George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus (1380–1403) was a
Scottish nobleman and peer.
Life
He 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,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. He was the
natural-illegitimate son of
William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas
William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas (c. 1323 – 1 May 1384) was a Scottish nobleman, peer, magnate, and head of the Black Douglas family. Under his leadership, the Black Douglases continued their climb to pre-eminence in Scottish politics ...
and
Margaret Stewart, Dowager Countess of Mar & Countess of Angus and
Lady Abernethy in her own right.
His father's wife Margaret had already produced an heir for her Lord in 1358,
James, 2nd Earl of Douglas and Mar, who succeeded his father upon his death in 1384.
In 1389, Margaret of Angus relinquished her title in favour of her son, but George did not assume it until his betrothal in 1397 to Princess Mary Stewart, daughter of King
Robert III of Scotland
Robert III (c. 13374 April 1406), born John Stewart, was King of Scots from 1390 to his death in 1406. He was also High Steward of Scotland from 1371 to 1390 and held the titles of Earl of Atholl (1367–1390) and Earl of Carrick (1368– ...
. The influence of George's mother must have been considerable - in addition to obtaining a royal bride for George, she persuaded King Robert III to confirm him in his style of Earl of Angus, and also to bestow upon him the lordships of
Abernethy
Abernethy may refer to:
Places Scotland
* Abernethy, Perth and Kinross, a village
** Abernethy (NBR) railway station, a former railway station in this village
* Nethy Bridge, Highland, a village formerly known as Abernethy
* Abernethy Forest, ...
, (
Perthshire
Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...
) and
Bonkill
Bonkyll Castle (also variously spelled Bonkyl, Boncle, Buncle, Bunkle or Bonkill) was a medieval fortress situated in the historic Scottish county of Berwickshire, from 1973 the Scottish Borders. It is situated 4 miles north of Duns and 4 mile ...
, (
Berwickshire
Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of t ...
); and "to endow him and his spouse with the justiciary fees of the County of Forfar, to ratify all gifts, entails, and leases made or to be made by his half-sister,
Isabel, Countess of Mar, to the said ''Jorge'' her brothir".
[Maxwell, Sir Herbert.A History of the House of Douglas. Freemantle, London 1902]
James 2nd Earl of Douglas, was killed without issue in 1388, at the
Battle of Otterburn
The Battle of Otterburn took place according to Scottish sources on 5 August 1388, or 19 August according to English sources, as part of the continuing border skirmishes between the Scots and English.
The best remaining record of the bat ...
, and the Earldom of Mar, and all non-entailed Douglas possessions passed to his sister Isabel. The earldom of Douglas passed to a cousin,
Archibald the Grim
Archibald Douglas, Earl of Douglas and Wigtown, Lord of Galloway, Douglas and Bothwell (c. 1330 – c. 24 December 1400), called Archibald the Grim or Black Archibald, was a late medieval Scottish nobleman. Archibald was the bastard son of ...
, a natural (illegitimate) son of the
Good Sir James Douglas.
The descendants of Archibald the Grim formed the famed
Black Douglas line, and those of George formed the longer lived
Red Douglas line.
Angus does not appear to have taken much interest in Public life, although his name appears on various minor charters. However, in 1402, he was dispatched under orders of the
Duke of Albany
Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on the younger sons in the Scottish and later the British royal family, particularly in the Houses of Stuart and Hanover.
History
The Dukedom of Albany was first granted ...
,
Regent of Scotland
A regent is a person selected to act as head of state (ruling or not) because minority reign, the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there is only one ruling Regency (government), Regency in the world, sovereign Liechtens ...
, to accompany
Murdoch, Earl of Fife and the
Earl of Moray to assist
Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas during his invasion of
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
. That incursion ended at the disastrous field of
Homildon Hill, where the Scots were routed and all of the above taken prisoner. Both Moray and Angus died of the
Plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
whilst captive.
Issue
By his wife, Mary Stewart, a daughter of
King Robert III, Angus had two children:
#
William Douglas, 2nd Earl of Angus
William Douglas, 2nd Earl of Angus (24 February 1398 – October 1437) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier. The son of George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus and Princess Mary of Scotland, he was a grandson of King Robert III.
The story of Angus' ...
(1398–1437)
#Lady Elizabeth Douglas, married firstly to Sir Alexander Forbes, later
1st Lord Forbes; married secondly to Sir David Hay of Yester.
Mary was to marry a further four times and bear seven more children by three of these husbands. The issue by her second husband, Sir James Kennedy the Younger of
Dunure
Dunure (Scottish Gaelic: ''Dùn Iùbhair'', meaning Yew Hill) is a small village in the South Ayrshire area of Scotland about from Ayr, Scotland. It is located on the coast of the Firth of Clyde, and is near to Maybole, south of Ayr.
The vill ...
, were the ancestors of the
Marquesses of Ailsa; The product of her fourth marriage to
William, 1st Lord Graham were the ancestors of the
Viscounts of Dundee and the
Dukes of Montrose
Duke of Montrose (named for Montrose, Angus) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. The title was created anew in 1707, for James Graham, 4th Marquess of Montrose, great-grandson of famed James Graham, 1st Marques ...
.
References
Sources
*
Maxwell, Sir Herbert.A History of the House of Douglas. Freemantle, London 1902
*
Godscroft, David Hume of. Ane Historie of the House and Race of Douglas and Angus. Edinburgh 1646
*
Brown, Michael. The Black Douglases. Tuckwell press, East Linton, East Lothian 1998
*From the Bloody Heart, Oliver Thomson. Sutton, Stroud, Gloucs. 2003
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Angus, George Douglas,1st Earl of
Angus, George Douglas, 1st Earl of
Angus, George Douglas, 1st Earl of
Angus, George Douglas, 1st Earl of
Angus, George Douglas, 1st Earl of
Angus
Angus may refer to:
Media
* ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film
* ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record''
Places Australia
* Angus, New South Wales
Canada
* Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario
* East Angus, Quebec
Scotland
* An ...
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
14th-century Scottish earls
15th-century Scottish peers
15th-century Scottish military personnel
Prisoners who died in England and Wales detention