William Douglas, 2nd Earl of Angus
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William Douglas, 2nd Earl of Angus (c. 1398–1437) was a Scottish
nobleman and soldier. The son of George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus
and Princess Mary of Scotland, he was a grandson of King Robert III
.
The story of Angus' life is interwoven with that of his uncle and King, James I of Scotland
.
Angus was born about 1398 at Tantallon Castle
in East Lothian
. He inherited the Earldom of Angus
in 1402, following his father's death of the plague
whilst in English
captivity, following the Battle of Homildon Hill.
. James had been captured by the English in 1406, and was held by first Henry IV of England
, and latterly by his son Henry V of England
. During the king's captivity, Scotland was ruled by his uncle Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, who had been in no hurry to pay his nephew's ransom. Following the death of Albany,in 1420 the Scots finally paid the ransom monies owed. Whatever the machinations that followed, Angus was not included on the final list of hostages, but was one of the party of Scots nobles who met their King at Durham
, in 1424. The King was escorted triumphally back to Scotland, and Angus received a Knighthood from the King at his coronation at Scone Abbey
on the 2 June of that year.
, included Angus amongst a large faction of Douglas nobles within the jury. Facing execution were, Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany
,
his two sons Alaisdair and Walter, and the Earl of Lennox
. The widowed Duchess of Albany
, was held a close prisoner at Tantallon under the supervision of Angus for eight years.
In 1429, King James went north to deal with the ever troublesome Lord of the Isles
. Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross
. This in response to Alexander and his islemen's burning of Inverness
. Angus was a captain in the Royal army and when Islay finally submitted to the King at Holyrood he was entrusted to the keeping of Angus at Tantallon for two years.
which was prolonged for five years. Later in that year was constituted as the Warden of the Middle March
. In 1435 Angus led a troop of men to invest Dunbar Castle
. The castellan, George II, Earl of March
, had previously been made a ward of the King, and the garrison surrendered the castle bloodlessly.
Dunbar castle was then held of the King by Angus and Sir Adam Hepburn of Hailes
.
Dunbar fled to England calling for help in regaining Dunbar castle by force of arms. This help materialised in the spring of 1435 when Sir Robert Ogle, the Governor of Berwick upon Tweed, with Henry Percy
and 4000 men marched north to retake the Castle. Angus , with Hepburn and Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie
, decided not to undergo a siege and engaged with the English forces at the Battle of Piperdean
, near to Coldstream
. This encounter resulted in defeat for the English but with little loss of life. Fifteen hundred prisoners were taken and ransomed.
for a time.
Following the assassination of his uncle, King James in February 1437, Angus was instrumental in the pursuit and capture of the conspirators. These included, Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, a great uncle of Angus himself. Angus died in the October of the same year, aged thirty-nine.
, to Margaret Hay, daughter of Sir William Hay of Yester
. They married in 1425 and they had five children:
Latterly, Angus' sister, Lady Elizabeth Douglas, would marry his brother in law, Sir David Hay of Yester. Through their son John Hay, 1st Lord Hay of Yester
they are the ancestors of the Marquesses of Tweeddale
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 soldier. The son of George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus
George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus
George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus was born at Tantallon Castle, East Lothian, Scotland. The bastard son of William, 1st Earl of Douglas and Margaret Stewart, Dowager Countess of Mar & Countess of Angus and Lady Abernethy in her own right....
and Princess Mary of Scotland, he was a grandson of King Robert III
Robert III of Scotland
Robert III was King of Scots from 1390 to his death. His given name was John Stewart, and he was known primarily as the Earl of Carrick before ascending the throne at age 53...
.
The story of Angus' life is interwoven with that of his uncle and 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...
.
Angus was born about 1398 at Tantallon Castle
Tantallon Castle
Tantallon Castle is a mid-14th-century fortress, located east of North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland. It sits atop a promontory opposite the Bass Rock, looking out onto the Firth of Forth...
in East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
. He inherited the Earldom of Angus
Earl of Angus
The Mormaer or Earl of Angus was the ruler of the medieval Scottish province of Angus. The title, in the Peerage of Scotland, is currently held by the Duke of Hamilton.-Mormaers:...
in 1402, following his father's death of the plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
whilst in English
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...
captivity, following the Battle of Homildon Hill.
