Joan Stewart, Countess of Morton,
["According to modern usage this lady would be titled princess, but the sons and daughters of the Kings of Scotland were seldom given that style of courtesy until after the union of the Crowns." Maxwell, ''House of Douglas'', Vol. 1, p. 239, note 2.] also called Joanna (c. 1428 – 22 June 1493), was the daughter of
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
, King of Scotland, and the wife of
James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton
James Douglas (1426 – 22 October 1493), the 4th Lord of Dalkeith, was created the 1st Earl of Morton in 1458.
Life
He was the son of James Douglas, 2nd Lord of Dalkeith and Elizabeth Gifford, daughter of James Gifford of Sheriffhall. His fa ...
. She was known, in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, as the ''muta domina''
ute ladyof Dalkeith.
Life
Born in Scotland ,
[It is not known exactly when and where was Joan born. But Maxwell believed that she “must have been of at least marriageable age at the time of her ]nuptials
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...
, because, 18 years before, she had been betrothed
An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...
to James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Angus . . . ” See: Maxwell, ''House of Douglas'', Vol. 1, p. 238, note 1. In the 1440s, it was common for noble daughters to be married at 13, 14 or 15. (See: Elizabeth Ewen
'The Early Modern Family'
in Tomas Omas may refer to:
* Omaswati, Indonesian comedian
* Places in Peru:
** Omas District
** Omas City
{{dab ...
M rtin Devine and Jenny Wormald, eds., ''The Oxford Handbook of Modern Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), p. 271 ). Marriages could be arranged even when children were still in their cradles. The actual marriage required consent which could be given as early as age 7, but could also be voided until the girl was 12 and the boy 14. See: Eileen Power, Maxine Berg, ''Medieval Women'' (Cambridge University Press, 2012), pp. 31–32 she was the third daughter of
James I of Scotland
James I (late July 139421 February 1437) was King of Scots from 1406 until his assassination in 1437. The youngest of three sons, he was born in Dunfermline Abbey to King Robert III and Annabella Drummond. His older brother David, Duke of Ro ...
and
Joan Beaufort.
['''', Vol. I, ed. ]James Balfour Paul
Sir James Balfour Paul (16 November 1846 – 15 September 1931) was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926.
Life
Paul was born in Edinburgh, the second son of the Rev J ...
(Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1904), p. 18 Joan had two younger brothers, including the future King of Scotland,
James II James II may refer to:
* James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade
* James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier
* James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily
* James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...
, and five sisters.
She had “the misfortune to be deaf and dumb”,
['''', Vol. VI, ed. ]James Balfour Paul
Sir James Balfour Paul (16 November 1846 – 15 September 1931) was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926.
Life
Paul was born in Edinburgh, the second son of the Rev J ...
(Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1909)
p. 356
/ref> and was known as ''muta domina'' or “the mute lady”. Joan was reported to have used sign language to communicate, even in public (although it was considered at that time to be impolite).[Anonymous, “Deaf People in History: Joanna Stewart, Countess of Morton”, ''Deaf Life'', Vol. XVIII, No. 2 (February 2013), pp. 12-15]
Joan was originally contracted to marry The 3rd Earl of Angus on 18 October 1440, but he died (without issue) in 1446 before the marriage could take place. In 1445 she was sent to France and did not return home to Scotland until 1457.[Maxwell dates her return to "the spring of 1458". See: Maxwell, ''House of Douglas'', Vol. 1, p. 238.] She had been promised in marriage to the Dauphin of France
Dauphin of France (, also ; french: Dauphin de France ), originally Dauphin of Viennois (''Dauphin de Viennois''), was the title given to the heir apparent to the throne of France from 1350 to 1791, and from 1824 to 1830. The word ''dauphin'' ...
but the marriage did not take place, probably due to her inability to articulate.[This Dauphin of France was the future King of France, ]Louis XI
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII.
Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...
. At that time, he was the widower of Joan's older sister Margaret
Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian.
Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...
, who died childless on 16 August 1444. See: ''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 Rober ...
