Sir William Keith of Galston (died 1337) was a Scottish Knight who fought in the

Wars of Scottish Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of ...

. He brought the bones and heart of James Douglas, as well as King

Robert I of Scotland Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...

's heart, back to Scotland after Douglas was killed on crusade in Spain.

Life

Keith was the son of Robert de Keith, and grandson of

John de Keith Sir John de Keith, Marischal of Scotland (died c.1270), was a Scottish noble. He was a son of Hervey de Keith (died 1249) and Margaret de Douglas. John inherited the position of Marischal of Scotland in 1249, which was charged with the safety ...

King's Marischal. Keith fought alongside Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, and James Douglas, Lord of Douglas, during the street fighting during the capture of the town of Berwick from the English in 1318, which led to the surrender of Berwick Castle. Upon the death of

in 1329, he accompanied Sir James Douglas with a retinue of Scottish nobles on crusade. The party stopped first at

Sluys Sluis (; zea, label= Zeelandic, Sluus ; french: Écluse) is a town and municipality located in the west of Zeelandic Flanders, in the south-western Dutch province of Zeeland. The current incarnation of the municipality has existed since 1 Janu ...

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

, where confirmation was received that

Alfonso XI of Castile Alfonso XI (13 August 131126 March 1350), called the Avenger (''el Justiciero''), was King of Castile and León. He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes en ...

was preparing a crusading campaign against the

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

of the

kingdom of Granada ) , common_languages = Official language:Classical ArabicOther languages: Andalusi Arabic, Mozarabic, Berber, Ladino , capital = Granada , religion = Majority religion:Sunni IslamMinority religions:Roman ...

. The Scots sailed on to

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...

, Spain to meet Alfonso XI and pledge their support. He was one of the few survivors of Douglas's party of knights and men-at-arms who survived the siege and battle of Teba, not being able to take part in the skirmish, after suffering a broken arm. He was responsible for returning the King's heart and Douglas' bones and heart to Scotland, where the King's heart was buried at

Melrose Abbey St Mary's Abbey, Melrose is a partly ruined monastery of the Cistercian order in Melrose, Roxburghshire, in the Scottish Borders. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks at the request of King David I of Scotland and was the chief house of th ...

, and Douglas's remains solemnly interred in the

kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk' ...

of St Bride in

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

. He was in command at Berwick again in 1333 when the disastrous

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

victory at Halidon Hill took place. In 1334, he captured the English nobleman Richard Talbot, an ally of

Edward Balliol Edward Balliol (; 1283 – January 1364) was a claimant to the Scottish throne during the Second War of Scottish Independence. With English help, he ruled parts of the kingdom from 1332 to 1356. Early life Edward was the eldest son of John B ...

, as he was attempting to pass into England from the north. Dalrymple, David
"Annals of Scotland, Vol. 2"
pg. 174 In 1335 Keith was an ambassador to England, and in 1337 he was fighting at the Siege of Stirling Castle, where he was killed.

Issue

William Keith had a daughter: *Jonetta Keith, married 1st

David Hamilton of Cadzow Sir David Hamilton of Cadzow, 3rd Laird of Cadzow (ca. 1333 – ca. 1392) was a Scottish nobleman. The son of David fitz Walter fitz Gilbert of Cadzow, he was born at Cadzow Castle, South Lanarkshire. David Hamilton was the first of the family ...

; married 2nd Alexander Stewart of Darnley.Burkes, p. 2
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References

Citations

Sources

* Balfour Paul, Sir James, ''Scots Peerage'' IX vols. London 190

*Barrow, G.W.S. ''Robert Bruce and the community of the realm of Scotland'', University of California Press, 1965. * Bernard Burke, Burke, Sir Bernard,
Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire
', 31st ed. London 1869. *MacInnes, Iain A. ''Scotland's Second War of Independence, 1332–1357, Volume 43 of Warfare in history, Boydell & Brewer, 2016. . 1337 deaths Scottish knights Scottish pre-union military personnel killed in action People of the Reconquista Year of birth unknown {{Scotland-noble-stub