George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly (151428 October 1562) was a Scottish nobleman.

Life

He was the son of John Gordon, Lord Gordon, and Margaret Stewart, daughter 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 Drummond. George Gordon inherited his earldom and estates in 1524 at age 10. As commander of the King's Army he defeated the English at the Battle of Haddon Rig in 1542, was a member of the

council of Regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the Interregnum, throne is vacant and a new monarch has not y ...

under James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran and Cardinal Beaton and succeeded as

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

on the murder of Beaton in 1546. He was captured at the

Battle of Pinkie Cleugh The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk, Lothian, River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the U ...

in 1547, and held in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

but in autumn 1548 he was released when a ransom was delivered by Robert Carnegie, Lord Kinnaird. In 1550, he accompanied queen

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1538 until 1542, as the second wife of King James V. She was a French people, French noblewoman of the ...

to France. He joined the Protestant

Lords of the Congregation The Lords of the Congregation (), originally styling themselves the Faithful, were a group of Protestant Scottish nobles who in the mid-16th century favoured a reformation of the Catholic church according to Protestant principles and a Scottish ...

in 1560, although he was "a late, reluctant, and unreliable recruit". He was a religious conservative, however, and he worked for "a form of co-existence between Catholic and reformed worship". Huntly was prepared to accept

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, and accompanied her court. He fell from his horse during a visit to

Dunbar Castle Dunbar Castle was one of the strongest fortresses in Scotland, situated in a prominent position overlooking the Dunbar Harbour, harbour of the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian. Several fortifications were built successively on the site, near th ...

in September 1561. Huntly disagreed with Mary when she transferred the Earldom of Moray, which had been given to him in 1549, to her half-brother Lord James Stewart, at which point he withdrew to his estates in the North-East of Scotland.

, toured the north-east in August 1562, and was refused entry to Inverness Castle on Gordon's orders. The Queen's forces captured the Castle before moving to

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 ...

where she issued a summons for Gordon. He refused to answer and was

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...

ed. He marched on Aberdeen but was defeated by

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570) was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. At times a supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scotl ...

at the Battle of Corrichie in October 1562. He died of

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

after his capture, and his son, Sir John was executed in Aberdeen. Huntly was posthumously forfeited by parliament in May 1563. After his death his body and goods seized at Strathbogie Castle were shipped from Aberdeen to

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 ...

. The body stood for the earl at his trial. The goods were taken to

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has s ...

. When Mary was imprisoned at Lochleven, she was given the earl's cloth-of-estate.

Family

On 27 March 1530, he married Elizabeth Keith, daughter of Robert Keith, Master of Marischal, by whom he had nine sons and three daughters, including; *Thomas Gordon * George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly *Lady Margaret Gordon, who married John, Master of Forbes, son of William Forbes, 7th Lord Forbes *Lady Jean Gordon, Countess of Bothwell (154614 May 1629) *Lady Elizabeth Gordon (died 1557) married John Stewart, 4th Earl of Atholl *Alexander Gordon, Lord Gordon (d. 1553), who married Barbara Hamilton *Sir John Gordon of Findlater, executed 1562 after Corrichie. * James Gordon (born 1541) * Adam Gordon of Auchindoun (born 1545) * Patrick Gordon of Auchindoun A letter from Edward Stanhope to the

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

, dated 6 December 1598, describes Richard Rutherford of Hunthill as "cousin german to Earl Huntly".''Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Marquis of Salisbury at Hatfield House'', vol. 8, p. 480 If Stanhope was correct, then it appears George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly, fathered an additional daughter: *(daughter) Gordon married John Rutherford of Hunthill

Ancestry

Notes

References

Sources

* *Bonner, Elizabeth, 'The Earl of Huntly and the King of France, 1548: Man for Rent', ''English Historical Review'', vol. 120, no.485 (Feb 2005), 80–103. *Robertson, Joseph, ''Inventaires de la Royne Descosse, Banntayne Club'', (1863), xxii–xxv, 49–56. {{DEFAULTSORT:Huntly, George Gordon, 4th Earl Of 1514 births 1562 deaths Nobility from Aberdeenshire 4 Scottish generals Scottish politicians Lords of the Congregation 16th-century Scottish peers Court of James V of Scotland Members of the Privy Council of Scotland Lord provosts of Aberdeen Lord chancellors of Scotland Privy Council of Mary, Queen of Scots