John Fleming, 5th Lord Fleming (1529 – 6 September 1572), was a Scottish nobleman and a supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Life

He was the son of Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming, lord high chamberlain, by his wife Johanna or Jonet Stewart, natural daughter of

James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...

. He succeeded his brother

James Fleming, 4th Lord Fleming James Fleming, 4th Lord Fleming (approx 1534–18 December 1558) was Lord Chamberlain of Scotland. His death in France after making arrangements for the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots was regarded as suspicious by contemporaries. Life He was ...

, who had died in Paris on 15 December 1558 in the twenty-fourth year of his age (therefore b. ca 1534). From this, we can estimate that John Fleming, being a younger brother of James, was probably born ca 1536. He was Governor of

Dumbarton Castle Dumbarton Castle (, ; ) has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Scotland. It sits on a volcanic plug of basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high and overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton. History Dumbarton Rock was forme ...

in 1565, and was made Chamberlain and Master Usher of the Chamber Doors to Mary and Lord Darnley on 28 July 1565. He supported

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, fighting for her at the Battles of

Carberry Hill The Battle of Carberry Hill took place on 15 June 1567, near Musselburgh, East Lothian, a few miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland. A number of Scottish lords objected to the rule of Mary, Queen of Scots, after she had married the James Hepburn, 4 ...

and

Langside Langside is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde, and lies east of Shawlands, south of Queens Park, west of Cathcart and north of Newlands. The district is residential and primarily middle-clas ...

. He accompanied her on her flight to England in 1568. Mary sent Fleming to France to ask for the support of Charles IX and to prevent sales of her jewels there. He returned to Scotland in 1569. During the Marian Civil War he held Dumbarton Castle for the Queen. While John was defending Dumbarton Castle against the supporters of

James VI James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

in 1570 in the cause of Mary, Queen of Scots, his young family was harassed at his houses at Biggar and Cumbernauld Castle by Regent Lennox's men. It was reported:

"they wald noct suffir his wyf within na boundes xpelled from her home thre infantis with hir, the eldest of thame nocht thre yeir auld, schaiking thame furct of ther claythes and bedding most schamefullie ... and ther is twa of thame can noct speik."
"they would not suffer his wife within any bounds, three infants with her, the eldest of them not yet three years old, shaking them out of their clothes and bedding most shamefully ... and two of them cannot speak yet."

As well as the farm livestock, the King's men took his deer and wild white cattle of

Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; ) is a large town in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, most-populous locality in Scotl ...

for Lennox's table in Edinburgh. When Dumbarton fell on 1 April 1571, Lord Fleming escaped to France. Lady Fleming was left behind in Scotland and Regent Lennox allowed her to keep her goods and some of her landed income. In 1572 Fleming again returned to Scotland, landing at

Blackness Castle Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Falkirk, Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by George Crichton, 1st Earl of Caithness ...

with money to pay Marian troops. Shortly after joining William Kirkcaldy of Grange, who still held

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

for Mary, Fleming was wounded in the knee by a musket ball which had ricocheted after being fired by a French soldier. When the wound became infected, he was carried in a litter to Boghall Castle in Biggar, where he died two months later.

Family

Fleming married on 10 May 1562, Elizabeth Ross (died after 14 April 1578), only child of Robert, Master of Ross, son of Ninian, Lord Ross, by his wife Agnes Scott. Elizabeth was a lady in waiting to

and she paid for the wedding banquet and a gown of silk taffeta with gold trimmings for the bride. The celebrations were held in

Holyrood Park Holyrood Park (also called the King's Park or Queen's Park depending on the reigning monarch's gender) is a royal park in central Edinburgh, Scotland about to the east of Edinburgh Castle. It is open to the public. It has an array of hills, lo ...

at the side of the loch and there were "great triumphs", shows and masques involving a staged sea-battle or ''

naumachia A naumachia (in Latin , from the Ancient Greek /, literally "naval combat") was a mock naval battle staged as mass entertainment by the Ancient Romans. The staging would typically occur in a specially-dug basin, also known as a naumachia. Earl ...

'' said by Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie to represent the "figure" of the

siege of Leith The siege of Leith ended a twelve-year encampment of French troops at Leith, the port near Edinburgh, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland. French troops arrived in Scotland by invitation in 1548. In 1560 the French soldiers opposed Scottish supporter ...

. The Earl of

Wismar Wismar (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar () is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city of Mecklenburg after Rostock, Schwerin and ...

ambassador from Sweden attended. They had the following children: * John Fleming, later 6th Lord Fleming later 1st Earl of Wigtown * Margaret Fleming, married after 19 April 1588, Sir James Forrester of Garden * Elizabeth Fleming (died after 24 September 1579) * Jane Fleming (died October 1630), married after 1582/3 William Bruce of

Airth Airth () is a Royal Burgh, village, former trading port and civil parish in Falkirk, Scotland. It is north of Falkirk town and sits on the banks of the River Forth. Airth lies on the A905 road between Grangemouth and Stirling and is overlooked ...

* Mary Fleming, married after 9 December 1581, Sir James Douglas, 8th of Drumlanrig, and had issue. Lord Fleming also had a daughter with an unknown mother, Lucrece Fleming, who married firstly, John Stewart of Rosland, a royal valet, and secondly, at Stirling on 4 August 1593, Robert Graham of the Fauld, an English borderer who died in 1600. An inventory of goods at Boghall Castle was made in October 1578 after the death of Elizabeth Ross, Lady Fleming. It includes her beds, riding clothes, and her wedding dress. Some items of jewellery were in the hands of an Edinburgh goldsmith Michael Gilbert.William Hunter, ''Biggar and the House of Fleming'' (Edinburgh & Biggar, 1863), pp. 331-4.

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, John Fleming, 5th Lord Year of birth unknown 1572 deaths 1529 births

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Lords of Parliament (pre-1707) People of the Scottish Marian Civil War