and is open to visitors from 1 April - 30 September each year. It is closed during the winter season. The castle is said to be haunted by Mary, Queen of Scots.

William Douglass in History

William Douglas was born into a minor Scottish noble family (one that would become increasingly influential throughout the fourteenth century) and seems to have been born into defending Scotland against English invasion. By 1330, he was acting as a warden of the marches and by 1332 was fighting against the English, under King Edward III, who were helping to promote one Edward Balliol, a pretender to the Scottish throne (the real king, David II, was still underage and living in France at the time for his own protection). In 1333, he was defeated by the English and captured, remaining a prisoner for the next two years. Almost immediately when he was released, he began fighting in battles again. By the time David II returned to Scotland in 1341, Douglas was already a major player within the country's government, and further rewards were given to him by the king, including the earldom of Atholl. Soon after, he would surrender the earldom in exchange for the territory of Lissedale, therefore styling himself William Douglas, Lord of Lissedale. Douglas's downfall seems to have begun when he murdered one Alexander Ramsay, a man who had established himself in the battlefield and was shown considerable favor at court. Though he was not brought up on charges, the deceitful act brought him many enemies, including his own family members.

By 1346, war with England was renewed, and the Scots invaded their neighboring country while Edward III was away campaigning in France. As the Scots decimated parts of northern England, the English took notice and engaged in battle with the invaders at Neville's Cross. The battle was a disaster for the Scots, and both Douglas and David II were captured. For the next seven years, Douglas wasted away in an English prison (though he was allowed to return to Scotland on several occasions to help form a truce between the two countries). He was finally released in 1352 after agreeing to provide Edward III with military aid when needed. These actions most certainly would have been considered traitorous to his countrymen, and they may have been a reason for his murder upon returning to Scotland the following year by his own cousin. Certain chronicles will claim that he was murdered in retaliation for his murder of Alexander Ramsay, but there is no evidence to support this claim.^[7]

During the Second War of Scottish Independence, Liddesdale was captured by Sir Robert Bertram during the Battle of Neville's Cross (Henderson, 2006). (Also see Wikipedia: William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas - Early Life).

Douglas in Shakespeare

Appears in: Edward III

Sir William Douglas appears in one scene of Edward III where he is seen, with King David II, laying siege to an English castle that contains the Countess of Salisbury. When the English arrive, the Scots are purposely made to look foolish when they are chided by the countess for their arrogance and immediately chased off. It is later announced that the Scots have been defeated at Neville's Cross, with David II being taken prisoner.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ "Douglas, William Douglas, 1st Earl of." Britannica Online Academic Edition (2017): Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Web.
2. ↑ Sir William Douglas
3. ↑ From Electric Scotland.com: Significant Scots, William Douglas
4. ↑ Lord of Liddesdale
5. ↑ Hermitage Castle, Liddesdale
6. ↑ Hermitage Castle
7. ↑ Duncan, A. A. M. ‘Douglas, Sir William, lord of Liddesdale (c.1310–1353)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2006, http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/7923
8. ↑ William Douglass in Shakespeare

See also:

• "The Scots Peerage : Founded On Wood's Ed. Of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage Of Scotland; Containing An Historical And Genealogical Account Of The Nobility Of That Kingdom : Paul, James Balfour, Sir, 1846-1931 : Free Download, Borrow, And Streaming : Internet Archive". 2021. Internet Archive. Sir William Douglas, Vol VI, pps 338-342
• "The Complete Peerage Of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, And The United Kingdom : Extant, Extinct, Or Dormant : Cokayne, George E. (George Edward), 1825-1911 : Free Download, Borrow, And Streaming : Internet Archive". 2021. Internet Archive. Sir William Douglas, Vol I, pg 310
• The History of Liddesdale, Eskdale, Ewesdale, Wauchopedale and the Debateable Land: By Robert Bruce Armstrong, Volume 1, Robert Bruce Armstrong, D. Douglas, 1883 - "Debateable land" (Scotland)
• Henderson, T. (2006, Mar 20). Secrets of a castle well hidden away. Journal Retrieved from proquest.com.
• Johnston, George Harvey. "The Douglases of Morton." The Heraldry of the Douglases: With Notes on All the Males of the Family, Descriptions of the Arms, Plates and Pedigrees. Edinburgh: W. & A.K. Johnston, Limited, 1907.63. Print.
• "THE HOUSE OF DOUGLAS." Littell's Living Age (1844-1896) 172.2228 (1887): 579. Web.
• Wikipedia: William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale