Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Spynie (died March 1646) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier of fortune.

Life

He was the eldest son of

Alexander Lindsay, 1st Lord Spynie Alexander Lindsay, 1st Lord Spynie (died 5 June 1607) was a Scottish nobleman. His death is the subject of the ballad ''Lord Spynie''. Early life Lindsay was the fourth son of David Lindsay, 10th Earl of Crawford, by his wife Margaret Beaton, d ...

from his wife Jean Lyon. He was still a minor at the time of his father's murder in 1607. In year 1609, the trial of his father's murderer was not proceeded with on account of the absence of a prosecutor. A protest was made on his behalf and of the other children, how their ultimate right of prosecution should not be invalidated. However, after Spynie came of age, he agreed to waive his right of prosecution, when Lindsay of Edzell, the murderer, affirmed on oath that the slaughter was accidental. He paid a sum of eight thousand merks and transferred the lands of Garlobank,

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

to him and his sister. On 7 March 1617, Edzell obtained a remission for the slaughter under the

great seal A great seal is a seal used by a head of state, or someone authorised to do so on their behalf, to confirm formal documents, such as laws, treaties, appointments and letters of dispatch. It was and is used as a guarantee of the authenticity of ...

. Spynie was one of the Scottish lords who attended the

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

James VI and I 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 King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

in 1625. On 2 June 1626, he became commander-in-chief in Scotland for life. Having raised a regiment of three thousand foot for King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway, he served with distinction in both Denmark and Germany. Christian made him Governor General of the eastern Danish provinces of Skåne, Halland and Blekinge. In 1628 his regiment fought at the siege of Stralsund alongside the regiment of Donald Mackay, Lord Reay. The Scots and their allies in the garrison were eventually relieved by Sir Alexander Leslie who was made governor of the city.Steve Murdoch and Alexia Grosjean, ''Alexander Leslie and the Scottish Generals of the Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648'' (London, 2014), pp.47-51. Lord Spynie and his regiment were thereafter recalled to Skåne while Mackay's was recalled to Copenhagen leaving Leslie and his troops in command of the city. After his return to Scotland, his appointment as commander-in-chief was confirmed on 28 June 1633. In the dispute with the

Covenanters Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son ...

, Spynie supported the king

Charles I of Great Britain Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after h ...

. He joined Montrose at

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

after the

battle of Tippermuir The Battle of Tippermuir (also known as the Battle of Tibbermuir) (1 September 1644) was the first battle James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose, fought for King Charles I in the Scottish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. During t ...

in September 1644. On 14th, he was with him as he entered

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. However, two days afterwards, Montrose vacated the city for he was taken as a prisoner and sent south to Edinburgh. Spynie died in March 1646.

Family

Spynie was first married to Joanna Douglas, and on the second time to Lady Margaret Hay, only daughter of George Hay, 1st Earl of Kinnoull. On his first wife, Spynie had no issue. On his second, he had two sons, Alexander, master of Kinnoul, and George, who succeeded him as third lord—and two daughters. Margaret, married to William Fullarton of Fullarton, and Anne, who died unmarried.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Spynie, Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Year of birth missing 1646 deaths Nobility from Fife Scottish mercenaries Scottish feudal barons Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1621 Lords of Parliament (pre-1707) Scottish people of the Thirty Years' War