John Maitland, 1st Earl of Lauderdale, Viscount of Lauderdale, Viscount Maitland, and Lord Thirlestane and Boltoun, (died January 1645) was President 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 ...

as well as the Privy Council, a lawyer and a judge, who sided with the Parliamentarian cause during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Early life

He was the son of Sir John Maitland, 1st Lord Thirlestane and Jean Fleming, only daughter and heiress of the Fourth

Lord Fleming Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are e ...

. He was admitted a member of the

Privy Council of Scotland The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. During its existence, the Privy Council of Scotland was essentially considered as the government of the Kingdom of Scotland, and was seen as the most ...

on 20 July 1615.

Own Peerage

On 2 April 1616 he was created Viscount of Lauderdale, by

Letters Patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

, to him and his heirs male and successors in the lordship of Thirlestane. He was subsequently made President of the Privy Council, and was appointed an Ordinary Lord of Session on 5 June 1618. He was at that time one of the Commissioners for the Plantation of Kirks. On 14 March 1624, at

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

, London, he was created, by patent, Earl of Lauderdale, Viscount Maitland, and Lord Thirlestane and Boltoun.

Later life

Lord Lauderdale was removed from his place on the bench, on 14 February 1626, in consequence of a resolution by King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

that no nobleman should hold the seat of an ordinary Lord, and instead was on 1 June following appointed one of the Extraordinary Lords of Session, usually reserved by the Crown for either noblemen or dignitaries of The Church. He remained an Extraordinary Lord until 8 November 1628, and in the following year was appointed one of the Lords of the Articles. In 1639 he built Brunstane House (sometimes called Gilbertoun) 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 ...

as a new mansion house replacing the former mansion which had belonged to the Cricton family.Cassel's Old and New Edinburgh vol.5 chapter 15 p. 150 Regardless of the honours generously bestowed upon him by his monarch, upon the breaking out of the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, he joined the side of the parliament and was employed in a great variety of commissions of importance. On 4 June 1644 he was elected President of the parliament, and reappointed on 7 January following. He died before the 20th of the same month, and was interred in the Maitland family burial vault within St. Mary's Collegiate Church, Haddington. A poetical

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

on him by Drummond of Hawthornden, as also the one by King James VI on his father, the Chancellor, can be found in

George Crawfurd George Crawford (also Crawfurd) (1681-1748) was a Scottish genealogist and historian. Life He was the third son of Thomas Crawfurd of Cartsburn. When Simon Fraser laid claim to the barony of Lovat, he employed Crawfurd to investigate the case ...

's ''Peerage''.

Marriage and issue

He married Lady Isabel Seton (d. November 1638), daughter of

Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline (1555 – 16 June 1622) was a Scottish lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord President of the Court of Session from 1598 to 1604, Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1604 to 1622 and as a Lord High ...

, celebrated by Arthur Johnston in his poems. They had a large family of whom only three sons and one daughter survived their parents.

Offices and Titles

References

* Anderson, William, ''The Scottish Nation'', Edinburgh, 1867, vol.vi, pp. 633–634. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lauderdale, John Maitland, 1st Earl of 1645 deaths Nobility from the Scottish Borders

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 ...

Earls of Lauderdale Extraordinary Lords of Session Members of the Privy Council of Scotland Year of birth unknown 16th-century Scottish peers 17th-century Scottish peers Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1612 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1617 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1617 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1621 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1630 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1643–44 Senators of the College of Justice