Ancestral Trails 2016 » Archibald DOUGLAS (1325-1400)

Personal data Archibald DOUGLAS 

• He was born in the year 1325 in Castle Douglas, Lanarkshire, Scotland.
• Title: 3rd Earl of Douglas
• (Nickname) : Archibald the Grim.
• (Ancestry) : House of Douglas.
• He died on December 24, 1400 in Threave Castle, Douglas, Lanarkshire, Scotland, he was 75 years old.
• He is buried in the year 1400 in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland.
• A child of James DOUGLAS and Joan DOUGLAS

Household of Archibald DOUGLAS

He is married to Joan MORAY.

They got married on July 23, 1362 at Douglas, Lanarkshire, Scotland, he was 37 years old.

Child(ren):

1. Marjory DOUGLAS  1379-1421
2. James DOUGLAS  1371-1443 
3. Archibald DOUGLAS  ± 1369-1424 

Notes about Archibald DOUGLAS

Archibald Douglas, Earl of Douglas and Wigtown, Lord of Galloway, Douglas and Bothwell, called Archibald the Grim or Black Archibald, was a late medieval Scottish nobleman. Archibald was the bastard son of Sir James "the Black" Douglas, Robert I's trusted lieutenant, and an unknown mother. A first cousin of William 1st Earl of Douglas, he inherited the earldom of Douglas and its entailed estates as the third earl following the death without legitimate issue of James 2nd Earl of Douglas at the Battle of Otterburn.

He was an infant when his father went on crusade and was killed at the Battle of Teba whilst fighting the Moors. According to Walter Bower, "He was dark and ugly more like a coco [cook-boy] than a Noble." Jean le Bel in his chronicle describes Douglas, as an adult, as a large man capable of wielding a huge sword. It has been suggested that the young Archibald spent time with his cousin William at the court in exile of King David II at Château Gaillard in Normandy. It was only natural for them to take service with the French King. This was in keeping with the spirit of the Auld Alliance.

Battle of Poitiers
Archibald's first major appearance in history is recorded in 1356 at the Battle of Poitiers where he was captured by the English. Archibald had accompanied his cousin, William Lord of Douglas, to serve King John II of France in his wars against the Black Prince. Edward III of England had concluded truce negotiations with the Scots lasting from 25 March until Michaelmas, following the Burnt Candlemas of 2 February. During the truce, Earl William had secured safe passage to travel to Château Gaillard to visit David II; amongst his entourage was the 28-year-old Archibald. Once in France, in the chivalric spirit of the age the Douglases joined the French army, to prevent their harnesses rusting through inactivity.

The battle was a disastrous defeat for the French. It was suggested by Froissart that part of the blame lay with Earl William, for his suggestion to the French king that his knights dismount and fight on foot. Whatever the cause, King John was captured along with many noblemen, including Black Archibald. Earl William evaded capture.

His escape from English hands was aided by one Sir William Ramsay of Colluthie, also a prisoner of the English. In the presence of one of the guards, Ramsay pretended to be furious with Archibald and accused him of the theft of his cousin's armour. Furthermore, he stated that his cousin had been felled by an English arrow and had died as a result of his lack of protection. Ramsay than insisted that Archibald take off his boots. Archibald concurred and by the time he had removed one, Ramsay started beating him around the head with it. One of the guards intervened to stop Ramsay, insisting that Archibald was the son of a great noble and should be respected. Ramsay retorted, "Not he, I tell you, he is a scullion and a rogue", then to Archibald, "Go you rascal, and seek your master's body amongst the slain, so that we may at least give him a decent burial". Ramsay paid the fee of 40 shillings, the ransomable rate of an esquire. Ramsay cuffed Archibald round the head once more and bade him begone. Archibald made his way back to Scotland, and deprived the Black Prince's army of what would have been a considerable ransom.

Black Archibald was appointed Constable of Edinburgh Castle in 1361, which along with the office of Sheriff of Edinburgh, he held until 1364. In that year, he was also appointed Warden of the Western March. This was an uneasy appointment, as the English held Annandale, which formed the greater part of his new jurisdiction.

In the following years, he carried out numerous raids against the English. In 1368, Douglas was appointed Lord Warden of the Marches and was successful in ousting the English from Annandale completely by 1383.

De Moravia marriage
Archibald further increased his power by his marriage to the widow and heiress Joanna de Moravia in 1362. Joanna de Moravia was the daughter of Maurice de Moravia, Earl of Strathearn and Joanna Menteith, daughter to Fause Menteith. Archibald is said to have offered to fight five English knights in single combat for her hand. The Lady of Bothwell and heiress to the de Moravia dynasty, Joanna brought with her large estates and lordships throughout Scotland, which Archibald claimed de jure uxoris. This included the semi-ruined Bothwell Castle, which he promptly started to rebuild. The marriage was a device of the king to ensure that the Moray inheritance would be passed into safe (and loyal) hands. Since the death of Joanna's first husband, Sir Thomas de Moravia, the Lord of Bothwell, in 1361, she and her widowed mother had been wards of the court. Joanna was declared to be not only heiress of her father's unentailed lands, but also those of her first husband. The estates stretched from Aberdeenshire, Moray and Ross in the north, to Lanarkshire and Roxburghshire in the south. Although Douglas did not inherit his wife's father's Earldom of Strathearn, Douglas would be able to use his new-found kindred ties to the advantage of the King in the centre of the kingdom.

Death
The Earl of Douglas died at Threave Castle, around the Christmas of 1400, and was buried at Bothwell.

Marriage and children
Around 1362 Douglas married Joanna de Moravia, daughter of Maurice de Moravia, 1st Earl of Strathearn. They had four children.

Archibald Douglas, who succeeded as 4th earl
James Douglas, later the 7th earl
Marjory Douglas, married 1st David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, 2nd Walter de Haliburton the Treasurer of Scotland
Helen, married Sir George de Lawedre of Haltoun, Lord Provost of Edinburgh

Lord Douglas had an illegitimate son:

Sir William Douglas of Nithsdale (assassinated c. 1392), married Egidia Stewart daughter of Robert II
SOURCE: Wikipedia

Do you have supplementary information, corrections or questions with regards to Archibald DOUGLAS?
The author of this publication would love to hear from you!

Timeline Archibald DOUGLAS

Click on the names for more info. Symbols used:  grandparents    parents    brothers/sisters    children