Return of King James
In 1420, Angus was nominated as one of twenty-one noblemen to be delivered as hostages to the English court as security for the ransom of King James IJames 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...
. James had been captured by the English in 1406, and was held by first Henry IV of England
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
, and latterly by his son Henry V of England
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
. During the king's captivity, Scotland was ruled by his uncle Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, who had been in no hurry to pay his nephew's ransom. Following the death of Albany,in 1420 the Scots finally paid the ransom monies owed. Whatever the machinations that followed, Angus was not included on the final list of hostages, but was one of the party of Scots nobles who met their King at Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
, in 1424. The King was escorted triumphally back to Scotland, and Angus received a Knighthood from the King at his coronation at Scone Abbey
Scone Abbey
Scone Abbey was a house of Augustinian canons based at Scone, Perthshire , Scotland. Varying dates for the foundation have been given, but it was certainly founded between 1114 and 1122....
on the 2 June of that year.
Royal Gaoler
In 1425, a purge took place of the Albany Stewarts and their adherents. The trial which followed at Stirling CastleStirling 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...
, included Angus amongst a large faction of Douglas nobles within the jury. Facing execution were, Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany
Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany
Murdoch 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...
,
his two sons Alaisdair and Walter, and the Earl of Lennox
Donnchadh, Earl of Lennox
Donnchadh 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....
. The widowed Duchess of Albany
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...
, was held a close prisoner at Tantallon under the supervision of Angus for eight years.
In 1429, King James went north to deal with the ever troublesome Lord of the Isles
Lord of the Isles
The designation Lord of the Isles is today a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It emerged from a series of hybrid Viking/Gaelic rulers of the west coast and islands of Scotland in the Middle Ages, who wielded sea-power with fleets of...
. Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross
Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross
Alexander of Islay or Alexander MacDonald was a medieval Scottish nobleman, who succeeded his father Domhnall of Islay as Lord of the Isles and rose to the rank of Earl of Ross...
. This in response to Alexander and his islemen's burning of Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
. Angus was a captain in the Royal army and when Islay finally submitted to the King at Holyrood he was entrusted to the keeping of Angus at Tantallon for two years.
Warden of the Marches
In 1430 Angus was sent on embassy to England as one of the commissioners to negotiate an extension of the truce with the newly crowned Henry VI of EnglandHenry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
which was prolonged for five years. Later in that year was constituted as the Warden of the Middle March
Scottish Marches
Scottish Marches was the term used for the Anglo-Scottish border during the late medieval and early modern eras—from the late 13th century, with the creation by Edward I of England of the first Lord Warden of the Marches to the early 17th century and the creation of the Middle Shires, promulgated...
. In 1435 Angus led a troop of men to invest Dunbar Castle
Dunbar Castle
Dunbar Castle is the remnants of one of the most mighty fortresses in Scotland, situated over the harbour of the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian.-Early history:...
. The castellan, George II, Earl of March
George II, Earl of March
George de Dunbar, 11th Earl of Dunbar & March Lord of Annandale and the Isle of Man, was the last of his family to hold these titles.-Early life:...
, had previously been made a ward of the King, and the garrison surrendered the castle bloodlessly.
Dunbar castle was then held of the King by Angus and Sir Adam Hepburn of Hailes
Hailes Castle
Hailes Castle is a mainly 14th century castle about a mile and a half south west of East Linton, East Lothian, Scotland. This castle, which has a fine riverside setting, belonged to the Hepburn family during the most important centuries of its existence....
.
