Robert Sempill, 3rd Lord Sempill (c. 1505–1576) was a Scottish lord of Parliament. Robert, also ''Semphill'' or ''Semple'', 3rd Lord Sempill (d. circa 1575), commonly called the 'Great Lord Sempill', was the elder son of William Sempill, 2nd Lord Sempill, by his first wife, Lady Margaret Montgomery, eldest daughter of Hugh Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Eglinton. His parents' marriage was commemorated in carved stone heraldry at Castle Semple Collegiate Church. Through her paternal grandmother, Lady Margaret Montgomery was a fifth generation descendant from

Robert II of Scotland Robert II (2 March 1316 – 19 April 1390) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scots from 1371 to his death in 1390. The son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and Marjorie Bruce, Marjorie, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, h ...

. So descendants of Robert, 3rd Lord Sempill, are descended from many Scottish monarchs up to Robert II, and also from Anglo-Saxon kings (through the marriage of

Malcolm III of Scotland Malcolm III (; ; –13 November 1093) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Alba from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" (, , understood as "great chief"). Malcolm's long reign of 35 years preceded the beginning of the Scoto-Norma ...

Saint Margaret of Scotland Saint Margaret of Scotland (; , ), also known as Margaret of Wessex, was Queen of Alba from 1070 to 1093 as the wife of King Malcolm III. Margaret was sometimes called "The Pearl of Scotland". She was a member of the House of Wessex and was b ...

). The Sempill family from the thirteenth century were hereditary bailiffs of the regality of Paisley and sheriffs of Renfrew under the Lord High Steward of Scotland. They frequently distinguished themselves in the English wars, and were employed in important duties of state. Sir Thomas Sempill, father of John Sempill, 1st Lord Sempill, was killed at the

battle of Sauchieburn The Battle of Sauchieburn was fought on 11 June 1488, at the side of Sauchie Burn, a stream about south of Stirling, Scotland. The battle was fought between the followers of King James III of Scotland and a large group of rebellious Scottish ...

on 11 June 1488, fighting in support of James III, and the first Lord Sempill, created by James IV about 1489, fell at Flodden on 9 September 1513.

Early career

Robert, as Master of Sempill, served in household of

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 ...

wearing livery costume, and gave the King presents which were recorded because the King had them embellished by his craftsmen. In 1532 the King's armourer William Smithberde polished and sharpened the blades of eight two-handed swords given by Robert, other gifts were stockings and a tartan coat called a "galcot" in January 1533. On 20 October 1533, he was made Governor and Constable of the king's castle of Douglas. In April 1534, after Robert had reached his majority, James V exacted a financial penalty for his "non-entry" to the Sempill lands, punishing his father for non-payment. Robert Sempill became Master of Household to

Regent Arran 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 throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

. In July 1550, Robert Sempill was summoned for treason. David Stewart became Master of Household to Regent Arran in his place. He succeeded his father as Lord Sempill in 1552.

Murder

Robert, Lord Sempill, was said to have murdered William Crichton, 5th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar, on 11 June 1552. According to the story recorded by John Lesley, Lord Sempill was in the private lodging of

in Edinburgh and was moved by rage to stab Lord Sanquhar with his sword. Sempill was arrested and taken to

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 would have been beheaded, but his influential friends secured his release. It was said by Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie that Sempill's daughter Grizzel, called 'Lady Gilton', who was the widow of James Hamilton of Stenhouse a former

Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of Edi ...

, was particularly helpful in securing help for Sempill. She was the mistress of John Hamilton,

Archbishop of St Andrews The Bishop of St. Andrews (, ) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews (), the Archdiocese of St Andrews. The name St Andrews is not the town ...

, Regent Arran's brother. A record survives of a pardon granted in September 1552 to Lord Sempill's eldest son, Robert Master of Sempill, for his part in the murder. For Lesley, the incident was an example of the troubles in Scotland during a period of factional rivalry between Regent Arran and

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 ...

before she became Regent. Pitscottie tells the story as an example of corruption in Arran's regency.

