Sir Alexander Buchanan (died 1424) was the eldest of the three sons of Sir Walter Buchanan, eleventh Laird of Buchanan. He was noted for killing

Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence (autumn 1387 – 22 March 1421) was a medieval English prince and soldier, the second son of Henry IV of England, brother of Henry V, and heir to the throne in the event of his brother's death. He acted ...

, heir to the English throne, at the

Battle of Baugé The Battle of Baugé, fought between the English and a Franco- Scots army on 22 March 1421 at Baugé, France, east of Angers, was a major defeat for the English in the Hundred Years' War. The English army was led by the king's brother Thomas ...

Military career

Buchanan joined the Scottish army which was sent to France to aid the French against the English invasion of

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

. After the

Treaty of Troyes The Treaty of Troyes was an agreement that King Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the French throne upon the death of King Charles VI of France. It was formally signed in the French city of Troyes on 21 May 1420 in the aftermath of ...

, resistance was led by the Dauphin Charles. When Henry returned to England with his new bride, he left his brother, the Duke of Clarence, in command. Cust, L., "Thomas (1388?-1421)", ''Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900'', Volume 56 At the

on 22 March 1421, the Scottish army encountered the Duke's forces. Clarence rashly charged into the Scottish ranks. He and his knights were soon surrounded. During the battle, Sir John Carmichael of Douglasdale broke his lance, unhorsing the Duke of Clarence. Once on the ground, the Duke was slain by Sir Alexander, apparently with a mace. In other versions of the incident, Sir Alexander kills the Duke by piercing him with a lance. Smibert, Thomas, ''The clans of the Highlands of Scotland: an account of their annals, with delineations of their tartans, and family arms'', 1850, p. 38 Sir Alexander subsequently held the prince's coronet aloft on his lance, bringing such dismay to the English that the battle was lost to them. In recognition of this, the

Clan Buchanan Clan Buchanan ( gd, Na Cananaich ) is a Highlands Scottish Clan whose origins are said to lie in the 1225 grant of lands on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond to clergyman Sir Absalon of Buchanan by the Earl of Lennox."The Scottish Clans and The ...

coat of arms to this day depicts a ducal coronet being held up in triumph. Sir Alexander was killed three years later at the

Battle of Verneuil The Battle of Verneuil was a battle of the Hundred Years' War, fought on 17 August 1424 near Verneuil-sur-Avre in Normandy between an English army and a combined Franco-Scottish force, augmented by Milanese heavy cavalry. The battle was a sig ...

, in which the Scottish army was all but destroyed. The English shouted "A Clarence! A Clarence!" during the attack, invoking the memory of the deceased Duke as a battle cry for revenge.

Issue

Sir Alexander died without issue and his father, Sir Walter Buchanan, eleventh Laird of Buchanan, was succeeded by his second son, Sir Walter Buchanan, twelfth Laird of Buchanan.

References

External links

Clan Buchanan WebsiteClan Buchanan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, Alexander 1424 deaths Scottish soldiers Scottish knights People of the Hundred Years' War Year of birth missing 15th-century Scottish people