David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford (c. 13601407) was a
Scottish peer who was created Earl of Crawford in 1398.
Life
Crawford was the son of Sir
Alexander Lindsay of Glenesk and Katherine Stirling. Succeeding his father in 1381, he was known until his elevation to the peerage as Sir David Lindsay of Glenesk. He was also the 10th baron of
Crawford, Lanarkshire. In 1398, his father-in-law
Robert II gave him the title of earl, along with
Crawford Castle
Crawford Castle, substantially in ruins, is located on the north bank of the River Clyde, around half a mile north of Crawford, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The ruins stand on an earlier motte and bailey earthwork. The castle is also known as ...
.
Many historians believe that Lindsay was also the organiser for the
Battle of the Clans
The Battle of the North Inch (also known as the Battle of the Clans) was a staged battle between the Clan Chattan and the "Clan Quhele" in September 1396. Thirty men were selected to represent each side in front of spectators, including King Ro ...
at Perth in 1396. Additionally, Lindsay was a noted
jousting
Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament (medieval), tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying t ...
champion who fought the English champion
Lord Welles in a remarkable duel on
St. George's Day 1390. In the duel, Lindsay unhorsed Welles so easily that the crowd began yelling that he had nailed himself to his
saddle
The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...
. To prove he had not, Lindsay jumped off his horse and then back on, while still wearing his full suit of
armour
Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...
. After he realized Welles was wounded he rushed to his aid and helped him to a nearby hospital. He visited Welles every day while he was recovering and they became good friends.
Lord Crawford died at
Finavon Castle
Finavon Castle lies on the River South Esk, about a quarter of a mile south of Milton of Finavon village and five miles to the north-east of Forfar in Angus, Scotland. The name is applied both to a ruined 17th-century castle (contemporarily re ...
in 1407 and was buried at the
church of the Greyfriars at
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
.
Marriage and issue
He married
Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of
King Robert II and
Euphemia de Ross
Euphemia de Ross (1329–1386), a member of Clan Ross, was Queen of Scots as the second wife of Robert II of Scotland.
Life
Euphemia was a daughter of Hugh, Earl of Ross, and Margaret de Graham, Hugh's second wife and daughter of Sir John de Gr ...
. They had four children:
*
Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Earl of Crawford
Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Earl of Crawford (c. 1387–1438/1439) was a Scottish magnate. He was the son of David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford and Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of King Robert II and Euphemia de Ross. He was knighted at the coronation ...
(c. 1387–1438)
*Gerard Lindsay (died 1421)
*David Lindsay, Lord of Newdosk (born 1407)
*Elizabeth Lindsay (born 1407), married
Robert Erskine, 1st Lord Erskine
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
and had issue.
Earl David and Elizabeth Stewart are also assigned a number of children in error in many records, including
*allegedly Marjorie Lindsay, assigned as the wife of Sir William Douglas of Lochleven. This is an error for Marjory Stewart who married firstly Sir Alexander Lindsay of Glenesk as his 2nd wife (and David's stepmother in fact), and secondly Sir Henry Douglas of Lochleven, by whom she was the mother of Sir William Douglas
*allegedly Isabella Lindsay (born 1407), who married Sir John Maxwell. This was in fact the daughter of Sir James Lindsay of Crawford (uncle of Earl David) by his wife Egidia, or Giles, Stewart
*
Ingelram Lindsay,
Bishop of Aberdeen
The Bishop of Aberdeen (originally Bishop of Mortlach, in Latin Murthlacum) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Aberdeen, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Nech ...
(died 1458). Ingram Lindsay was dispensed on account of his having been illegitimate;
[W.H.Bliss, ed., Papal Petitions to the Pope 1342–1419, Vol. I (London, Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1896), pp. 604, 606.] he was acknowledged by Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Earl of Crawford as a kinsman and he may have been Earl David's son, but clearly not by Elizabeth Stewart.
Notes
Sources
*
Balfour Paul, Sir James-''
The Scots Peerage
''The Scots Peerage'' is a nine-volume book series of the Scottish nobility compiled and edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, published in Edinburgh from 1904 to 1914. The full title is ''The Scots Peerage: Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert ...
''-IX Vols. Edinburgh 1904
*Grant, Neil. ''Scottish Clans and Tartans''. New York, Octopus Publishing Group Limited: 2000.
*J. Ravilious, Dame Crystyane of Douglas and her ancestry, The Scottish Genealogist (Sept 2012), Vol. LIX, No. 3, pp. 129–138.
External links
Info on David Lindsay from Clan Lindsay
from Clan Lindsay
*