DUNBAR

1. MALDRED-

b.c.1002

m.c.1024 EALDGYTH, daughter of Uchtred, Earl of Northumberland and Aelgifu, daughter of King Aethelred

Maldred was the son of Crinan, Abbott of Dunkeld. (see Crinan) Maldred or Malcolm became King of the Cumbrians when his brother Duncan became King of Scots in 1034.

Issue-

·  2I. COSPATRICK- m. CHRISTIANA

·  II. Maldred-

Ref:

"The Scots Peerage"- Vol.III, pp.240-1
"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co., Edinburgh, 1880
"Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archeological Society"- Vol.XIV, pp.432ff, W.G. Collingwood, MA, FSA, Ed., Titus Wilson, Highgate, 1914


2I. COSPATRICK (MALDRED 1)

b.c.1040
m. CHRISTIANA, sister of Eadmund, possibly daughter of King Harold II

Gwas Patric (servant of Patric) accompanied Earl Tosti, King Harold's brother, to Rome in 1061 where he tried to save the Earl's life.(1)

Towards the end of the year 1067 Cospatrick was made Earl of Northumberland by William the Conqueror. He had a claim to this title through his mother, but probably acquired it by paying a large sum of money for the honor. In 1068 he took part in the conspiracy against King William on behalf of Edgar Atheling. The scheme did not succeed due to the treachery of Edwin and Morker. Cospatrick fled to Scotland with the Aetheling and was temporarily deprived of the earldom. In 1069 he was again Earl of Northumberland when he was assisting an invasion of the Danes with whom Edgar was in alliance. King William suppressed the rebellion and Cospatrick made peace with William by proxy.(2)

King William used the influence Cospatrick had among his subjects to introduce a foreign bishop, Walcher, to the see at Durham. However, in 1072, because of his personal hold on his people, Cospatrick lost his earldom. King William took his property under the pretext of Cospatrick's alliance with the Danes and his complicity in the death of Robert Comyn. Cospatrick then fled to the court of his cousin the King of Scots and then to Flanders.

Malcolm Canmore gave Cospatrick the manor of Dunbar and land in Merse and Lothian.

The Hoveden Chronicle which was written before 1161 and may be contemporary with Cospatrick, states that the earl did not survive long after going to Scotland and died at Ubbanford or Norham and was buried in the church there. This manuscript contradicts a tradition that Cospatrick became a monk at Durham and was buried there where his name was commemorated in their obituaries and a tombstone with the inscription "Gospatricus comes" was discovered in the monk's burial ground in 1821.(3)

Issue-

·  I. Dolfin- b.c.1048, King of Cumbria under Malcolm III. Expelled from Carlisle in 1092 by William Rufus.(4)

·  15 II. WALDEVE- b.c.1050, m.c.1070 Sigrith (m.2. Roger, son of Gilbert). Waltheof was the Lord of Allendale.

·  3III. COSPATRICK- m. SIBILLA, d. 1139

·  IV. Ochtreda- m. Waltheof, son of Gillemin

·  4V. GUNILDA- m. ORM, son of Ketel (see CULWEN)

·  VI. Matilda- m. Dolfin, son of Aylward

·  VII. Aethelreda- m.c.1094 King Duncan II

Ref:

(1) "Lives of Edward the Confessor"- p.411
(2) Chronica Rogeri de Hoveden- I, 59, 117-9; Ordericus Vitalis- col.320
(3) Hoveden- I, 59; Liber Vitae- Surtees Society- p.147
(4) Saxon Chronicle- II, 195

"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co., Edinburgh, 1880
"The Scots Peerage"- Vol.III, pp.241-5


15II. WALDEVE (MALDRED 1, COSPATRICK 2)

b.c. 1050
m.c. 1070 SIGRITH (m.2. Roger, son of Gilbert)

Issue-

·  16I. GUNNILD- m. UCHTRED, Lord of GALLOWAY

 

Ref:

The Scots Peerage- Vol. IV, p.137


3II. COSPATRICK (MALDRED 1, COSPATRICK 2)

m. ?SIBILLA (She may have been the wife of Gospatrick's son Edward)
d. 1139

In 1119 Gospatrick was a witness to the charter to the monks of Selkirk, to the Inquisition of the see of Glasgow, and to the foundation charter of Scone.(1)

Cospatrick witnessed the charter of the abbey of Holyroodhouse by David I in 1128.(2)

