Genealogy Wylie » Devorgilla of Galloway (± 1220-????)

Personal data Devorgilla of Galloway 

• She was born about 1220 in Fotheringhay Castle, Galloway, Scotland.
• (Lived ) : Kemston, Bedfordshire, England.
• (Lived ) : Fotheringhay Castle, Galloway, Scotland.
• She died on January 28, 1289/1290 in Kemston, Bedfordshire, England.Source 2
• She is buried in Sweetheart Abbey, Dumfriesshire, Scotland.
• A child of Alan of Galloway and Margaret de Huntingdon
• This information was last updated on March 13, 2023.

Household of Devorgilla of Galloway

(1) She is married to John I de Baliol.Source 10

They got married in the year 1233 at Scotland.Sources 2, 11

Child(ren):

1. Hugh de Baliol  ± 1236-< 1271
2. Cecily de Baliol  ± 1238-< 1273 
3. Alan de Baliol  ± 1240-< 1278
4. Alexander de Baliol  ± 1242-< 1278
5. Eleanor (Alianora) de Baliol  1246-???? 
6. Ada de Baliol  ± 1248-???? 
7. Euphemia (Eupheme) Baliol  ± 1249-???? 
8. John II "Toom Tabard" de Baliol  1250-1313 
9. William "le Scot" de Baliol  ± 1251-1313 

(2) She is married to John de Vaux.

They got married after 1269 at 2nd husband 2nd wife.

Notes about Devorgilla of Galloway

DESCENDANT OF CHARLEMAGNE, ALFRED THE GREAT, WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, AND HENRY IGRANDMOTHER OF JOHN THE RED COMYNGREAT GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER OF KING DAVID I OF SCOTLAND
Devorgilla founded Sweetheart Abbey in memory of her husband, John Balliol. They are both buried there.

Click here for http://www.darkisle.com/contrib/sweetheart/csweetheart.html">Photo of Sweetheart Abbey (use browser back arrow to return)

This source says she is a sister of Lady Margaret instead of her daughter. [Magna Charta Barons, p. 260]

Daughter of Alan of Galloway and Margaret of Scotland; wife of John Baliol, Lord of Barnard Castle. Died 1289, aetat. 76; 4 sons and 3 daughters. Succeeded her father as Lady of Galloway. [The Bruces and the Cumyns, p. 517]

Dau. of Lady Margaret; m. John Baliol; mother of John Baliol. [Robert the Bruce, chart]

Countess of Huntingdon and Lady of Fotheringhay Castle where she principally resided. Dau. of Alan McDougal, Lord of Galloway and Constable of Scotland, and Margaret le Scot; m. 1233 John de Baliol, Lord of Barnard Castle; mother of William Baliol; mother of Alianora/Mary who m. John Comyn the Black. [Charlemagne & Others, Chart 2500, 2504]

Dau. of Margaret; mother of John Balliol, king of Scotland 1291-96. [Scotland: A Concise History, Genealogy of the Scottish Kings]

On the west bank of the Nith, a pretty drive along quiet roads takes you past Sweetheart Abbey--so named because Lady Devorgilla, wife of John Balliol, carried her dead husband's heart in a casket wherever she went until her own death when it was buried with her in the grounds of the abbey. ["Burns, bikes and beautiful views", Dumfries & Galloway Holiday Accommodation Guide 1998, p. 5]

Her Gaelic namd dearbh-fhorghoill means "true judgement". Youngest dau. of Alan of Galloway, she married (1233) John Balliol of Barnard Castle, Co Durham, and had four sons and three daughters. Inheriting much of Galloway plus lands in Aberdeenshire and Angus, and in the Honour of Huntingdon, she transmitted a claim to the throne to her only surviving son, John Balliol. With her husband she was active in Anglo-Scots politics (he was among Henry III's representatives during the minority of Alexander III).
When John died (1268) Devorguilla had his embalmed heart encased in an ivory shrine and placed before her at meals, when she gave its share of every dish to the poor. She erected friaries (Dominicans at Wigtown, Franciscans at Dundee and Dumfries), endowed a hostel for poor scholars at Oxford (later Balliol College) and founded Sweetheart Abbey. She is also credited with the first stone bridge at Dumfries. She died at Buittle Castle and was buried in her abbey with the casket in her arms. [Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland, p. 57]

The abbey of Sweetheart was founded in 1273 by Lady Devorgilla of Galloway in memory of her late husband, John Balliol. At her own death in 1289 her body was laid to rest before the high altar and her husband's embalmed heart, her 'sweet, silent companion', placed beside her. The monks chose the beautiful name of Sweetheart, or Dulce Cor, for their abbey in her memory. [Sweetheart Abbey, p. 2]

Throughout their married life, Devorgilla and Balliol, who resided at Buittle Castle, near Dalbeattie, were devoted to each other. On Balliol's death in 1269, the grieving widow had his heart embalmed and placed in a casket of ivory bound with enamelled silver. She kept this, her 'sweet, silent companion', with her until she too died in 1289 in her 81st year.

Sweetheart Abbey was not Lady Devorgilla's only act of patronage. In Scotland, she founded two other religious houses--friaries in Wigtown and Dundee--and two chaplaincies in Glasgow Cathedral. The attractive stone bridge over the Nith in Dumfries is also hers. Undoubtedly, her most enduring act of patronage was her confirmation and endowment of Balliol College, Oxford, in 1282, which had been established by her late husband as an act of penance. [Sweetheart Abbey, p. 4-5]

b.1218, Wigtownshire, Scotland, d. 28 Jan 1289/90, Kemston, BDF, England;m. c. 1233 in gGalloway, Wigtownshire, Scotland, John de Baliol. [Dave Utz <(XXXXX@XXXX.XXX)]

b.c. 1220, d. 1290; dau of Margaret de Huntingdon and Alan MacDonal, Lord of Galloway; m. Sir John I Baliol; m. John de Vaux, High Sheriff of Norfolk. [Larry Overmire <(XXXXX@XXXX.XXX)t.att.net, 4 Jan 2003]

Devorgilla founded Sweetheart Abbey in memory of her husband, JohnBalliol. They are both buried there.

Click here for http://www.darkisle.com/contrib/sweetheart/csweetheart.html">Photoof Sweetheart Abbey (use browser back arrow to return)

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Timeline Devorgilla of Galloway

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