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Alexander Stewart (diplomat)
Alexander Stewart (died 1593) was a Scottish courtier and diplomat. He was a younger son of Alexander Stewart of Scotstounhill, a captain of Blackness Castle, and Elizabeth Hamilton. Blackness Castle The older Alexander Stewart's record as captain of Blackness for the Scottish crown was a subject of comment by Richard Bannatyne. In March 1572, during the Marian Civil War, he surrendered the castle to the supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots, for 300 crowns, after his expenses had not been met by the King's side. In January 1573, he was made captain again, and pledged his eldest son as hostage for his good service. Unfortunately, while he was making these arrangements in Edinburgh, one of his prisoners, James Kirkcaldy bribed the guards and took Blackness. Kirkcaldy then managed to capture Alexander Stewart and his brother John and locked them up in their own castle. Alexander Stewart set about bribing the same soldiers and Regent Morton forced James Kirkcaldy's wife Helen Leslie to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackness Castle
Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by Sir George Crichton in the 1440s. At this time, Blackness was the main port serving the Royal Burgh of Linlithgow, one of the main residences of the Scottish monarch. The castle, together with the Crichton lands, passed to James II of Scotland in 1453, and the castle has been crown property ever since.MacIvor, p. 6. It served as a state prison, holding such prisoners as Cardinal Beaton and the 6th Earl of Angus.MacIvor, p. 20. Strengthened by Sir James Hamilton of Finnart in the mid-16th century, the castle became one of the most advanced artillery fortifications of its time in Scotland. A century later, these defences were not enough to prevent Blackness falling to Oliver Cromwell's army in 1650. Some years after the siege, the castle was repaired, and again served as a prison and a minor ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Melville, 1st Lord Melville
Robert Melville, 1st Lord Melville (c. 1527–1621) was a Scottish diplomat, administrator, jurist, and intriguer, and uncle of the poet Elizabeth Melville. Family Known as Sir Robert Melville of Murdocairnie or Murdochcairnie, Robert was the second son of Sir John Melville of Raith in Fife and Helen Napier of Merchiston. His younger brother Sir James Melville of Halhill wrote a famous political memoir. Another brother, Andrew Melville of Garvock, joined the household of Mary, Queen of Scots in Scotland. Robert married firstly; Katherine Adamson; secondly Mary Leslie, daughter of Andrew Leslie, Earl of Rothes; thirdly, Jean Stewart, daughter of Robert Stewart, Earl of Orkney. His heir was his son with Katherine Adamson, Robert Melville, 2nd Lord Melville. Career During the Scottish Reformation, Robert Melville sided with the Protestant Lords of the Congregation. He was sent to England as a diplomat by Mary, Queen of Scots. He opposed her marriage to Henry, Lord Darnley and jo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke Of Lennox
Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox and 1st Duke of Richmond (29 September 157416 February 1624), lord of the manor, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was a Scotland, Scottish nobleman who through their paternal lines was a second cousin of King James VI and I, James VI of Scotland and I of England. He was involved in the Plantation of Ulster in Ireland and the colonization of Maine in New England. Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Richmond's Island and Cape Richmond as well as Richmond, Maine (formerly Fort Richmond), are named after him. His magnificent monument with effigies survives in Westminster Abbey. Origins He was the eldest son of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox (1542-1583), a Frenchman of Scottish ancestry, by his wife Catherine de Balsac (d.post-1630), a daughter of Guillaume de Balsac, Sieur d'Entragues, by his wife Louise d'Humières. Ludovic's father was a favourite and first cousin once removed of King James VI and I, James VI of Scotland I of England (the King's f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slamannan
Slamannan ( gd, Sliabh Mhanainn) is a village in the south of the Falkirk council area in Central Scotland. It is south-west of Falkirk, east of Cumbernauld and north-east of Airdrie. Slamannan is located at the cross of the B803 and B8022 roads, near the banks of the River Avon, close to the border between Falkirk and North Lanarkshire councils. Slamannan had a population of around 1,360 residents. In 1755 the population was recorded as 1209. Fifty years later the population was around the 1000 in the Parish of Slamanan (although elsewhere in the same volume the usual spelling is used). The 19th-century parish church can accommodate upwards of 700 people. History and Toponymy The name relates to the Manaw Gododdin tribe about whom little is known. The name possibly means hill-face of Manan. The church at Slamannan used to be named after St Laurence. There is also a well which bears his name. It is recorded that in 1470 James II gave a charter to Lord Livingstone for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Sandilands (courtier)
Sir James Sandilands (died 1618) was a courtier to King James VI and I and captain of Blackness Castle Career James Sandilands of Slamannan was a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to the king in 1590 and later keeper of Blackness Castle. He was a half-brother of Sir James Sandilands of Calder, Lord Torpichen, a son of John Sandilands of Calder and Jean Fleming, who was a daughter of Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming. For a time, he was "Tutor of Calder", in charge of his younger brother's estates. He married Jean Crawfurd, and secondly Barbara Napier. In August 1588 the Privy Council decided to raise a force against the threat from the Spanish Armada. Sandilands and George Douglas of Niddry were made captains of 100 light horsemen. The commander was Sir John Carmichael. In May 1589 Sandilands helped the double-murderer Archibald Wauchope, younger of Niddrie, escape from Edinburgh's Tolbooth. Despite this, Sandilands soon regained royal favour. Norway and Denmark Sandilands went wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Sandilands, 1st Lord Torphichen
