William Cunningham, 4th Earl of Glencairn, 5th Lord of Kilmaurs (c. 1480–1548) was a Scottish nobleman, soldier, and "notorious intriguer".

Family

He was the eldest son and heir of Cuthbert Cunningham, 3rd Earl of Glencairn, by his spouse, Lady Marjory, the eldest daughter of

Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus (c. 1449October 1513), was a Scottish nobleman, peer, politician, and magnate. Tradition has accorded him the nickname Archibald 'Bell-the-Cat' due to his association with the 1482 rebellion against Jam ...

.
Genealogy of the Roberdeau Family : Including a Biography of General Daniel Roberdeau, of the Revolution....; page 14; via ancestry.com paid subscription site, accessed September 2018. Cuthbert was the son of Robert Cunyngham / Cunningham, 2nd Earl of Glencairn, 3rd Lord of Kilmaurs by his wife Elizabeth Lindsay, daughter of Lord Lindsay of Byers.

Divided loyalties

While still Lord Kilmaurs, this nobleman was one of the principal adherents of the English Court in Scotland, and accepted a pension from Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII. He was one of the party which joined the force of the Earls of Arran and Lennox on 23 November 1524, when they took possession 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 ...

, and endeavoured to withdraw the young king

James V James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV and Margaret Tudor, and duri ...

from the Queen Mother. He was appointed

Lord High Treasurer of Scotland The Treasurer was a senior post in the pre- Union government of Scotland, the Privy Council of Scotland. Lord Treasurer The full title of the post was ''Lord High Treasurer, Comptroller, Collector-General and Treasurer of the New Augmentation'', ...

on 26 June 1526 but held the office only until 29 October the same year. In 1538 he accompanied

David Bethune David Bethune may refer to: * David Beaton (c. 1494–1546), also Bethune, Scottish cardinal * David Bethune of Balfour (1648–1708), Scottish landowner and politician * David Bethune of Creich (c. 1605–1660), Scottish landowner and politician ...

Bishop of Mirepoix The former Catholic diocese of Mirepoix, in south-west France, was created in 1317 by Pope John XXII from the diocese of Pamiers. It existed until the French Revolution, and was suffragan of the Archbishop of Toulouse. Its see was Mirepoix, Ari ...

, afterwards a celebrated

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

, to France to conclude a treaty for James V's marriage with

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (french: Marie de Guise; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was a French noblewoman of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine and one of the most powerful families in France. She ...

Intrigues

Lord Kilmaurs succeeded as 4th Earl of Glencairn upon the death of his father just before 1542, and he and his eldest son, Alexander, now Lord Kilmaurs, were engaged in all the intrigues of the Anglo-Scottish Party at this period of history, and supported the religious Reformers. In 1542 the earl was taken prisoner by the English at the

Battle of Solway Moss The Battle of Solway Moss took place on Solway Moss near the River Esk on the English side of the Anglo-Scottish border in November 1542 between English and Scottish forces. The Scottish King James V had refused to break from the Catholic Chu ...

and committed to the custody of the

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

, but was released on payment of a ransom of a thousand pounds and subscribing by his own hand to support Henry VIII's project of a marriage between the young Prince Edward and the Scottish Queen. In March 1543 he met with the English ambassador

Ralph Sadler Sir Ralph Sadler or Sadleir Privy Council of England, PC, Knight banneret (1507 – 30 March 1587) was an English statesman, who served Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII as Privy Council of England, Privy Councillor, Secretary of State (England) ...

and the

Earl of Angus The Mormaer or Earl of Angus was the ruler of the medieval Scottish Provinces of Scotland, province of Angus, Scotland, Angus. The title, in the Peerage of Scotland, is held by the Duke of Hamilton, and is used as a courtesy title for the eldes ...

at the Blackfriar's Monastery in Edinburgh. Sadler interrogated the Scottish earls on the progress they had made on Henry VIII's projects. Glencairn said he had little silver, but would willingly fight France with 5000 men for Henry. Later on the same day, Glencairn offered to put his promises in writing, and at night he brought them to Sadler. Glencairn added that if he was appointed a keeper of

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 Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

, Henry would be sure to have her in his hands one way or another. Allied with the

Earl of Lennox The Earl or Mormaer of Lennox was the ruler of the region of the Lennox in western Scotland. It was first created in the 12th century for David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon and later held by the Stewart dynasty. Ancient earls The first earl ...

in 1544 he was, with his 500 vassals as spearmen, attacked on Glasgow Muir by

Regent Arran A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

and defeated "with great slaughter", his second son amongst the slain. Glencairn managed to flee to

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

, almost alone, and in September he and his son Lord Kilmaurs abandoned the cause of Henry. In November Glencairn, now pardoned by the Regent, was with the latter's army that laid siege to

Coldingham Coldingham ( sco, Cowjum) is a village and parish in Scottish Borders, on Scotland's southeast coastline, north of Eyemouth. Parish The parish lies in the east of the Lammermuir district. It is the second-largest civil parish by area in Berwi ...

, then held by the English, but which was dispersed by an English force from Berwick. In March 1544 Glencairn and his son renewed their communications with the English government in support of the English Party in Scotland, and is said to have been party to the

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

of Cardinal Bethune. Glencairn died in March 1548, and was then receiving a French pension for loyalty to the

Auld Alliance The Auld Alliance ( Scots for "Old Alliance"; ; ) is an alliance made in 1295 between the kingdoms of Scotland and France against England. The Scots word ''auld'', meaning ''old'', has become a partly affectionate term for the long-lasting a ...

Marriage

William Cunningham was twice married, firstly to Catherine Borthwick, second daughter of

William Borthwick, 3rd Lord Borthwick Sir William Borthwick, 3rd Lord Borthwick (died 20 May 1503) was a Scottish nobleman, ambassador, and Master of the King's Household in 1485. The son of William Borthwick, 2nd Lord Borthwick (died c. 1483), the 3rd Lord Borthwick was knighted b ...

, and had issue with her: *

Alexander Cunningham, 5th Earl of Glencairn Alexander Cunningham, 5th Earl of Glencairn (Born around 1515 and died 23 November 1574) was a Scottish nobleman and Protestant reformer, prominent in the Scottish Reformation. Biography Alexander Cunningham was the son of William Cunningham, ...

, the zealous Protestant reformer. * Hon. Andrew Cunningham, ancestor of the Cunninghams of Corsehill, later baronets. * Hon. Hugh Cunningham, progenitor of the Cunninghams of Carlung. * Hon. Robert Cunningham, ancestor of the Cunninghams of Montgrenan. * Hon. William Cunningham,

Bishop of Argyll The Bishop of Argyll or Bishop of Lismore was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Argyll, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. It was created in 1200, when the western half of the territory of the Bishopric of Dunkeld was formed into t ...

. * Lady Elizabeth Cunningham, married to

Sir John Cunningham of Caprington ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

. * Lady Janet Cunningham, married to Robert Ferguson. He married secondly to Margaret (or Elizabeth) Campbell, daughter and heiress of

John Campbell of West Loudon 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 ...

References

* Anderson, William, ''The Scottish Nation'', Edinburgh, 1867, vol.v, p. 310-311.

External links

Google Books excerpt

Bernard Burke Sir John Bernard Burke, (5 January 1814 – 12 December 1892) was a British genealogist and Ulster King of Arms, who helped publish ''Burke's Peerage''. Personal life Burke, of Irish descent, was born at London and was educated in London and ...