King Henry I conferred upon Gospatrick a large tract of land lying between Wooler and Morpeth in Northumberland sometime after 1100 and was confirmed at York about 1136.(3) This grant was not held by knight's service or other service which was usually the case, but was held in grand serjeanty with the Earl and his descendants being bound to be "inborwe" and "utborwe" between England and Scotland. This meant that they were to be the border security for people passing back and forth over the border. Nobody would be allowed to travel north or south without permission of the Earls of Dunbar.(4)

Gospatrick also held the territories of Berwick and Eglingham for which he received a grant in feufarm from the abbot of St. Albans by a special contract dated between 1097 and 1119.(5) This land was later held by his son Edgar.

Gospatrick granted the lands of Ederham or Edrom, and Nisbet to the monks of Coldingham warning of spiritual penalties to anyone who should interfere with the grant.(6) He also gave the church of Edlingham to the abbey of St. Albans.(7) He also endowed the church of St. Nicholas of Home, Berwickshire with the consent of his wife and family.(8)

Gospatrick joined King David in the invasion of England in 1138 and commanded the men of Lothian at the battle of Cowton Moor near Northallerton (the battle of the Standard) on 23 Aug. 1138. The Scots were defeated and the leader of the Lothian men was slain or severely wounded by an arrow. This may or may not have been Gospatrick but, he certainly had died by 16 Aug. 1139 when King David confirmed the grant of Edrom to the monastery of Coldingham.(9)

Issue-

·  5I. COSPATRICK- d. 1147

·  II. Adam- possibly a churchman

·  III. Edward- m. Sibilla

·  IV. Edgar- m. Aliz, daughter of Ivo

·  V. Juliana- m. Ralph de Merlay, Lord of Morpeth

·  17VI. MARGARET- m. PHILIP MONTGOMERY

Ref:

(1) Liber de Calchou- I, 4; Liber de Scone- 1
(2) Liber Chartulary Sanctae Crucis- 6
(3) Priory of Hexham- Surtees Society- I, illustrative documents No. ix
(4) Cal. Doc. Scot.- I, No. 552
(5) Original contract at Durham
(6) "North Durham"- Raine, App. No. cxi
(7) Original charter at Durham
(8) Liber de Calchou- I, 234
(9) "North Durham"- App. No. xx

"The Scots Peerage"- Vol.III, pp.246-9
"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co., Edinburgh, 1880


5I. COSPATRICK (MALDRED 1, COSPATRICK 2, COSPATRICK 3)

m. DERDERE
d. 1166

Gospatrick paid to the English Exchequer in 1160/1 12 marks for six knight's fees.(1)

He granted to the monks of Melrose, Hartside and Spot, near Dunbar, and to Kelso the churches of Home and Fogo.(2) He also confirmed the grants made by his father of Edrom and Nisbet made to the monks of Coldingham.(3) Gospatrick founded a nunnery at Coldstream where there was already a small religious house.(4) He granted to the sisters at Witehou land in Lennel and Birgham while Derdere and other proprietors also gave land. The nunnery was at the junction of the river Leet with the Tweed.

Issue-

·  6I. WALDEVE- m. AELINA, d. 1182

·  II. Patrick- m. Cecilia Fraser, d. 1166

·  ?7III. ______- m. GILIBEDE OGILVIE, Earl of Angus

Ref:

(1) Cal. Doc. Scot.- I, no. 74, 1712
(2) Liber de Melros- I, 8,9,44; Liber de Calchou- I, 233
(3) "North Durham"- Raine, App. No. civ, xxi
(4) Chartulary of Coldstream- original at Gen. Reg. House, No. 6

"The Scots Peerage"- Vol.III, pp.249-51
"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co., Edinburgh, 1880


6I. WALDEVE (MALDRED 1, COSPATRICK 2, COSPATRICK 3, COSPATRICK 4)

m. AELINA (d. 20 Aug. 1179)
d. 1184

Waldeve was the first called Earl of Dunbar or Lothian, although, he used neither title himself, just calling himself Waldeve the Earl. He was one of five hostages given to King Stephen after the battle of the Standard in 1138.

After his succession as Earl he confirmed the grants made by his predecessors, the first charter granted by him as Earl being sealed in 1166 to the monks of Durham, Kelso and Melrose, and the nuns of Colstream.