Dunbar fled to England calling for help in regaining Dunbar castle by force of arms. This help materialised in the spring of 1435 when Sir Robert Ogle, the Governor of Berwick upon Tweed, with Henry Percy
Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland was an English nobleman and military commander in the lead up to the Wars of the Roses. He was the son of Henry "Hotspur" Percy, and the grandson of Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland...
and 4000 men marched north to retake the Castle. Angus , with Hepburn and Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie
Dalhousie
-Buildings:*Dalhousie Castle, a castle near Bonnyrigg, Scotland, until 2003, was the seat of the Earls of Dalhousie, the chieftains of Clan Ramsay*Dalhousie Obelisk, a monument in Empress Place, Singapore...
, decided not to undergo a siege and engaged with the English forces at the Battle of Piperdean
Battle of Piperdean
The Battle of Piperdean was an engagement in the Scottish Borders, fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England....
, near to Coldstream
Coldstream
Coldstream is a small town in the Borders district of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Tweed in Berwickshire, while Northumberland in England lies to the south bank, with Cornhill-on-Tweed the nearest village...
. This encounter resulted in defeat for the English but with little loss of life. Fifteen hundred prisoners were taken and ransomed.
Later life
Angus continued to consolidate his estates, often at the expense of his cousins the Black Douglases, taking positions and fortresses previously held by the Earls of Douglas, such as Lintalee and finally Hermitage CastleHermitage Castle
Hermitage Castle is a semi-ruined castle in the border region of Scotland. It is under the care of Historic Scotland. The Castle has a reputation, both from its history and its appearance, as one of the most sinister and atmospheric in Scotland....
for a time.
Following the assassination of his uncle, King James in February 1437, Angus was instrumental in the pursuit and capture of the conspirators. These included, Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, a great uncle of Angus himself. Angus died in the October of the same year, aged thirty-nine.
Marriage and issue
Angus' mother remarried in 1409 to Sir James Kennedy younger of Dunure. It is thought that around this time that Angus was betrothed through negotiations by his grandmother, Margaret Stewart, 4th Countess of AngusMargaret Stewart, 4th Countess of Angus
Margaret Stewart, Countess of Angus and Mar was Countess of Angus and Lady Abernethy in her own right. Her father was Thomas Stewart, 2nd Earl of Angus....
, to Margaret Hay, daughter of Sir William Hay of Yester
Yester Castle
Yester Castle is a ruined castle, located south east of the village of Gifford in East Lothian, Scotland. The only remaining structure is the subterranean Goblin Ha' or Hobgoblin Ha' ...
. They married in 1425 and they had five children:
- James Douglas, 3rd Earl of AngusJames Douglas, 3rd Earl of AngusJames Douglas, 3rd Earl of Angus, Lord of Liddesdale and Jedburgh Forest was a Scottish Nobleman. He was the son of William Douglas, 2nd Earl of Angus and Margaret Hay of Yester....
- George Douglas, 4th Earl of AngusGeorge Douglas, 4th Earl of AngusGeorge Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, Lord Douglas, Abernethy and Jedburgh Forest was a Scottish Nobleman. He was the son of William Douglas, 2nd Earl of Angus and Margaret Hay of Yester. Known as the Great Earl of Angus, he succeeded to the Earldom following the death of his childless brother James...
- William Douglas of ClunyWilliam Douglas of ClunyWilliam Douglas of Cluny was the son of William, 2nd earl of Angus and Margaret Hay.William Douglas was appointed guardian to King James III, during his minority, and received from him, before 1462, some of the spoil accruing from the forfeiture of the Earl of Douglas and his adherents...
- Hugh Douglas, RectorRectorThe word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of St. Andrews - Helen Douglas, m. 1st. Patrick Graham, 2nd Lord Graham 2nd. James Ogilvy, 1st Lord Ogilvy of Airlie
Latterly, Angus' sister, Lady Elizabeth Douglas, would marry his brother in law, Sir David Hay of Yester. Through their son John Hay, 1st Lord Hay of Yester
John Hay, 1st Lord Hay of Yester
John Hay, 1st Lord Hay of Yester is the ancestor of the Marquesses of Tweeddale. He was created a Lord of Parliament on 29 January 1488 by James III of Scotland....
they are the ancestors of the Marquesses of Tweeddale