Elizabeth Mure (est. born 2 March 1320 - died before May 1355), a member of

Clan Muir Clan Muir is a Scottish clan that is armigerous. Historically, holders of the surname Muir (also spelt Moor, Moore, More, and Mure) can be considered septs of Clan Campbell and septs of Clan Gordon in the highlands. The spelling variation M ...

, was the first wife of Robert,

High Steward of Scotland The title of High Steward or Great Steward is that of an officer who controls the domestic affairs of a royal household. In the 12th century King David I of Scotland gave the title to Walter fitz Alan, a nobleman from Brittany, whose descendan ...

, and

Guardian of Scotland The Guardians of Scotland were regents who governed the Kingdom of Scotland from 1286 until 1292 and from 1296 until 1306. During the many years of minority in Scotland's subsequent history, there were many guardians of Scotland and the post was ...

(1338–1341 and from October 1346), who later became King

Robert II of Scotland Robert II (2 March 1316 – 19 April 1390) was King of Scots from 1371 to his death in 1390. The son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and Marjorie, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, he was the first monarch of the House of Stewa ...

. Because their marriage was originally not sanctioned in a church, but what today we would call a 'common-law-marriage', Elizabeth is often identified as his mistress.

Life

Elizabeth Mure was said to be born at

Rowallan Castle Rowallan Castle (Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal an Rubha Àlainn'') is an ancient castle located in Scotland. The castle stands on the banks of the Carmel Water, which may at one time have run much closer to the low eminence upon which the original c ...

. Her parents were Sir Adam Mure of Rowallan,

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, and Janet Mure of Pokelly, Ayr, South Ayrshire. Through her father, Elizabeth Mure may be a descendant of

Fergus of Galloway Fergus of Galloway (died 12 May 1161) was a twelfth-century Lord of Galloway. Although his familial origins are unknown, it is possible that he was of Norse-Gaelic ancestry. Fergus first appears on record in 1136, when he witnessed a charter o ...

(est. 1078 - 1161) and his wife Elizabeth FitzRoy (est. 1109 - 1160), the illegitimate daughter of

King Henry I of England Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...

, and a member of the

House of Normandy The House of Normandy ( nrf, Maison de Nouormandie ) designates the noble family which originates from the Duchy of Normandy and whose members were counts of Rouen, dukes of Normandy, as well as kings of England following the Norman conquest o ...

. The Muirs/Mures also claim descent from King

Fergus Mór Fergus Mór mac Eirc ( gd, Fearghas Mòr Mac Earca; English: ''Fergus the Great'') was a possible king of Dál Riata. He was the son of Erc of Dalriada. While his historicity may be debatable, his posthumous importance as the founder of Scotl ...

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is now ...

, per the history of

. In 1336, Elizabeth married Robert Stewart, then High Steward of Scotland. The marriage was criticized as uncanonical, so they remarried in 1349, following a

papal dispensation In the jurisprudence of the canon law of the Catholic Church, a dispensation is the exemption from the immediate obligation of law in certain cases.The Law of Christ Vol. I, pg. 284 Its object is to modify the hardship often arising from the ...

dated at

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

22 November 1347. They had at least ten children, with some accounts saying as many as thirteen. Doubts about the validity of their marriage led to disputes over their children's right to the crown. Elizabeth died before her husband inherited the crown at the age of 55 in 1371, and he later remarried (Papal Dispensation dated 2 May 1355). On 27 March 1371, "The Lord John (who later took the title of King Robert III, changing his name because of what he saw as John de Baliol's unpatriotic desecration of the name John), Earl of Carrick and Steward of Scotland, first-born son of King Robert II" was declared heir to the Crown by Parliament in

Scone Abbey Scone Abbey (originally Scone Priory) was a house of Augustinian canons located in Scone, Perthshire (Gowrie), Scotland. Dates given for the establishment of Scone Priory have ranged from 1114 A.D. to 1122 A.D. However, historians have long bel ...