Waldeve was frequently with King William the Lion in his progresses through the kingdom, but seems generally to have kept aloof from political matters, except where he tried, without success, to dissuade King William from going to war with England to enforce his claim to the earldom of Northumberland. He was one of the hostages for the release of William the Lion from the English in 1174 to ensure that the King would observe the treaty of Falaise.

His seal, attached to a writ at Durham, shows a figure mounted on a horse wearing a conical helmet, carrying a shield and sword, pointing upward with the legend Sigillum Walghevi Comitis.

Issue-

·  8I. PATRICK- m. 1184 ADA, daughter of William the Lion, d. 1232

·  II. Constantine- ?d.s.p.

·  III. Alice or Helen- m. Philip Seton

Ref:

"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co., Edinburgh, 1880
The Scots Peerage- Vol. III, pp.251-2


8I. PATRICK (MALDRED 1, COSPATRICK 2, COSPATRICK 3, COSPATRICK 4, WALDEVE 5)

b. 1152
m.1. 1184 ADA, daughter of William the Lion (See CRINAN, d. 1200), m.2. between 1215 & 1218 Christina (m.1. William de Brus of Annandale)
d. 1232

Patrick was Justiciary of Lothian and Keeper of Berwick. He appears in charters by his father. His estates in England occupied a good deal of his attention and he is named in 1187 as having forced a vassal from his lands of Derecester or Darnchester in Berwickshire. Patrick attended King William to Lincoln when he met King John there, and paid the usual homage for his lands in England.

Patrick seems to have been a bit litigious as he kept the monks of Melrose in trouble for a good while over a dispute between them and him as to a point of trespass on some pasturage alleged to belong to the monks. The Pope ultimately referred the matter to the arbitration of Bruce Douglas, Bishop of Moray, and after much delay it was finally settled to the satisfaction of both parties.(1) In 1218 he founded the monastery of Red friars in Dunbar.

In 1221 Earl Patrick accompanied King Alexander II to York and was present at his marriage there to the Princess Johanna, sister of Henry III. On 13 Oct. 1222 Patrick took part in an attempt to settle the direction of a portion of the March between England and Scotland which had come into dispute through a question as to the boundary between the Canons of Carham and Bernard de Hawden and neighboring landownder.(2)

The monks of Melrose, forgetting the annoyance he had caused them, give a touching picture of his closing days. He gathered his family together, with kinsmen and neighbors, to celebrate the joyful Christmastide. Four days later he was seized with a grievous illness, and sending for his friend and relative, Adam de Harkarres, Abbot of Melrose, received from him the last rites, extreme unction, and the monastic habit. He bade farewell to all, and died on the last day of the year. He was buried in the church of St. Mary of Eccles, where his grandfather is said to have founded a nunnery.(3)

St. Mary's Church- Eccles

Patrick's seal shows a mounted knight in chain mail holding a sword with an ornamented blade raised in his right hand. He wears a flat-topped helmet and carries suspended around his neck a heater-shaped shield with a lion. Legend Sigill. Comitis Patricii de Dumbar.

Issue-

·  9I. PATRICK- m. EUPHEMIA STEWART, d. 1248 Damietta, Egypt

·  II. William- m. Christiana, d. of Walter Corbet of Mackerston (d. 1241), d.s.p. 1253

·  III. Robert-

·  IV. Ada- m.1. William de Curtenay (d.s.p. before 11 Sept. 1217), 2. between 1218 &1220 Theobald de Lascelles (d.s.p. before Oct. 1225), 3. William Dunbar

·  ?V. Fergus- appears in a charter by Earl Patrick to the convent of Coldstream, but nowhere else.

Ref:

(1) Liber de Melros- I, 87-95; Acta Parl. Scot- I, 390-2
(2) Cal. Doc. Scot.- I, No. 832
(3) Chronical de Mailros- 143

"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co., Edinburgh, 1880
The Scots Peerage- Vol. III, pp.252-4


9I. PATRICK (MALDRED 1, COSPATRICK 2, COSPATRICK 3, COSPATRICK 4, WALDEVE 5, PATRICK 6)

m. EUPHEMIA STEWART (d.1267)
d. 1248 Marseillest

Patrick succeeded his father on 31 Dec. 1232 at age 46 but had taken an active part in dealings with the estate for some time prior. The following month he paid homage to Henry III for his English estates and from the various inquisitions on the subject we learn the extent of his lands in Northumberland. On 22 Feb. 1233 the King ordered sasine to be given, but in 1247 another inquiry was made enumerating not only the lands but the holders of them under the Earl.

