James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, 3rd Earl of Avondale
KG (1426–1491) was a
Scottish nobleman, last of the
'Black' earls of Douglas.
Early life
The son of
James the Gross, 7th Earl of Douglas, by his wife Lady Beatrice Sinclair, daughter to
Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney
Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney (c. 1375 – 1420) was the Jarl (Earl) of Orkney, Baron of Roslin and Pantler of Scotland. According to Roland Saint-Clair writing in the late 19th century, Henry Sinclair was also the first of his family t ...
; Douglas was a twin, the older by a few minutes, the younger being
Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray.
He succeeded to the earldom on the murder of his brother
William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas
William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas, 2nd Earl of Avondale (1425 – 22 February 1452) was a late Medieval Scottish nobleman, Lord of Galloway, and Lord of the Regality of Lauderdale, and the most powerful magnate in Southern Scotland. He was ki ...
by King
James II and his entourage. He denounced his brother's murderers and took up arms against the king, and he and his brothers attacked
Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
, driving a horse through the town with the safe conduct given to William attached to its tail. He was forced to back down when some allies deserted him.
He obtained 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 ...
to marry his brother's widow,
Margaret Douglas, Fair Maid of Galloway
Margaret Douglas, Countess of Douglas (died c. 1474), known as the Fair Maid of Galloway, was a Scottish noblewoman, and a member of the Black Douglas family towards the end of the family's position as a major power in Scotland.
She was the daught ...
, in order to keep the family estates together. It is not entirely clear that this marriage ever took place, but it was certainly planned. He was involved in intrigues with the English court, and in 1455 rebelled against James II once more.
Rebellion and exile in England
Meanwhile, another branch of the Douglas family, known as the
Red Douglases, had risen into importance, and
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 ...
, great-grandson of the
first earl of Douglas, took sides with the king against the Earl of Douglas. Douglas, again deserted by his chief allies, fled to England, and his three younger brothers,
Hugh Douglas, Earl of Ormonde,
Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray, and
John Douglas, Lord of Balvenie
John Douglas, Lord of Balvenie (or Balveny, Balvany) (c. 1433–1463) was the youngest of the five Black Douglas brothers, who rebelled against King James II of Scotland.
Biography
Early life
Balvenie was the son of James Douglas, 7th E ...
, were defeated at the
Battle of Arkinholm
The Battle of Arkinholm was fought on 1 May 1455, at Arkinholm near Langholm in Scotland, during the reign of King James II of Scotland. Although a small action, involving only a few hundred troops, it was the decisive battle in a civil war be ...
, near
Langholm
Langholm , also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is a burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, southern Scotland. Langholm lies between four hills in the valley of the River Esk in the Southern Uplands.
Location and geography
Langholm sits nort ...
on the
Esk, possibly by Angus. Moray was killed, Ormonde taken prisoner and executed, and Balvenie escaped to England. Their last stronghold,
Threave Castle
Threave Castle is situated on an island in the River Dee, west of Castle Douglas in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in the Dumfries and Galloway region of Scotland.
Built in the 1370s by Archibald the Grim, it was a stronghold of ...
in
Galloway
Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway.
A native or ...
, fell. James Douglas was
attainted in 1455, and his lands and estates were forfeit to the crown. The lands of the Douglases were divided among their rivals, the lordship of Douglas falling to the Red Douglas 4th earl of Angus.
From England, the Earl of Douglas continued to intrigue 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 ...
; he was employed by
Edward IV in 1461 to negotiate a
league at Ardtornish with the western highlanders to take the nine-year old's kingdom for England. At some point he was made a
Knight of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...
. Following his attainder his first wife divorced him (if they ever married) so he married again to Anne Holland, daughter of
John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter
John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon, (29 March 1395 – 5 August 1447) was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War. His father, the 1st Duke of Exeter, was a maternal half-brother to Ri ...
.
Capture and death
In 1484 he was taken prisoner at the
battle of Lochmaben Fair
The Battle of Lochmaben Fair was an engagement in Lochmaben, Scotland, on 22 July 1484 between Scottish loyalists to James III of Scotland and the rebels Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany and James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, leading cavalry ...
, and was relegated to
Lindores Abbey, where he died in or after 1491.
References
Sources
peerage website*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, James, 9th Earl of
1426 births
1491 deaths
Earls of Douglas
James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas
James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, 3rd Earl of Avondale KG (1426–1491) was a Scottish nobleman, last of the 'Black' earls of Douglas.
Early life
The son of James the Gross, 7th Earl of Douglas, by his wife Lady Beatrice Sinclair, daug ...
Knights of the Garter
Scottish twins