Alexander Home, 5th Lord Home (died 1575) was a Scottish nobleman and Warden of the Eastern March.

Early life

Alexander Home was the son of

George Home, 4th Lord Home George Home, 4th Lord Home (died 1549) was a Scottish nobleman and Warden of the Eastern March. The son of Alexander Home, 2nd Lord Home and his wife Nicola Ker, daughter of George Ker of Samuelston, he succeeded his brother, Alexander Home, 3 ...

and

Mariotta Haliburton Mariotta or Maryon or Marion Haliburton, Lady Home (circa 1500–circa 1563) was a 16th-century Scottish noblewoman. She varied the spelling of her forename between ''Mariotta'', ''Marion'', and ''Mary''. She is remembered for her defence and negot ...

. He became

Lord Home Earl of Home ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1605 for Alexander Home of that Ilk, 6th Lord Home. The Earl of Home holds, among others, the subsidiary titles of Lord Home (created 1473), and Lord Dunglass (1605), i ...

on the death of his father who was injured in a skirmish with the English two days before the

Battle of Pinkie Cleugh The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh ( , ), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Cro ...

Marriages

In 1537 Alexander was contracted to marry a natural daughter of

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of James IV of Sco ...

and Elizabeth Beaton. However, he first married Margaret Ker of Cessford, a daughter of Sir Walter Ker of Cessford. Their daughter Margaret married

George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal (c. 1553–1623) was a Scottish nobleman and Earl Marischal. He succeeded as earl on 7 October 1581, upon the death of his grandfather, William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal. Early life George Keith was the so ...

. He subsequently married Agnes Gray, daughter of Patrick, Lord Gray, and widow of Sir Robet Logan of

Restalrig Restalrig () is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish). It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, both of which it overlaps. Restalrig ...

. Their son was

Alexander Home, 6th Lord Home Sir Alexander Home of that Ilk, 1st Lord Home ( – ) was in 1448 Sheriff Deputy for Berwickshire, and was made a Lord of Parliament on 2 August 1473. He is an ancestor of the Earls of Home. Family Alexander Home's father, Sir Alexander Home of t ...

Rough Wooing

Alexander was captured by the English while riding on Falside Bray on 9 September 1547 the day before the battle of Pinkie. Both William Patten and

Jean de Beaugué Jean de Beaugué, was a French soldier who served in Scotland in the 1540s, during the war of the Rough Wooing. He wrote a memoir of the fighting which, first published in 1556, is still an important source for historians. Much of the book concerns ...

related how his mother Mariotta Haliburton was then compelled to negotiate the surrender of

Hume Castle ' , partof = , location = Hume, Berwickshire, Scotland , image = Hume Castle - geograph.org.uk - 812984.jpg , image_size = , caption = , map_type = Scotland Scottish Borders , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = Shown within Scotland Scot ...

to the English. Alexander was then taken hostage to England, but returned in 1548 and was quickly able to organise the recapture of Home Castle, with his brother Andrew Home. In June 1562, Alexander sent a letter to

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

saying that

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

was preparing a large fleet to send to aid the Protestants in France. She showed this to the English diplomat at her court, Thomas Randolph who laughed at it. Randolph recorded her reply which hints both at Elizabeth's meanness and Home's motive;

"Well, you knowe that my lord Hume hathe a castle to keape - I wyll not be verie hastie to beleeve, nor I dowbt no suche daynger as he meanethe, and I trust that for the matters of France that there wilbe accordethe, so that your mestres shall not neade to be at anye suche charge."

