Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie (c. 1290–1342) (sometimes spelt: ''Dalwolsey'') was a Scottish nobleman and knight who fought for David II, King of Scots in the south of

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 ...

in the

Second War of Scottish Independence The Second War of Scottish Independence broke out in 1332 when Edward Balliol led an English-backed invasion of Scotland. Balliol, the son of a former Scottish king, was attempting to make good his claim to the Scottish throne. He was opposed b ...

and is famous for his 1342 capture of

Roxburgh Castle Roxburgh Castle is a ruined royal castle that overlooks the junction of the rivers Tweed and Teviot, in the Borders region of Scotland. The town and castle developed into the royal burgh of Roxburgh, which the Scots destroyed along with th ...

Life

Alexander Ramsay was the eldest of two sons born to Sir William Ramsay of Dalhousie (c. 1235–1320), the other being Sir William Ramsay of Inverleith.

Military career

Sir Alexander fought with Sir Andrew Murray, Guardian of the Realm, at the

Battle of Culblean The Battle of Culblean was fought on 30 November 1335, during the Second War of Scottish Independence. It was a victory for the Scots led by the Guardian, Sir Andrew Murray over an Anglo-Scots force commanded by David III Strathbogie, titu ...

in the Scottish victory over the English force on 30 November 1335 and later at

Boroughmuir Boroughmuir RFC is a rugby union football club in the Scottish Rugby Union. The club's home ground is Meggetland, in southwest Edinburgh and the club plays in the , where they are known as the Boroughmuir Bears. Founded in 1919 and admitted ...

, where Guy de Namur, a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

ally of England, was defeated and taken captive. He was present at the capture of

Leuchars Castle Leuchars Castle, was a castle that was located near Leuchars, Fife, Scotland. A motte and bailey castle was built in the 12th century. The town was created a barony in the time of King William the Lion. The castle was built of stone in the 1 ...

, at St Andrews in 1335. In June 1338 he successfully smuggled supplies to Agnes Randolph, Countess of Dunbar allowing her to successfully defend the castle against the siege by

William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury William Montagu, alias de Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury, 3rd Baron Montagu, King of Man (1301 – 30 January 1344) was an English nobleman and loyal servant of King Edward III. The son of William Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu, he entered the r ...

of England. During a brief truce that same year, he took part in a tournament against English knights at Berwick. Ramsay and his men recaptured

from the English at around dawn on 30 March 1342 by means of a night

escalade {{Unreferenced, date=May 2007 Escalade is the act of scaling defensive walls or ramparts with the aid of ladders. Escalade was a prominent feature of sieges in ancient and medieval warfare, and though it is no longer common in modern warfare ...

. The titular constable of the Castle, Sir William Douglas, had several times tried unsuccessfully to retake it. For his brave and heroic feat, King David II appointed Sir Alexander constable of Roxburgh and Sheriff of

Teviotdale Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and ...

. Sir William Douglas was outraged by the appointments. On 20 June 1342, Ramsay according to the duty of his office as sheriff held court at Hawick. Douglas came with an armed retinue and entered the church where Ramsay was holding court and was courteously welcomed. Douglas and his men attacked Ramsay and dragged him bleeding and in chains to

Hermitage Castle Hermitage Castle is a semi-ruined castle in the border region of Scotland. It is under the care of Historic Scotland. The castle has a reputation, both from its history and its appearance, as one of the most sinister and atmospheric castles in ...

, it is generally assumed for revenge. There Ramsay was imprisoned in a dungeon at

where he died, legend saying that he was starved to death. Legend also has it that he survived for seventeen days by eating small quantities of grain that fell through the cracks in the floor of the castle granary above the dungeon. His brother, Sir William Ramsay of Inverleith succeeded Sir Alexander at Dalhousie in 1342 and was famous for his raid around

Norham Castle Norham Castle (sometimes Nornam) is a castle in Northumberland, England, overlooking the River Tweed, on the border between England and Scotland. It is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The castle saw much action during ...

, and the ensuing Battle of Nisbet Muir in 1355.

References

Notes

Sources

* Maxwell, Sir Herbert. ''A History of the House of Douglas'' (2 vols), Freemantle & Co., London 1902. * Fraser, Sir William, ''The Douglas Book'' IV vols. Edinburgh 1885

* Penman, Michael, ''David II''. Tuckwell Press Ltd., East Linton, Scotland 2004.

External links