Earl of Lennox
Encyclopedia
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The Mormaer of Lennox or Earl of Lennox was the ruler of the long-lasting provincial Mormaerdom
Mormaer
The title of Mormaer designates a regional or provincial ruler in the medieval Kingdom of the Scots. In theory, although not always in practice, a Mormaer was second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a toisech.-Origin:...
/Earldom of Lennox
Lennox (district)
The district of Lennox , often known as "the Lennox", is a region of Scotland centred around the village of Lennoxtown in East Dunbartonshire, eight miles north of the centre of Glasgow. At various times in history, the district has had both a dukedom and earldom associated with it.- External...
in the Medieval
Scotland in the High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages of Scotland encompass Scotland in the era between the death of Domnall II in 900 AD and the death of king Alexander III in 1286...
Kingdom of the Scots. The first Mormaer is usually regarded as Ailin I (also Alpin, Alun or Alwin), but the genealogy of the Mormaers gives earlier names. The last Mormaer of the native line was Isabella, who married Muireadhach Stewart, the Duke of Albany
Duke of Albany
Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on the younger sons in the Scottish, and later the British, royal family, particularly in the Houses of Stuart and Hanover....
, and died in 1458.
The recent work of Cynthia Neville
Cynthia Neville
Cynthia J Neville, FRHistS, FSAScot is a Canadian historian, medievalist and George Munro professor of history at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Neville's primary research interests are the social, political and cultural history of medieval Scotland, 1000-1500, specifically legal...
and Michael Brown has made Lennox
Lennox (district)
The district of Lennox , often known as "the Lennox", is a region of Scotland centred around the village of Lennoxtown in East Dunbartonshire, eight miles north of the centre of Glasgow. At various times in history, the district has had both a dukedom and earldom associated with it.- External...
perhaps the best understood native scottish Mormaerdom.
After the extinction of the Lennox line, the Scottish
Scotland
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...
Peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
title of Earl of Lennox was granted to John Stewart, Lord Darnley
John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox
John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox. was known as Lord Darnley and the Earl of Lennox. Stewart was the son of Catherine Seton and Sir Alan Stuart, a great-great-great-grandson of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland....
. It has been "created" six times, becoming extinct every time. The Earl of Lennox (see Lennox
Lennox (district)
The district of Lennox , often known as "the Lennox", is a region of Scotland centred around the village of Lennoxtown in East Dunbartonshire, eight miles north of the centre of Glasgow. At various times in history, the district has had both a dukedom and earldom associated with it.- External...
) was elevated to Duke of Lennox
Duke of Lennox
The title Duke of Lennox has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland, for Clan Stewart of Darnley. The Dukedom, named for the district of Lennox in Stirling, was first created in 1581, and had formerly been the Earldom of Lennox. The second Duke was made Duke of Richmond; at his...
in 1581.
Mormaers of Lennox/Gaelic Earls of Lennox
- Ailín I, Earl of LennoxAilín I, Earl of LennoxMormaer Ailín I of Lennox , also Alún or Alwin, ruled Lennox sometime before 1178. He is an obscure figure, known only in two sources, and remains characterless. It is not certain that he was ever recognized as a Mormaer of Lennox, although one source does call him that. In the 1170s, Lennox was in...
(c. 1200) - Ailín II, Earl of LennoxAilín II, Earl of LennoxMormaer Ailín II of Lennox, also known as Ailean or Alwyn, was the son of Mormaer Ailín I, and ruled Lennox from somewhere in the beginning of the 13th century until his death in 1217....
(d. 1217) - Maol Domhnaich, Earl of LennoxMaol Domhnaich, Earl of LennoxMormaer Maol Domhnaich was the son of Mormaer Ailín II, and ruled Lennox 1217–1250.Like his predecessor Ailín II, he showed absolutely no interest in extending an inviting hand to oncoming French or English settlers...
(d. 1250) - Maol Choluim I, Earl of LennoxMaol Choluim I, Earl of LennoxMormaer Maol Choluim I of Lennox ruled the Mormaerdom of Lennox, between 1250 and 1303.He was an early supporter of the Bruces, and appeared before Edward I of England in 1292 amongst the supporters of Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale...
(d. 1303) - Maol Choluim II, Earl of LennoxMaol Choluim II, Earl of LennoxMormaer Maol Choluim II of Lennox was mormaer of Lennox from 1303 to his death....
(d. 1333) - Domhnall, Earl of LennoxDomhnall, Earl of LennoxMormaer Domhnall of Lennox ruled Lennox in the years 1333–1365.Domhnall's reign is noted for its tension with the monarchy. King David II irritated Domhnall by residing at Dumbarton on at least twelve occasions between 1341 and 1346...