In 1235 Patrick took an active part in suppressing the rebellion in Galloway. In 1237 when King Alexander resigned his rights to the three northern counties of England, Patrick was the leader of the 24 barons who guaranteed the peace treaty with England.

In 1247 owing to remorse for injury done by him to the monastic house of Tynemouth, a cell of St. Albans, in his irritation at the long dispute between the lords of Beanley and the monks as to the churches of Berwick and Eglingham, Patrick made up his mind to join the crusade to the Holy Land projected by King Louis IX of France. To defray expenses he sold or transferred his stud of horses in Lauderdale to the Abbot and Convent of Melrose. The sale took place on 29 Aug. 1247 and was confirmed by King Alexander II on 28 Nov. A few months later the Earl had started on his journey. His last transaction in Scotland appears to have been a confirmation on 12 Apr. 1248 of a grant by William or Greenlaw, to the monks of Melrose, which Patrick made in the presence of King Alexander at Berwick and before 28 June he had left the country. He is said to have died at the siege of Damietta, Egypt, however, his death is recorded by the chronicler of Lanercost as occuring in Marseilles and he never reached the Holy Land. The same writer gives us two stories. One is that the Earl had issued invitations to a feast, but many more guests arrived than preparation had been made for. When his steward informed him of the lack of provision the Earl ordered the kitchen to be set on fire, risking rather the loss of his house than the tarnishing of his reputation for hospitality. The other story concerns his forgiving and lenient conduct to a robber whom he had rescued from the gallows and placed in a position of trust, but who tried to murder his master. Patrick, however, made light of it, and gave the rascal money to escape.(1)

Issue-

·  10I. PATRICK- b.c.1213, m. CECILIA, d. 1289

·  II. Waldeve- Rector of Dunbar

Ref:

(1) Chronical de Lanercost- 54; Chron. de Mailros- 177

"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co., Edinburgh, 1880
The Scots Peerage- Vol. III, pp.255-7


10I. PATRICK (MALDRED 1, COSPATRICK 2, COSPATRICK 3, COSPATRICK 4, WALDEVE 5, PATRICK 6, PATRICK 7)

b.c.1213
m. CECILIA 'Cecilia filia Johannis' was listed in a charter by her eldest son. It has been suggested that she was a Fraser, however, there is no evidence of this.
d. 24 Aug. 1289 Whittinghame, East Lothian
bur. north aisle, church of Dunbar

Patrick is said by the Lanercost Chronicler to have been very unlike his father. Nothing is know of him prior to his accession, but afterwards he took an active part in politics, especially during the earlier years of the young Alexander III. Patrick was one of the leaders of the English party during the minority of Alexander III and he attacked Edinburgh castle and freed Alexander and the Queen from Comyns' power. Earl Patrick's name stands out in the list of the new Council who had the support of King Henry III, the young King's father-in-law. In 1258 the Comyns again prevailed and Patrick was excluded from the Government, though in 1260 he was one of the Scottish nobles to whose keeping Henry III promised to intrust the expected infant child of the Queen of Scotland then at the English court. He commanded a division of the Scottish army at the battle of Largs in 1263 and he was present at the signing of the treaty between Alexander III and the King of Norway 6 July 1266. After this little is recorded regarding Patrick, except some charters and some personal matters, such as legal proceedings chiefly affecting his Northumbrian property.

He was on of the witnesses to the marriage contract between the Princess Margaret of Scotland and Eric, King of Norway at Roxburgh 25 July 1281 and in Feb. 1284, after the death of Prince Alexander, Patrick, advanced in years, attended the Parliament at Scone which declared the Princess Margaret of Norway to be heir to the Scottish Crown. He was also one of those who obliged themselves to carry out that Act of Parliament. Thomas Lermont of Ercildoun "the Rhymer" visited Dunbar in 1285 and foretold to Patrick the sudden death of the king who was killed the next day by a fall from his horse. Patrick afterwards became one of the regents of the Kingdom. He and his three sons joined with the Bruces, the principals of the Stewart clan, and MacDonalds, in a bond or compact for mutual defence and assistance, dated at Turnberry, Bruce's stronghold in Carrick, 20 Sept. 1286.

