Baltar mac Amlaimh, also called Walter of Faslane, was the ''jure uxoris''
Mormaer of Lennox
The Earl or Mormaer of Lennox was the ruler of the region of the Lennox in western Scotland. It was first created in the 12th century for David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon and later held by the Stewart dynasty.
Ancient earls
The first e ...
through his wife
Margaret
Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...
between 1365 and 1385.
He was the great grandson of Amlaibh, the grandson of
Mormaer
In early medieval Scotland, a mormaer was the Gaelic name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a '' Toísech'' (chieftain). Mormaers were equivalent to English earls or Continenta ...
Ailín II through the male line. He was the chief of a kin-group tracing its origins to the settlement which followed the death of Ailín II, where the ten brothers of Mormaer
Maol Domhnaich were compensated with lands.
Baltar and his kin achieved the Mormaerdom because he was allowed to marry the daughter of Mormaer
Domhnall
Donald is a Scottish masculine given name. It is derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic
Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the hypothetical ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a ...
, Margaret. When Domhnall died in 1365, Margaret succeeded with Baltar as de facto ruler. It had been Domhnall's intention that the marriage would eventually allow the succession of a grandson, but it seems that Baltar was intended to rule in his turn. Indeed, Baltar and Margaret had a son,
Donnchad, who was probably a young man by the time Baltar and Margaret succeeded. We do not know how relations deteriorated, but it seems that Donnchadh got impatient.
In the summer of 1384, King
Robert II issued two charters formally conferring the Mormaerdom on Baltar. However, a year later he and his wife Margaret resigned the Mormaerdom over to their eldest son Donnchadh. Brown (p. 215) attributes this change as a policy change of the monarchy triggered by the increased influence of John of Carrick, the future king
Robert III.
However, in 1388, Baltar and Margaret were handed custody of the Mormaerdom for the remainder of their lives, with Donnchadh retaining the title. Donnchadh was confined to a stronghold in
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond (; ) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault (HBF), often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands.Tom Weir. ''The Scottish Lochs''. pp. 33-43. Published by ...
,
Inchmurrin
Inchmurrin () is an island in Loch Lomond in Scotland. It is the largest lake island, fresh water island in the British Isles.
Geography and geology
Inchmurrin is the largest and most southerly of the islands in Loch Lomond. It reaches a he ...
castle.
See also
*
Faslane Castle, Shandon Castle, and St Michael's Chapel
Faslane Castle and Shandon Castle were two mediaeval Castles in Scotland, Scottish castles which once stood between the village of Garelochhead and the town of Helensburgh, near the shores of the Gareloch, in Argyll and Bute. In the 19th century, ...
, Faslane was once the seat of Walter de Faslane.
Bibliography
* Brown, Michael, "Earldom and Kindred: The Lennox and Its Earls, 1200-1458" in Steve Boardman and Alasdair Ross (eds.) ''The Exercise of Power in Medieval Scotland, c.1200-1500'', (Dublin/Portland, 2003), pp. 201–224
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lennox, Walter of Faslane, Earl of
14th-century deaths
Year of birth unknown
Nobility from West Dunbartonshire
Mormaers of Lennox
14th-century Scottish earls