Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Spynie (died March 1646) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier of fortune.

Life

He was the eldest son of

Alexander Lindsay, 1st Lord Spynie Alexander Lindsay, 1st Lord Spynie (died 5 June 1607) was a Scottish nobleman. His death is the subject of the ballad ''Lord Spynie''. Early life Lindsay was the fourth son of David Lindsay, 10th Earl of Crawford, by his wife Margaret Beaton, d ...

, by his wife Jean Lyon, and was still a minor at the time of his father's murder in 1607. When, in 1609, the trial of his father's murderer was not proceeded with on account of the absence of a prosecutor, a protest was made on his behalf and that of the other infant children, that their ultimate right of prosecution should not be invalidated. Spynie, however, after he came of age, agreed to waive his right of prosecution, when Lindsay of Edzell, the murderer, affirmed on oath that the slaughter was accidental, and undertook to pay a sum of eight thousand merks, and make over to him and his sister the lands of Garlobank,

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

. Edzell, on 7 March 1617, obtained a remission for the slaughter under the great seal. Spynie was one of the Scottish lords who attended the

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

in 1625. On 2 June 1626 he was made commander-in-chief in Scotland for life. Having raised a regiment of three thousand foot for King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway, he served with distinction in both Denmark and Germany. Christian made him Governor General of the eastern Danish provinces of Skåne, Halland and Blekinge. In 1628 his regiment fought at the siege of Stralsund alongside the regiment of Donald Mackay, Lord Reay. The Scots and their allies in the garrison were eventually relieved by Sir Alexander Leslie who was made governor of the city.Steve Murdoch and Alexia Grosjean, ''Alexander Leslie and the Scottish Generals of the Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648'' (London, 2014), pp.47-51. Lord Spynie and his regiment were thereafter recalled to Skåne while Mackay's were recalled to Copenhagen leaving Leslie and his troops in command of the city. After his return to Scotland, his appointment as commander-in-chief was confirmed 28 June 1633. In the dispute with the

Covenanters Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

, Spynie supported the king

Charles I of Great Britain Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after hi ...

. He joined Montrose at

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

after the

battle of Tippermuir The Battle of Tippermuir (also known as the Battle of Tibbermuir) (1 September 1644) was the first battle James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose, fought for King Charles I in the Scottish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. During t ...

in September 1644, and with him on the 14th entered

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, but when Montrose two days afterwards vacated the city he was taken prisoner, and sent south to Edinburgh. Spynie died in March 1646.

Family

Spynie married first, Joanna Douglas, and secondly, Lady Margaret Hay, only daughter of

George Hay, 1st Earl of Kinnoull George Hay, 1st Earl of Kinnoull, (1570 – 16 December 1634) was a Scottish nobleman and political official. Biography He was the second son of Peter Hay of Megginch and Margaret, daughter of Patrick Ogilvy of Inchmartin. No date is recorde ...

. By his first wife he had no issue, but by his second he had two sons—Alexander, master of Kinnoul, and

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, who succeeded him as third lord—and two daughters: Margaret, married to William Fullarton of Fullarton, and Anne, who died unmarried.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Spynie, Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Year of birth missing 1646 deaths Scottish feudal barons Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1621 Lords of Parliament (pre-1707) Scottish people of the Thirty Years' War