Robert Dalzell, 1st Earl of Carnwath, PC (1611 – 21 June 1654), known as Robert Dalzell, 2nd Lord Dalzell from 1636 to 1639, was a Scottish nobleman and

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gov ...

supporter during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

. He married, firstly, Christian Douglas, daughter of Sir William Douglas and secondly, Katherine Arington, daughter of John Arington. He had succeeded his father as the second Lord Dalzell in 1636, and was made a Privy Counsellor of Scotland in June 1638. He was further elevated within the

Peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

on 21 April 1639 when he was created Earl of Carnwath and Lord Dalzell and Liberton in the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Unio ...

by King Charles I, with a

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to heirs male whatsoever bearing the

Name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A persona ...

and Arms of Dalzell. Lord Carnwath was accused by the

Convention of the Scottish Estate The Convention of Estates of Scotland was a sister institution to the Scottish Parliament which sat from the early sixteenth century. Initially it was only attended by the clergy and nobles, but the burgh commissioners were later added. The Conven ...

of betraying them to the King in 1643. He was fined £10,000 and his titles were forfeited and he was sentenced to death by an Act of the Scottish Parliament on 25 Feb 1645. This Act also provided "that his lawful son Gavin, Lord Dalzell, shall enjoy not only all the estates but the title of Earl as if his father were dead". From this time his son, Gavin Dalzell was known in Scotland as the second Earl of Carnwath, however he was still referred to as the Earl of Carnwath in Royalist circles. His death sentence was not to be carried out. He went on to fight with King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

at the

battle of Naseby The Battle of Naseby took place on 14 June 1645 during the First English Civil War, near the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire. The Parliamentarian New Model Army, commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, destroyed the main ...

on 14 June 1645, where he received some blame for the loss of the battle. King Charles, attempting to rally his men, rode forward but as he did so, Lord Carnwath seized his bridle and pulled him back, fearing for the King's safety. Carnwath's action was misinterpreted by the royalist soldiers as a signal to move back, leading to a collapse of their position. The military balance then tipped decisively in favour of Parliament.; ; . Lord Carnwath was taken prisoner after the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell d ...

1651, and committed to the

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for a time. He later died on 21 June 1654.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalzel, Robert 1

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

Members of the Privy Council of Scotland Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1639–1641