King WILLIAM the Conqueror created his niece the lady JUDITH countess of Huntington, and married her to WALTHEOF, the son of SYWARD earl of Northumberland, who was restored to that dignity in 1072. On his marriage to the lady JUDITH he became earl of Huntington in her right. They had issue MAUD, who was married, first, to SIMON DE ST. LYZ earl of Northampton, and in her right earl of Huntington; and, secondly, to DAVID the first king of Scotland, called St. DAVID, by which marriage he acquired the earldom of Huntington. They had issue HENRY prince of Scotland, earl of Huntington and of Northumberland, who died before his father June the twelfth, 1152. Prince HENRY married ADA, the daughter of WILLIAM, the second earl Warren and Surrey.
They had issue MALCOLM the Fourth, WILLIAM surnamed the Lion, kings of Scotland, and DAVID, afterwards earl of Huntington and Carrick, who married MAUD, the eldest daughter of HUGH CYVELIOCK, earl of Chester and Lincoln1, by whom he had HENRY, and DAVID who died in his life-time, and JOHN his third son earl of Huntington and Cambridge, who, after the death of his uncle RANDOLPH BLUNDEVILLE without issue, king HENRY the Third resumed the county palatine of Chester, and gave other inheritances to the four sisters and co-heirs of that earl: MARGARET, the eldest sister, married ALLAN lord of Galloway, constable of Scotland2: they had issue this DEVORGILLA, whose seal shall be hereafter described; she married JOHN BALLIOL3, the founder of Balliol college, lord of Bernard’s castle, and of Galloway, and who possessed several other estates both in Scotland and in England in right of this lady4: she was lady of Balliol in right of her husband; and by descent countess of Huntington, as has been already shewn. She was also heir by the common law to the earldom of Chester, as heir to her brother JOHN, surnamed SCOT, earl of Huntington and Chester abovementioned; she was also lady of Galloway, by descent from her father.
Her seal is in red wax, and is appendant to her statutes of Balliol college in Oxford. On the obverse of the seal is the representation of the lady DEVORGILLA in her dowager’s habit; namely, a loose gown over a close dress; bearing in her right hand an orle, the escutcheon of Balliol, and in her left the lion of Galloway. The escutcheon below on the right side is charged with three garbes or sheafs of wheat, which she bore as grandchild to HUGH CYVELIOCK, earl of Chester: on the left side below is an escutcheon charged with two piles in point, borne by her ancestors earls of Huntington and Northumberland. The legend on the obverse of the seal is,
“ ✠ S’ DERVORGILLE DE BALLI FIE ALANI DE GALEWAD’.”
On the reverse of the seal is the lion of Galloway impaled with the arms of Balliol. Above the escutcheon on the right side are three garbes, the arms of Chester; and on the left the piles, the arms of Huntington and Northumberland. The legend is,
“ ✠ S’ DERVORGILLE DE GALWAD’ DñE DE BALLIOLO.”
This lady, as has been already observed, enjoyed several estates which were formerly parcel of the possessions of the honor of Huntington: amongst others, a mansion house at Fotheringay, which, on the barons’ wars, was plundered by the lord WAKE, but on the death of ALLAN lord of Galloway in 1224, without issue male, she acquired very large possessions in Scotland, and her estates were greatly increased after the death of her two sisters, HELEN countess of Winchester, and CHRISTIAN countess of Albemarle. JOHN DE BALLIOL, the founder of Balliol college, died about the year 1266, leaving by this lady two sons, HUGH DE BALLIOL, of Bernard’s castle, and JOHN, afterwards king of Scotland. HUGH died without issue, and was succeeded in his
1This lady was sister, and one of the co-heirs of RANDOLPH BLUNDEVILLE, earl of Chester and of Lincoln, who dying without issue, his estates, after the death of JOHN his nephew were divided amongst his sisters, the abovementioned MAUD, the wife of earl DAVID; MABELL, the wife of WILLIAM D’ALBENEY, earl of Arundel; AGNES, the wife of WILLIAM FERRERS, earl of Derby; and AVICIA, who was married to ROBERT QUINCY, who had issue MARGARET their daughter and heir, countess of Lincoln.
2The other sisters of MARGARET were, ISABEL, married to ROBERT BRUCE, lord of Anandale in Scotland, and grandfather of ROBERT the first king of Scotland; ADA, the wife of HENRY DE HASTINGS, ancestor of the GREYS of Kent; and MAUD, who died sine prole.
3ALLAN lord of Galloway and MARGARET had issue HELEN, who married ROGER DE QUINCY, earl of Winchester, and constable of Scotland in her right; which office, through this match, afterwards descended to WILLIAM lord FERRERS of Groby, who was constable of Scotland in 1270, and ancestor of our present noble president. I shall speak more fully on this point hereafter.
4Vide the History of Northamptonshire, vol. II. pp. 141, 154, 257, 325, 450. In the year 1253 HELENA countess of Chester, relict of JOHN the last earl, brought her action against JOHN BALLIOL and DERVORGILLA his wife, for the recovery of lands in Nassington, which were part of her jointure. Ib. p. 467. The lady DERVORGILLA must have been married to JOHN BALLIOL before the year 1250, as appears by the inquisitions hereafter mentioned.
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Honours and estates by his brother JOHN. DERVORGILLA was very active after the death of her husband in fulfilling his intentions respecting his college at Oxford, and in 1282 she published the statutes to which the seal under consideration is appendant. In the year 1284 she established the college in perpetuity, by an instrument under her seal. In 1287, the executors of JOHN DE BALLIOL, with the consent and assent of her ladyship, resigned all their power into the hands of the master and fellows of the college. Besides her zeal in fulfilling the intentions of her husband respecting Balliol college, she gave considerable estates to pious purposes. She founded, and richly endowed, the abbey Dulcis Cordis, or New Abbey, in the county of Galloway, in which her husband was interred.
Read more/less... This abbey, at the time of the Dissolution, was possessed of divers baronies, benefices, and other possessions, of the annual value of 682 l.1. She also founded a monastery for Franciscan monks at Dumfries; and another at Dundee, for monks of the same order2. She was also a benefactress to several other religious houses. This lady lived several years longer than has been generally supposed. DOUGLAS3, and others, have asserted that she died in 1269; but the inquisitions taken after her death, which are preserved among the records at the Tower, prove that she died about the year 1290. As these inquisitions furnish several historical particulars, not hitherto published, I shall give an abridgement of them.
By an inquisition taken at Chedeford, on the day of St. Peter in Cathedra, in the eighteenth year of the reign of king EDWARD the First, A. D. 12904, it was found that the lady DERVERGILLA5 DE BALLIOL, deceased, held a capital messuage, and 360 acres of arable land in Kemston6, and that each acre was of the yearly value of six pence; and that she also held there a fishery in the river Ouse, of the yearly value of ten shillings. It was likewise found, that all the said premises were held by the king of Scotland, and that they were members of the honour of Huntington, but by what services the jury did not know. It was likewise found that JOHN DE BALLIOL, the son of the said lady DERVERGILLA, deceased, was her next heir, and that he was of the age of forty years on Michaelmas day then last.
By another inquisition, taken at Foderingay on Friday next before the feast of St. Gregory, the pope in the same year, 1290, it was found that the said lady DERVERGILLA held in capite the hamlets of Nassington and Jarewelle7, but by what service was not known, and that there were several villain services in these hamlets, and 230 acres of land in the said hamlets, of the yearly value of ten shillings. It was also found that the said lady DERVORGILLA held on the day of her death the manor and castle of Fotheringay of the king of Scotland, by the yearly service of a hawk, for herself and her co-partners in the honor of Huntington, and that she had sixty acres of wood within the king’s forest of Clive.
By another inquisition taken at Driffield on Sunday next after the feast of St. PETER in Cathedra, in the same year, it was found that the said DERVORGILLA DE BALLIOL at the day of her death held the manor of Driffield8, with its appurtenances, of the king, in capite, in exchange for her purparty of the earldom of Chester, which she acquired on the death of her sister CHRISTIAN, countess of Albemarle, who died without issue. It was also found that the said lady DERVORGILLA died seised of five carucates and four ox-gangs of land in Killum, and six carucates in Kelinthorp, and in Besewick three carucates, and in Brigham one carucate in demesne, producing yearly ten marks, and several cottages in little Driffield, which paid yearly 43s. 8d. and suit of court.
I have only to add, that this is the only seal of the lady DERVORGILLA which I have been able to discover, and perhaps it is the only one which has been transmitted to us.
1Vide GROSE’s Antiquities of Scotland, vol. II. p. 179.
2Vide SPOTTISWOOD’s Account of Religious Houses in Scotland. Edinburgh, 1755, 4to.
3Peerage of Scotland, p. 277. 4Esc. 18 EDW. I. n. 28.
5I have followed the orthography of the records, as her name is differently written.
6Co. Bedford. 7Now Nassington and Yarewell in com’ Northampton.
8Com. Ebor.
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No III.
IS the seal of ROGER DE QUINCY, earl of Winchester, the second son of SAYER DE QUINCY, who succeeded his father in that earldom in 1220. He married first, HELEN, the eldest daughter and one of the coheirs of ALAN, lord of Galloway, by whom he acquired large possessions in Scotland. In 31 HENRY III. A. D. 1247, he being in Galloway, and exercising more authority in that country than he ought to have done, a tumultuous assembly besieged him in a castle there, and being sensible of his danger, he determined to make a desperate effort for his escape.
Read more/less... Having mounted his horse, accompanied by some of his followers, he forced his way through them, and arriving at the court of his friend, WILLIAM the Lion, king of Scotland, and making his complaint to him, the insurgents were punished, and the earl was re-established in his possessions. His second wife was MAUD, daughter to HUMPHRY DE BOHUN, earl of Hereford, widow of ANSELME MARSHALL, earl of Pembroke. He afterwards was married to ELEONORA, one of the daughters of WILLIAM DE FERRERS, earl of Derby, widow of WILLIAM DE VAUX. This earl ROGER had no issue by his second or third marriages, but in right of HELEN his first wife; he was lord high constable of Scotland, and lord of Galloway; he died April, the twenty-fifth, 48 HENRY III. A. D. 12641, leaving issue by the said HELEN, three daughters his coheiresses, viz. MARGARET, the wife of WILLIAM DE FERRERS, earl of Derby; ELIZABETH married to ALEXANDER CUMMIN, earl of Buchan; and ELA, the wife of ALAN LA ZOUCHE, which coheiresses, in 56 HENRY III. had livery of the lands of their inheritance.
In early times jurisdictions, great offices, and honours, by the law of Scotland, descended to females. I shall mention some curious historical circumstances which arise from the descent of the office of great constable of Scotland in the female line2.
