Alexander of Menteith (d. bef. 1306), a Scottish nobleman and member of the Stewart family, he was the
Earl of Menteith.
Life
Alexander was the eldest son and heir of
Walter Bailloch Stewart and
Mary I, Countess of Menteith and was the
Mormaer or
Earl of Menteith succeeding his mother the
de jure countess.
[George Edward Cokayne, ''The complete peerage; or, A history of the House of lords and all its members from the earliest times'', Vol. VIII (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1932), p. 662] The first mention of him in records is with his brother
John de Menteith in a compact dated on 20 September 1286, at
Turnberry,
Carrick
Carrick is an Anglicised version of ''creag/carraig'', Gaelic for "rock", and may refer to:
People
*Carrick (surname)
* Donnchadh, Earl of Carrick (died 1250), Scottish Mormaer and first Earl of Carrick
* Marjorie of Carrick (1256–1292), ...
, between Bruce and the Stewarts.
['' The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland'', ed. James Balfour Paul, Vol VI (Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1909), p. 133] In another writ, of uncertain date, granted by their father to
Kilwinning Abbey, he and his brother are styled Alexander and John de Menteith. Alexander joined with his father in a charter granting the church of Kippen to the
Cambuskenneth Abbey situated within the earldom as a place of burial; the writ being dated 1286. He was appointed the
Sheriff of Dumbarton in 1288. Prior to succeeding his father, Alexander was at
Norham in 1291, and was among those who swore fealty to
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
. Alexander was with his brother John at the
Battle of Dunbar on 27 April 1296, and fled to
Dunbar Castle where he and others were taken prisoner and he was committed to the Tower of London. His detention was not long, however, and he was liberated after promising to serve the English King, meeting with him at
Elgin
Elgin may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Elgin County, Ontario
* Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Chatham-Kent, Ontario
* Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario ...
27 July 1296.
He repeated this promise, and swore fealty at
Berwick a month later, on 28 August, as ''Alexander Comes Meneteth''. Alexander then gave over two of his sons, Alan and Peter, as hostages.
Alexander seems to have retired from public life after this, tending only to his family affairs. He died before 1306.
Family
He married a lady named Matilda (Maud), a daughter of
Robert, Earl of Strathearn
Robert of Strathearn (died ''c.'' 1244) was the 4th Earl of Strathearn in Scotland.
Robert was the fourth son of Gille Brigte of Strathearn and his wife Matilda. He first appears on record in 1199, when he and his brothers were witnesses to thei ...
,
[J. Ravilious, The Earls of Menteith: Murdoch, Earl of Menteith and the Ferrers family of Groby, The Scottish Genealogist (March 2013), Vol. LX, No. 1, pp. 12-25] and together they had the following children:
*
Alan, Earl of Menteith
Alan, Earl of Menteith (d. c. 1310) was a Scottish nobleman.
Life
Menteith was the son of Alexander, Earl of Menteith, and is first on record as a hostage in England, to ensure the good behaviour of his father in 1296. He and his brother Peter Men ...
, who succeeded his father as Earl.
* Peter, who in 1296 was a hostage in England with his brother Alan. He accompanied King Edward to
Flanders, and took part in the French campaign of 1297, where he may have been killed.
[''The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland'', ed. James Balfour Paul, Vol VI (Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1909), p. 134]
*
Murdach, who became Earl of Menteith.
* Alexander, styled as brother of Murdach in a charter to Gilbert Drummond.
* Malise, who had a charter from Robert I of the lands of Ballygillachy, married Margaret Mar with issue
*
Margaret de Menteith, wife of
Alexander de Abernethy.
[J. Ravilious, The Earls of Menteith: Alexander, Earl of Menteith and Sir Alexander de Abernethy, The Scottish Genealogist (September 2010), Vol. LVII, No. 3, pp. 130–139]
* Ellen, recently identified as the wife of
William Ferrers, 1st Baron Ferrers of Groby (d. 20 March 1324/5).
Alan Durward = Margery of
E of Athol I Scotland
I
I
Colban = Anne = Sir William
E of Fife I Durward I de Ferrers
d. 1270 I I (2nd husband)
_______________I I___________________________________________________________
I I
I ______________________________________________________ I
I I I I I
I Alexander = Matilda Sir John de Menteith Elena = John I
I E of Menteith I of Strathearn I de Drummond I
I I __I______________________ I
I I I I I I I
I I John Walter Elena Joanna I
I I = Gillespie I
I I Campbell I
__I________ __I____________________________________________________ I
I I I I I I I I
Duncan Margery = Alan Murdoch Margaret Malise Elena = Sir William
E of I E of E of = Alexander de Menteith of I de Ferrers
Fife (d. 1289) I Menteith Menteith de Abernethy Methlick I d. 1325
I I I I
I ___I I I
I I I I
Duncan Alan Walter de Menteith Anne
E of E of Menteith of Methlick de Ferrers
Fife heir of Fife, 1315 d. aft 13 Jul 1364 = Edward le
I I Despenser
I I
Mary = Sir John John de Menteith
C of de Graham d. bef 1394
Menteith d. 1346
References
See also
* Brown, Michael, ''The Wars of Scotland, 1214-1371'', (Edinburgh, 2004)
* J. Ravilious, The Earls of Menteith: Alexander, Earl of Menteith and Sir Alexander de Abernethy, The Scottish Genealogist (September 2010), Vol. LVII, No. 3, pp. 130–139.
* J. Ravilious, The Earls of Menteith: Murdoch, Earl of Menteith and the Ferrers family of Groby, The Scottish Genealogist (March 2013), Vol. LX, No. 1, pp. 12–25.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menteith, Alexander, Earl of
1290s deaths
People of the Wars of Scottish Independence
Year of birth unknown
Mormaers of Menteith
13th-century mormaers