James Sandilands (c. 1511 – c. 1579 or c. 1596) was a Scottish nobleman. He was the second son of Sir James Sandilands, 7th Lord of Calder. The feudal barony of Calder had belonged to the Sandilands family since 1348. Knight Hospitaller In December 1540 Sandilands was received into the Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta, which by that time had its headquarters in Malta, and on 3 March 1541 was conferred with the ancientry of Torphichen (and later succeeded to the preceptorship in 1547. The Commander or Prior of the Knights in Scotland was the Preceptor of Torphichen, at that time, Sir Walter Lindsay. Lindsay recommended Sandilands to the Grand Master of the Knights as a potential candidate to succeed him. Sandilands spent the next several years at the headquarters of the Knights at Malta, and validated Lindsay's recommendation. In 1541 he received from the Grand Master the ''ancianitas'' (right of expectancy) to the Preceptory and, follo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Graham, Lord Hallyards
John Graham, Lord Hallyards (c.1530–1593) was a Scottish lawyer and Senator of the College of Justice who sat in judgement in two famous trials in Scottish history. He was murdered in a feud. Career Little is known of Graham's early life. He is said to have been a cousin of John Graham, 3rd Earl of Montrose. He trained as a lawyer and was successful in this role. In January 1579 he is recorded as Justice Depute to the Earl of Argyll. Around 1578 he was married to Janet Murray (d.1596), a daughter of William Murray of Polmaise, and widow of Sir James Sandilands, 1st Lord Torphichen and through her became the owner of Hallyards near Kirkliston in West Lothian. In March 1578, he wrote a note to the English ambassador Thomas Randolph hoping to see him before he left Edinburgh. Randolph was staying at Robert Gourlay's house on the Lawnmarket. In the spring of 1581 he oversaw his most famous case, the trial of Regent Morton, which resulted in his execution by beheading on 2 June ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bridge Castle
A bridge castle (german: Brückenburg) is a type of castle that was built to provide military observation and security for a river crossing. In the narrower sense it refers to castles that are built directly on or next to a bridge. Sometimes, however, castles close to a bridge are referred to as bridge castles. These fortifications were often designed as toll castles that charged river tolls and were occupied only by a guard force. In Europe, several examples of bridge castles have survived, especially in the south and southeast of the continent. The bridge castle type—which is only rarely mentioned in detail in the specialist literature—is not always clearly distinguishable from the "fortified bridge". In medieval Europe, numerous river crossings were protected by tower structures and outworks. Examples The largest preserved bridge castle is the rectangular edifice of Valeggio sul Mincio (Province of Verona, North Italy). In the Late Middle Ages, Gian Galeazzo Visconti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Livingstone, 6th Lord Livingston
William Livingstone, 6th Lord Livingston, (died 1592), was a Scottish lord of Parliament. Early life William Livingstone was the son of Alexander Livingston, 5th Lord Livingston (c. 1500–1553) and his second wife, Lady Agnes Douglas, daughter of John Douglas, 2nd Earl of Morton. His father, Alexander, was the guardian of Mary, Queen of Scots, during her childhood. Life William became Lord Livingston in 1550, his elder brother John, Master of Livingstone was killed in 1547 at the battle of Pinkie. He was a Protestant. His sister Mary Livingston was one of the four attendants of Mary, Queen of Scots. He fought for Queen Mary at the battle of Langside in 1568. His wife Agnes Fleming became an attendant of Mary in England. She came to Bolton Castle in August 1568, with two waiting women and eight male servants. She was travelling to Tutbury Castle in January 1569 when she fell ill at Rotherham, and Francis Knollys wrote that Mary "doth esteem (her) most dearly". At Tutbury, the E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torphichen
Torphichen ( ) is a historic small village located north of Bathgate in West Lothian, Scotland. The village is approximately 18 miles (20 km) west of Edinburgh, 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Falkirk and 4 miles (6 km) south-west of Linlithgow. The village had a population of 570 in the ( 2011 Census) and a population of 710 in 2016. Torphichen's placename may be Gaelic in origin, e.g., "Tóir Féichín" (the boundary/sanctuary of St Féichín), Tor Fithichean (Hill of the Ravens), or Brythonic "tref fechan" (little town). History The village (parish) church is said to have been founded by St. Ninian in about 400AD, a small wooden structure on the site of the present church (itself rebuilt in 1756). By the medieval period, the church and area had continued to develop and in 1165, the Knights Hospitaller of St. John made their Scottish headquarters at Torphichen and the Preceptory stands as testament to their presence. By 1756, part of the old structure of the Preceptory was alte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1572. In his description in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition, Albert Pollard wrote, "From 1558 for forty years the biography of Cecil is almost indistinguishable from that of Elizabeth and from the history of England." Cecil set as the main goal of English policy the creation of a united and Protestant British Isles. His methods were to complete the control of Ireland, and to forge an alliance with Scotland. Protection from invasion required a powerful Royal Navy. While he was not fully successful, his successors agreed with his goals. In 1587, Cecil persuaded the Queen to order the execution of the Roman Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, after she was implicated in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth. He was the father of Robe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Young (diplomat)
George Young ( fl. 1584–1615) was a Scottish churchman, courtier, member of the Privy Council of Scotland, diplomat, and secretary depute. Career George Young was appointed Archdeacon of St Andrews by James VI of Scotland on 12 October 1584. In February 1581 he was clerk of the Privy Council, and brought writings and letters from James VI of Scotland to the English ambassador, Thomas Randolph. In April 1581 he received the royal gift of the income of the Parsonage of Carstairs. He accompanied the ambassador Colonel William Stewart to England in April 1583. He brought the king's instructions during the election of burgh officials in October 1584, directing the voters to select his choices, including James Stewart, Earl of Arran as Provost. Ambassador He was sent as an ambassador to England in 1585 with David Lindsay, and Queen Elizabeth gave them gifts of markedly small value. In January 1587 he was again in London with Sir Robert Melville, William Keith of Delny, and Alex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
