John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine (7 July 148711 November 1555) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

nobleman. He was the son of Robert Erskine, 4th Lord Erskine (died 1513) and Isabel Campbell, a daughter of George Campbell of Loudon. His family was claimant to the

earldom 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 ...

; this was recognized in 1565 for his son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

. Following a dynastic dispute in the 19th century, John Lord Erskine was acknowledged, retrospectively, as the 17th Earl.

Career

On 3 August 1522, Erskine was appointed keeper of the ten-year-old 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 ...

and

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 ...

. He had strict instructions from

Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and fought to exte ...

to hold the castle keys and set a password every night for the King's guards. The instructions were given again by act of the

Parliament of Scotland In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1523. In 1533 Lord Erskine was paid for work building new park and garden ditches and dykes at Stirling Castle. In 1535 he travelled to England to collect the collar of

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

from

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

on behalf of James V. The ceremony took place at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

and later Erskine met Henry VIII at

Thornbury Castle Thornbury Castle is a Tudor castle in the town of Thornbury, in Gloucestershire, England, erected next to the parish church of St Mary. Construction was begun in 1511 as a further residence for Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (1478–1 ...

. James V had given Lord Erskine a detailed instruction about his precedence in the Garter Chapel;

"Ye shall purchase to have the place was promised to us next to the
King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...
amongst kings, and failing thereof that ye take documents to fulfill for our part and leave it so."

Erskine returned to London where Cromwell's servant John Gostwyk gave him a gift of silver plate, £20 to his companion the

Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grant ...

David Lyndsay Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount (c. 1486 – c. 1555; surname sometimes transcribed as Lindsay) was a Scottish knight, poet, and herald who gained the highest heraldic office of Lyon King of Arms. He remains a well regarded poet whose works ref ...

, and 80 crowns to the

Rothesay Herald Rothesay Herald of Arms in Ordinary is a current Scottish herald of arms in Ordinary of the Court of the Lord Lyon. The office was created after 1398 when the dukedom of Rothesay was conferred on David, eldest son of King Robert III, on 28 Ap ...

. John Erskine was also a commissioner for the marriage negotiations of James V and

Mary of Bourbon Mary of Bourbon or Marie de Bourbon (29 October 1515 – 28 September 1538) was a daughter of Charles, Duke of Vendôme, and Françoise d'Alençon, daughter of René, Duke of Alençon. Mary was the subject of marriage negotiations of James V of ...

. After James married

Madeleine of Valois Madeleine of Valois (10 August 1520 – 7 July 1537) was a French princess who briefly became Queen of Scotland in 1537 as the first wife of King James V. The marriage was arranged in accordance with the Treaty of Rouen, and they were marrie ...

, Mar took receipt of

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 ...

, which was formerly garrisoned by

John Stewart, Duke of Albany John Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany (8 July 1482 – 2 June 1536) was the regent of the Kingdom of Scotland and the count of Auvergne and Lauraguais in France. Early life John was a son of Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany, son of King James I ...

for France.

Marriage and family

John Erskine was the son of Robert Erskine, 4th Lord Erskine and Isabel Campbell. He married Lady Margaret Campbell, daughter of

Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll Gillespie Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll ( – 9 September 1513) was a Scottish nobleman and politician who was killed at the Battle of Flodden. Biography Archibald was the eldest son of Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll and Isabel S ...

and Elizabeth Stewart. Their daughter Margaret Erskine was a mistress of King

and the mother of

Regent 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 Scot ...

, she later married Robert Douglas of Lochleven. Lord Erskine died soon after November 1555. He was succeeded as

Lord Erskine The Lordship of Parliament of Erskine (Lord Erskine) was created around 1426 for Sir Robert Erskine. The sixth lord was created Earl of Mar in 1565, with which title (and the earldom of Kellie) the lordship then merged. Lords Erskine (c. 1426) * ...

by his son

, who was later made Earl of Mar by Queen Mary in 1565. Children of John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine and Lady Margaret Campbell include; * John Erskine, Earl of Mar (d. 1572) *

Robert Erskine, Master of Erskine The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

, father of

David Erskine, Commendator of Dryburgh David Erskine, Commandator of Dryburgh was a Scottish landowner. He was a son of Robert Erskine, Master of Erskine, a brother of John Erskine, Lord Erskine, and Jean Home. In 1556 his uncle, the Earl of Mar, installed him as Commendator of Dry ...

* Thomas Erskine, Master of Erskine, diplomat, and father of Adam Erskine, Commendator of Cambuskenneth * Sir

Alexander Erskine of Gogar Alexander Erskine of Gogar (died 1592) was a Scottish landowner and keeper of James VI of Scotland at Stirling Castle. Career Alexander was a son of John Erskine, 5th Lord Erskine and Lady Margaret Campbell, a daughter of Archibald Campbell, ...

* Catherine Erskine, who married

Alexander Elphinstone, 2nd Lord Elphinstone Alexander Elphinstone, 2nd Lord Elphinstone (1511-1547) was a Scottish landowner. Alexander Elphinstone was the son of Alexander Elphinstone, 1st Lord Elphinstone, and Elizabeth Barlow, an English gentlewoman in the household of Margaret Tudor. ...

* Margaret Erskine * Arthur Erskine of Blackgrange (d. 1571), master stabler to Mary, Queen of Scots, who married

Magdalen Livingstone Magdalen Livingstone (floruit 1560–1613) was a Scottish courtier. She was a favoured lady-in-waiting to Mary, Queen of Scots, and later was a member of the household of Prince Henry. Mary, Queen of Scots She was a daughter of Alexander Living ...

.Gordon Donaldson, ''Scotland's History: Approaches and Reflections'' (Scottish Academic Press, 1995), p. 71.

External links

Erskine family tree
* 11Alison Weir, ''Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy'' (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), page 242. Hereinafter cited as Britain's Royal Family. * 6G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant'', new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910–1959); reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, (2000), volume V, page 105. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage. * 8Charles Mosley, editor, ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage'', 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 1, page 104. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition. * 6Cokayne, and others, ''The Complete Peerage'', volume 8, 418; volume 7, 100. *http://thepeerage.com/p10834.htm#i108333

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, John Erskine, 5th Lord Lords of Parliament (pre-1707) Scottish diplomats Court of James V of Scotland

Earls or mormaers of Mar 16th-century Scottish peers 1487 births 1555 deaths Lords Erskine