James Douglas (1426 – 22 October 1493), the 4th Lord of

Dalkeith Dalkeith ( ; , ) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1541. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-century castle (now Dalkeith Pala ...

, was created the 1st Earl of Morton in 1458.

Life

He was the son of James Douglas, 2nd Lord of Dalkeith and Elizabeth Gifford, daughter of James Gifford of Sheriffhall. His father resigned all his estates to James in 1456 when James became the 4th Lord of Dalkeith.''The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland'', Vol. VI, ed. Sir James Balfour Paul (Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1909), p. 354 James was created Earl of Morton in 1458The name of this earldom derives from a small holding in East Calder. Originally it was named for another family holding, the Parish of Morton in Nithsdale but at the time of his belting as Earl, his step-grandmother, Janet Borthwick, who held Morton in Nithsdale objected to the name of the Earldom but it was at that time determined the name came from Morton in East Calder (Calderclere). See Scots Peerage, Vol. 6, p. 354. upon his marriage to Joan Stewart"According to modern usage this lady would be entitled princess, but the sons and daughters of the Kings of Scotland were seldom given that style of courtesy until after the union of the Crowns." Maxwell, ''History of Douglas'', Vol. 1 (1902), p. 239 n. 2. (1428-1493), the daughter of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

King of Scots The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British cons ...

Herbert Maxwell Sir Herbert Eustace Maxwell, 7th Baronet, (8 January 1845 – 30 October 1937) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, artist, antiquarian, horticulturalist, prominent salmon angler and author of books on angling and Conservative politician who ...

, ''A History of the House of Douglas'', Volume I (London: Freemantle & Co., 1902)
p. 238
/ref> She was a

deaf-mute Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both hearing impairment, deaf and muteness, could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak ...

. The Earl entered into a marriage contract with Patrick Graham, Bishop of St. Andrews between the Bishop's niece and John Douglas, the Earl's eldest son and heir. In turn the Grahams, the Bishop, his brother and nephew, allied themselves to the Earl and pledged to assist him in recovering the diverted lands of

Whittingehame Whittingehame is a parish with a small village in East Lothian, Scotland, about halfway between Haddington and Dunbar, and near East Linton. The area is on the slopes of the Lammermuir Hills. Whittingehame Tower dates from the 15th century a ...

and Morton. It appears, however, that this pledge was intended to draw the Earl of Morton into a conspiracy that included the Bishop, Lord Boyd and his party. Robert Boyd, 1st Lord Boyd who, as one of the Regents during the

minority Minority may refer to: Politics * Minority government, formed when a political party does not have a majority of overall seats in parliament * Minority leader, in American politics, the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative b ...

James III of Scotland James III (10 July 1451/May 1452 – 11 June 1488) was King of Scots from 1460 until his death at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. He inherited the throne as a child following the death of his father, King James II, at the siege of Roxburg ...

, took possession of the young king and married his son to the king's elder sister, for which crimes he was later

attainted In English criminal law, attainder was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary titles, but ...

for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

. The Earl of Morton apparently did not participate since he sat on the jury which convicted the Boyds. Bishop Graham was later

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

and deposed. The lands of Whittinghame and all rights over the

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

y of Morton,

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...

were resigned into the Earl's hands in 1473-4 and in that same year he recovered the lordship of Dalkeith increasing the Earls already vast estates.''

The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland ''The Scots Peerage'' is a nine-volume book series of the Scottish nobility compiled and edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, published in Edinburgh from 1904 to 1914. The full title is ''The Scots Peerage: Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert ...

'', Vol. VI, ed. Sir James Balfour Paul, Volume VI (Edinburgh: David Douglas. 1909). p. 355 He re-endowed the collegiate church at Dalkeith his 3rd great-grandfather founded and he also founded St. Martha's Hospital in

Aberdour Aberdour (; Scots: , ) is a scenic and historic village on the south coast of Fife, Scotland. It is on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, looking south to the island of Inchcolm and its Abbey, and to Leith and Edinburgh beyond. According ...

in 1474. The Earl died on 22 October 1493 when his son John succeeded him as the 2nd Earl of Morton. His wife Joan predeceased him by 4 months dying on 22 June 1493.

The Morton Monument

The Earl and Countess of Morton were buried together in the

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

of the parish church of St. Nicholas Buccleuch, known as the

Dalkeith Collegiate Church Dalkeith ( ; , ) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1541. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-century castle (now Dalkeith Palace) ...

, in

, south 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 east of

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 ...

, in

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

, Scotland. Known as the Morton Monument, their tombs are covered with their stone

effigies An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...

, complete with their

armorial bearings A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achie ...

.Their arms, which identify their tomb, show his as two mullets in chief instead of the three of the Douglas of Douglas arms while hers shows the Douglas of Morton as just described impaled with the royal arms of Scotland. See: Maxwell, ''House of Douglas'', Vol. 1, p. 240. The choir is now in the ruins, leaving the tombs out in the open, where, in a few centuries, the elements have erased their faces. Their hands, pressed together in prayer, were likely to have been destroyed during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. Today, as one of the visitors remarked, " ce crisply carved and detailed with heraldic devices", the tombs have "the look of sand sculptures after the tide has washed in and retreated".Anonymous, "Deaf People in History: Joanna Stewart, Countess of Morton", ''Deaf Life'', Vol. XVIII, No. 2 (February 2013), pp. 12–15 Due to their historical value, in 2005 a team of volunteers and preservationists created a protective canopy over their effigies.Anonoymous
"Restored earl returns to Dalkeith"
''MidlothianAdvertiser.co.uk'', Friday, 8 July 2005

Family

He and his wife Princess Joan were the parents of: * Sir

John Douglas, 2nd Earl of Morton John Douglas, 2nd Earl of Morton died 9 September 1513 at the Battle of Flodden. Life He was the son of James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton and Princess Joan Stewart, Countess of Morton, daughter of James I of Scotland by his wife Lady Joan Beau ...

.''

'', Vol. VI, ed. Sir James Balfour Paul (Edinburgh: David Douglas. 1909). p. 356 * James, appeared in several writs 1466–1480. * Janet, married bef. 1 February 1490–1 to Sir

Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell (died 18 October 1508) was Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He rose to political prominence after supporting James IV against his father, and was proxy at the King's marriage. Career Patrick was the son of Ad ...

. * Elizabeth, she was mentioned in a charter of 1479.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, James Douglas, 1st Earl Of 1426 births 1493 deaths Nobility from Midlothian Earls of Morton

James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton James Douglas (1426 – 22 October 1493), the 4th Lord of Dalkeith, was created the Earl of Morton, 1st Earl of Morton in 1458. Life He was the son of James Douglas, 2nd Lord of Dalkeith and Elizabeth Gifford, daughter of James Gifford of She ...

15th-century Scottish peers Peers created by James II of Scotland