Andrew Stewart, 1st Lord Avandale
Encyclopedia
Lord Chancellor of Scotland
The Lord Chancellor of Scotland was a Great Officer of State in pre-Union Scotland.Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower status with the title of Keeper of the Great Seal...
from 1460 to 1482 and one of the leading servants of King James III of Scotland
James III of Scotland
James III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.His reputation as the...
.
Early life
Andrew Stewart was born c.1426 in AntrimAntrim, County Antrim
Antrim is a town in County Antrim in the northeast of Northern Ireland, on the banks of the Six Mile Water, half a mile north-east of Lough Neagh. It had a population of 20,001 people in the 2001 Census. The town is the administrative centre of Antrim Borough Council...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and was the youngest illegitimate son of James the Fat
James the Fat
James Mor Stewart, called James the Fat, was the youngest son of Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany and Isabella of Lennox. When his father and brothers were executed by King James I for treason in 1425, James led a rebellion against the king, taking the town of Dumbarton and killing the keeper of...
, who in turn was the sole surviving son of Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany, excecuted for treason in 1425 by King James I of Scotland
James I of Scotland
James I, King of Scots , was the son of Robert III and Annabella Drummond. He was probably born in late July 1394 in Dunfermline as youngest of three sons...
.
When his grandfather the Duke of Albany was executed by the vengeful King James I
James I of Scotland
James I, King of Scots , was the son of Robert III and Annabella Drummond. He was probably born in late July 1394 in Dunfermline as youngest of three sons...
in 1425, his father James Mor Stewart fled Scotland and took refuge in Ireland. Andrew Stewart was the youngest of approximately seven children.
After his father's death in 1429 Andrew Stewart was raised at the court of his paternal grandmother Isabella, Countess of Lennox
Isabella, Countess of Lennox
Isabella of Lennox was the ruler of Lennox, from 1437–1458, and last in the line of Mormaers or Native Scottish rulers. As the wife of Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany , she was also Duchess of Albany , but in 1425 her family would be almost completely destroyed when her husband, father and two...
. It may be that Isabella, having seen her own children and husband executed by James I of Scotland
James I of Scotland
James I, King of Scots , was the son of Robert III and Annabella Drummond. He was probably born in late July 1394 in Dunfermline as youngest of three sons...
, took pity on her dead son's children and brought them to her own court.
Andrew attended a university in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in which country he was knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed before 12 July 1437 with his brother Murdoch. As well as Murdoch and Marion, two other siblings, Arthur and Walter, are known.
Return to Scotland
Returning to ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
by 1440, he attended the Parliament of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
at Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
that year. He probably served as a member of the Royal Household of King James II
James II of Scotland
James II reigned as King of Scots from 1437 to his death.He was the son of James I, King of Scots, and Joan Beaufort...
and was granted lands, including Avandale and Strathavon, which were forfeited by William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas
William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas
William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas, 2nd Earl of Avondale was a Scottish nobleman. He was the eldest son of James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas and Beatrice Sinclair....
. By 11 June 1457 he had been granted the title Lord Avandale. In 1460 he was appointed Chancellor by King James II of Scotland
James II of Scotland
James II reigned as King of Scots from 1437 to his death.He was the son of James I, King of Scots, and Joan Beaufort...
who died later that year.
Lord Chancellor of Scotland
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
, during the minority of King James III of Scotland
James III of Scotland
James III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.His reputation as the...
. He then served as governor of Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...
and as an ambassador and diplomat, taking a leading role in the negotiations which led to the marriage of James and Margaret of Denmark in 1469. In 1471 he was granted the rents of the Earldom of Lennox for life.
Replacement as Lord Chancellor
During the crisis of 1482, when James III declared war on England and his brother Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany who had rebelled and was given sanctuary by the Duke of GloucesterDuke of Gloucester
Duke of Gloucester is a British royal title , often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England, the next in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; this current creation carries with it the...
, who later became King Richard III
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
. When Albany and his english allies invaded Scotland, Lord Avandale was one of the faction who refused to fight and then proceeded to arrest the King. Alexander then proclaimed himself King Alexander IV of Scotland and immediately began to alienate the nobles by his harsh policies, especially the powerful George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly
George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly
George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly was Chancellor of Scotland from 1498–1501.Gordon fought on the King's side against the Douglases during The Douglas Rebellion and helped secure a defeat at the Battle of Brechin. The 2nd Earl completed the building work that his father begun in constructing Huntly...
.
On Alexander's orders, Lord Avandale was then stripped of the Chancellorship because he had captured Albany's castle of Dumbarton
Dumbarton Castle
Dumbarton Castle has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Great Britain. It overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton, and sits on a plug of volcanic basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high.-Iron Age:...
for the King in 1479. He was replaced as Lord Chancellor by John Laing
John Laing (bishop)
John Laing was a 15th century bishop of Glasgow. He was from the family of "Redhouse" in the shire of Edinburgh. Before becoming bishop he was rector of Tannadice in Angus, vicar of Linlithgow, and was rector of Newlands in the diocese of Glasgow when he was provided to the see in 1474. He was...
, the Bishop of Glasgow. Because of Alexander's treatment of the nobles, James III had been able to gain back most of their support and in 1483 with help from the Earl of Huntly, James was able to call a Parliament that condemned Albany as a traitor and forced him into exile for a second and final time. Avandale had been present at the Parliament and the following year he was one of the ambassadors sent to Louis XI of France
Louis XI of France
Louis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....
. After this he appears to have largely withdrawn from public business. He died in 1488
and was succeeded by his brother Walter's son Alexander. Alexander died circa
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1500 and the title Lord Avandale passed to another nephew, Andrew Stewart, 2nd Lord Avandale
Andrew Stuart, 1st Lord Avondale (second creation)
Andrew Stewart, 1st Lord Avondale was a Scottish nobleman.He was the son of Alexander Stewart, from whom he inherited the lands of Avondale...
.