William Dundas of Fingask (died 1599), was a Scottish courtier who wrote newsletters. William Dundas was a son of Archibald Dundas of

Fingask Fingask Castle is a country house in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is perched above Rait, three miles (5 km) north-east of Errol, in the Braes of the Carse, on the fringes of the Sidlaw Hills. Thus it overlooks both the Carse of Gowr ...

and Elizabeth Colville, daughter of Robert Colville of Cleish. His sister Margaret Dundas married George Douglas of

Mordington Mordington is an agricultural parish in the extreme south-east of Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders region. It is five miles from Berwick-upon-Tweed and borders Northumberland to the east, and south (where the boundary is the Whiteadder Wate ...

, a son of

George Douglas of Parkhead George Douglas of Parkhead, (died 1602), was a Scottish landowner, mining entrepreneur, Provost of Edinburgh, and Keeper of Edinburgh Castle. Career George Douglas was a son of George Douglas of Pittendreich, the name of his mother is unknown. H ...

. A niece, Nicholas Dundas, married Alexander Colville (d. 1597), commendator of

Culross Culross (/ˈkurəs/) (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cuileann Ros'', 'holly point or promontory') is a village and former royal burgh, and parish, in Fife, Scotland. According to the 2006 estimate, the village has a population of 395. Originally, Culross ...

. He married Margaret Carnegie, a daughter of

David Carnegie of Colluthie David Carnegie of Colluthie (1559–1598) was a Scottish landowner and administrator. He was an auditor of the Scottish exchequer in 1595 and joined the government finance committee known as the Octavians in 1596. David Carnegie was the younger ...

in 1582. In 1590 William Dundas wrote to Mr Archibald Douglas describing life at the Scottish court since the marriage of

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

and

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

and their return from Denmark on 1 May 1590. Dundas had been travelling in England, sightseeing in Cambridge and York, and wrote from Edinburgh on 11 June 1590. He thought the Scottish court was solitary, depleted by reformers who had reduced the number of paid attendants. Everything was arranged by the

Lord Chancellor of Scotland The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, formally the Lord High Chancellor, was a Great Officer of State in the Kingdom of Scotland. Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower st ...

, John Maitland of Thirlestane. He reported that the queen, Anna of Denmark, had not surrounded herself with ladies in waiting, but "carries a marvellous gravity, which with her partial solitariness, contrary to the humour of our people, has banished all our ladies clean from her." John Maitland urged Anna to receive an honorable company of ladies and gentlemen in her household in July 1590. In May 1594 he went to London to the ambassador

Edward Bruce Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick ( Norman French: ; mga, Edubard a Briuis; Modern Scottish Gaelic: gd, Eideard or ; – 14 October 1318), was a younger brother of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots. He supported his brother in the 1306–1314 st ...

. His kinsman John Colville shadowed the "young baron of Fingask" from Newcastle to Durham and reported his movements to the poet Henry Lok. Colville discovered the contents of letters carried by Dundas and sent his comments to Lok for

Sir Robert Cecil Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612), was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury served as the ...

. He returned on 30 May with Edward Bruce. A letter of 20 July 1594 seems to refer to the

emblems An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and ''symbol'' are often used in ...

painted on Scottish ceilings which carry moral meanings. Dundas wrote to Sir Robert Cecil, mentioning that Henry Lok had told him in London that Cecil wanted "of suche toyis" for his new gallery in his London townhouse as he had seen painted in Edinburgh. Dundas enclosed some of these, presumably drawings of the "toys" or emblems. This letter was signed ""William Dondas". A letter from

James Douglas of Spott James Douglas of Spott (died 1615) was a Scottish landowner and conspirator. Career He was a son of James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, the Regent Morton. He was appointed Prior of Pluscarden in 1577 by his father, and given a lease of lead mines ...

in London to William Dundas of Fingask, from November 1594, praises his skill in the Latin language, and includes news of the injury of the

Earl of Erroll Earl of Erroll () is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay. The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are ''Lord Hay'' (created 1449) and ''Lord Slains'' (1452), both in the Peerage of Scotland. ...

at the

Battle of Glenlivet The Battle of Glenlivet was a Scottish clan battle fought on 3 October 1594 near Glenlivet, Moray, Scotland. It was fought between Protestant forces loyal to King James VI of Scotland who were commanded by Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argy ...

. William Dundas died in September 1599. His brother Archibald Dundas succeeded him as laird of Fingask.Isabella Margaret Dundas, ''Dundas of Fingask; some memorials of the family'' (Edinburgh, 1891), pp. 34-5 (gives his date of death as "1589"
There has been some confusion over the date of the death of William Dundas and the identity of the "baron of Fingask" in the letters of John Colville.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dundas of Fingask, William Court of James VI and I 16th-century Scottish people 1599 deaths