WILLIAM DE FERRARIJS, earl of Ferrars and of Derby, the husband of MARGARET the eldest daughter of ROGER DE QUINCY, had by her two sons, ROBERT, earl of Derby, and WILLIAM DE FERRARIJS, lord of Groby in Leicestershire, which lordship he had by the gift of his mother3. In the year 1270 he obtained possession of the dignity of constable, which ALEXANDER, earl of Buchan, husband of ELIZABETH, the second daughter of ROGER DE QUINCEY, unjustly held4. He assumed the arms of QUINCY, which his descendents continued till the male line of the elder house, viz. that of the lord Ferrers of Chartley became extinct in the person of WILLIAM lord FERRERS of Chartley, who died June the ninth, 28 HEN. VI. WILLIAM DE FERRARIJS, the constable, died in 1288, and from him our present noble president is lineally descended. In 1296 WILLIAM FERRARIJS lord of Groby, son and heir of the constable, had livery from king EDWARD the First of the lands which he held of the king in Scotland; he served EDWARD in the Scottish wars in 1301, 1303, and 1306; by this conduct he lost the office of constable, which ROBERT the First, in 1315, conferred on his faithful companion Sir GILBERT HAY, and his heirs, which is still held by his descendant GEORGE HAY, the present earl of Errol; but the descendants of the lords Ferrars of Groby did not relinquish their pretensions to their estates in Scotland, as the lineal descendant of MARGARET DE QUINCY, the eldest daughter of ROGER DE QUINCY, earl of Winchester5.
The badge on the reverse of this seal is intended for the arms of the BELLEMONTS, earls of Leicester; it was used by ROGER DE QUINCY, to shew his alliance with that family. It ought to have been a cinque-foil, but the artists in those times were occasionally incorrect6.
1See more concerning him in DUGDALE’s Baronage, vol. I. p. 688.
2RICHARD DE MORVILLE, hereditary constable of Scotland, died in 1189. WILLIAM his son succeeded him in that office, which he held till his death in 1196; but he dying without issue, his sister EVA, the wife of ROLLAND earl of Galloway inherited the office, and he was constable in her right Their son ALLAN, lord of Galloway, was constable of Scotland in right of his mother.
3Vide DUGDALE’s Baronage, vol. II. p. 267.
4WILLIELMUS DE FERRARIIS, filius comitissae de Ferrarijs, que suit filia ROGERI DE QUINCY, constabularii Scotiae, accepit dignitatem constabulariae quam ALEXANDER comes de Buchan injuste tenuit pretextu uxoris suae, scilicet filiae junioris ipsius ROGERI DE QUINCY. Fordun, l. X. c. 28, 1270.
5DALRYMPLE’s Annals of Scotland, vol. II. p. 144.
6In the Duchy office, box 19, is a fair seal of this ROGER DE QUINCY, the same as the present here engraven. Also, in box 75, there is a deed of his dated in 1273, with the same seal. In my library is another deed of this earl, but the seal is mutilated.
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No IV.
IS a seal of WILLIAM COMYN, lord of Kirkincolach, appendant to an instrument in the Harleian Library, 43, B. XI. between him and HUGH DE BALLIOL, sheriff of LANERK, dated 1290. I apprehend that this WILLIAM COMYN was of the family of the COMYNS of Badenoch. A further account of the COMYN family will be given hereafter. The seals from No V. to No XII. inclusive, are those of the eight competitors for the crown of Scotland, taken from an original instrument in the Chapter-house at Westminster, dated at Norham, June the second, A. D. 1291, whereby these competitors agree to submit their claims to the award of king EDWARD the First.
Read more/less... I shall give some account of the several illustrious families who contended for the crown of Scotland, which will elucidate the history of Britain in early times, by introducing many transactions not generaly known.
No V.
IS the Seal of ROBERT BRUCE, fifth lord of Annandale: he claimed the crown as being the son of ISABELLA, the second daughter of David, earl of Huntington, brother of king WILLIAM the Lion, alleging that he was next in blood to king ALEXANDER the Third, who had declared him to be his heir, and that the people of Scotland had sworn to maintain the succession to the crown in the nearest blood of that king.
This competitor was lineally descended from ROBERT BRUCE, the second son of ROBERT DE BRUS, a noble Norman, who came into England with king William the First, and who received from him large possessions in the North of England1; among others, the castle and manor of Skelton, with above ninety lordships in the East, West, and North ridings of Yorkshire, whereof Gisburne in Cleveland was one, at which place his ancestor, ROBERT BRUCE, in the 29th of king HENRY the First, founded a monastery for canons regular, of the order of St. AUGUSTINE. ROBERT, the father, died about 1094, or, as some say, in in 1100, and left issue ROBRT DE BRUCE, second lord of Skelton, a very illustrious person, who having contracted a friendship with king DAVID the First while he resided in England, and his lady being dead, by whom he had a son and heir named ADAM, he was invited to Scotland by king DAVID, and had large possessions given him in that country, particularly the district of Annandale, which he acquired, as is said, on his marriage with AGNES ANNAND, heiress to the great lordship of Annandale2; he died in 1141, or, as some writers assert, in 1143, leaving, by this last mentioned lady, WILLIAM DE BRUCE, and ROBERT DE BRUCE. This WILLIAM succeeded to the lordship of Annandale, in right of his mother, in 1143, and to several estates in England by his father’s gift, to be held of him and his successors lords of Skelton, though he considered himself as a Scotchman, and took the arms of Annandale; he died about the year 1182, and was succeeded by his son ROBERT DE BRUCE, third lord of Anandale, who, in 1183, married ISABEL, natural daughter of king WILLIAM the Lion3, and died in 1191, leaving issue ROBERT DE BRUCE, fourth lord of Annandale, surnamed the Noble, who married ISABEL, the second daughter of DAVID, earl of Huntington, as above is mentioned, by whom he had issue ROBERT the present competitor, who married ISABEL DE CLARE, daughter of GILBERT DE CLARE, earl of Gloucester and Hertford; he died in 1295, leaving issue ROBERT the sixth lord of Annandale, who married MARGARET, daughter of NIGEL, earl of Carrick, and widow of ADAM KILCONATH, who died in 1272; she had no issue by her first husband. BRUCE in her right became earl of Carrick, and died in 1303, leaving issue by his said wife the great ROBERT BRUCE, king of Scotland, and four other sons and seven daughters4. The male line of the BRUCE’s of Skelton became extinct in the person of PETER DE BRUCE, who died in the 55th of HENRY III. 1271, when his estates were divided among his sisters and coheiresses5; but the BRUCE’s of Scotland, and their descendents, both lineal and collateral, continue to be illustrious to this day, and are
1Vide DUGDALE’s Baronage, vol. I. p. 447. DOUGLAS’s Peerage, p. 127. 2 Ib.
3She survived him, and was afterwards married to ROBERT DE ROSS, lord of Werk and Hamlake in England, of whom are descended the ROSSES of Hamlake, Werk, &c.
4See further particulars concerning this earl at No XXI.
5DUGDALE’s Baronage, vol. I. pp. 447, 449.
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allied to many of the great families both in England and in Scotland. The BRUCES of Clackmannan were descended from JOHN DE BRUCE, third son of ROBERT, the fifth earl of Annandale, who were afterwards lords of Kinloss, earls of Elgin, and barons of Whirlton and Skelton in Yorkshire, viscounts BRUCE of Ampthill, and earls of Aylesbury. THOMAS BRUCE, the second earl of Aylesbury, died at Brussels in November, 1741, in the eighty-sixth year of his age, and was succeeded in his honours by CHARLES BRUCE, third earl of Aylesbury, who had been summoned to parliament as lord BRUCE of Whirlton, in the life-time of his father. In the nineteenth year of the reign of his late Majesty he was created lord BRUCE of Tottenham in Wiltshire, to him and his heirs male, with limitations of that honour to his nephew THOMAS BRUCE BRUDENELL, youngest son of GEORGE earl of Cardigan and the lady ELIZABETH BRUCE his wife, sister to the said CHARLES, earl of Aylesbury, on whose death, February the tenth, 1747, the male line, as also the title of Aylesbury, became extinct;
Read more/less... and the barony of Bruce of Tottenham in Wiltshire descended to the present lord THOMAS BRUCE BRUDENELL, since created earl of Aylesbury, youngest son of GEORGE earl of Cardigan, pursuant to the entail in the last mentioned patent to CHARLES earl of Aylesbury; but the title of earl of Elgin devolved on CHARLES BRUCE, earl of Elgin, the heir male, whose son, THOMAS BRUCE, the present earl of Kincardin, baron BRUCE of Kinloss and Torry, is the heir male and chief of all the BRUCES in Scotland.
It is observable, that the seal of this competitor is the same which his father ROBERT BRUCE, the fourth lord of Annandale, had used many years before; of which seal there are two impressions, the one in the Cottonian, and the other in the Harleian collection of charters. A seal of this early date is remarkable for having a motto, which is the oldest I have seen, “ ESTO FEROX UT LEO.” The saltier, the old arms of the BRUCES of Skelton, is on the caparisons of the horse.
No VI.
IS the seal of JOHN BALLIOL, who claimed the crown of Scotland as being the son of DERVORGILLA, the daughter of MARGARET, eldest daughter of DAVID earl of Huntington. The family of BALLIOL were settled in Northumberland soon after the Conquest; for it appears by the Testa de Nevill, that WILLIAM RUFUS enfeoffed GUY DE BALLIOL of the barony of Biwell in that county. His son, BERNARD DE BALLIOL, of whom mention is made by DUGDALE1, built the strong castle on the back of the river Tees, in the Bishoprick of Durham, which was called Castrum Bernardi, and hence the BALLIOLS were called BALLIOLS of Bernard’s Castle. This BERNARD, with the consent of his son INGELRAM, gave estates to the knights templars in Wadlee and Hitchin, in the counties of Essex and Hertford, of the value of 15l. per annum2. Which INGELRAM DE BALLIOL married the daughter and sole heir of WALTER DE BERKLEY, lord of Reid Castle in Forsar, and lord great chamberlain of Scotland in 1165, by whom he acquired large possessions, which gave the BALLIOLS first a footing in Scotland. As very little notice is taken by our historians of the BALLIOLS of Scotland descended from this INGELRAM, I shall give a short account of them. In 1215 INGELRAM DE BALLIOL was one of the commissioners sent by ALEXANDER the Second, king of Scotland, to the court of London, to treat of the affairs of the two kingdoms3; when he died doth not appear, but in 1224, HENRY DE BALLIOL his son, lord of Reid Castle, was chamberlain of Scotland4; which HENRY married LAURA DE VALONIIS, daughter to PHILIP, and sister to WILLIAM DE VALONIIS, lords of Panmure, both chamberlains of Scotland. In 1234, on the death of CHRISTIAN, countess of Essex, this HENRY and LAURA his wife succeeded as coheirs with the lord of Panmure and CHRISTIAN his wife, to the great barony of Valoines in England, consisting of several large estates in six different counties; he died in 1246, whereupon LAURA his widow had livery of all the lands which he held of her inheritance in the counties of Essex, Hertford, and Norfolk. The family of BALLIOL continued to flourish in Scotland for two centuries. In 1284 INGELRAM DE BALLIOL was one of the magnates of Scotland who bound themselves to receive the infant MARGARET of Norway, grand-daughter or ALEXANDER the Third, for their queen5; and in 1290 he was one of the peers of Scotland who advised king EDWARD the First to marry his son prince EDWARD to the said princess MARGARET. In 1289 he was made great chamberlain of Scotland1; he married ISABEL, daughter and heir of RICHARD DE CHILHAM, widow of DAVID DE STRATHBOGIE, earl of Athol, and had a son ALEXANDER, who married ISABEL STUART, countess of Mar, by whom he had a son THOMAS, who having no issue, in 1368 resigned his
1Vol. I. p. 523. 2 Vide Mon. Angl. vol. II. p. 523. 3 Foed. tom. I. p. 203.