Civil war and imprisonment

At first Alexander supported

Regent Moray James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570) was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. A supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scotland for his ...

against

in the Scottish civil war and Moray gave him the Commendatorship of

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

. In March 1569 Regent Moray went to

Liddesdale Liddesdale, the valley of the Liddel Water, in the Roxburghshire, County of Roxburgh, southern Scotland, extends in a south-westerly direction from the vicinity of Peel Fell to the River Esk, Dumfries and Galloway, River Esk, a distance of . The ...

to punish the border people. Moray was accompanied by Lord Home, Ker of Cessford, Ker of Ferniehirst, and Scot of Buccleuch and 4000 men. After holding unsatisfactory talks with the local leaders, "the best of the surname men", Moray burned the farmsteads in Liddesdale, and did not leave one house standing. He stayed at Mangerton, then had the house blown up with gunpowder and returned to Jedburgh. In December 1571

Regent Mar John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar (died 28 October 1572) was a Scottish aristocrat and politician. He was the custodian of the infant James VI of Scotland and Regent of Scotland. Erskine was a son of John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine and Lady Margaret ...

blamed his wife Agnes Gray Lady Home, for his revolt and as a supporter of Elizabeth's rebels, now fugitives from the

Rising of the North The Rising of the North of 1569, also called the Revolt of the Northern Earls or Northern Rebellion, was an unsuccessful attempt by Catholic nobles from Northern England to depose Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of ...

. Lord Home changed sides and joined the garrison loyal to Mary in

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

. He was imprisoned when the castle fell in May 1573 to an English force led by

William Drury Sir William Drury (2 October 152713 October 1579) was an English statesman and soldier. Family William Drury, born at Hawstead in Suffolk on 2 October 1527, was the third son of Sir Robert Drury (c. 1503–1577) of Hedgerley, Buckinghamshi ...

in May 1573. Agnes Gray, Lady Home had loaned the commander of the castle,

William Kirkcaldy of Grange Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange (c. 1520 –3 August 1573) was a Scottish politician and soldier who fought for the Scottish Reformation but ended his career holding Edinburgh castle on behalf of Mary, Queen of Scots and was hanged at the c ...

£600 Scots to help pay the garrison. As security Kirkcaldy gave her diamonds and a pearl necklace from the

jewels of Mary, Queen of Scots The jewels of Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–1587), are mainly known through the evidence of inventories held by the National Records of Scotland. She was bought jewels during her childhood in France, adding to those she inherited. She gave gifts o ...

. She had to surrender these jewels without payment to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

Holyrood House The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edi ...

on 4 July 1573. The necklace was described as "a carcan of gold and perll, the gold annamalit (enamelled) reid the string grene". In June 1574 Agnes Gray wrote a long letter to Queen Elizabeth, who had written to

Regent Morton James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton (c. 1516 – 2 June 1581, aged 65) was the last of the four regents of Scotland during the minority of King James VI. He was in some ways the most successful of the four, since he won the civil war that had b ...

in her husband's favour. She wanted to offer redress for previous actions that had offended Elizabeth, such as receiving her rebels including

Leonard Dacre Leonard Dacre (by 1533 – 12 August 1573) was an English nobleman, one of the promoters of the Northern Rebellion against Queen Elizabeth. Life He was the second son of William Dacre, 3rd Baron Dacre of Gilsland and brother of Thomas Dacre, 4t ...

, whose father had been a friend to her husband's father. She hoped Elizabeth could tell her what to do to please Regent Morton. The English ambassador Henry Killigrew discussed removing cannon from Hume Castle, requiring a manifest from Lady Home or her husband, a condemned prisoner. There was controversy over whether some guns belonged to the earl, the crown of Scotland, or the Laird of Restalrig. Agnes gave him a memorandum of the cannon at Hume in September 1574.''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 5 (Edinburgh, 1907), pp. 21–3 no. 13, p. 26 no. 17, p. 57 no. 50, pp. 155–6 no. 164. Alexander Home, Earl of Home, died in 1575. His widow Agnes Gray then married the Master of Glamis.

References

* ''Historical Manuscripts Commission, 12th Report and Appendix; Duke of Athole and Earl of Home'' (London, 1891). {{DEFAULTSORT:Home, Alexander Home, 5th Lord 1575 deaths Lords of Parliament (pre-1707) Court of James V of Scotland Court of Mary, Queen of Scots Scottish soldiers 16th-century Scottish people Scottish people of the Rough Wooing Year of birth unknown

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...