(d. 1365) - Margaret of Lennox (?) (resigned 1385)
- m. Baltar mac AmlaimhBaltar mac Amlaimh, Earl of LennoxBaltar mac Amlaimh, also called Walter of Faslane, was the de facto Mormaer of Lennox through his wife Margaret between 1365 and 1385.He was the great grandson of Amlaibh, the grandson of Mormaer Ailín II through the male line...
, descendant of the 2nd Earl.
- m. Baltar mac Amlaimh
- Donnchadh, Earl of LennoxDonnchadh, Earl of LennoxDonnchadh of Lennox was the Mormaer of Lennox, 1385-1425. He was a son of Baltar mac Amlaimh and Margaret, daughter of Domhnall, Earl of Lennox....
(d. 1425) - Isabella of Lennox (d. 1458)
- m. Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of AlbanyMurdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of AlbanyMurdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany was a leading Scottish nobleman, the son of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany and the grandson of King Robert II of Scotland, who founded the Stewart dynasty. In 1389 he was Justiciar North of the Forth. In 1402 he was captured at the Battle of Homildon Hill and would...
- m. Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany
- her four sons; all died without legitimate issue (extinct c. 1459)
Earls of Lennox, Second Creation (1488)
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- John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox, Lord DarnleyJohn Stewart, 1st Earl of LennoxJohn Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox. was known as Lord Darnley and the Earl of Lennox. Stewart was the son of Catherine Seton and Sir Alan Stuart, a great-great-great-grandson of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland....
(d. 1495) - Matthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of LennoxMatthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of LennoxMatthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of Lennox was a prominent Scottish nobleman. Stewart was the son of John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox, and Margaret Montgomerie, daughter of Alexander, Master of Montgomerie....
(1488–Battle of Flodden FieldBattle of Flodden FieldThe Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field or occasionally Battle of Branxton was fought in the county of Northumberland in northern England on 9 September 1513, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey...
, 1513) - John Stewart, 3rd Earl of LennoxJohn Stewart, 3rd Earl of LennoxJohn Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox was a prominent Scottish magnate. He was the son of Matthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of Lennox, and Elizabeth Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton and Mary Stewart, Princess of Scotland, daughter of King James II of Scotland.The Earl of Lennox had led...
(d. 1526) - Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of LennoxMatthew Stewart, 4th Earl of LennoxMatthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox was the 4th Earl of Lennox, and leader of the Catholic nobility in Scotland. He was the son of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox. His grandson was James VI of Scotland....
(1516–1571) - merged with the crown in James VI of Scotland, his grandson
Earls of Lennox, Third Creation (c. 1571)
- Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of LennoxCharles Stuart, 1st Earl of LennoxCharles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox was the second son of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox and of Margaret Douglas, daughter of Margaret Tudor....
(1555–1576), second son of the 4th Earl of the second creation - Lady Arbella Stuart, 2nd Countess of LennoxArbella StuartLady Arbella Stuart was an English Renaissance noblewoman who was for some time considered a possible successor to Queen Elizabeth I on the English throne....
(1575–1615) (over-ridden)
Earls of Lennox, Fourth Creation (1578)
- Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox, "exchanged" for Earldom of MarchEarl of MarchThe title The Earl of March has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of England. The title derived from the "marches" or boundaries between England and either Wales or Scotland , and was held by several great feudal families which owned lands in those border...
1580, second son of the 3rd Earl of the second creation
Earls of Lennox, Fifth Creation (1580)
with subsidiary Lord Darnley, Aubigny and Dalkeith (1580)- Esmé Stewart, 1st Earl of LennoxEsmé Stewart, 1st Duke of LennoxEsmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, 1st Earl of Lennox was the son of John Stewart, 5th Lord of Aubigny who was the younger brother of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox...
(1542–1583), grandson of the 3rd Earl of the second creation through his third son John
Dukes of Lennox, First Creation (1581)
- Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, 1st Earl of LennoxEsmé Stewart, 1st Duke of LennoxEsmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, 1st Earl of Lennox was the son of John Stewart, 5th Lord of Aubigny who was the younger brother of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox...
(1542–1583) - Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox, 1st Duke of RichmondLudovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of LennoxLudovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox and 1st Duke of Richmond was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He was the son of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox and his wife Catherine de Balsac. Stewart was involved in the Plantation of Ulster in Ireland and the colonization of Maine in New England...
(1574–1623) - Esmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of LennoxEsmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of LennoxEsmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of Lennox KG was the son of Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox. He was a patron of the playwright Ben Jonson, who lived in his household for five years.He married Katherine Clifton, 2nd Baroness Clifton, in 1609...
(1579–1624) - James Stewart, 4th Duke of Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond (1612–1655)
- Esmé Stewart, 5th Duke of Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond (1649–1660)
- Charles Stewart, 6th Duke of Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond (1639–1672) (extinct)