4Vide CRAWFORD’s Lives of the Great officers of State in Scotland, p. 260.
5Foed. tom. II. p. 266.
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Estates to WILLIAM, earl of Douglas, his brother-in-law; and thus ended the family of the BALLIOLS, descended from INGELRAM DE BALLIOL above-mentioned.
But to return to our competitor, who was of the family of the BALLIOLS of Bernard’s Castle, and through his mother DERVORGILLA acquired large estates in Scotland, as has been mentioned on a former occasion; he was very active in the affairs of Scotland, and stiled himself HAERES regni Scotiae after the death of the princess MARGARET, called the Maiden of Norway, as appears by an original charter of his in my library, dated at Gateshead in the bishoprick of Durham, 17 kal. December, A. D. 1290, sealed with the same seal as that now under consideration.
Read more/less... This deed recites, that JOHN BALLIOL had then lately granted to the famous and warlike ANTHONY BECK, bishop of Durham, the manor of Werk in Tynedale, in Northumberland, and the manor of Penrith, and all other manors, lands, and tenements which ALEXANDER the Third, king of Scotland, held in Cumberland. And if EDWARD king of England would not confirm that grant, then BALLIOL engages to convey to the said bishop, and to his heirs, fifty manors within the kingdom of Scotland. This competitor having obtained the crown by the award of king EDWARD the First, was crowned at Scone on St. Andrew’s day, 1292, having sworn fealty to EDWARD at Norham, on the twentieth of the same month. EDWARD treated him with great haughtiness on several occasions. BALLIOL, exasperated at the indignities which he had suffered, at length attempted to resist his authority. The Scots invaded Northumberland in 1296, and BALLIOL, by the advice of his parliament, solemnly renounced the allegiance and fealty which he had sworn to EDWARD, who marched into Scotland and possessed himself of several strong places, and after having taken the castle of Edinburgh on the thirteenth of May, 1296, BALLIOL on the second of July following, in the most humiliating manner, surrendered himself a prisoner to EDWARD, and resigned his kingdom to him; and thus ended his short and disastrous reign. BALLIOL was conveyed to the Tower of London, where he remained a close prisoner till 1299, when, by the intercession of the pope, he was conveyed to France, and delivered to his nuncio at Whitsand, on July the eighteenth in that year; he retired to his estate in Normandy, where he remained till his death in 1314. The inscription on this seal is
“✠ S. IEHAN DE BALLIOVEL.”
No VII.
IS the seal of JOHN DE HASTINGS, lord of Abergavenny, in right of his mother, JOAN the eldest sister of GEORGE DE CANTELUPE; he was the son of HENRY HASTINGS, who was the son of ADA, the third daughter of DAVID earl of Huntington; he contended that the kingdom of Scotland was divisible like other inheritances, and therefore claimed one third of the kingdom; but his claim was over-ruled. For further particulars concerning him see DUGDALE’s Baronage, vol. I. p. 575. The arms on this seal are the maunch, as used by HASTINGS, earls of Pembroke and Huntington.
Legend,
“ S’ JOHI’S DE HASTINGES.”
No VIII.
IS the seal of JOHN COMYN, lord of Badenoch; he produced a long genealogy, from which he contended, that he was the great great grandson of DONALD BANE, who once reigned in Scotland, and that therefore he was the rightful heir to the crown; bit it was said that this competitor could have no title, unless upon the hypothesis that king MALCOLM the Third and all his descendants, during the course of two centuries, were to be held usurpers. Soon after king EDWARD the First had placed JOHN BALLIOL on the throne, JOHN CUMMYN and his son were carried prisoners to England, and they were not set at liberty till the year 1297, in a short time after which the father died. The family of Cumyn is of great antiquity, some deduce them from Hungary, but others, who seem to be better informed, from Normandy; however, it is certain, that there were several families of this name both in England and Scotland in very early times2.
1 Cart. Harl. 43. b. X.
2DUGDALE’s Baronage, vol. I. p. 685. DOUGLAS’s Peerage, p. 57. See further particulars concerning this family in Sir DAVID DALRYMPLE’s Annals of Scotland, vol. II. p. 143, 146.
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The CUMYNS flourished in Scotland from the year 1080 to 1330, about which time they began to decline, but there are still some considerable gentleman’s families in Scotland descended from them.
The legend is,
“ S’ SECRET’ JOHI’S CUMIN.”
No IX.
IS the seal of PATRICK DE DUNBAR, earl of March. He claimed the crown of Scotland as great grandson of ILDA, or ADA, daughter of king WILLIAM the Lion. This PATRICK was highly esteemed by king ALEXANDER the Third, to whom he rendered many signal services, particularly at the memorable battle of Langis in 1263, against HACO king of Norway.
Read more/less... The year afterwards this PATRICK, together with the lord high steward, reduced the Isle of Man, with all the Western Islands; and in 1266, MAGNUS king of Norway yielded all pretensions to these islands for 4000 marks, which brought about the marriage between ERIC son of MAGNUS with the princess MARGARET, only daughter of king ALEXANDER the Third. In 1284 this earl was one of the magnates Scotiae who entered into the engagement, acknowledging the princess MARGARET, daughter to ERIC king of Norway, to be the true and undoubted heir to the crown of Scotland, and to receive her as queen on the death of king ALEXANDER the Third, her grandfather. In 1290 he was also one of the nobles who advised king EDWARD the First to marry his son prince EDWARD to MARGARET queen of Scotland.
After her death he became one of the competitors for the crown, as above is mentioned; he died in 1294. PATRICK, the tenth earl of Dunbar and March, married ANN, daughter of the great THOMAS RANDOLPH, earl of Murray, regent of Scotland, and after his death he was chosen guardian of the kingdom in 1332. GEORGE, the twelfth and last earl of March, &c. Was impeached in parliament January the tenth, 1434, and was deprived of his titles and estates, which were adjudged to be forfeited to the crown.
Legend,
“ ✠ S’ DN’I PATRICII DE DUNBAR COM’ MARC’.”
No X.
IS the seal of JOHN DE VESCI, who claimed the crown as grandson of MARJORY, daughter of WILLIAM the Lion, king of Scotland1, but this lady was an illegitimate daughter of that king. ROBERT and IVO DE VESCY came into England with the Conqueror. They had many large possessions given them in different counties, particularly Yorkshire and Northumberland.
Legend,
“ ✠ SIGILLUM JOHANNIS DE VECI.”
No XI.
IS the seal of NICHOLAS DE SOULIS, who claimed the crown as grandson of MARJORY, the daughter of king ALEXANDER the Second, and the wife of ALLAN DURWARD, or LE HUISSIER.
Legend,
“ ✠ SIGILLUM NICOLAI DE SOULI.”
No XII.
IS the seal of WILLIAM DE ROSS. This competitor claimed as being the great grandson of ISABELLA, said to have been the eldest daughter of WILLIAM the Lion, king of Scots: this lady was the widow of ROBERT BRUCE, after whose death, in 1191, she married ROBERT DE ROS, the ancestor of this competitor, but being a natural daughter, the claim was set aside. The family were settled at Ros in Holdernesse in the reign of HENRY the First, from which place they took their surname. This competitor married MAUD, one of the daughters and coheirs of JOHN DE
1 Foed. tom. II. p. 576. DUGD. Bar. vol. I. p. 94.
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VAUX, in whose right he was possessed of several estates in the counties of Lincoln, Norfolk, Suffolk, and York. He died the tenth of EDWARD the Second, and was buried in the priory of Kirkham.
Legend,
“S’ WILLIELMI DE ROS.”
There were several other competitors for the crown of Scotland who were not parties to this instrument, but who afterwards made their claims. It is remarkable, that all the persons whose seals are appendant to this instrument, were either English, or descended from Norman families who had been settled in England.
Read more/less... The seals from No XIII. to No XX. inclusive, are appendant to an instrument in the chapter-house at Westminster, dated at Newcastle upon Tyne, January the second, 12921; for the better understanding of which, it may be necessary to premise, that on the death of ALEXANDER the Third king of Scotland, king EDWARD the First formed a design of uniting the two kingdoms, by the marriage of his son prince EDWARD with the young queen MARGARET, the grand-daughter of the then late king ALEXANDER the Third. EDWARD made his proposals to the guardians of the kingdom of Scotland; and commissioners on both sides met at Brigham2, where it was stipulated, that in case the marriage should take effect, the Scots should enjoy all their antient laws, liberties, and customs, with a salvo in favour of the king of England and of all others, respecting their former or future rights in the marches or elsewhere; that the military tenants of the crown should never be obliged to go out of Scotland for the purpose of doing homage to the sovereign of England; nor should the chapters of collegiate churches leave Scotland for making elections; that the parliaments summoned for Scottish affairs should always be held within the bounds of that kingdom; that no native of Scotland should in any case be compelled to answer out of the kingdom, contrary to the laws and usages of Scotland theretofore observed; and that EDWARD should bind himself in the penalty of one hundred thousand marks payable to the pope for the use of the holy wars, to observe all these articles, which were signed at Brigham July the eighteenth, 1290, and were afterwards ratified at Northampton on the twenty-eighth of August following3.
The premature death of the young queen disappointed the expectations of the two kingdoms, and intirely changed the state of affairs. To this deplorable event may be attributed the public calamities which distracted both countries for upwards of two centuries afterwards. Several competitors contended for the crown, and EDWARD, taking advantage of their contentions, marched to Norham with an army, and obliged them to acknowledge him the superior lord of the kingdom of Scotland. After EDWARD had awarded the crown to BALLIOL, he was crowned at Scone on the thirtieth of November 1292, and he did his homage to the English king for the kingdom of Scotland at Newcastle upon Tyne on the twenty-sixth day of December following; but all that had been done respecting the superiority was not satisfactory to EDWARD, who was sensible that his usurpations on the liberties of Scotland were directly contrary to the convention made at Brigham, or the treaty of Northampton, as it was called from its having been ratified at that place. He therefore took advantage of a circumstance which happened, to get rid of his engagements in that treaty. On the thirty-first of December one ROGER BARTHOLOMEW, a citizen of Berwick, complained of a judgment which had been given by the persons whom EDWARD had appointed for the administration of justice during the inter-regnum. BALLIOL insisted that EDWARD ought not to withdraw any cause from Scotland into the English courts. EDWARD haughtily answered, that hearing of complaints against his own ministers belonged to himself, and that in such matters his subjects had no right to interfere; and he further insisted, that he considered himself at liberty to judge every cause regularly brought before him from Scotland, and that he intended to hear such causes in England, and to administer justice to all parties as lord paramount, and therefore would, if necessary, summon the king of Scots to appear in his presence4. EDWARD immediately ordered the humiliating instrument under consideration to be drawn, which formally acknowledges him to be the rightful and superior lord of Scotland, and EDWARD is thereby released from all prior agreements and obligations; and all former promises and engagements on the part of EDWARD are abrogated; and particularly the treaty ratified at Northampton on the twenty-eighth of August, 1290, and all instruments relative thereto are declared to be
1This instrument is printed in the Foedera, vol. II. p. 599.