Religion and the sieges of Castle Semple

Robert, Lord Sempill, resisted the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process whereby Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke away from the Catholic Church, and established the Protestant Church of Scotland. It forms part of the wider European 16th-century Protestant Reformation. Fr ...

in 1560. Being a steadfast supporter of the queen regent against the

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 ...

, he was described by Knox as "a man sold under sin, an enemy to God and to all godliness." The Lords of the West laid siege to Castle Semple in Lochwinnoch in December 1559. Leaving his son at Castle Semple, Lord Semple took refuge in the stronghold 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 ...

, then under the command of a French captain, Corbeyran de Cardaillac Sarlabous. Sarlabous was asked in August 1560 to give him up but declined to do so until he received the command 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 ...

and

Francis II of France Francis II (; 19 January 1544 – 5 December 1560) was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1559 to 1560. He was also List of Scottish consorts, King of Scotland as the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, from 1558 until his death in ...

. Thomas Randolph shortly afterwards reported that Sempill had conveyed himself secretly out of Dunbar, and had retired to his own castle with twenty arquebusiers lent him by Sarlabous, and then that he had gone to France. After the

Scottish Reformation Parliament The Scottish Reformation Parliament was the assembly elected in 1560 that passed legislation leading to the establishment of the Church of Scotland. These included the Confession of Faith Ratification Act 1560; and Papal Jurisdiction Act 1560. The ...

, James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault and his son James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran again besieged Castle Semple. An ally of the Hamiltons, the

Earl of Glencairn Earl of Glencairn was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. King James III of Scotland, James III created the title in 1488 by royal charter for Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn, Alexander Cunningham, 1st Lord Kilmaurs. He held the e ...

gave a description of an assault on the castle on 18 September 1560 that penetrated the yard. The attackers took some sheep to prove their achievement:

"This last Wednesday the few hagbutters here came to Castle Sympill, and they within came forth to the yards in their accustomed manner, and they, more wilful than wise, came plain upon them and drove them out of the yards into the castle, while they (the defenders) shot little pistols at them out of the windows, and dared not come to the wall heads (parapet). And to verify this, they took sheep that they had within the close away with them. And never a man hurt or slain, but one who will heal, and diverse of the enemy evil hurt, as my brother has written to me."

Lord Sempill made his way to

Dumbarton Castle Dumbarton Castle (, ; ) has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Scotland. It sits on a volcanic plug of basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high and overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton. History Dumbarton Rock was forme ...

but was captured on 14 October 1560. When Castle Semple was taken in November 1560, he was at Dunbar. He was 'relaxed from the horn' in March 1561. A royal cannon with the insignia of

, probably used at this siege, was recovered from

Castle Semple Loch Castle Semple Loch is a inland freshwater loch at Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Originally part of an Estate (land), estate of the same name, it is now administered by Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park as a List of water sports, watersport ...

in the 19th century and is now in the collection of Glasgow Museums.

Lord Sempill and Mary Queen of Scots

Sempill was one of the "nobles and barons of the west country" who on 5 Sept 1565 signed a band in support of Mary and Darnley, in opposition to the Earl of Moray and other rebels of the Chaseabout Raid, and in Mary's army held a command in the vanguard of the battle; Robert, 3rd Lord Sempill’s initial loyalty to Mary Queen of Scots was acknowledged:

“
Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV (; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death, in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered itself a b ...
to John, Lord of Hume, William, Lord of Seton, John, Lord of Sempill…: The report which the Queen of Scotland's ambassador... has given of the steadfastness of... some... Scottish nobles in defence of the Catholic religion, as also of their loyalty to their Queen, is very gratifying to the Pope, who felicitates them on the renown they have won among men, and much more upon the reward they may expect from God. He exhorts them still to persevere, more especially as there is now no little hope of better things".Roxine A. Beaumont-Sempill (2015) ''The Semples, Lord Sempills of West Scotland: family and contextual history from the 11th to 19th Centuries'', p. 104. Cites Rigg, J M (1916) ''Calendar of State Papers Relating To English Affairs in the Vatican Archives'', vol. 1, 1558-1571, pp. 136-152, 224-240.

