Sir Alexander Seton (d. 1332), also known as Alexander de Seton, was a 13th–14th-century noble. He was married to Margaret Murray. He died during the
Battle of Kinghorn
The Battle of Kinghorn was fought on 6 August 1332 at Wester Kinghorn (now Burntisland), Fife, Scotland. An invading seaborne force of 1,500 men was commanded by Edward Balliol and Henry Beaumont, Earl of Buchan. A Scottish army, possibly ...
on 6 August 1332.
Life
Alexander was the eldest son of
Alexander Seton and Christian Cheyne. Alexander married Margaret Murray, and died without issue. Alexander's sister Margaret, who became the heiress of Seton after the deaths of her brothers, married
Alan de Wyntoun
Alan de Wyntoun (died c. 1347) was a Scottish soldier and crusader.
Life
Wyntoun was the son of Alan de Winton and Margaret de Bothwell. Alan abducted Margaret de Seton for the purposes of forcing her to marry him. This marriage led to a sanguin ...
, and their eldest son
William adopted the name and arms of Seton. Alexander's brother Thomas was given as a hostage during the
Siege of Berwick in 1333 and was executed, due to the terms of the hostages being broken. During the same siege, another brother, William, drowned during an attack on the English fleet. Alexander's father, was the Governor of Berwick who surrendered Berwick after the Scots were defeated at the
Battle of Halidon Hill
The Battle of Halidon Hill took place on 19 July 1333 when a Scottish army under Sir Archibald Douglas attacked an English army commanded by King Edward III of England () and was heavily defeated. The year before, Edward Balliol had seized ...
in 1333.
Seton was serving under
Donnchadh IV, Earl of Fife
Donnchadh IV, Earl of Fife ''Duncan IV(1289–1353) was sometime Guardian of Scotland, and ruled Fife until his death. He was the last of the native Scottish rulers of that province.
He was born in late 1289, the same year as his father Donn ...
in a force of 1,000 men
attempting to oppose the landing of
Edward Balliol
Edward Balliol (; 1283 – January 1364) was a claimant to the Scottish throne during the Second War of Scottish Independence. With English help, he ruled parts of the kingdom from 1332 to 1356.
Early life
Edward was the eldest son of John Ba ...
, at Kinghorn Wester (now Burntisland), Fife on 6 August 1332.
While leading a charge on foot at the head of a force of 300, Alexander was killed.
[Dalrymple, p.362] Different contemporary sources variously give the total Scottish losses as 90, 900 or 1,000.
[Lawrie, p. 85.]
Citations
References
*
*
*Henderson, Thomas Finlayson. ''Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 51 - Seton, Alexander (fl.1311-1340)''.
*Lawrie, John. ''The history of the wars in Scotland, from the battle of the Grampian Hills in the year 85, to the battle of Culloden in the year 1746. (1783)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seton, Alexander
13th-century births
1332 deaths
13th-century Scottish people
14th-century Scottish people
Scottish soldiers