Issue-

·  11I. PATRICK- m. MARJORY COMYN, d. 1309

·  II. John- of Birkenside

·  III. Alexander-

Ref:

"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co., Edinburgh, 1880
The Scots Peerage- Vol. III, pp.257-60



11I. PATRICK (MALDRED 1, COSPATRICK 2, COSPATRICK 3, COSPATRICK 4, WALDEVE 5, PATRICK 6, PATRICK 7, PATRICK 8)

m. MARJORY COMYN
d. 10 Oct. 1308

In 1281 he was one of the witnesses to the marriage contract of Princess Margaret and in 1286 he appears with his father and two younger brothers in the compact with Bruce at Turnberry. He was the first of the family to assume the title of Earl of March. "Black Beard" was at the Parliament at Brigham on 14 Mar. 1289 and was one of the competitors for the crown submitting a formal claim at Berwick in 1291 as the great-grandson of Ada, daughter of William the Lion. He soon withdrew his claim and ever after supported the English interest.

The usual inquest was held before he received possession of his English lands, but in 1293 Beanley and other estates were placed under arrest for his contumacy in delaying to answer a summons to show his right. They were, however, soon restored. In 1294 he was called, with other Scottish magnates, to join Edward I in his expedition against France. In 1295 his English lands were again taken into the King's hands, but only for a short period, and he remained faithful to Edward I when King John Baliol renounced his fealty.

His wife Marjory favored the Scots and retained Dunbar castle for Baliol, but was forced to surrender it to Edward I in Apr. 1296 with all the Scottish nobles who had taken refuge there after their defeat at Dunbar. Patrick was soon after at the English court. In May 1298 he was appointed by Edward I captain of his garrison at Berwick, and in Nov. he was made chief commander of the English forces south of the Forth, his jurisdiction extending as far as over Ayrshire. Patrick was still in the English interest in 1300 when Edward made his march against Carlaverock castle, and he and his ensigns are recorded in the famous metrical account of the siege. In 1305 he was elected one of the Scottish commissioners to the English Parliament, but failed to attend, and Sir John Menteith was chosed by the King's order to attend instead. In July 1307 Edward I died, but the Earl continued to adhere to his son's cause, though he did not long survive.

Patrick's wife remains uncertain as no record to his Countess has been found. Douglas in his Peerage from 1764 states, without giving proof, that the Earl married Marian, daughter of Duncan, Earl of Fife. According to a later edition of Douglas, Patrick married Marjorie Comyn, daughter of Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan a statement founded on a letter written in 1400 by George, Earl of March to King Henry IV when the Earl claims that a Marjorie Comyn was is 'graunde dame' or great-grandmother and also states that she was 'full sister' of Alice Comyn, who, about 1306 married Sir Henry Beaumont and became great-grandmother of King Henry IV. Wyntoun in his Cronykil states that 'the eldest' daughter whom he does not name of Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan married a 'Patrick, Earl of Dunbar', but if she were Marjorie she must have been the aunt and not the sister of Alice Comyn or Beaumont and Earl George was wrong in his assertion. The eighth Earl Patrick is the only one whose dates jive with a daughter of Alexander, Earl of Buchan. I suspect that Wyntoun is right that this Earl Patrick did marry a Comyn, but that Earl George made a mistake as to his relationship to her.

Issue-

·  12I. PATRICK- m. AGNES RANDOLPH (d.c.1369), d.c.1369

·  II. Marjory- m. Richard de Lundie

·  III. Alexander- d. after 1331 Cockburn

·  ?17IV. MARGARET- mistress of WILLIAM DOUGLAS

Ref:

"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co., Edinburgh, 1880
The Scots Peerage- Vol. III, pp.262-5


12I. PATRICK (MALDRED 1, COSPATRICK 2, COSPATRICK 3, COSPATRICK 4, WALDEVE 5, PATRICK 6, PATRICK 7, PATRICK 8, PATRICK 9)

b. 1282
m.1. before 1304 Ermigarda (on 26 June 1304 Lady Ermigarda, being then pregnant, received a cask of new wine as a present from King Edward I), m.2.c.1320 AGNES RANDOLPH (d.c.1369)
d.c.1369

