Archibald Douglas, 8th Earl of Angus and 5th Earl of Morton (15554 August 1588) was a Scottish aristocrat.

Family background

He was the son of David, 7th Earl of Angus. He succeeded to the title and estates in 1558, being brought up by his uncle,

James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton (c. 1516 – 2 June 1581) was a Scottish nobleman. He played a leading role in the murders of Queen Mary's confidant, David Rizzio, and king consort murder of Lord Darnley, Henry Darnley. He was the last of th ...

, a Presbyterian.

Life

Archibald Douglas was educated at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

and was tutored at Regent Morton's court by John Provan. In 1573 he was made a Privy Councillor and Sheriff of

Berwickshire Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the ...

; in 1574 Lieutenant-General in Scotland; in 1577 Warden of the West Marches and Steward of

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

; and in 1578 Lieutenant-General of the realm. As a supporter of Morton and "ultra-Protestant" policy he was twice forced in exile in England. In 1580 Angus gave strong support to Morton during the attack upon the latter, made a vain attempt to rescue him, and was declared guilty of high treason on 2 June 1581. He then entered into correspondence with the

English government There has not been a government of England since 1707 when the Kingdom of England ceased to exist as a sovereign state, as it merged with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Kingdom of Great Britain continued from 17 ...

for an invasion of Scotland to rescue Morton, and on the latter's execution in June, went in exile to London, where he was welcomed by Queen Elizabeth. After the

Raid of Ruthven The Raid of Ruthven, the kidnapping of King James VI of Scotland, was a political conspiracy in Scotland which took place on 23 August 1582."Ruthven, William", by T. F. Henderson, in ''Dictionary of National Biography'', Volume 50 (Smith, Elder, ...

in 1582, Angus returned to Scotland and was reconciled to King

James VI James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

. James was troubled by a rumour in September 1583 that Angus had an armed force and was refortifying

Tantallon Castle Tantallon Castle is a ruined mid-14th-century fortress, located east of North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland. It sits atop a promontory opposite the Bass Rock, looking out onto the Firth of Forth. The last medieval curtain wall castle to b ...

, but it was discovered that he was only having the castle brew house repaired. Soon afterwards the king shook off the control of the Earls of Mar and Gowrie, and Angus was again banished from Court. In 1584 he joined the rebellion of Mar and Glamis. Their supporters held

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 ...

and Mar's Wark in April. The movement failed, and the insurgents fled to

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

. Later they took up residence at

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, which became a centre of Presbyterianism and of projects against the Scottish government, encouraged by Elizabeth, who regarded the banished lords as friends of the English and antagonists of the French interest. In February 1585 they came to London and cleared themselves of the accusation of plotting against James's life. A plan was then prepared for their restoration and for the overthrow of James Stewart, Earl of Arran. In October they invaded Scotland and gained an easy victory over Arran, captured

with the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

in November, and secured from him the restoration of their estates and the control of the government. His

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

residence lay off the Canongate, on its north side, close to where New Street now lies. In January 1586 he was granted the Earldom of Morton with the lands entailed upon him by his uncle; this made him 5th

Earl of Morton The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir to the Earl of Morton. ...

. In November 1586 Angus was appointed Warden of the Marches and Lieutenant-General on the Border, with a force of 100 horsemen and 100 foot soldiers, and their officers, drummers and pipers, and "furriers" or quartermasters. He performed good services in restoring order; but he was unable to overcome the king's hostility to the establishment of Presbyterian government.

Death

In July 1588 it was reported that he had travelled from the west of Scotland "sick of the flux and burning ague." He died on 4 August 1588 at Smeaton, near

Dalkeith Palace Dalkeith Palace is a country house in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland. It was the seat of the Duke of Buccleuch, Dukes of Buccleuch from 1642 until 1914, and is owned by the Buccleuch Living Heritage Trust. The present palace was built 1701–1711 ...

. He was said to have been buried at Aberdour in Fife, but more likely, he was buried at Abernethy. As reported in the ''

Newes from Scotland ''Newes from Scotland - declaring the damnable life and death of Dr. Fian, a notable sorcerer'' is a pamphlet printed in London in 1591, and likely written by James Carmichael, who later advised King James VI on the writing of his book '' Daem ...

'' tract of 1591, his death was said to have been caused by witchcraft. His physician found his illness strange and there was no cure or remedy, causing him to languish until his death. During the

North Berwick witch trials The North Berwick witch trials were the trials in 1590 of a number of people from East Lothian, Scotland, accused of witchcraft in the St Andrew's Auld Kirk in North Berwick on Halloween night. They ran for two years, and implicated over 70 peopl ...

