Hugh the Dull, Lord of Douglas
Encyclopedia
Hugh the Dull was Lord of Douglas, a Scottish
nobleman and cleric.
The second son of William the Hardy, Lord of Douglas, William Wallace
's companion in arms, and Eleanor Ferrers. Hugh's elder brother was Sir James Douglas
, a hero of the Wars of Independence
, and his younger was Sir Archibald Douglas
, Guardian of the realm, and Scots commander at the Battle of Halidon Hill
.
in Essex
, one of his father's manors.
Nothing further is heard of him until 1325 when he appeared by proxy as a canon
of Glasgow Cathedral
during a meeting of Chapter
. He appears to have been at this time parish priest of Roxburgh
.
, and brother Sir Archibald at Halidon Hill left the succession of the patrimony of Douglas to Hugh. However, Scotland at this time was going through the paroxysms of the Second War of Independence
, and Edward III and Edward Balliol
controlled much of the south of the country. Balliol, having paid homage for his kingdom to Edward, had also ceded to the Crown of England in perpetuity, the Forests of Selkirk, Ettrick
and Jedburgh
, and the shires of Roxburgh, Peebles
, Dumfries
, Linlithgow
, Edinburgh
and Haddington
- in essence, all the territories in which the Lord of Douglas held property. Edward had re-appointed Douglasdale to Robert de Clifford, 3rd Baron de Clifford, grandson of Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford
, who had been granted it by Edward I of England
following his dissolution of the Kingdom of Scots in 1296. Clifford never got to enjoy his new properties, by way of stout resistance from the men of Douglas led by William Douglas of Lothian
.
Hugh the Dull had probably escaped to France to the court of David II
at Château Gaillard in 1337. Here it was that his young nephews William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas
and Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas had sought refuge. Certainly by that date, Edward III had appointed Andrew de Ormiston as prebend of Hugh's parish of Roxburgh.
, using the same guerrilla tactics employed by Hugh's brother James, had carved out a power base in the Borders and had styled himself Lord of Liddesdale
. It is assumed that the Lord of Douglas, no warrior, had given executive control of the Douglas territories in the south to him. In 1342, Liddesdale, hankering after formal power, coerced the Lord of Douglas into resigning the majority of the rest of the Douglas territories over to him with all administrative powers pertaining. Hugh of Douglas resigned his lordship in favour of his nephew William, still in France, making him Ward of Liddesdale.
, where the Douglas Water meets the Clyde
. Amongst other endowments to this establishment, he granted the priest the right to the best cheese in every house on Douglas Moor. Hugh of Douglas retired to his parish duties at Roxburgh. He died in relative obscurity at some point before 1346; following the Battle of Durham
that year, Edward III controlled southern Scotland once more, and his parish was given to one William de Emeldon.
Hugh, Lord of Douglas was a singular figure in the warlike tribe to which he belonged. His perhaps unfair epithet has probably more to do with his profession, which had him lead a more retiring life than the rest of his family. Certainly there were no clerics amongst the immediate families of the Chief of Douglas until the 1440s.
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
nobleman and cleric.
The second son of William the Hardy, Lord of Douglas, William Wallace
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence....
's companion in arms, and Eleanor Ferrers. Hugh's elder brother was Sir James Douglas
James Douglas, Lord of Douglas
Sir James Douglas , , was a Scottish soldier and knight who fought in the Scottish Wars of Independence.-Early life:...
, a hero of the Wars of Independence
First War of Scottish Independence
The First War of Scottish Independence lasted from the invasion by England in 1296 until the de jure restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton in 1328...
, and his younger was Sir Archibald Douglas
Sir Archibald Douglas
Sir Archibald Douglas was a Scottish noble, Guardian of Scotland and military leader. He is sometimes given the epithet "Tyneman" , but this may be a reference to his great-nephew Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas.-Early life:The younger son of Sir William "le Hardi" Douglas, the Governor of...
, Guardian of the realm, and Scots commander at the Battle of Halidon Hill
Battle of Halidon Hill
The Battle of Halidon Hill was fought during the Second War of Scottish Independence. Scottish forces under Sir Archibald Douglas were heavily defeated on unfavourable terrain while trying to relieve Berwick-upon-Tweed.-The Disinherited:...
.
Early life
Hugh of Douglas is first heard of in 1296. Following the forfeiture of his father's English possessions, the two-year-old Hugh was taken into custody at StebbingStebbing
Stebbing is a small village in the Uttlesford district of northern Essex, England. The village is situated north of the ancient Roman road Stane Street. Its high street contains a pub, and a bowling green. About 1500 people live in the village...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, one of his father's manors.
Nothing further is heard of him until 1325 when he appeared by proxy as a canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
of Glasgow Cathedral
Glasgow Cathedral
The church commonly known as Glasgow Cathedral is the Church of Scotland High Kirk of Glasgow otherwise known as St. Mungo's Cathedral.The other cathedrals in Glasgow are:* The Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew...
during a meeting of Chapter
Chapter (religion)
Chapter designates certain corporate ecclesiastical bodies in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches....
. He appears to have been at this time parish priest of Roxburgh
Roxburgh
Roxburgh , also known as Rosbroch, is a village, civil parish and now-destroyed royal burgh. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland...
.
Titular Lord of Douglas
The death of his nephew William, Lord of DouglasWilliam IV, Lord of Douglas
William, Lord of Douglas was a short-lived Scottish nobleman, the son of Sir James Douglas and an unknown mother. Little is known of Lord Douglas's life, which he spent under the guardianship of Sir Archibald Douglas....
, and brother Sir Archibald at Halidon Hill left the succession of the patrimony of Douglas to Hugh. However, Scotland at this time was going through the paroxysms of the Second War of Independence
Second War of Scottish Independence
The Second War of Scottish Independence was the second cluster of a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries....