Patrick had already taken part in public life before his father's death as he was present with his father at the siege of Carlaverock when he was only sixteen. In 1307 he and his father were required by Edward II to obey the Earl of Richmond, the English King's lieutenant, and to preserve the peace in Scotland. After his succession as Earl, he retained the goodwill of Edward II and towards the close of 1313 the Earl and Sir Adam of Gordon were envoys from the 'people of Scotland' adhering to the English interest to lay before King Edward their sufferings under the constant raids made by Robert the Bruce and his officers who were gradually gaining the upper hand in the country. Patrick's lands and tenants were specially exposed not only to the forays of their own countrymen, but to attacks by the English garrisons of Berwick and Roxburgh the commanders of which refused redress. The King gave an encouraging reply, and also made a formal promise that he would lead an army to their assistance about midsummer of the following year, a promise which he fulfilled, resulting in the battle of Bannockburn. Patrick took in Edward II after he fled from the battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and from Dunbar castle the King escaped to England in a fishing boat. Patrick later made a truce with his cousin Robert the Bruce and was present at the Parliament at Ayr 26 Apr. 1315. In the beginning of 1318 Patrick took an active part in obtaining the surrender of the town of Berwick, then besieged by King Robert, who, by Patrick's aid, gained possession of the town on 28 Mar. 1318 and of the castle on 20 July.

Patrick's seal is attached to a letter by the Scottish nobles to Pope John XXII on 6 Apr. 1320 and he continued faithful to his own country, not only during the reign of King Robert, but through the troubled times during the minority of David II. When the battle of Dupplin was fought and the Regent Mar slain on 12 Aug. 1332 Patrick was in command of a large body of troops encamped near Auchterarder. Hearing of the defeat of the Regent, Patrick marched towards Perth, where Baliol had gone, and invested that town. But a fleet of ships upon which he depended for support having been broken up, he raised the siege. Later in the year, he and Archibald Douglas, now Regent, tried to arrange a peace, but, unfortunately it did not hold.

He was then appointed Governor of Berwick castle where he was besieged by Edward III in 1333. After the defeat at Halidon Hill he surrendered and took an oath of allegiance to King Edward and Dunbar castle which had been razed to the ground was rebuilt at Patrick's expense and garrisoned by English troops. He received a grant of £100 of land to himself and Agnes because he believed the Scottish cause hopeless and again joined the English party. He was with Edward Baliol at the Parliament at Edinburgh in Feb. 1334 when Baliol ceded Berwick, Dunbar, Roxburgh and Edinburgh to England. Other favors were bestowed on Patrick and he received considerable sums of money. One one occasion he was, when returning from a visit to Edward at York, attacked by 'ille people' and 'sore hurt' for desire of the money he carried. However in Dec. 1334 he renounced his allegiance to the English King probably due to the invasion of Scotland when a force led by Edward III where his lands were laid waste. Edward immediately declared Patrick's estates forfeited and distributed those in Northumberland to various persons while he also assumed the Berwickshire lands into his own hands. Patrick then entered into active hostilities and fought the English partisans wherever possible. The Earl's lands in East Lothian, Whittinghame and others were all in the hands of the English as appears from the accounts, but he held to his Scottish allegiance and took part in the operations of the patriotic army

Dunbar Castle

In Jan. 1337 while Patrick and Sir Andrew Murray of Bothwell were in the north and with Agnes in charge of the castle, William Montague, Earl of Salisbury besieged Dunbar castle with a large army and attempted to batter the walls down. "Earl Patrick's strong house" was built upon a chain of rocks stretching into the sea and having only one passage to the mainland which was well fortified. Black Agnes resolved to defend it to the last. One of the catapults used to hurl huge stones at the walls resembled the ridge of a hog's back and was called a sow. When this formidable contraption was rolled forward to the walls instead of being intimidated she said to Salisbury: "Beware, Montagow, For farrow shall thy sow!" At that point her soldiers dropped a huge rock onto the sow and destroyed it. As the English ran in all directions she said: "Behold the litter of English pigs". One day while Salisbury and a knight were riding by the walls a Scottish archer, William Spens, shot an arrow from the battlements and it pierced the knight's chain mail and pierced his heart. Salisbury stated: "That is one of my lady's tire-pins. Black Agnes' love shafts go straight to the heart." Not being able to take the castle by force he bribed one of the garrison to leave the gate open. The man took the money at Agnes' suggestion in an attempt to capture the Earl. He approached the open gate, but as he was about to enter John Copeland, went in front of him and as soon as he was within the portcullis was dropped and Copeland, mistaken for his commander was captured while Salisbury escaped. Realizing what had happened she called out to him: "Farewell, Montague! I intended that you should have supped with us and assist us in defending the castle against the English." Salisbury cut off all communication between the garrison and the outside, however, Alexander Ramsay of Dalwolsy heard of the siege and advanced by sea and attacked the English. After 19 weeks Salisbury was forced to leave and on 10 June 1337 the siege was raised.