2Brigham is between Kelso and Coldstream, in the County of Berwick.
3Vide Foedera, vol. II. pp. 483, 489.
4Sir DAVID DALRYMPLE’s Annals, vol. II. p. 222. It should seem from an instrument in the Foedera, vol. II. p. 596, that the king’s sentiments were delivered by ROGER LE BRABANSON the justicier.
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cancelled and of no effect. In testimony whereof, the king’s seal was annexed, together with the seals of
WILLIAM bishop of St. Andrews, JOHN COMYN,
ROBERT bishop of Glasgow, ALEXANDER DE BALLIOL,
JOHN earl of Boughan, GEFFREY DE MOWBRAY,
PATRICK earl of March, PATRICK DE GRAHAM,
GILBERT earl of Angus, WILLIAM DE ST. CLARE,
JOHN earl of Athol, THOMAS RANDOLF.
Read more/less... The seal of the king, and those of JOHN earl of Boughan, PATRICK earl of March, GILBERT earl of Angus, and JOHN earl of Athole, are now lost from the instrument. I shall give some account of those which remain.
No XIII.
IS the seal of WILLIAM FRASER, bishop of St. Andrew’s, who was of the house of the FRASERS, of Oliver castle in the county of Tweedale. Being a younger brother, he devoted himself to the service of the church, and was made dean of Glasgow, and rector of Cardyiow; his great merit, joined to his illustrious birth, induced king ALEXANDER the Third, to advance him to the high office of chancellor of Scotland in 1273. He was promoted to the see of St. Andrew’s in August 1279; when he came to that see he purchased the priory of the isle of May, in the frith of Forth, from the abbot of Reading, which he annexed to the bishoprick, and soon afterwards he quitted the office of chancellor. On the death of ALEXANDER the Third in 1285, this bishop was, by the estates of the kingdom, chosen one of the lords of the regency during the infancy of queen MARGARET, on whose death in 1291 the bishop the bishop made his submission to EDWARD the First, and was much in his confidence1. He afterwards exerted himself in influencing his countrymen to throw off the English yoke, and in 1295 he was principally concerned in negotiating a treaty offensive and defensive between JOHN BALLIOL and PHILIP king of France; the basis of which was the marriage of EDWARD BALLIOL, the son and heir of the Scottish king, with the eldest daughter of CHARLES earl of Anjou, brother to the king of France2. King EDWARD was much exasperated against this bishop, and he being apprehensive of his safety retired to France, where he ended his days at Arteville on the thirteenth of the calends of September, 1297. He was buried in the church of the friars predicants in Paris; but his heart was inclosed in a very rich reliquary, which was brought into Scotland by his immediate successor bishop LAMBERTON, and placed in the wall of the cathedral church of St. Andrew’s, near the tomb of bishop GAMELINE. He is said to have possessed many great as well as good qualities.
The legend on the obverse of this seal is,
“✠ S. WILLI FRASER, DEI GRA SCOTTORU’ EPI.”
On the reverse,
“ S. WILLI FRASER, EPI SCI ANDREE.”
The arms of FRASER are at the bottom of the seal; they should have been cinquefoils; but the old engravers were not very accurate.
No XIV.
IS the seal of ROBERT WISEHEART, bishop of Glasgow, who was descended from an ancient family of the WISEHEARTS in the county of Kincardine. He was consecrated bishop of Glasgow in 1272 or 1273. He was elected one of the lords of the regency after the death of king ALEXANDER the Third, and he afterwards swore fealty to king EDWARD the first; but when the Scots
1DALRYMPLE, p. 194.
2Ibid. p. 234. This treaty is printed in RYMER’s Foedera, tom. II. p. 695; and I am of the opinion, that it is the first genuine treaty between Scotland and France.
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took arms in defence of their rights in 1296, this prelate opposed EDWARD with great zeal: he was taken prisoner, and the king wrote to the pope to have him deprived of his bishoprick; he seems to have remained in confinement till after the battle of Bannockburn in 1314, when he was one of those who were exchanged for the earl of Hereford1. He lived to see his friend the great ROBERT BRUCE established on the throne; and died in November 1316.
The legend on the seal is,
“ ✠ S. ROBERTI WISCHARD, DEI GRA EPISCOPI GLASGUENSIS.”
Read more/less... No XV.
IS the seal of JOHN COMYN, only son of JOHN COMYN, fourth earl of Buchan, who is a party to this instrument; but his father’s seal has been torn off.
After the accession of ROBERT BRUCE in 1306, earl JOHN the father continued steady in his attachment to the BALLIOLS, and at last became an implacable enemy to his country, for which he was outlawed, and his estates and honours were forfeited to the crown. He retired to England, where he died in 1329.
This JOHN married JANE, the second daughter of WILLIAM DE VALONIIS, earl of Pembroke; but he died without issue, and the earldom of Buchan continued in the crown from the forfeiture of his father till king ROBERT the Second, in 1374, granted it to ALEXANDER STEWART his fourth son.
The LEGEND on this seal is,
“ ✠ S. JOHIS COMYN, FIL COMIT D’ BOGHA.”
No XVI.
IS the seal of Sir ALEXANDER BALLIOL, baron of Chilham castle in the county of Kent, in right of ISABEL his wife, daughter of RICHARD DE CHILHAM, and widow of DAVID DE STRATHBOGIE earl of Athole, by whom he acquired large estates2; he was also baron of Cavers in Scotland. In the 11th of EDWARD the First, A. D. 1283, he was summoned to attend that king at Salop as baron of Chilham, to deliberate with the rest of the peers concerning DAVID, son of GRIFFIN prince of Wales, then a prisoner; but being employed at that time by king ALEXANDER the Third, on behalf of JOHN the young earl of Athol, whose estates had been ravaged after the death of his father DAVID, his absence was dispensed with3. The original letter of king ALEXANDER the Third, to king EDWARD the First, is now remaining in the Tower; and, as it is a curious document, I shall give it in the notes4. From this letter it should seem that at that time EDWARD had no pretensions to the sovereignty of the kingdom of Scotland, for ALEXANDER writes in all respects as a sovereign prince. This ALEXANDER BALLIOL swore fealty to king EDWARD the First as superior lord of Scotland, and he afterwards was very zealous in his interest; without doubt, the desire of preserving his English estates, which were very considerable, had great influence on his conduct. He had summons to parliament among the English peers in the 10th and 15th of king EDWARD the First, and from the 28th to the 34th of the same reign inclusive5. He lost his estates in Scotland, on account of his attachment to the
1Vide Sir DAVID DALRYMPLE’s Annals, vol. II. p. 53.
2HASTED’s History of Kent, vol. III. p. 127.
3CRAWFORD’s Lives of the great Officers of State in Scotland, p. 266.
4--Excellentissimo principi & fratri suo in CHRISTO karissimo domino EDWARDO, Dei gratia, regi Anglie illustri, domino Ibernie, & duci Aquitanie. ALEXANDER eadem gratia rex Scottorum, salutem & felices ad vota successus, cum incremento glorie & honoris. Cum ALEXANDER DE BALLIOLO, de Cavers, miles, circa reformacionem status terrarum & bonorum JOHANNIS DE ATHOLY, filij quondam DAVID comitis de Atholia, militis, infra regnum nostrum, que per quosdam inimicos suos maliciose ac nequiter devastantur & alienantur ut intelleximus, sic multiplicier occupatus, propter quod, excellencie vestre ad presens se presentare non poterit ut desiderat. Serenitatem vestram pro eodem affectuose requirimus & rogamus, quatinus cum servicium suum quod vobis debet in exercitu vestro ad presens mittat, ut dicitur, ipsius absenciam in hac parte habere dignemini excusatam precum nostrarum interventu. Teste me ipso apud Kynros XII die Julii, anno regni nostri XXXIIIIo. 34 ALEX. III. A. D. 1283, 11th of king EDWARD I. [see end of document for translation]
5RYMER’s Foedera, vol. II. pp. 248 and 343. DUGD. Bar. vol. I. p. 528.
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English interest, early in the reign of ROBERT BRUCE, which were adjudged to be forfeited to the crown, and the barony of Cavers was granted by that king to the earl of Mar.
Legend,
“ S’ ALEXANDRI DE BALLIOLO.”
No XVII.
IS the seal of GEOFFREY DE MOWBRAY, descended from the MOWBRAYS who were settled in Northumberland by king WILLIAM the First.
Read more/less... In the reign of king RICHARD the First, ROBERT, the second son of NIGEL DE MOWBRAY, married a Scottish lady1, who had a large inheritance in that country, from whom descended the MOWBRAYS of Scotland; they had estates in the counties of Roxborough, Fife, and Perth, which were forfeited in the reign of king ROBERT the First.
Legend,
“ * S’ GALFREDI DE MOUBRAY.”
No XVIII.
IS the seal of Sir PATRICK GRAHAM. He was a man of great honour and integrity, and was the undoubted ancestor of the present duke of Montrose, who is the eighteenth descendant in the direct male line. In the year 1281 and 1282, king ALEXANDER the Third employed him in several embassies. He took an active part in most of the public affairs of the kingdom, till he lost his life in the defence of his country at the battle of Dunbar in 1296, where this Sir PATRICK GRAHAM died with honour, lamented by his friends, and applauded by his enemies2.
Legend,
“ ✠ SIGILLUM PATRICII DE GRAHAM.”
No XIX.
IS the seal of Sir WILLIAM DE ST. CLARE, lord of Roslin, descended from WALDERAM count of St. Clare, who came into England with WILLIAM the First. WILLIAM, the son of WALDERAM, settled in Scotland, and was made baron of Roslin by king MICHAEL CANMORE, and from this WILLIAM all the SINCLAIRS of Scotland are descended3. WILLIAM DE ST. CLARE, the party to the instrument under consideration, was the sixth baron of Roslin; he obtained a charter of confirmation of that barony, and of other possessions from king ALEXANDER the Third; he was one of the Scottish chieftains who invaded Cumberland in March 1296, and was amongst the prisoners who were taken by the English on the surrender of the castle of Dunbar to earl WARREN on the twenty-ninth of April, in the same year. He is said to have been one of the greatest men of his time; was always active, both in the cabinet, and in the field. He died about the year 1300. His lineal descendant Sir HENRY ST. CLARE was created earl of Orkney by HACO king of Norway in 1379, which title was confirmed by king ROBERT the Second the same year.
Legend,
“ ✠S’ WILLELMI DE SCO CLARO MILITIS.
