Sir Alexander Livingston of Callendar (died 1451) was a significant figure in the early part of the reign of King

James II of Scotland James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his father. ...

Life

Alexander Livingston was the son of Sir John Livingston of Callendar and his wife Marjorie, a daughter of Sir John Menteith of Kerse.Balfour Paul, vol v, p 426 He was

Justiciar Justiciar is the English form of the medieval Latin term ''justiciarius'' or ''justitiarius'' ("man of justice", i.e. judge). During the Middle Ages in England, the Chief Justiciar (later known simply as the Justiciar) was roughly equivalent ...

of Scotland, and keeper of

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...

for at least part of the king's minority, during which he had custody of the king. He conspired with William Crichton, the

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

, in the assassination of the 6th Earl of Douglas and his brother, David, at the " Black Dinner" at

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

. Later he allied with the Douglases against Crichton.

Marriage and issue

Livingston married a daughter of James or John Dundas of that ilk, and had issue: *

James Livingston, 1st Lord Livingston James Livingston, 1st Lord Livingston ( – 1467) was a Scottish nobleman. Early life Livingston was born at Callendar House in Scotland around 1410. He was the son and heir of Sir James Livingston of Callendar. His sister, Janet Livingston, w ...

(d.1467) *Alexander Livingston of Phildes (d. 22 January 1450) *Janet Livingston, married

James Hamilton of Cadzow James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

*Elizabeth Livingston

In fiction

His role in the events of the time is dealt with in ''Black Douglas'' by

Nigel Tranter Nigel Tranter OBE (23 November 1909 – 9 January 2000) was a writer of a wide range of books on castles, particularly on themes of architecture and history. He also specialised in deeply researched historical novels that cover centuries of Sco ...

. He also has a role in ''Black Douglas'' by Samuel Rutherford Crockett.

References

Notes

Sources

* Balfour Paul, Sir James, ''Scots Peerage'' IX vols., Edinburgh 1904. *''The Lion in the North'' John Prebble 15th-century Scottish people People from Stirling (council area) 1451 deaths {{Scotland-bio-stub