, and Edward III and Edward Balliol
Edward Balliol
Edward Balliol was a claimant to the Scottish throne . With English help, he briefly ruled the country from 1332 to 1336.-Life:...
controlled much of the south of the country. Balliol, having paid homage for his kingdom to Edward, had also ceded to the Crown of England in perpetuity, the Forests of Selkirk, Ettrick
Ettrick, Scotland
Ettrick is a small village and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, located around south-west of the town of Selkirk.-Local area:...
and Jedburgh
Jedburgh
Jedburgh is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and historically in Roxburghshire.-Location:Jedburgh lies on the Jed Water, a tributary of the River Teviot, it is only ten miles from the border with England and is dominated by the substantial ruins of Jedburgh Abbey...
, and the shires of Roxburgh, Peebles
Peebles
Peebles is a burgh in the committee area of Tweeddale, in the Scottish Borders, lying on the River Tweed. According to the 2001 Census, the population was 8,159.-History:...
, Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
, Linlithgow
Linlithgow
Linlithgow is a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. An ancient town, it lies south of its two most prominent landmarks: Linlithgow Palace and Linlithgow Loch, and north of the Union Canal....
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and Haddington
Haddington, East Lothian
The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian, which was known officially as Haddingtonshire before 1921. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the 6th...
- in essence, all the territories in which the Lord of Douglas held property. Edward had re-appointed Douglasdale to Robert de Clifford, 3rd Baron de Clifford, grandson of Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford
Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford
Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford, also 1st Lord of Skipton , was an English soldier who became first Lord Warden of the Marches, defending the English border with Scotland. He was born in Clifford Castle, Herefordshire, and was married there in 1295 to Maud de Clare, eldest daughter of...
, who had been granted it by Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
following his dissolution of the Kingdom of Scots in 1296. Clifford never got to enjoy his new properties, by way of stout resistance from the men of Douglas led by William Douglas of Lothian
William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale
Sir William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale was also known as the Knight of Liddesdale and the Flower of Chivalry. He was a Scottish nobleman and soldier active during the Second War of Scottish Independence.-Family:...
.
Hugh the Dull had probably escaped to France to the court of David II
David II of Scotland
David II was King of Scots from 7 June 1329 until his death.-Early life:...
at Château Gaillard in 1337. Here it was that his young nephews William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas
William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas
William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas was a Scottish magnate.-Early Life:William Douglas was the son of Sir Archibald Douglas and Beatrice Lindsay, and nephew of "Sir James the Good", Robert the Bruce's trusted deputy...
and Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas had sought refuge. Certainly by that date, Edward III had appointed Andrew de Ormiston as prebend of Hugh's parish of Roxburgh.
The Knight of Liddesdale
By 1337, William Douglas of LothianWilliam Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale
Sir William Douglas, Lord of Liddesdale was also known as the Knight of Liddesdale and the Flower of Chivalry. He was a Scottish nobleman and soldier active during the Second War of Scottish Independence.-Family:...
, using the same guerrilla tactics employed by Hugh's brother James, had carved out a power base in the Borders and had styled himself Lord of Liddesdale
Liddesdale
Liddesdale, the valley of the Liddel Water, in the County of Roxburgh, southern Scotland, extends in a south-westerly direction from the vicinity of Peel Fell to the River Esk, a distance of...
. It is assumed that the Lord of Douglas, no warrior, had given executive control of the Douglas territories in the south to him. In 1342, Liddesdale, hankering after formal power, coerced the Lord of Douglas into resigning the majority of the rest of the Douglas territories over to him with all administrative powers pertaining. Hugh of Douglas resigned his lordship in favour of his nephew William, still in France, making him Ward of Liddesdale.
Legacy and death
Douglas dedicated a church to St John the Baptist at Crookboat, three miles south of LanarkLanark
Lanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland. Its population of 8,253 makes it the 100th largest settlement in Scotland. The name is believed to come from the Cumbric Lanerc meaning "clear space, glade"....
, where the Douglas Water meets the Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
. Amongst other endowments to this establishment, he granted the priest the right to the best cheese in every house on Douglas Moor. Hugh of Douglas retired to his parish duties at Roxburgh. He died in relative obscurity at some point before 1346; following the Battle of Durham
Battle of Neville's Cross
The Battle of Neville's Cross took place to the west of Durham, England on 17 October 1346.-Background:In 1346, England was embroiled in the Hundred Years' War with France. In order to divert his enemy Philip VI of France appealed to David II of Scotland to attack the English from the north in...
that year, Edward III controlled southern Scotland once more, and his parish was given to one William de Emeldon.
Hugh, Lord of Douglas was a singular figure in the warlike tribe to which he belonged. His perhaps unfair epithet has probably more to do with his profession, which had him lead a more retiring life than the rest of his family. Certainly there were no clerics amongst the immediate families of the Chief of Douglas until the 1440s.
Sources
- Brown, MichaelMichael Brown (historian)Michael Brown MA, PhD , is a Scottish medievalist lecturing at the University of St Andrews. In 1991 he was the recipient of the Royal Historical Society's David Berry Prize. His full volume on the reign of King James I of Scotland led to the award of the Agnes Mure prize for Scottish history...
. The Black Douglases-War and Lordship in Late medieval Scotland. Tuckwell, East Linton 1998. - Fraser, Sir WilliamWilliam Fraser (historian)Sir William Fraser, KCB, was a solicitor and notable expert in ancient Scottish history, palaeography, and genealogy....
. The Douglas Book IV vols. Edinburgh 1885. - Maxwell, Sir Herbert. A History of the House of Douglas II vols. London 1902.