Wyntoun mentions this siege in his "Cronykill":

"Of the assiege of Dunbare
Where the Countess was wise and ware
She kept a stir in tower and trench
That watchful, plodding Scottish wench
Came I early, came I late
I found Agnes at the gate."

Patrick commanded the left wing of the Scottish army at the battle of Durham 17 Oct. 1346 during which Agnes' brother Thomas, Earl of Moray was killed and therefore Patrick became Earl of Moray. He also obtained the Isle of Man, the Lordship of Annandale, the baronies of Morton and Tibbers in Nithsdale, Morthington, Longformacers and Dunse in Berwickshire, Mochrum in Galloway, Cumnock in Ayrshire and Blantyre in Clydesdale.

On 4 Sept. 1351 his son was one of the hostages for the return of King David II to England he being on parole in Scotland. Patrick's son was also named as a hostage in 1354, but not in the later list of 1357 when King David was finally released, Patrick himself being a party to the treaty of release. The truce made in 1354 was soon broken and Patrick was taking part in various attacks upon the English. In 1358 a casual reference is made in the Exchequer Rolls to the taking of the Earl of March by Sir James Lindsay, but no further evidence of the incident has been found.

In 1363 Patrick joined the High Stewart and the Earl of Douglas in their outbreak of dissatisfaction with the extravagance of David II. Patrick had other grievances as well with the King as he granted the northern Earldom in favor of the English Duke of Lancaster on 5 Apr. 1358, however, in 1367 the rents of the Earldom were stated by Parliament to be in Patrick's hands. However, the uprising of 1363 was quickly suppressed and the rebellious lords made peace with the King. He assisted at the treaty with England in Sept. 1367 and appears to have personally been involved with the affairs of a vassal who died in Feb. 1367/8. He was present at a Parliament at Stirling 4 July 1368, but died shortly afterwards or at least resigned his earldom about that time.

Patrick and Black Agnes has a dispensation to marry 18 Aug. 1320 which states they were related in the fourth degree, but on 16 Jan. 1323/4 they received a second dispensation narrating that they were really within the third and fourth degrees of consanguinity. Meanwhile, they had married, but they were permitted to remain in marriage and their past and future children were declared legitimate. The Countess corresponded with her brother John, Earl of Moray, when he was a prisoner in England in 1337. After his death she and her sister shared his possessions between them. Evidence of this is found in two charters, one granted by Earl Patrick and Agnes, his wife, at Dunbar 2 Jan. 1351/2 and the second by Sir Patrick Dunbar and Isabella, his wife, at Wester Spott, near Dunbar, on the same day, both confirming the same deed, a grant by their vassal Richard Anstruther, of the lands of West Pitcorthy, in Fife, to his sister Cecelia and John Strang, her husband. According to Boece, Earl Patrick and Black Agnes had no children, although, children are referred to in the Papl dispensation. George may actually have been the son of a sister of Black Agnes.

Issue-

·  ?13I. GEORGE- b.c.1338, d. 1420

·  II. John- Earl of Moray, m. Princess Marjory Stewart

·  III. Agnes- m. James Douglas of Dalkeith

·  IV. _____-

·  V. Elizabeth- m. John Maitland of Lethington

Ref:

"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co., Edinburgh, 1880
The Scots Peerage- Vol. III, pp.254-9


13I. GEORGE (MALDRED 1, COSPATRICK 2, COSPATRICK 3, COSPATRICK 4, WALDEVE 5, PATRICK 6, PATRICK 7, PATRICK 8, PATRICK 9, PATRICK 10)

b.c.1338
m. CHRISTIANA, d. of Sir Alexander SETON d. 1420

On 28 June 1363 King David II confirmed to George a grant of one-half of the baronies of Tibbers and Morton, Dumfriesshire which Patrick and Agnes had resigned in his favor. In May 1367 he was a witness to a charter by Earl Patrick to the monks of Durham where he was described as their 'cousin'. On 25 July 1368 he received from King David II two charters, one to the baronies of Cumnock, Blantyre, Glenken, and Mochrum, in the counties of Ayr and Lanark and the sheriffdom of Dumfries, resigned by Patrick of Dunbar, knight. George was at Parliament in Mar. 1369 and Feb. and Oct. 1370.

