Lord Methven was a title in 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 ...

. It was created on 17 July 1528 by 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 ...

for his stepfather Henry Stewart. The title became extinct on the death of the grantee's grandson in the 1580s. The title takes its name from Methven in

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 ...

Henry Stewart, 1st Lord Methven

Henry Stewart was born around 1497, a younger son of the Lord Avondale. He became the lover and eventual husband of Queen

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 ...

, widow of King James IV. When the Queen's son, King James V, assumed power he granted his mother and stepfather Methven Castle and raised him to the peerage. After the Queen's death in 1541, Lord Methven married Janet Stewart, widow of the Master of Sutherland (and mother of the 11th

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

) and daughter of

John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Atholl John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Atholl ( – ) was the second Earl of Atholl. He fought in the Battle of Flodden on 9 September 1513. Biography He was born after 1475 to John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl and Eleanor Sinclair. He married Lady Janet Ca ...

. They were the parents of the second Lord Methven and of Dorothea Stewart, who married William Ruthven. Lady Methven later married her son-in-law's father

Patrick Ruthven, 3rd Lord Ruthven Patrick Ruthven, 3rd Lord Ruthven (c. 1520 – 13 June 1566) played an important part in the political intrigues of 16th century Scotland. He succeeded to the lordship in December 1552. The Ruthven lordship encompassed the offices of Provost and ...

Henry Stewart, 2nd Lord Methven

Henry Stewart was born before his parents' marriage but legitimated in 1551. Some time after that date he succeeded as second Lord Methven. He married Jean Ruthven, daughter of his stepfather the third Lord Ruthven and sister of his brother-in-law the fourth Lord; they were the parents of the third Lord Methven. Jean Ruthven wrote to him from Arbroath in March 1571, during the Marian Civil War. She was worried that Adam Gordon of Auchindoun, a supporter of

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 ...

, was coming to Arbroath. At this time she was pregnant.

Annie Cameron Annie Isabella Cameron OBE (10 May 1897 – 23 March 1973), later Annie Dunlop, was a Scottish historian, editor, and university lecturer, but primarily "an independent scholar whose sole inspiration was the love of her subject." Early life an ...

, ''Scottish Correspondence of Mary of Lorraine'' (Edinburgh, 1927), pp. 443-4. Lord Methven was killed on 3 March 1572 by a cannon-shot 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 ...

and was succeeded by his son. His widow later married Andrew Leslie, 5th Earl of Rothes.

Henry Stewart, 3rd Lord Methven

Henry Stewart succeeded his father as third Lord Methven in 1572. He married Catherine, daughter of Henry Stewart and granddaughter of

James Stewart, Earl of Arran Captain James Stewart, Earl of Arran (died 1595) was created Earl of Arran by the young King James VI, who wrested the title from James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran. He rose to become Lord Chancellor of Scotland and was eventually murdered in 1 ...

, but they had no children and on his death the title became extinct. Methven Castle was granted to

Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox and 1st Duke of Richmond (29 September 157416 February 1624) was a Scotland, Scottish nobleman and a second cousin of King James VI and I. He was involved in court theatre and the Plantation of Ulster in ...

on 24 March 1586; the Duke's first wife was Sophia Ruthven, granddaughter of the first, niece of the second and first cousin of the last Lord Methven.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Methven 1528 establishments in Scotland Extinct lordships of Parliament