'', Vol. I, p. 19. Joan married The 4th Baron Dalkeith before 15 May 1459, who at the time of their marriage was raised to the peerage as the first Earl of Morton
The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir to the Earl of Morton. ...
. They were granted a dispensation on 7 January 1463-4 for being consanguineous
Consanguinity ("blood relation", from Latin '' consanguinitas'') is the characteristic of having a kinship with another person (being descended from a common ancestor).
Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are related by blood fro ...
in the second and third degrees.['''', Vol. VI, ed. ]James Balfour Paul
Sir James Balfour Paul (16 November 1846 – 15 September 1931) was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926.
Life
Paul was born in Edinburgh, the second son of the Rev J ...
(Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1909), p. 356 n. 3 Joan and her husband James were both aware of their close relationships but were persuaded to marry by her brother King 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. ...
and applied for the dispensation to legitimize their marriage.[While the marriage between Joan and James was legitimized by papal dispensation, in 1562 Hugh Montgomerie, 3rd Earl of Eglinton, divorced his countess, Joanna Hamilton, on grounds of consanguinity, Joan Stewart, the ''muta domina'', being their common ancestress. See: ''Notes and Queries'', Tenth Series, Vol. II (July–December 1904), p. 56.] The Countess Joanna died in 1493, predeceasing her husband, James, by four months.
The Morton Monument
The Earl and Countess of Morton were buried together in the choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
of the parish church of St. Nicholas Buccleuch, known as the Dalkeith Collegiate Church
Dalkeith ( ; gd, Dail Cheith, IPA: t̪alˈçe is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-centu ...
, in Dalkeith
Dalkeith ( ; gd, Dail Cheith, IPA: t̪alˈçe is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-cent ...
, south of Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
and east of Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, in Midlothian
Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...
, Scotland. Known as the Morton Monument, their tombs are covered with their stone effigies
An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...
, complete with their armorial bearings
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...
.[Their arms, which identify their tomb, show his as two mullets in chief instead of the three of the Douglas of Douglas arms while hers shows the Douglas of Morton as just described impaled with the royal arms of Scotland. See: Maxwell, ''House of Douglas'', Vol. 1, p. 240.] This is believed to be the world's oldest image of a known deaf person. The choir is now in the ruins, leaving the tombs out in the open, where, in a few centuries, the elements have erased their faces. Their hands, pressed together in prayer, were likely to have been destroyed during the Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
. Today, as one of the visitors remarked, “ ce crisply carved and detailed with heraldic devices”, the tombs have “the look of sand sculptures after the tide has washed in and retreated”. Due to their historical value, in 2005 a team of volunteers and preservationists created a protective canopy over their effigies.
Family
Together Joan and her husband James had four children:
* Sir John Douglas, 2nd Earl of Morton
John Douglas, 2nd Earl of Morton died 9 September 1513 at the Battle of Flodden.
Life
He was the son of James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton and Princess Joan Stewart, Countess of Morton, daughter of James I of Scotland by his wife Lady Joan Be ...
(bef. 1466–1513), 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 ...
[ William Guthrie, ''A General History of Scotland from the Earliest Account to the Present Time'', Vol. 4 (London: A. Hamilton, 1767)]
p. 372
/ref>
* James, (d. aft. 1480) appeared in several writs 1466–1480.
* Janet, married bef. 1 February 1480–81 to Sir Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell
Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell (died 18 October 1508) was Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He rose to political prominence after supporting James IV against his father, and was proxy at the King's marriage.
Career
Patrick was the son of Adam ...
.
* Elizabeth, mentioned in a charter of 1479 after which nothing further is known of her.
Ancestry
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Joan, Countess Of Morton
Deaf royalty and nobility
Scottish princesses
Morton Morton may refer to:
People
* Morton (surname)
* Morton (given name)
Fictional
* Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3''
* A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise
* A character in the 2008 film '' Horton ...
Year of birth uncertain
Deaf people from Scotland
1428 births
1493 deaths
Daughters of kings