After the accession of Robert II, George was present in Parliament when the Act of Succession was passed 27 Mar. 1371 and his seal is still affixed to it and to the Act of Confirmation on 4 Apr. 1373. He seems to have resented the presence of the English in his family estate of Annandale and complaints were made to Edward III in 1376 by the English Chamberlain of Lochmaben Castle that the rents suffered from the Earl's depredations, which had evidently been made in 1375. In 1377 the Earl of Northumberland complained to the King of Scots as to violence done by the Earl of March at Roxburgh. In Apr. 1378 the Earl of Northumberland complained that the Earls of March, Douglas and others were harassing the English borders, and from a list of lands in 1380 taken from the English, it appears that these nobles, and particularly George, had recovered considerable portions of their estates.

A later exploit of the Earl's was the capture of the Baron of Greystock, who was appointed keeper of Roxburgh Castle which took place before Nov. 1382. In 1388 he joined the Earl of Douglas in the famous raid on England and after the battle of Otterburn (5 Aug. 1388) he took command of the army and brought them home.

George's daughter Elizabeth was betrothed to Robert III's son and heir David, Duke of Rothesay, but Archibald "the Grim", Earl of Douglas protested and with the Duke of Albany's influence had the contract annulled and the Prince was married to his daughter Marjory Douglas instead. Because of this George renounced his allegiance and went to England under the protection of Henry IV. In June 1400 Henry IV gave the necessary permission for an interview which probably took place at York. Henry was too astute not to encourage a valuable ally and the result was the transference of George and his whole family to England. One reason of this was that his castle of Dunbar was seized for the Scottish King by the Earl of Douglas and the lordships of Dunbar and Annandale were forfeited. He became high in Henry's favor and various manors, Somerton, Clipston, and others, besides considerable sums of money, were bestowed upon him. In Feb. 1401 and June 1402 he invaded Scotland and was the chief means of a severe check given to the Scots on Nisbet Moor on 22 June 1402. It was his military genius, also added to his knowledge of the Scottish mode of warfare, which gained for the English the battle of Homildon Hill on 14 Sept. 1402. He gave advice which saved both King Henry's life and his kingdom. For these great services he received considerable rewards in manors and money, and he was allowed to style his own pursuivant 'Shrewsbury Herals'.

George was still in England in June 1407, but about that time his name drops from the English records and he and his Countess appear to have bent their steps northward and through the mediation of Walter Halyburton of Dirleton a reconciliation with the Douglases was reached and George returned to Scotland. A sum of £90 was in June 1407 given by Henry IV to the Earl and his wife, and in the following year George was reconciled to the Regent Albany and restored to his Earldom, but in 1409 he was compelled to resign his lordship of Annandale which for a time became the property of the Earls of Douglas, though he still retained his lordship of Man. In 1411 he was one of eight commissioners to negociate a truce with England.

Sir George is said to have died of a contagious fever in 1420 at age 82, although there is a charter to George Inglis of Lochend, 8 Sept. 1422, in which the Earl of March describes one of the witnesses as 'Christiana my spouse' suggesting the 10th Earl.

Issue-

·  15I. GEORGE- 11th Earl of Dunbar and March

·  II. Gavin- d. before 1418

·  III. Colin or Columba- b.c.1380, d.c.1435 Spynie, bur. north trascept of Elgin Cathedral. Colin was Bishop of Moray

·  IV. Patrick-

·  V. John- ?d.s.p.

·  VI. David- alive in 1443

·  VII. Elizabeth-

·  14VIII. JANET- m. JOHN SETON

Ref:

"The Scottish Nation"- William Anderson, A. Fullarton & Co., Edinburgh, 1880
The Scots Peerage- Vol. III, pp.270-6


15I. GEORGE-

Issue-

16I. CHRISTIAN- m. WILLIAM SETON (killed battle of Verneuil, Normandy 17 Aug. 1424), m.2. after 1433 Adam Johnston of that Ilk


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