1DUGD. vol. I. p. 124.
2Vide DOUGLAS’s Peerage, p. 480. Sir DAVID DALRYMPLE’s Annals, vol. I. p. 238.
3NESBIT’s Appendix to his second volume, p. 171. DUGDALE’s Peerage, p. 531.
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No XX.
IS the seal of THOMAS RANDOLPH, of Strathdon. He was a man of extraordinary abilities, and was in great favour with king ALEXANDER the Third, who, in the year 1269, made him great chamberlain of Scotland, which office he held till 1288. He was possessed of large estates in different parts of Scotland, and was one of the magnates Scotiae who, in 1290, advised the marriage of the young queen MARGARET of Norway with prince EDWARD of England. He was also one of the nobles chosen on the part of ROBERT BRUCE, in his competition for the crown in 1292.
Read more/less... He married ISABELLA BRUCE, daughter of ROBERT earl of Carrick, and sister of king ROBERT the First, by whom he had issue Sir THOMAS RANDOLPH, afterwards earl of Murray, and regent of Scotland, the faithful friend and companion of king ROBERT BRUCE, and one of the greatest men which Scotland ever produced. He had also a daughter, ISABELLA, married to Sir WILLIAM MURRAY, knight, ancestor of the MURRAYS earls of Annandale.
Legend,
“ ✠ SIGILLUM THOME RANDOLF.”
No XXI.
IS the seal of ROBERT BRUCE, sixth lord of Annandale, son and heir of the competitor above mentioned (No V.), and first earl of Carrick of the name of BRUCE. This earl was the father of the great ROBERT BRUCE, king of Scotland, by MARGARET his wife, daughter and sole heiress of NEIL earl of Carrick, in whose right he obtained that earldom. In his younger years he accompanied EDWARD prince of England, afterwards king Edward the First, and king LEWIS the First of France, to the Holy War, where he greatly distinguished himself, as well by his courage as his conduct. After his return, he resided on his estates in England. He never submitted to acknowledge JOHN BALLIOL to be king of Scotland, yet he continued in the English interest for some time: and with his son ROBERT, afterwards king of Scotland, fought on the side of the English at the battle of Dunbar in 1296. In this year he claimed the promise of king EDWARD for placing him on the throne; but EDWARD laconically answered, “Have I no other business but to conquer kingdoms for you?” BRUCE silently retired, and passed the remainder of his days in opulent obscurity. He died in 1303, leaving issue, by his wife MARGARET countess of Carrick, five sons, and seven daughters. This seal is appendant to an original charter in my library, dated at Writtle, on Thursday next after the feast of St. ANDREW the apostle, A. D. 1298, whereby the earl granted to Sir NICHOLAS BARNINTONE, knight, and to his heirs, twenty-two acres of land in Writtle, which had been held as half a virgate.
Legend,
“S, ROBERTI DE BRUS COMITIS CARRYK ET DNI VALLIS ANANDIE.”
The seal ring in this plate is of a mixed metal, and is in the possession of the earl of Fife. By the particular kind of mantling it seems to have been made towards the latter end of the fourteenth century; similar ornaments being found on the seals of that period, and on some of the plates of the knights of the Garter in St. George’s chapel at Windsor. If these conjectures are well founded, this may have been the seal of DUNCAN, the thirteenth earl of Fife, who was taken prisoner with king DAVID the Second at the battle of Durham in 1346. He remained a prisoner in England till 1350, and is said to have died about the year 1353, leaving issue by MARY his wife, only one daughter, ISABELL, who married three husbands, but left no issue by any of them. She resigned the earldom of Fife to ROBERT duke of Albany in 1371, who assumed the title, which in 1425 was annexed to the crown, by the forfeiture of his son MURDOCH duke of Albany.
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Plate XXIX.
THIS plate contains the seals of noble and illustrious persons who flourished in Scotland in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and in the beginning of the sixteenth centuries.
No I.
IS the seal of Sir HUGH DE EGLINTON of Egilshame, who was of Norman extraction, and the representative of an ancient and honourable family of that place, which made a considerable figure in the West of Scotland for many ages. He was justiciar of Lothian in 1361, but dying without male issue, his great estates went with his daughter to Sir JOHN DE MONTGOMERY her husband, who thereupon quartered her arms with his own, and was afterwards called MONTGOMERY of Egilshame.
Read more/less... His descendant HUGH, the fifth lord Montgomery, was created earl of Eglinton in 1503, from whom the present earl of Eglinton is descended, and who still quarters the annulets, the arms of Eglinton.
This seal is appendant to an instrument in the Chapter House relative to the ransom of king DAVID the Second, dated February the twenty-first, 1357.
Legend,
“ S’ HUGONIS DE EGLYNTOUN.”
No II.
IS the seal of PATRICK the tenth earl of March, who was a man of great integrity, and always a firm friend to the family of BRUCE. He was one of the Scottish nobles who signed the famous letter to the pope, asserting the independency of Scotland, anno 1320. In 1342 he was one of the commissioners appointed to treat of a peace with the king of England, and was amongst the chief commanders at the battle of Nevil’s Cross, near Durham, where king DAVID the Second was taken prisoner. After the battle was lost, this earl made a glorious retreat, and by his good conduct saved a great part of the army. He was at different times employed in negotiating with the English to procure the king’s liberty. He married AGNES daughter of THOMAS RANDOLPH, earl of Murray, and by this match he obtained that title, and had by her two sons and three daughters. He died in 1360.
Legend,
S’ PATRICII DE DUNBAR COMITIS MARCHIE.”
The seals from No III. to No VII. inclusive, are taken from an obligation in the Chapter House, dated September the twenty-sixth, 1357, whereby the nobility of Scotland became bound to king EDWARD the Third for the payment of the ransom of DAVID the Second, king of Scotland1.
1Foed. tom. VI. p. 39 to 52. DALRYMPLE’s Annals, vol. II. p. 243.
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No III.
IS the seal of WILLIAM, earl of Ross, descended from MALCOLM, earl of Ross, who was raised to that dignity by king MALCOLM the Fourth, about the year 1162. This WILLIAM is said to have been a man of great parts, worth, and honour. In the year 1344 he was justiciar of Scotland for the Northern parts. After having executed the present instrument, he became one of the hostages for king DAVID’s ransom. He married first, ISABEL, daughter of JOHN earl of Caithness; and secondly, a daughter of Sir DAVID GRAHAM, of Montrose.
Read more/less... He died about the year 1370, without issue male: by his first lady he left two daughters, EUPHEMIA, afterwards countess of Ross, and wife of Sir WALTER LESLEY, who in her right became earl of Ross; and JOHANNA, who married Sir ALEXANDER FRASER, of Philorth. The title of the earl of Ross afterwards descended by an heir female to the STUART family, and lastly to the MACDONALD family, by whom it was forfeited.
The legend is,
“S’ WILLIELMI COMITIS DE ROSSI.”
No IV.
IS the seal of DONALD, the sixth earl of Lennox. The best writers agree, that the ancestors of this noble earl were driven from England by WILLIAM the First. They retired into Scotland, where they were kindly received by king MALCOLM CANMORE. ALWIN, who is frequently mentioned in the reign of king DAVID the First, was created earl of Lennox by king MALCOLM the Fourth, in the beginning of his reign, and from him this earl DONALD was lineally descended; he succeeded his father MALCOLM, the fifth earl, in 1333. He was one of the Magnates Scotiae, who, in a parliament held at Scone March the twenty-seventh, 1371, executed an instrument which acknowledged and declared, that JOHN earl of Carrick, who afterwards assumed the name of ROBERT, and was styled king ROBERT the Third, was the eldest lawful son, and undoubted heir and successor, of king ROBERT the Second. This instrument is still preserved in Scotland; but earl DONALD’s seal is lost, the label and his signature remain. This earl died in 1373, leaving issue only one daughter, MARGARET, his sole heiress, who succeeded to his estates, but not to the honours, which descended to MALCOLM MAC FARLANE, of Arrochar, the next heir male. WALTER MAC FARLANE, esq. is, or lately was, the lineal representative, and the only branch of that illustrious family now remaining in a direct male line.
The legend is,
“ S’ DONALDI COMITIS DE LEVENOX.”
No V.
IS the seal of WILLIAM DOUGLAS, lord Douglas, only son of ARCHIBALD, lord of Galloway, who succeeded his father in 1333. On the death of his uncle HUGH, in 1343, he became possessed of the estates and lordship of Douglas. When he was very young he was taken prisoner at the battle of Halidon Hill. He was in every respect a great man, and was concerned in all the public transactions of his time, both in peace and war. In 1346 he was created earl of Douglas, though he is not styled comes on this seal; he was in the same year taken prisoner at the battle of Nevil’s Cross, and remained in captivity till 13521. In 1355 he reduced all Galloway, and the adjacent parts of Scotland, to the king’s obedience. In 1356 he was at the battle of Poictiers with 3000 auxiliaries, where he behaved with remarkable bravery and conduct, and being wounded, he narrowly escaped being taken prisoner by the Black Prince. Soon afterwards he returned to Scotland, and in 1357 became one of the hostages for king DAVID’s ran-
1RYMER, tom. V. p. 711, 738.
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som1. In 1373 he was appointed Custos Marchiarum by king ROBERT the Second, with powers to settle all disputes between the PERCIES and DOUGLASES of Northumberland2, and he was employed in 1374 and 1377 in like services3. He died in 1384, and was buried in the church of Melros.
The legend is,
“ SIGILL’. WILLIELMI DOMINI DE DOUGLAS.”
No VI.
IS the seal of Sir JAMES DE LINDESEY, lord of Crawford, descended from the ancient and honourable family of Lindesey, which came into Scotland with king EDGAR ATHELING, as is reported, and settled at Crawford.
Read more/less... In the reign of king DAVID the First, WILLIAM DE LINDESAY was a person of great note, as were many of his descendants. He married AEGIDIA, daughter of WALTER, lord high steward of Scotland, by MARJORY his wife, daughter of king ROBERT BRUCE. He died in 1370. Our readers will find a particular history of this illustrious family in DOUGLAS’s Peerage, p. 153.
The legend is,
“ S’ JAQUES DE LINDESEY CHLR.”
No VII.
IS the seal of Sir DAVID DE GRAHAM, lord of Dundaff, who was taken prisoner at the battle of Nevil’s Cross, in 1346; he was afterwards released, and in 1354 was one of the commissioners from the estates of Scotland for negotiating the king’s liberty at the court of England. He is a witness to a charter of king DAVID BRUCE to the prior and canons of Rostenit, dated in 1360, wherein he is styled, nobilis vir DAVID DE GRAHAM de old Montrose. This Sir DAVID is said to have inherited the virtues of his worthy ancestors, and was always a steady friend to king DAVID BRUCE.
The legend is,
“ S’ SIGILLUM DAVID. DE GRAME.”
The seals from No VIII. to No XIII. inclusive, are taken from another obligation from the nobility of Scotland relative to the ransom of king DAVID the Second, dated at Berwick, October the fifth, 13574.
No VIII.