Though a Catholic, he joined the association for the 'defences of the young prince' after the murder of Darnley, in opposition to Bothwell and the queen. At

Carberry Hill The Battle of Carberry Hill took place on 15 June 1567, near Musselburgh, East Lothian, a few miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland. A number of Scottish lords objected to the rule of Mary, Queen of Scots, after she had married the James Hepburn, 4 ...

on 14 June 1567, he commanded in the vanguard of the army that opposed the queen; and he was also one of those who signed the documents authorising William Douglas of Lochleven to take the queen under his charge in Lochleven Castle. In Morton's declaration regarding the discovery and custody of the ' casket letters', he is mentioned as having been present at the opening of the casket.

Marian Civil War

After the queen's escape from Lochleven, Sempill assembled his dependents against her at

Langside Langside is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde, and lies east of Shawlands, south of Queens Park, west of Cathcart and north of Newlands. The district is residential and primarily middle-clas ...

on 13 May 1568. On the 19 May he was, with the Earl of Glencairn, appointed Lieutenant of the Western parts, with special instructions to watch

, and prevent the entrance into it of provisions or reinforcements or fugitives. For his special services he obtained a gift of the abbey of Paisley. While returning one evening in May 1570 from the army that had demolished the castle of the Hamiltons, Sempill visited a house belonging to one of daughters, where he was captured by some of the Hamiltons' dependents, and carried a prisoner to Craignethan Castle, then known as "Draffen".He was afterwards taken to Argyle by Lord Boyd. Calderwood states that he remained in Argyle for twelve months, but he was probably set at liberty in February 1571; for when the house of Paisley surrendered to the regent at that time, the lives of those within it were granted on this condition. Notwithstanding the utmost efforts of Glencairn and Sempill, the castle of Dumbarton continued to hold out, until, on 1 April 1571, its rock was scaled by his cousin Thomas Crawford of Jordanhill.

Family

Robert 3rd Lord Sempill married firstly, Isabel Hamilton, a Sister of William Hamilton of Sanquhar, and secondly Elizabeth Carlyle, a daughter of Lord Torthorwald. His children with his first wife Isabel Hamilton of Sanquhar, included four daughters and two sons: * Robert Master of Sempill, who predeceased him, father of Robert Sempill, 4th Lord Sempill * Andrew Sempill, ancestor of the Sempills of Burchell * James Sempill. In August 1542 Andrew Sempill and his brother James Sempill, sons of Robert, Master of Sempill, were old enough to witness a property transaction made in Paisley. Children with his second wife Elizabeth Carlyle, include * John Sempill of Beltrees, who married Mary Livingston in March 1565. She was one of the Four Marys who were ladies in waiting to

. * Colonel William Sempill of Lochwinnoch, who was involved in the Spanish blanks plot, is thought to have been a son of the 3rd Earl. * Jean Sempill married James Ross, 4th Lord Ross. Lord Sempill was still living on 29 March 1574, when Claud Hamilton brought an action against him, but died before 17 January 1576.

James Balfour Paul Sir James Balfour Paul (16 November 1846 – 15 September 1931) was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926. Life James Balfour Paul was educated at Royal High School, Edinbur ...

, ''Scots peerage'', vol. VIII, p. 542.

Not the poet of that name

Neither the 3rd lord Sempill nor his son Robert, Master of Sempill, nor the 4th Lord Sempill could have been, as Sibbald,

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

, and others maintain, the Robert Sempill who was author of the ''Sempill Ballads'', the 4th Lord was born too late, while in the case of the first two the early date of their death precludes the supposition.

Bibliography

* Sempill, Robert (d.1572) (DNB00) * ''Calendar State Papers, Foreign Elizabeth'' * ''Calendar State Papers Scotland'' * ''Register Privy Council Scotland'', vols. i.–ii * Knox, John, ''History of the Reformation'' * Calderwood, ''History of the Chirch of Scotland'' * Douglas's ''Scottish Peerage'' (Wood), ii. 493–4 * ''Collections for the County of Renfrew'', vol. ii. 1890.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sempill, Robert Sempill, 3rd Lord 1500s births 1576 deaths Nobility from Renfrewshire Scottish Reformation 16th-century Scottish people Members of the Privy Council of Scotland Scottish murderers Lords of Parliament (pre-1707) 3

Robert 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 ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...