Geillis Duncan Geillis Duncan also spelled Gillis Duncan (b. unknown d. 4 December 1591) was a young maidservant in 16th century Scotland who was accused of being a witch. She was also the first recorded named player of the mouth harp in what is now Great Bri ...

accused

Barbara Napier Barbara Napier or Naper was a Scottish woman involved in the 1591 North Berwick witch trials. Details of charges against her survive, and she was found guilty of consulting with witches, but it is unclear if, like the other accused people, she was ...

of causing his death by witchcraft. Euphame MacCalzean,

Agnes Sampson Agnes Sampson (died 28 January 1591) was a Scottish healer and purported witch. Also known as the "Wise Wife of Keith", Sampson was involved in the North Berwick witch trials in the later part of the sixteenth century. Background Sampson live ...

, and Richard Grierson were also accused. The

Earl of Bothwell Earl of Bothwell was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of Scotland. It was first created for Patrick Hepburn in 1488, and was forfeited in 1567. Subsequently, the earldom was recreated for the 4th Earl's nephew and heir of line, F ...

admitted that he had sent the

cunning man Cunning folk, also known as folk healers or wise folk, were practitioners of folk medicine, White magic, helpful folk magic and divination in Europe from the Middle Ages until the 20th century. Their practices were known as the cunning craft. Th ...

Richie Graham to attend the earl.

Family

The Earl of Angus was married three times: (1) on 13 June 1573 at the

Church of the Holy Rude The Church of the Holy Rude (Scottish Gaelic: ''Eaglais na Crois Naoimh'') is the medieval parish church of Stirling, Scotland. It is named after the Holyrood (cross), Holy Rood, a relic of the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified. The church ...

, Mary Erskine, a daughter of the

Earl of Mar There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. Th ...

and Annabell Murray. Her "tocher" or dowry was 8,000

merks The merk () is a long-obsolete Scotland, Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a Mark (currency), money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 1 ...

; (2) 25 December 1575 at

Cupar Cupar ( ; ) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fife, and the ...

, (divorced 1587) Margaret, a daughter of George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes; (3) 29 July 1587 Jean Lyon, a daughter of

John Lyon, 8th Lord Glamis John Lyon, 8th Lord Glamis (died 1578) was a Scottish nobleman, judge and Lord High Chancellor of Scotland. Life He was the eldest son of John Lyon, 7th Lord Glamis, by his wife, Janet Keith, daughter of Robert Keith, Master of Marischal, and si ...

, with whom he had a daughter Margaret, who died unmarried aged 15. Angus began proceedings to divorce Margaret Leslie in August 1586, which were strongly opposed by the Earl of Rothes who considered he had been Angus's ally during his banishment. A French diplomat in Edinburgh, Camille de Preau, sieur de Courcelles, heard that Angus claimed she had flirted with a stableboy, which was thought unlikely, and the

joked he would divorce his wife

Margaret Douglas Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox (8 October 1515 – 7 March 1578), born Lady Margaret Douglas, was the daughter of the Scottish queen dowager Margaret Tudor and her second husband Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and thus the granddau ...

for the same. She was Angus's sister.''Calendar of State Papers Scotland'', vol. 8 (Edinburgh, 1914), p. 637. He was succeeded in the Earldom of Angus by his cousin

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, a descendant of the 5th earl. A closer line of the Douglas family to the former Earls of Morton inherited the Earldom of Morton. For the Morton title, see

and

William Douglas, 6th Earl of Morton William Douglas, 6th Earl of Morton (c. 1540 – 1606) was the son of Robert Douglas of Lochleven and Margaret Erskine, a former mistress of James V of Scotland. Career Connections William Douglas's half-brother from his mother's liaison with t ...

References

* Balfour Paul, Sir James -''Scots Peerage'' IX vols. Edinburgh 1906

* Burke, John and John Bernard, ''The Royal Families of England, Scotland, and Wales, with their Descendants'', volume 2, London, 1851, pedigree CLXXVII. {{DEFAULTSORT:Angus, Archibald Douglas, 8th Earl Of 1555 births 1588 deaths Nobility from the Scottish Borders

Archibald Douglas, 8th Earl of Angus Archibald Douglas, 8th Earl of Angus and 5th Earl of Morton (15554 August 1588) was a Scottish aristocrat. Family background He was the son of David Douglas, 7th Earl of Angus, David, 7th Earl of Angus. He succeeded to the title and estates i ...

Members of the Privy Council of Scotland Earls of Angus Witchcraft in Scotland Witch trials in Scotland