IS a seal of PATRICK the tenth earl of March, who is mentioned above, at No II. in this plate, but the seal is very different from the former.
The legend is,
“ S’ PATRICII DE DUNBAR COMITIS MARCHIE.”
1RYMER, tom. VI. p. 108. In this instrument he is called WILLIELMUS comes de Douglas.
2Ibid. tom. VII. p. 2. 3 Ibid. tom. VII. p. 46. 4 Foed. tom. VI. p. 52.
[ (Page) 32 ]
No IX.
IS the seal of THOMAS STUART, second earl of ANGUS of that name. He is said to have been a man of good parts, and was at different times employed to treat with the English, especially in the years 1356 and 13571. He married MARGARET, daughter of Sir WILLIAM SINCLAIR of Roslin, by whom he had a son THOMAS, the third earl, and two daughters; lady MARGARET, the eldest, married first to THOMAS earl of Mar, by whom she had no issue; and secondly, to WILLIAM earl of Douglas, by whom she had a son GEORGE. THOMAS, the third earl, married MARGARET, daughter and co-heiress of DONALD earl of Mar, but he died without issue in 1377, whereby his estates and honours devolved upon his nephew GEORGE, son of his eldest sister MARGARET and her husband the earl of Douglas.
Read more/less... This GEORGE, in right of his mother, succeeded to the earldom, and was the first earl of ANGUS of the name of DOUGLAS.
The legend is,
“ S’ THOME COMITIS ANGUSE.”
No X.
IS the seal of WILLIAM, the fourth earl of Sutherland1, descended from a long race of illustrious ancestors. There is a good history of this noble family by Sir ROBERT GORDON of Gordonstoun, a man of great knowledge and learning, who deduces their descent from ALAN, thane of Sutherland, who flourished in the reigns of king DUNCAN, and MACBETH the usurper. In 1031, ALAN, as is said, defeated the Danes, who had possessed themselves of a great part of Rossshire, under the command of their king, and drove them entirely out of the country. This WILLIAM, the fourth earl, was a true lover of his country, a great statesman, and a gallant soldier, and in king DAVID’s minority did signal services to his country, by frequently invading England; he was taken prisoner with king DAVID at the battle of Nevil’s Cross in 1346. In the year 1351, and afterwards in 1357, he was appointed one of the ambassadors to treat with the English commissioners for obtaining the king’s liberty. In 1344 he married lady MARGARET BRUCE, eldest daughter of king ROBERT the First by his second wife. He had grants of several great estates from his brother-in-law king DAVID the Second; he died in 1370. His descendants continued illustrious till the death of WILLIAM the seventeenth earl, who died in 1766, leaving issue a daughter and only child, ELIZABETH, who claimed and obtained the title and dignity of countess of Sutherland, through the abilities and indefatigable industry of Sir DAVID DALRYMPLE, of Hailes, baronet, one of her guardians, whose publications in support of her ladyship’s claim, furnish more erudition concerning the ancient peerages of Scotland than is to be met with elsewhere. This lady ELIZABETH, countess of Sutherland, is now the wife of earl Gower, His Majesty’s ambassador at Paris.
The legend is,
“ S’ WI…..MI COMITIS SUTHERLAND.”
No XI.
IS the seal of THOMAS MORAY, lord of Bothwell, descended from FRISKINUS DE MORAVIA, who made a great figure in Scotland in the reign of king DAVID the First, and who had large possessions in Murray, Sutherland, and in the Southern counties3. He was a man of great parts and singular endowments, and was employed in several negotiations, particularly in the treaty for the redemption of his sovereign king DAVID the Second. He died in 1366, without issue male, having one daughter JEAN, his sole heiress, who was married to ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS, lord
1Foed. tom. VI. pp. 33, 36, 44, 66.
2DOUGLAS calls him the fifth earl, but Sir D. DALRYMPLE, who is better informed, calls him the fourth earl of Sutherland.
3Vide the Chartularies of Murray and Arbroath.
[ (Page) 33 ]
of Galloway, &c. Mr. MORAY of Abercainy is the undoubted representative of the male line of the illustrious lords of Bothwell.
The legend is,
“ S’ THOME DE MORAVIE.”
No XII.
IS the seal of Sir WILLIAM DE LIVINGSTON, descended from a very ancient family, which made a great figure in Scotland in the reigns of ALEXANDER the First, and his brother king DAVID. In 1340, this Sir WILLIAM was one of the hostages for JOHN earl of Murray, and he was frequently employed in most of the negotiations with England during king DAVID’s captivity, from 1346 to 1357, in which last year he became one of the hostages for his ransom.
Read more/less... He died about the year 1370. His descendant, Sir JAMES LIVINGSTON of Calendar, was created lord Livingston in 1452 or 1453.
The legend is imperfect, but supposed to have been,
“ S’ WILLIELMI DE LYVYNGSTON.”
No XIII.
IS the seal of Sir ROBERT DE ERSKINE. There is a full account of this family in DOUGLAS’s Peerage, p. 462. They had large possessions in the shires of Renfrew and Air in very early times. Sir ROBERT was a true patriot, and was as eminently loyal to king DAVID BRUCE as his father had been to king ROBERT; he was very active in the service of his sovereign while he was in France. After the king’s return he was appointed constable, keeper, and governor of the castle of Stirling for life, which office continued in his family till the attainder of JOHN earl of Mar, in 1715. In 1350 he was appointed great chamberlain of Scotland. In 1354 he was one of the ambassadors sent to England to treat concerning the king’s liberty, when he offered himself and his son as hostages. In 1355 he was sent ambassador to the pope. In 1357, when the king’s deliverance was accomplished, he had a principal share in that negotiation, and gave his son as one of the hostages for the payment of the money stipulated for his ransom. Many particulars concerning this great man are to be found in CRAWFORD’s Lives of the Great Officers of State in Scotland1, and in the histories of the times, to which our readers are referred, as it would exceed the limits of the present plan to enumerate all the great actions of this patriot in the service of his country. He died in 1385.
The legend is,
“ S’ ROBERTI DE ERSKYNE.”
The seals from No XIV. to No XVII. inclusive, are taken from a truce made between king EDWARD the Third and king DAVID the Second, dated June the eighteenth, 13692.
No XIV.
IS the seal of ROBERT ERSKINE, cousin of the abovesaid ROBERT DE ERSKINE, who obtained a charter from THOMAS, the thirteenth earl of Mar, in favour of this ROBERT and CHRISTIAN (KEITH) his wife, of the lands of Balyordie, Bymdyis, Knockinlass, Inverlamie, &c. which charter was confirmed in the parliament held at Scone in 1358. He is also a party to another truce for
1Edinburgh, 1726. folio. 2 Foed. tom. VI. p. 625.
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fourteen years, concluded at Edinburgh July the twentieth, 13691. He was employed in several other negotiations.
The legend is imperfect, but supposed to have been,
“ S’ ROBI DE ERSKYN.”
No XV.
IS the seal of Sir WILLIAM DE KEITH, great Marshal of Scotland, who was frequently employed in public affairs in the reign of king DAVID the Second, and always acquitted himself with fidelity and honour.
Read more/less... He married MARGARET, only daughter and sole heiress of Sir JOHN FRASER, by whom he acquired a large estate in the county of Kincardin. He lived to a great age, and died between the years 1406 and 1408.
Legend,
“ S’ WILLIELMI DE KETH.”
No XVI.
IS the seal of GEORGE DUNBAR, the eleventh earl of March, also earl of Murray, and lord of Annandale in right of his mother; he was one of the most powerful men of his time. His history is so fully related by DOUGLAS2, and others, that it is not necessary to give it. He married CHRISTIAN, daughter of Sir WILLIAM SETON, ancestor of the earls of Winton, by whom he had six sons and one daughter. This earl died in 1416.
Legend,
“ S’ GEORGIJ DUNBAR COMITIS MARCHIE.”
No XVII.
IS the seal of ROBERT STUART, earl of Strathern, lord high steward of Scotland, afterwards king ROBERT the Second. Soon after his accession to the crown he granted the earldom of Strathern to his half-brother prince DAVID, and erected the earldom into a county palatine. Several particulars concerning him have been already mentioned.
Legend,
“ SIGILLUM ROBERTI SENESCALLI SCOCIE.”
Numbers XVIII. and XIX. are taken from an Indenture between the king of Castile and the Scottish Commissioners, dated November the first, 1381, for bringing to justice those who had violated the truces entered into between the two kingdoms.
No XVIII.
IS the seal of ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS, lord of Galloway, who succeeded his brother JAMES in the earldom of Douglas in 1388. On account of his black and swarthy complexion he was called ARCHIBALD the Grim. This lord Douglas was a man of great courage, and was employed in public affairs. He married JEAN, daughter and heiress of THOMAS MURRAY, lord of Bothwell,
1 Foed. tom. VI. p. 632. 2 Peerage, p. 441. Edit. Edinburgh, 1768.
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by whom he acquired considerable estates, and added to his armorial bearings, Azure, three stars within a double tressure, Or. He died in 1400.
Legend,
“ S’ ARCHIBALDI DE DOUGLAS.”
No XIX.
IS the seal of WILLIAM, earl of Douglas and Mar, of whom an account is given above in No V. of this plate; but at this period he had acquired by descent, and by his marriages, several other estates and armorial bearings.
Read more/less... Legend,
“ S’ WILLI COMITIS DOUGLAS ET DE MAR . . . .”
Numbers XX. and XXI. are taken from a truce between England and Scotland, dated May the twenty-third, 14531.
No XX.
IS the seal of JAMES, earl of Douglas and Annandale, lord of Galloway, &c. he was one of the guarantees for the truce to which this seal is appendant. On the conclusion of the above truce he undertook a pilgrimage to Italy for political purposes, as has been supposed, and obtained a safe conduct from king HENRY for himself and his retinue to pass and return through England for a term of four years. After earl JAMES returned from Italy he raised a rebellion against his sovereign, but the rebels being routed at Ancrum Muir in 1455, earl JAMES’s brother, the earl of Murray, was killed on the spot; and his two other brothers, the earl of Ormond, and lord Balveny, were taken prisoners, and both were beheaded. The earl himself made his escape to England, where he long remained, and his estates and honours were forfeited to the crown. Soon afterwards the king conferred the estates and lordship of Douglas on the earl of Angus, his cousin and next heir male. In 1483 this earl, having procured assistance from England, invaded Scotland; where he was taken prisoner, and being brought into the king’s presence, was pardoned his rebellion. He retired to the abbey of Lindores, where he became a monk of the Tyronensian order, and gave no further disturbance for the remainder of his life. This earl died without issue at Lindores, April the fifteenth, 1488, and in him ended the first branch of this illustrious house.
The legend is,
“ S’ JACOBI COMITIS DOUGLAS, ET DE ANNANDALE, DNI GALWEDI, ET LANDE FORESTE.”
No XXI.
IS the Seal of ROBERT LIDDALE DE BALMURE, who in the instrument is styled Primus Dapiferus illustrissimi Principis JACOBI Scottorum Regis.
