SP Addition: Agnes Graham, wife of Sir John Douglas (d. ca. 1350)
John P. Ravilious
Wednesday, 9 November, 2005
Hello All,
The account in SP for the Douglas family of Dalkeith (later Earls
of Morton) provides little information with regard to spouses of
family members prior to the marriage of Sir James Douglas of Dalkeith
(d. 1420) to Agnes Dunbar. This is also the case with Sir James'
father Sir John de Douglas, whose wife Agnes is described only as
(evidently) the widow of John Monfode [1].
Fortunately, the dispensation for the marriage of Sir John and
his wife Agnes was preserved, the text for which is as follows:
" 1344.
4 Id. Oct. To the bishop of St. Andrews. Faculty to
Avignon. grant dispensation to John de Duglas, knight,
(f. 140d.) and Agnes de Grame to intermarry, they having
lived together and had offspring, notwithstanding
the assertion made that Agnes was aunt of a woman
with whom John had cohabited, Agnes being
ignorant of the said impediment. A penance is to
be enjoined on John, and two chaplaincies of 10
marks each are to be founded within two years.
Their past and future offspring is to be
declared legitimate.
[Cal. Pet. i.79; Theiner, 282.] " [2]
The apparent relationship of Sir John's brother Sir William de
Douglas, "the Knight of Liddesdale" with Sir John de Graham, lord of
Abercorn and Dalkeith, is documented to only a slight degree in SP,
primarily as to grants of land including ' that of the whole barony
of Dalkeith resigned by John Graham, Lord of Abercorn, on 6 January
1341-42...' [3]. There appears to be no problem as to which Graham
family is involved, or which generation:
1. The dealings between Sir William de Douglas and Sir John de
Graham of Dalkeith and Abercorn are well-documented. It is
alleged (although I have not yet found proof) that Sir
William's wife was a sister of Sir John de Graham - this
would certainly not be surprising.
2. Agnes de Graham could not have been a (legitimate) daughter
of Sir John de Graham and his wife Mary of Menteith, else
she would have been a coheiress to the Earldom and much
more (and different) information would have been known
about her.
3. The introduction of the name 'Nicholas' into the Douglas
family, among the issue of Agnes de Graham, further points
to a Graham of Abercorn (not Montrose) connection.
The pedigree of the family now appears to be expanded, as
follows:
Malise , Earl = 1) Marjorie de
of Strathearn I Muschamp
d. bef 23 Nov 1271 I
I
I
Sir Nicholas = Mary of Strathearn
de Graham I <coheiress of her mother>
d. 1306 I
I
I
Sir John de Graham = Isabella
d. 25 Apr 1337 I
______________I_____
I I
Sir John de = Agnes de Sir John de = Mary
Douglas I Graham Graham I C of
d bef 25 I V Menteith
Jan 1349/50 I
I
__________I_________________________________________
I I I I I III
Sir James William John Sir Henry Nicholas <siblings>
of Dalkeith of Lugton
= 1) Agnes of I
Dunbar V
I
__I______________________________________________
I I I I I
Agnes James William Janet Jacoba
= Sir John of Dalkeith = Sir John
Livingston d. 1441 Hamilton
I I I
V V V
This will have impact on the ancestry of a wide-ranging group,
including many list members, HRH Prince William, and a host too
numerous to mention.
Cheers,
John *
NOTES
[1] SP VI:342, sub _Douglas, Earl of Morton_.
[2] Bliss,ed. Calendar of Entries in the Papal Registers
relating to Great Britain and Ireland: Papal Letters,
Vol. III (A.D. 1342 - 1362) [London: PRO, 1897, reprinted
1971], p. 165.
[3] SP VI:340, cites Reg. Honor. de Morton, ii. 44.
* John P. Ravilious