SP Correction: Sir William Douglas and his Lindsay wife [I of II]
The...@aol.com
Hello All,
Among the issue of Sir David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford
(d. aft 12 Feb 1406/7) and his wife Elizabeth Stewart, there is
ascribed a daughter Elizabeth (sometimes called Marjory) who
allegedly married Sir William Douglas of Lochleven [1]. The
account in the SP article for Douglas, Earl of Morton states as
follows:
' He apparently married Elizabeth Lindsay, as appears from,
with other evidence, a dispensation by Henry, Bishop of St.
Andrews, for the marriage of William Douglas of St. Andrews
diocese, and Elizabeth Lindsay of Brechin diocese, they
being in the third and fourth degrees of consanguinity. '[2]
Despite the phraseology [ ' He apparently married...' ] this
union has been taken up, at least since Douglas' Peerage (1813),
as being of Elizabeth [or Marjory], daughter of Earl David
Lindsay, and Sir William Douglas of Lochleven, as given above [3].
The first problem with this identification is the dispensation
itself. As indicated, this is not an imprecise dispensation
(e.g., stating that the parties were "related in the fourth degree
of kindred"), but rather states as shown above that it was
required, "they being in the third and fourth degrees of
consanguinity".
The relationship given as the source of the consanguinity is
common descent of the two from Walter the Steward (d. 1327) by his
two wives. It is true that Sir William Douglas was a great-grandson
of Walter the Steward (d. 1326) by his 2nd wife, Isabel Graham, but
if Elizabeth/Marjory Lindsay was a daughter of Earl David, she would
have been a great-granddaughter of Walter, by his 1st wife, Marjory
Bruce. This relationship is the 'accepted' versions [4], but does
not agree with the relationship described in the dispensation.
What appears most likely is as follows: that Sir William
Douglas's wife was not the daughter of Earl David and Elizabeth
Stewart, but rather the daughter of their son Alexander Lindsay
(fl. ca. 1375/85 - 1439), probably by his wife Marjory. This
parentage would yield the following chart:
1) Marjory = Walter the = 2) Isabel
Bruce I Steward I Graham
__________I I____
I I
Robert II = 2) Euphemia Sir John Stewart
K of Scots I of Ross of Railston
I_____ I____________
I I
David Lindsay = Elizabeth Sir Henry = Marjory
E of Crawford I Stewart Douglas I Stewart
I of Lugton I
I I
ALEXANDER LINDSAY I
2nd E of Crawford I
I__ _______I
I I
NN Lindsay = 1) Sir William
I Douglas
I d. ca. 1421
_________________I________________________
I I I I
Sir Henry Alexander Sir James Elizabeth = Richard
Douglas Douglas Douglas Douglas Lovel
of Lugton of Railston
and Lochleven
In addition to agreeing with the dispensation, the above would
be supported by the following:
1. Onomastic evidence. Sir William Douglas is shown as having
a younger son Alexander [SP VI:366], who would then
(based on the foregoing reconstruction) be the namesake of
his maternal grandfather Earl Alexander Lindsay.
2. Additional documentary evidence. Elizabeth Douglas, daughter
of Sir William Douglas, is discussed in the SP account
in part concerning her act in defending King James I when he
was assassinated at Perth in Feb 1436/7. It also states,
' She afterwards married Richard Lovel of Ballumby, with
whom, on 24 August 1438, she had a charter from Alexander
Lindsay, second Earl of Crawford, of the lands of Muirhouse,
co. Inverness. In this charter she is styled neptis of the
Earl, which shows that the commonly accepted marriage of her
father to a daughter of Sir David Lindsay, first Earl of
Crawford, is correct. ' [5]
If the term <neptis> is understood in its other standard
usage of 'granddaughter', she would have instead been the
grantee of a 1438 charter by her grandfather, Earl
Alexander.
The apparent sole evidence for the 'accepted' identification,
both the dispensation and the information from the 1438 charter of
Earl Alexander, serves to support the reconstructed relationship.
In my next post, I will discuss the apparent error(s) in identifying
the actual wife of Sir William Douglas of Lochleven.
Should anyone have additional relevant documentation, comment,
or criticism, that would be welcome as always.
Cheers,
John *
NOTES
[1] SP III:17, sub _Lindsay, Earl of Crawford_ .
[2] SP VI:365, sub _Douglas, Earl of Morton_, cites Harl. MS., 6438.
The 'other evidence' noted in the SP account involves the
career of Sir William's daughter Elizabeth Douglas, 'styled
neptis of the Earl [Alexander Lindsay' [VI:366], which will
be discussed in detail later.
[3] Sir Robert Douglas, The Peerage of Scotland [Edinburgh:
Archibald Constable and Company, 1813], II:272, which
identifies Sir William's wife as 'Lady Marjory Lindsay,
second daughter of David, first Earl of Crawford,
grand-daughter of King Robert II.,...'
[4] See for example, Elizabeth Lindsay's ancestry as given in
the Genealogics website (ID I00021519]:
http://www.genealogics.org/pedigree.php?personID=I00021519&tree=LEO
[5] SP VI:366, cites Reg. Mag. Sig., 29 October 1463.
* John P. Ravilious