The legend is,
“ SIGILLUM ROBERTI LYDDALE DE BALMURE.”
Numbers XXII, XXIII, and XXIV, are taken from a deed of confederation of the nobility of Scotland against king JAMES the Third, dated February the eleventh, 14822.
1All the persons are particularly mentioned in the Foedera, tom. XI. p. 326.
2Vide Acta Regia, p. 312, and RAPIN, sub annis 1482 et 1483.
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No XXII.
IS the seal of ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS, earl of Angus; although in 1481 he had consented to the execution of two of the king’s servants upon Lauder Bridge, yet he was received into favour and appointed warden of the Marches a short time afterwards. In 1493 he was, by king JAMES the Fourth, appointed lord high chancellor of Scotland1. He attempted to dissuade his sovereign from engaging the English army at Flodden, but the king neglecting to take his advice, he was there slain September the ninth, 1513. Earl ARCHIBALD, having lost his two sons in the battle, retired to a religious house, and died in 1514.
Legend,
“ S’ ARCHIBALDI DOWGLAS COMIT’ ANGUSIJ DNI DOWGLAS.”
Read more/less... No XXIII.
IS the seal of lord ANDREW GREYE, descended from the GREYES of Chillingham, whose ancestors came into England with WILLIAM the Conqueror2. Sir HUGH DE GREYE was a man of considerable rank and property in Scotland in the reign of king ALEXANDER the Second. This ANDREW, lord Greye, succeeded to his father’s estates in 1464, and to those of his grandfather in 1470. He was a member of the privy council in the reign of king JAMES the Fourth, and sheriff for the county of Forfar. In 1506 he was appointed Justiciarius Scotiae, which office he enjoyed till his death in February, 1514.
Legend,
“ SIGILLUM DNI ANDREI GREYE.”
No XXIV.
IS the seal of Sir JAMES LIDDAL, who is described in the instrument “JAMES of Liddal, knight.” I find nothing remarkable concerning this person. There was a Sir JAMES LIDDEL of Halkerton, who was witness to a charter of ALEXANDER duke of Albany, about the year 14803.
Legend,
“ S’ JACOBI DE LYDDALE.”
The seals from No XXV to No XXX inclusive are taken from an instrument intituled “Answer of Refusal to the King of England, King HENRY the Eighth, respecting his Advice to remove the Duke of Albany from the Governorship of the young King of Scotland, King JAMES the Fifth.” Sealed in parliament at Edinburgh, July the fourth, in the third year of the reign of king JAMES the Fifth4.
No XXV.
IS the seal of HUGH, lord Montgomery, who, on the death of his grandfather, succeeded to the earldom of Eglinton. In 1515 he was at a meeting of the States of Scotland, when they sent an embassy to the French king, to endeavour to get Scotland comprehended in a treaty which was then negotiating with England. In 1522, when the regent JOHN duke of Albany went to France to concert measures for carrying on the war against England, that regent comitted the young king to the care of this earl, who was in high favour ever afterwards
1Vide CRAWFORD’s Lives, p. 53; DOUGLAS’s Peerage, p. 191; and HUME’s History of the House of DOUGLAS.
2Vide DOUGLAS’s Peerage, p. 308. 3 Vide NESBIT’s Heraldry, vol. I. p. 107.
4Foedera, tom. XIII. p. 550, and Acta Regia, p. 368. By an erroneous indorsement, this instrument was supposed to have been dated in the third year of the reign of king JAMES the Fourth, A. D. 1491.
[ (Page) 37 ]
With his royal master, and from whom he obtained charters of many lands and baronies between 1520 and 1540. In 1536, when king JAMES went to France to espouse MAGDALEN, daughter of king FRANCIS the First, he, and the earl of Huntley were appointed governors of Scotland. He married MARIAN, daughter of GEORGE lord SETON, by whom he had a son HUGH, who succeeded to his honours and estates.
Legend,
“ S’ HUGONIS DNI MONTGUMI.”
Read more/less... No XXVI.
IS the seal of WILLIAM, the fourth lord of Borthwick; between 1530 and 1536, he obtained charters under the great seal, of some considerable estates1. He married MARGARET HAY, daughter of JOHN lord Yester. He died in 1542, leaving issue a son JOHN, his heir, and two daughters.
Legend,
“ S’ WILLIELMI DNI BORTHYK.”
No XXVII.
IS the seal of ALEXANDER, third lord Home, who was made lord high chamberlain of Scotland by king JAMES the Fourth in 1507, and he also obtained grants of several estates between 1508 and 15162. He had a great share in the management of public affairs during the life of king JAMES the Fourth, and for some time after his death; but, after JOHN duke of Albany was made regent and governor to the young king; this lord not meeting with that attention which he thought his services merited, he was supposed to have entered into a design with the queen and the earl of Angus for seizing upon the king’s person, and for sending him to his uncle king HENRY. Afterwards having been engaged in a plot against the regent and to government, he and his brother WILLIAM were apprehended, indicted of high treason, tried, condemned, and executed; lord Home on the eleventh, and his brother on the twelfth of October, 1516. His estates and honours were forfeited to the crown, but they were restored to his heir male GEORGE lord Home in 1521.
Legend,
“ S’ ALEXANDRI DNI DE HOMME.”
No XXVIII.
IS the seal of WILLIAM, the sixth earl of Errol, who is said to have been a man of great parts, integrity, and merit. He was sent to the king of England with the instrument to which this seal is appendant. He died, without any surviving male issue, before the year 1535; and his honours descended to GEORGE HAY, the next heir male.
Legend,
“ S’ WILLIELMI DNI HAY DE ERROL.”
No XXIX.
IS a seal of very rude workmanship. The legend is imperfect, the letters S WILLMI are legible, and it is most probably the seal of WILLIAM DE EGLIS, who is mentioned in the instrument.
1Vide DOUGLAS’s Peerage, p. 78. 2 CRAWFORD’s Lives.
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No XXX.
IS the seal of Sir WILLIAM SCOTT, of Balweery. For particulars concerning this family, see DOUGLAS’s Peerage, p. 99; MACKENZIE’s Heraldry, pp. 55 and 74; and NESBIT’s Heraldry, vol. I. p. 88.
Legend,
“ S’ VILLI SCOTTI DE BALVIRY MIL.”
Read more/less... No XXXI.
IS taken from the treaty concluded January the twenty-fourth, 1502, between king HENRY the Seventh and JAMES the Fourth of Scotland, on his marriage with MARGARET, the eldest daughter of the English monarch. This is the privy seal of ROBERT BLACADER, archbishop of Glasgow, who procured his see to be erected into an archbishoprick in 1491. He died on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1508. For further particulars concerning this prelate see KEITH’s Catalogue of Scottish Bishops, p. 150.
Legend,
“..ROBERTI GLASGVEN ARCHIEPI.”
No XXXII.
IS apparently the seal of ANDREW FORMAN, prior of Pittenween, one of the commissioners from the king of Scotland for concluding the above-mentioned treaty of marriage. This ecclesiastick was afterwards preferred to the Abbacy of Cottingham in England; and the French king conferred upon him the archbishoprick of Bourges. In 1501 he was made bishop of Moray; and in the year 1514 he was translated to the archiepiscopal see of St. Andrews, with the high dignity of legate a latere over Scotland. He died in 1522.
This seal has only the singular legend,
“K E I P.”
No XXXIII.
IS the seal of WILLIAM, master of Ruthven, appendant to an instrument relating to queen MARGARET’s dower, dated May the twenty-ninth, 1503. This person accompanied king JAMES the Fourth to the fatal field of Flodden, where he lost his life, September the ninth, 1513.
Legend,
“ S’ WILIELMI RUTHVEN.”
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Plate XXX.
ALL the seals in this plate are appendant to records and public instruments preserved in the Chapter-house at Westminster.
The seals from No I. to No VI. inclusive, are taken from an address from the nobility and representatives of the States of Scotland to the duke of Albany, earl of March and Garioch, lord of Annandale, and of the Isle of Man, regent and protector of the kingdom of Scotland, for the ratification of a truce with England, dated October the seventh, 15171.
Read more/less... No I.
IS the seal of ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS, the sixth earl of Angus. He was a man of excellent endowments both of body and mind, and of great accomplishments. In 1514 he succeeded his grandfather in his honours and estates, and on August the fourth in the same year he married MARGARET, queen dowager of Scotland, and widow of king JAMES the Fourth. He applied himself to the business of the state, and was by a special act made a privy counsellor to king JAMES the Fifth in 1521. In 1527 he was made lord high chancellor of Scotland2. He afterwards assumed the sole management of his affairs, and as is reported, kept the king little better than a prisoner, however his majesty made his escape from him, went to Stirling, where he found the queen his mother, and received the congratulations of the chief of the nobility. Soon afterwards this earl of Angus was removed from all his employments, was accused of several misdemeanors, outlawed, and attainted of treason; he retired to England, where he remained till 1543, when his attainder was reversed by an act of the Scottish parliament. He was restored to his estates and honours, and returning to Scotland, performed many brave actions in the service of his country. Afterwards he promoted the match between queen MARY and prince EDWARD of England. By his marriage with the queen dowager he had a daughter, lady MARGARET DOUGLAS, who, with the consent and approbation of her uncle, king HENRY the Eighth of England, married MATTHEW earl of Lennox; they had issue HENRY, lord Darnley and duke of Albany, who married MARY, queen of Scotland, the mother of JAMES, the Sixth king of Scotland, and First of England. This earl ARCHIBALD died at the castle of Tantallon in 15563.
The legend is,
“ S’ ARCHIBALDI COMITIS ANGUSIE DOMINI DOUGLAS.”
No II.
IS the seal of JAMES, the third lord Hamilton, and first earl of Arran, who was greatly distinguished by king JAMES the Fourth, and was appointed one of his privy council before he was twenty-one years of age. August the first, 1489, he was made hereditary sheriff of Lanark. His royal master conferred on him the island and earldom of Arran, by patent dated August the tenth, 1503. He was afterwards employed in his military capacity in Denmark and France. After the death of king JAMES the Fourth, he was appointed governor of Edinburgh. In 1517
1Vide Foed. tom. XIII. p. 600. 2 CRAWFORD’s Lives, p. 68.
3See more concerning him in CRAWFORD’s Lives of the great Officers of State in Scotland, p. 53.
[ (Page) 40 ]
he was elected one of the guardians of the kingdom during the absence of the duke of Albany. In 1523 he was the chief instrument of delivering the young king from the tyranny of the duke of Albany. He died in 1530.
Legend,
“ S’ JACOBI DNI HAMILTON COMITIS DE ARANE.”
Read more/less... No III.
IS the seal of JOHN, the second lord Fleming, lord great chamberlain of Scotland; he had several grants from kings JAMES the Fourth and Fifth, and was much employed in public affairs. On the first day of November, 1524, he was barbarously assassinated by JOHN TWEEDIE, of Drumelzier, and his accomplices1.
Legend,
“ S’ JOHANNIS DNI FLEMYNG.”
No IV.
