Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus (c. 1449October 1513), was a
Scottish nobleman, peer, politician, and
magnate
The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
. Tradition has accorded him the nickname Archibald 'Bell-the-Cat' due to his association with the
1482 rebellion against
James III of Scotland
James III (10 July 1451/May 1452 – 11 June 1488) was King of Scots from 1460 until his death at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. He inherited the throne as a child following the death of his father, King James II, at the siege of Roxburgh Ca ...
. He became one of the most powerful nobleman in Scotland through his influential position on the
Scottish Marches
Scottish Marches was the term used for the Anglo-Scottish border during the late medieval and early modern eras, characterised by violence and cross-border raids. The Scottish Marches era came to an end during the first decade of the 17th century ...
, and a willingness to be involved in multiple rebellions in the reigns of James III and
James IV of Scotland
James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...
.
Parents and succession
Archibald Douglas, eldest son of
George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus
George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, Lord Douglas, Abernethy and Jedburgh Forest (c. 1427 – 12 March 1463)Alan R. Borthwick, 'Douglas, George, fourth earl of Angus (c.1417–1463)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University ...
, head of the Red
Douglas
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
*Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
*Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...
line, was born at
Tantallon Castle
Tantallon Castle is a ruined mid-14th-century fortress, located east of North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland. It sits atop a promontory opposite the Bass Rock, looking out onto the Firth of Forth. The last medieval curtain wall castle to ...
,
East Lothian
East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In 1975, the histo ...
, around 1449. His mother was Isabella Sibbald, daughter of the
Master of the Household
The Master of the Household is the operational head (see Chief operating officer) of the "below stairs" elements of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. The role has charge of the domestic staff, from the Royal Kitchens, the pages and foot ...
of
James II of Scotland
James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his father. ...
.
During the turbulent 1450s, when Archibald was growing up, his father came out in support of James II, thereby pitching himself against many of his own clan, and the Black Douglas line in particular, who were in rebellion against the king. He was also at the
siege of Roxburgh in 1460. After the accidental death of the king during the siege, it was the earl, Archibald's father, who is said to have placed the crown on the new child king's head, reputedly declaring as he did so: "There! Now that I have set it upon your Grace's head, let me see who will be so bold as to move it."
Archibald succeeded his father as fifth Earl of Angus about two years later, in 1462 or 1463, aged fourteen.
Actions against James III
In 1481, during a time of gathering war with England, Angus was appointed
Warden
A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint.
''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...
of the
East March by James III, but the following year took part in the surprise action against the king carried out by a league of Scottish nobles at
Lauder
The former Royal Burgh of Lauder (, gd, Labhdar) is a town in the Scottish Borders in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Berwickshire. On the Southern Upland Way, the burgh lies southeast of Edinburgh, on the western edge of the Lamme ...
on 22 July, 1482. This was at a moment when English forces had just invaded Scotland and the secretly disaffected nobles were ostensibly part of the army that James had mustered to repel the invasion. According to
David Hume of Godscroft
David Hume or Home of Godscroft (1558–1629) was a Scottish historian and political theorist, poet and controversialist, a major intellectual figure in Jacobean Scotland. It has been said that "Hume marks the culmination of the Scottish humani ...
, writing in a later age, it was here that Archibald earned his nickname by offering to "bell the cat", initiating the action against the king's
favourite
A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated si ...
,
Thomas (or Robert) Cochrane, as a prelude to the arrest of the king.
Angus is said to have begun the attack by seizing the gold chain from Cochrane's neck, then ordering him and others of the king's favourites to be hung from Lauder Bridge (Lauder Brig in
Scots), located today in the grounds of
Thirlestane Castle
Thirlestane Castle is a castle set in extensive parklands near Lauder in the Borders of Scotland. The site is aptly named Castle Hill, as it stands upon raised ground. However, the raised land is within Lauderdale, the valley of the Leader Water ...
.
The phrase "
to bell the cat" comes from the fable
"The Mice in Council", misattributed to
Aesop
Aesop ( or ; , ; c. 620–564 BCE) was a Greek fabulist and storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as ''Aesop's Fables''. Although his existence remains unclear and no writings by him survive, numerous tales cre ...
, and refers to a dangerous task undertaken for the benefit of all.
Angus subsequently joined the party of the king's disaffected younger brother,
Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany
Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany (7 August 1485), was a Scottish prince and the second surviving son of King James II of Scotland. He fell out with his older brother, King James III, and fled to France, where he unsuccessfully sought help. In 1 ...
, who was part of the English invasion. Albany had entered into a treaty with
Edward IV
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
which gifted
suzerainty
Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...
over Scotland to the English king in return for the right to rule Scotland in place of his brother. While James was in captivity in Edinburgh, Albany did indeed make a short-lived attempt to rule under the name of "Alexander IV". Eventually, however, by March 1483, both Albany and Angus returned to their allegiance to James who, despite the treasonous alliance with Edward, granted them pardons.
