Alexander Elphinstone, 1st Lord Elphinstone (died 9 September 1513) was a Scottish peer. He was the son of Sir John Elphinstone of that ilk and of Pittendreich.

Courtier and administrator

He was first known as "Alexander Elphinstone of Innernochty". As a courtier, in 1508 Elphinstone was recorded as a "squire of attendance". He was made Baillie or Chamberlain of Stirlingshire in January 1508, in succession to Andrew Aytoun. He also became keeper of

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

, a position held jointly with his wife, Elizabeth Barlay. They supervised some repairs and building work. Elphinstone was made a Lord of Parliament at the baptism of Prince Arthur, a son of

James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...

and

Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and fought to exte ...

in 1509. He was raised to the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland (; ) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union 1707, Treaty of Union, the Kingdom of Scots and the ...

Lord Elphinstone Lord Elphinstone is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created by King James IV in 1510. History The title of Lord Elphinstone was granted by King James IV in 1510 to Sir Alexander Elphinstone of Elphinstone, who was killed at the Battle ...

, of Elphinstone in the County of

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

, in 1510. This was a new creation. On the lands of the new barony of Elphinstone a new tower was erected called the tower of Elphinstone, which became the principal messuage of the new barony. It formed the chief residence of the Lords Elphinstone for eight generations of the family down to, and including Charles the ninth Lord.

Squire of the Black Lady

Alexander Elphinstone played a " Squire of the Black Lady" at the

royal tournament The Royal Tournament was the world's largest military tattoo and pageant, held by the British Armed Forces annually between 1880 and 1999. The venue was originally the Royal Agricultural Hall, before moving to Olympia London and latterly the Ea ...

in Edinburgh in 1507. The role was to escort the "

Black Lady Black lady is an American card game of the hearts group for three to six players and the most popular of the group. It emerged in the early 20th century as an elaboration of hearts and was initially also called discard hearts. It is named afte ...

" in her triumphal chair from

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

to the tournament ground. Elphinstone and his companion William Ogilvy were dressed in outfits of white damask.

Marriage

Elphinstone married

Elizabeth Barlay Elizabeth Barlay or Barlow (died 1518) was an English lady in waiting to Margaret Tudor the wife of James IV of Scotland. Background Details of her English family are obscure. She may have been a daughter of John Barlow and Christian Berlay, or t ...

or Barlow, an English lady of the household of Margaret Tudor. The royal accounts for 1503 and 1506 include her fee of 50 English shillings for six months. She injured her arm in August 1505 and was attended by the royal

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is an Early Modern English, archaic English term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in Brit ...

, John Mossman. As a New Year's Day gift in 1507 she was given rosary beads. Her two maidens, her attendants, were given 5 French gold crowns each in January 1512, and the same gift was given to an African servant of the queen, Ellen More. Elphinstone and Elizabeth Barlay were made keepers of Stirling Castle in January 1508. James IV also made them keepers of

Kildrummy Castle Kildrummy Castle is a ruined castle near Kildrummy, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Though ruined, it is one of the most extensive castles dating from the 13th century to survive in eastern Scotland, and was the seat of the Earls of Mar. It is owne ...

. In 1508 they transferred their rights over lands at the Wester town of

Tillicoultry Tillicoultry ( ; Scottish Gaelic: Tulach Cultraidh, perhaps from older Gaelic ''Tullich-cul-tir'', or "the mount/hill at the back of the country") is a town in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. Tillicoultry is usually referred to as Tilly by the loc ...

known as Colinstoun to James Schaw of

Sauchie Sauchie is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies north of the River Forth and south of the Ochil Hills, within the council area of Clackmannanshire. Sauchie has a population of around 6000 and is located northeast of Alloa and ...

and his wife Alison Home. In 1513 Kildrummy was regranted to him and his wife and united with Innernochty into the Lordship of Elphinstone.

Flodden

In 1512 Elphinstone was able to help Robert Bruce of

Airth Airth () is a Royal Burgh, village, former trading port and civil parish in Falkirk, Scotland. It is north of Falkirk town and sits on the banks of the River Forth. Airth lies on the A905 road between Grangemouth and Stirling and is overlooked ...

to recover his lands at the Pool of Airth, where James IV had built a dockyard. Lord Elphinstone was killed at the

Battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton or Brainston Moor was fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland and resulted in an English victory ...

in September 1513, along with many other Scottish noblemen, and was succeeded in the lordship by his son Alexander. According to

George Buchanan George Buchanan (; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth-century Scotland produced." His ideology of re ...

, Elphinstone was clothed in royal insignia at the battle. Because he was not unlike James IV in stature, there was a rumour that Elphinstone had been mistaken for the king, who had been able to escape the battlefield incognito. Buchanan also reported that there was doubt if the body recovered by the English at Flodden was Elphinstone's or James IV.

Children

The children of Alexander Elphinstone and Elizabeth Barlay included: * Alexander Elphinstone, 2nd Lord Elphinstone * Euphemia Elphinstone, who was a mistress of King

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, 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 a ...

and mother of the royal bastard Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney. She married John Bruce of Cultmalindie and was the mother of Laurence Bruce, builder of Muness Castle. Elizabeth Barlow or Barlay, Lady Elphinstone, later married John Forbes, 6th Lord Forbes.''HMC 9th Report: Lord Elphinstone'' (London, 1884), pp. 190-1 no. 36.

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. *
www.thepeerage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elphinstone, Alexander Elphinstone, 1st Lord 1513 deaths Nobility from Falkirk (council area) Lords of Parliament (pre-1707) Deaths at the Battle of Flodden 16th-century Scottish people Year of birth unknown

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

Peers created by James IV 1 Court of James IV of Scotland People of Stirling Castle