I take this to be the private seal of the abbot of Kelso, or Calchou, because on the label of the seal the words “ S’ ABBATIS DE CALCO” are written in a hand coeval with the instrument.
No V.
IS the seal of ROBERT, lord Maxwell, of Nithisdale, a man of great merit, and highly esteemed by king JAMES the Fifth, who, as soon as he took the administration into his own hands, appointed lord Maxwell governor of the castle of Lochmaban, colonel in his guards, and warden of the West marches. In 1538 he was sent ambassador extraordinary to the court of France to negotiate the marriage between king JAMES and MARY of Lorrain, daughter of the duke of Guise, which he accomplished, espoused the lady in his majesty’s name, and conducted her to Scotland; the king rewarded his services very liberally, for he had no less than fourteen charters from the king of different baronies and lands between 1530 and 1540. He died in 1546.
Legend,
“ S’ ROBERTI DNI DE MAXWELLE.”
No VI.
IS the seal of JOHN, the twelfth lord Erskine, and fifth earl of Mar. In the beginning of the year 1515 he was sent to France by the estates of the kingdom to use his endeavours that Scotland might be included in the treaty then negotiating between England and France. On his return he was appointed one of the lords who were to have the custody of the person of the young king, JAMES the Fifth, and in 1525 was made governor of Stirling Castle, where the king and he resided. In 1536 he accompanied king JAMES to France when he went to marry the princess MAGDALENE DE VALOIS, daughter of FRANCIS the First, the French king. After the death of king JAMES the Fifth, in 1542, the keeping of the infant queen MARY was committed to him, who remained under his care till 1548, when he carried her into France. He died in 1552.
Legend,
“ S’ JOHANNIS COMITIS DE ERSKYN.”
1CRAWFORD’s Lives, p. 325.
[ (Page) 41 ]
No VII.
IS the seal of Maister ADAM OTTERBURN, of Aldham, appendant to an instrument for making a truce with England, dated at Berwick December the twelfth, 1528.
Legend,
“ S. MAGISTRI ADE OTTIRBURN.”
Read more/less... No VIII.
IS the private seal of WILLIAM STEWART, bishop of Aberdeen, lord high treasurer of Scotland, and provost of Lincluden; he resigned the office of treasurer after he had held it seven years. He died in April, 1545. This seal is without a legend, but on it are the letters W. S. 1.
No IX.
IS the seal of Sir ADAM OTTERBURN, of Reidhall, knight2, the advocate of the king of Scotland, and one of the first lords of Session, appendant to an instrument for the delivery of the castle of Edrington, called Cawmill, and for entertaining in the kingdom of England ARCHIBALD, stiled theretofore earl of ANGUS, with GEORGE DOUGLAS his brother, and ARCHIBALD DOUGLAS their uncle. The deed, to which this and the preceding seal are appendant, is dated May the twelfth, 1534. The impression is a Wyvern passant to the dexter side, which I suppose to be a crest or badge.
The seals from No X. to No XIV. inclusive, are taken from a deed dated July the first, 1543, concerning the ransom of several Scottish prisoners, who had surrendered themselves to the English at Solway Moss, in 1542.
No X.
IS the seal of WILLIAM CUNNINGHAM, the fourth earl of Glencairn; he was possessed of large estates, was a nobleman of great parts, knowledge, and judgement, and was by the lords of the regency, in the minority of king JAMES the Fifth, appointed lord high treasurer of Scotland when he was only master of Glencairn, and a young man3. He was taken prisoner as above is mentioned, and paid one thousand pounds for his ransom. He was a great favourer of the Reformation, and soon after his being ransomed he was joined in a commission with Sir GEORGE DOUGLAS and others, to treat with the court of England for a marriage between prince EDWARD, afterwards king EDWARD the Sixth, and queen MARY, which king HENRY the Eighth had so much at heart. This earl died in 1547. It is observable, that his title of earl is not on this seal.
Legend,
“ S. WILHELMI CONINGHAME.”
1 Vide KEITH’s List of Scottish bishops, p. 71. Edinburgh, 1755.
2This is the same person whose seal is given at No VII.
3CRAWFORD’s Lives, p. 370.
[ (Page) 42 ]
No XI.
IS the seal of Sir GEORGE DOUGLAS, the second son of GEORGE the master of DOUGLAS, and brother of ARCHIBALD, the sixth earl of Angus. He was killed at the battle of Pinkey in 1547.
Legend,
“ S’ DNI GEORGIJ DOUGLAS EQUITIS AURATI.”
Read more/less... No XII.
IS the seal of WILLIAM HAMILTON of Sanquhar, descended from an ancient family at that place.
The legend is,
“ SIGILLUM WILILMI HAMMILTON DE SACHA ⠁⠁⠁.”
No XIII.
IS the seal of Sir JAMES LERMONT, of Balcomy, knight. One of his ancestors was master of the household to king JAMES the Fourth, and under pretense of his being the heir male of DARCY, he possessed himself of the estate of Balcomy. This family is now extinct.
Legend,
“ SIGILLUM JACOBI LERMONTH MILITIS.”
No XIV.
IS the seal of Maister HENRY BALNAVIS of Hallhill, descended from an ancient family, which, as is reported by some writers, were settled in early times near a large mountain called Benevis, the top whereof is generally covered with snow. Others have asserted, that this family was descended from that of NEVOY, because there is a similarity in their arms.
Legend,
“ S’ MAGISTRI HENRICI BALNAVIS.”
The seals from No XV. to No XVIII. inclusive, are appendant to an instrument dated March the fifteenth, 1546-7, for the delivery of the young queen MARY to king EDWARD the Sixth, pursuant to agreements made between the said queen, the governor, council, and parliament of Scotland, in the reign of king HENRY the Eighth1.
No XV.
IS the seal of NORMAN LESLIE, Master of Rothes, eldest son of George, fourth earl of Rothes, by MARGARET, daughter of WILLIAM, third lord Crichton, to whom he was betrothed, but not canonically married till 1540. This Norman obtained several royal grants of lands between 1540 and 1545, wherein he is stiled “NORMANNUS LESLIE filius GEORGIJ comitis de Rothes;” but having been concerned in the murder of Cardinal BETHUNE, archbishop of St.
1Foed. tom. XV. p. 144.
[ (Page) 43 ]
Andrews, on the twenty-ninth of May, 15461, he was outlawed, attained, and fled into France, and was employed by the French king in a military capacity. In 1554 he received several wounds at a battle in Picardy, where he behaved in a most gallant manner, of which he died greatly lamented, leaving no issue2.
Legend,
“ SIGILLUM NORMANI DE LESLEI.”
Read more/less... No XVI.
IS the seal of JAMES, laird of Kirkcaldy, who is stiled, in the instrument, “of the Grange in the county of Fife.” One of his descendents was governor of the castle of Edinburgh in the minority of king JAMES the Sixth. The arms on this seal correct a mistake in NISBET’s Heraldry, page 247.
Legend,
“ JACQUES KYRKELDEY”
No XVII.
IS the seal of DAVID MONYPENNY, of Petnivyle, or Pitmillie, in the county of Fife; his ancestor, RICHARD MONYPENNY, obtained the estate of Pitmillie from THOMAS, PRIOR of St. Andrew’s in 12113.
Legend,
“ DAVID MONIPENY OF PETMYLES.”
No XVIII.
IS the seal of WILLIAM KIRKCALDY, son and heir of JAMES KIRKCALDY abovementioned.
Legend,
“ S. VILIELMI KIRKCALDE.”
No XIX.
IS the seal of JOHN JOHNSTON of Johnston, one of the commissioners for the queen of Scotland, appendant to an instrument concerning debatable lands on the borders, dated December the fifteenth, 1552.
Numbers XX. XXI. and XXII. are appendant to a treaty dated at Berwick July the fifth, 1586, between king JAMES the Sixth and queen ELIZABETH4.
No XX.
IS the seal of FRANCIS STEWART, earl of Bothwell, lord of Hailes and Creichton, lord high admiral of Scotland. He was in high favour with king JAMES the Sixth; but the chancellor MAITLAND, his mortal enemy, had him imprisoned in the castle of Edinburgh for witchcraft, &c. from whence he made his escape, and assaulted MAITLAND at the abbey
1Vide CRAWFORD’s Lives, p. 77. 2 Vide MELVIL’s Memoirs, p. 33.
3SIBBALD’s History of Fife, p. 134. 4 Foed. tom. XV. p. 803.
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of Holyrood house, but failing in his attempt, he fled to England; and after some time he returned to Scotland, was pardoned, and received into favour by the king; but being afterwards suspected of a design to seize the king’s person, her was outlawed and attainted, and again made his escape; he went first to England, then to France, Spain, and Italy, in which last country he died in 1624. In the same year his eldest son FRANCIS was restored to his father’s estates and honours by a writ under the great seal. This title soon afterwards became extinct.
No legend, but his arms with the letters F. E. B.
Read more/less... No XXI.
IS the seal of ROBERT, the fourth lord Boyd of Kilmarnock, who was a firm and steady friend of queen MARY; he never deserted her interest till it was totally suppressed in Scotland. He died in 1589, in the seventy-second year of his age.
Legend,
“ SIGILLUM ROBERTI DNI BOYD DE KILMARNOK.”
No XXII.
IS the seal of Sir JAMES HOME, of “ Coldounknowis Eques Auratus Cubicularius Regis, Castri Edinburgensis Capitaneus,” of the illustrious house of DUNBAR, earls of March. This Sir JAMES was descended from PATRICK, the second son of COSPATRIC, third earl of Dunbar, who lived in the reigns of king WILLIAM the Lion and king ALEXANDER the Second. Sir JAMES was in great favour with king JAMES the Sixth; he died in 1589 or 1590. His great-grandson, Sir JAMES HOME, succeeded to the earldom of Home as heir male to JAMES the second earl, who died without issue in 1634, from which Sir JAMES the present earl of Home is lineally descended in the male line.
No legend, but his arms with the letters S. J. H. are on the seal.
It may not be improper to observe, that the principal design of the foregoing sheets was to illustrate our national history, which was one of the chief objects intended by the royal incorporation of this Society, and to make known many important facts concerning the great and eminent persons whose seals appear in the following plates, which are very interesting to most of the ancient and noble families in Great-Britain. From the eleventh to the sixteenth century there were several intermarriages between the royal families of England and Scotland; and, from the first of those periods to the present time, many of the nobility of both countries have intermarried with each other, as has already been mentioned; and, had it not been for the unfortunate death of the Maid of Norway, the Northern and Southern parts of the island would, probably, have been united above five centuries ago, which would have been of infinite advantage to both kingdoms, and might have prevented the bloody wars, which produced the most direful calamities in both countries. The Scots would not have been the dupes of the French, who invariably sacrificed them to their own policy, interest, or convenience. The union of the two crowns in the person of king JAMES the Sixth of Scotland, and the First of England, at length paved the way for the happy union of the two kingdoms in the reign of queen ANNE, from which period ancient animosities have gradually subdued, and the general interest has been better understood. We are happily united under one sovereign; and that we may be ever united in one common interest, must be the sincere wish of every true friend to the British nation.