Later in that same decade a more open state of rebellion broke out against the king, this time with greater support of the Scottish nobility, with the king's eldest son, James, Duke of Rothesay, counted among their ranks (although not as leader). Angus once again came out against the king. In 1488, he marched against James III at the
Battle of Sauchieburn
The Battle of Sauchieburn was fought on 11 June 1488, at the side of Sauchie Burn, a stream about south of Stirling, Scotland. The battle was fought between the followers of King James III of Scotland and a large group of rebellious Scottish n ...
, in the immediate aftermath of which the defeated king was secretly murdered.
Reign of James IV
After Sauchieburn, Angus became for a time one of the guardians of the young king
James IV
James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...
, but soon lost influence to the
Home
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
s and
Hepburns, and the wardenship of the marches went to
Alexander Home. Although outwardly on good terms with James, Angus treacherously made a treaty with
Henry VII around 1489 or 1491, by which he undertook to govern his relations with James according to instructions from England. He also agreed to hand over
Hermitage Castle
Hermitage Castle is a semi-ruined castle in the border region of Scotland. It is under the care of Historic Scotland. The castle has a reputation, both from its history and its appearance, as one of the most sinister and atmospheric castles in ...
, commanding the pass through
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 ...
into Scotland, on the condition of receiving English estates in compensation.
In October 1491 he fortified his castle of
Tantallon against James, but had to submit and to exchange his Liddesdale estate and Hermitage Castle for the lordship of
Bothwell
Bothwell is a conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, east-south-east of Glasgow city centre.
Description and history
An ancie ...
.
In 1493 Angus again returned to favour, receiving various grants of lands. He became
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
, which office he retained till 1498.
In June 1497 he opened talks for the surrender of
Perkin Warbeck
Perkin Warbeck ( 1474 – 23 November 1499) was a pretender to the English throne claiming to be Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, who was the second son of Edward IV and one of the so-called "Princes in the Tower". Richard, were he alive, ...
at
'Jenyn Haugh'.
Bain, Joseph, ed., ''Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland'', 1357-1509, vol. 4, HM Register House, Edinburgh (1888)
329 In 1501, in disgrace once more, he was confined to Dumbarton Castle
Dumbarton Castle ( gd, Dùn Breatainn, ; ) has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Scotland. It sits on a volcanic plug of basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high and overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton.
History
Dumba ...
.
Final weeks
Angus's two eldest sons were killed at the Battle of Flodden
The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...
in early September 1513. He himself had not been present at the battle. As the Scottish nation was coming to terms with the disastrous defeat, Angus won appointment as one of the councilors of the Queen Regent, Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and successfully fought to extend her regency. Marg ...
. Shortly afterwards, by the end of October, he too was dead.[Norman Macdougall, 'Douglas, Archibald, fifth earl of Angus (c. 1449–1513), ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004.] His successor to the Earldom of Angus was his grandson, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus
Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus (c. 148922 January 1557) was a Scottish nobleman active during the reigns of James V and Mary, Queen of Scots. He was the son of George, Master of Angus, who was killed at the Battle of Flodden, and suc ...
.
Marriages and children
Angus married twice:[
# On 4 March 1468: ]Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
(d. 1498), daughter of Robert Boyd, 1st Lord Boyd
Robert Boyd, 1st Lord Boyd (died 1482) was a Scottish statesman, Lord Chamberlain of Scotland from 1467.
Biography
Robert Boyd was knighted, and was created a Peer of Parliament (Lord Boyd) by James II of Scotland at some date between 1451 and 18 ...
[
# In the summer of 1500: Katherine Stirling, daughter of Sir William Stirling of Keir][
]Janet
Janet may refer to:
Names
* Janet (given name)
* Janet (French singer) (1939–2011)
Surname
* Charles Janet (1849–1932), French engineer, inventor and biologist, known for the Left Step periodic table
* Jules Janet (1861–1945), French psych ...
, daughter of John Kennedy, 2nd Lord Kennedy
John Kennedy, PC, 2nd Lord Kennedy (12 October 1454 – 29 December 1508) was a Scottish lord, the son of Gilbert Kennedy, 1st Lord Kennedy and Catherine Maxwell. He succeeded to the title of 2nd Lord Kennedy in 1489 after the death of his ...
, was one of his mistresses.[
]
Children by first marriage
Notes
References
* Fraser, Sir William, ''The Douglas Book IV vols''. Edinburgh. 1885
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angus, Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of
1449 births
1513 deaths
15th-century Scottish peers
16th-century Scottish peers
Earls of Angus
Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus
Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus (c. 1449October 1513), was a Scottish nobleman, peer, politician, and magnate. Tradition has accorded him the nickname Archibald 'Bell-the-Cat' due to his association with the 1482 rebellion against Jam ...
Lord chancellors of Scotland
Members of the Privy Council of Scotland
Court of James IV of Scotland
Lord High Admirals of Scotland
Burials at Whithorn Priory
15th-century Scottish military personnel
16th-century Scottish military personnel
Year of birth uncertain