Issue

* Robert III (c. 1337 – 4 April 1406), born John Stewart,

Earl of Carrick Earl of Carrick (or Mormaer of Carrick) is the title applied to the ruler of Carrick (now South Ayrshire), subsequently part of the Peerage of Scotland. The position came to be strongly associated with the Scottish crown when Robert the Bruce, ...

Walter Stewart, Lord of Fife Walter Stewart (c.1338–1362) was the second son of Robert Stewart, 7th High Steward of Scotland (afterwards King Robert II) and Elizabeth Mure Elizabeth Mure (est. born 2 March 1320 - died before May 1355), a member of Clan Muir, was the ...

(c.1338–1362) *

Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (c. 1340 – 3 September 1420) was a member of the Scottish royal family who served as regent (at least partially) to three Scottish monarchs ( Robert II, Robert III, and James I). A ruthless politician, Albany w ...

(c. 1340–1420) *

Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, Alasdair Mór mac an Rígh, and called the Wolf of Badenoch (1343 – c. 20 July 1405), was the third surviving son of King Robert II of Scotland and youngest by his first wife, Elizabeth Mure of Rowallan. He w ...

(1343 – c. 20 July 1405) * Margaret Stewart, married

John of Islay, Lord of the Isles :''This article refers to John I, Lord of the Isles; for John II, see John of Islay, Earl of Ross'' John of Islay (or John MacDonald) ( gd, Eòin Mac Dòmhnuill or gd, Iain mac Aonghais Mac Dhòmhnuill) (died 1386) was the Lord of the Isles (1 ...

* Marjorie Stewart, married firstly,

John Dunbar, Earl of Moray John Dunbar, Earl of Moray (died 1390) was a Scottish nobleman. Life John Dunbar was the son of Sir Patrick Dunbar and Lady Isabella Randolph, a daughter of Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, and a younger brother to George I, Earl of March. The ...

, and secondly, Sir Alexander Keith * Johanna (Jean) Stewart, married firstly, Sir John Keith, secondly, Sir John Lyon, and thirdly in 1384, Sir James Sandilands. * Isabella Stewart, married firstly,

James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas Sir James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas and Mar (c. 1358 – 5 or 19 August 1388) was an influential and powerful magnate in the Kingdom of Scotland. Early life He was the eldest son and heir of William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas and Margaret ...

, and secondly,

John Edmonstone of that Ilk John Edmonstone of that Ilk (died c. 1410), was a Scottish nobleman. Life John was the eldest son of John Edmonstone of Boyne. He fought at the Battle of Otterburn in 1388, in which Scottish forces defeated the English forces of Henry Percy and ...

* Katherine Stewart, married Sir Robert Logan of Grugar and Restalrig,

Lord High Admiral of Scotland The Lord High Admiral of Scotland was one of the Great Officers of State of the Kingdom of Scotland before the Union with England in 1707. The office was one of considerable power, also known as ''Royal Scottish Admiralty'', including command ...

* Elizabeth Stewart, married

Sir Thomas Hay Sir Thomas de la Hay, 7th Lord of Erroll (c. 1342 – July 1406) was Lord High Constable of Scotland. He was the third member of the Hay family to hold this post. He was the son of David de la Hay and a daughter of John Keith of Innerpeffer. ...

Lord High Constable of Scotland The Lord High Constable is a hereditary, now ceremonial, office of Scotland. In the order of precedence of Scotland, the office traditionally ranks above all titles except those of the Royal Family.p60-61, Bruce, Alistair, Keepers of the King ...

Notes

References

* Dunbar, Sir Archibald H., Bt., ''Scottish Kings, a Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005 - 1625'', Edinburgh, 1899, p. 160-1. * McAndrew, Bruce A., ''Scotlands Historic Heraldry'', Boydell Press, 2006: {{DEFAULTSORT:Mure, Elizabeth 1355 deaths Mistresses of Scottish royalty 14th-century Scottish women Year of birth unknown 14th-century Scottish people

Life

Issue

See also

Notes

References