William (Thomas) Irvine (c. 1260–1333) (also known as William de Irwin/Irwyn or Alexander I) was a Scots soldier born in

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. His father was William de Irvine of Wodehouse, Laird of Bonshaw Castle.

Armour bearer

William was the armour bearer and aide to

Robert the Bruce 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 eventual ...

. The Irvines had been close allies of the Bruce during his wars with England. During one such time the Bruce made flight with a few aides, riding hard and exhaustingly. At one point they had to rest and the Bruce took sleep under a

holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

tree while William Irvine kept guard. From this story grows the Irvines of Drum Castle's coat of arms with the holly. At the

Battle of Bannockburn The Battle of Bannockburn ( gd, Blàr Allt nam Bànag or ) fought on June 23–24, 1314, was a victory of the army of King of Scots Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II of England in the First War of Scottish Independence. It was ...

(where the Scots won) in June 1314 William fought alongside the Bruce.

Recognition

For his services to the Bruce, William Irvine was granted land north of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in 1323. He was given of John Comyn land, which included the Royal Forest of Oaks and

Drum Castle Drum Castle is a castle near Drumoak in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. For centuries it was the seat of the chief of Clan Irvine. The place-name Drum is derived from Gaelic ''druim'', 'ridge'. The site is located approximately northeast of Banchory a ...

, thus William became the first ''Laird of Drum''. The Irvines would retain the land for over 650 years until it was handed over to the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organ ...

. William was ''Keeper of the Rolls for Scotland'' from 1328 to 1331. He last appears in the record in a charter of King

David II of Scotland David II (5 March 1324 – 22 February 1371) was King of Scots from 1329 until his death in 1371. Upon the death of his father, Robert the Bruce, David succeeded to the throne at the age of five, and was crowned at Scone in November 1331, becom ...

of 1332 granting him the lands of Whiterigg and Redmyres.

Family

William Irvine would marry (before 1317) a granddaughter of the Bruce, Marotte Bernard the daughter of Robert Douglas, Earl of Buchan. Marotte died in 1335. They had at least one child William (Thomas) Irvine, 2nd Laird of Drum. The Christian name of the next 12 earls of Drum was Alexander.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irvine, William Scottish soldiers 1298 births 14th-century deaths Scottish people of the Wars of Scottish Independence