Harrower Family Tree » William Le Hardi Douglas (1258-1298)

Personal data William Le Hardi Douglas 

Source 1

Household of William Le Hardi Douglas

(1) He had a relationship with Alianore de Lovaine.


Child(ren):

  1. Sir Archibald Douglas  1297-1333 


(2) He had a relationship with Elizabeth Stewart.


Child(ren):

  1. James Douglas  ± 1286-1330 


Notes about William Le Hardi Douglas

William the Hardy, Lord of Douglas

Sir William Douglas "le Hardi" (the Bold), Lord of Douglas (1243 - 24 January 1298) was a Scottish nobleman and warlord.
William Douglas
Lord of Douglas

Predecessor
William Longleg, Lord of Douglas
Successor
Sir James Douglas
Born 1243 Douglas, South Lanarkshire, Scotland
Died 24 January 1298 (aged 54-55) Tower of London, England

Noble family
Douglas

Spouse(s)
Elizabeth Stewart
Eleanor de Lovaine

Issue
Sir James Douglas
Sir Archibald Douglas

Father
William Longleg, Lord of Douglas
Mother Constance of Fawdon

Early life
William Douglas was the son of William Longleg, Lord of Douglas and it is supposed by his possible second wife, Constance Battail of Fawdon.[2] He first is recorded at an Assize at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1256, when his father made over a Carucate of land at Warndon, Northumberland to him. Douglas' father William Longleg was Lord of Fawdon, and had as his superior Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus, Longleg was acquitted of withholding rents by a jury, Umfraville notwithstanding attacked Fawdon, imprisoned Longleg at Harbottle Castle and made off with some £100 sterling of goods. William Douglas was injured in the fight. Ita quod fere amputaverunt caput ejus - So as to nearly cut off his head.[3]

Sir William Fraser puts forward a theory that David Hume of Godscroft is mistaken about the William Douglas that went Crusading, and suggests that it is this William Douglas, the son the rather than the father, who accompanied David I Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl, and other Scots nobility on the Eighth Crusade in 1270, as recorded by John of Fordun in his Chronica Gentis Scotorum.[4][5][6] Fraser also concedes that there is no existing evidence left to verify this, except the reference in Godscroft's work.

Douglas' father, Longleg died at some point c. 1274 and there is some confusion as to whether his eldest son Hugh predeceased him, however William the Hardy was certainly in possession of his estates by the end of the decade. Douglas was knighted before 1288, when he was called upon by Sir Andrew Moray, to imprison his uncle Sir Hugh de Abernethy at Douglas Castle. Abernethy had been party to the murder of Donnchadh III, Earl of Fife, one of the six Guardians of Scotland. Abernethy died in custody despite attempts by Edward I of England to have him released.

In 1289, Douglas requested the release of certain family charters from Richard, Abbot of Kelso. These charters had been kept at the Priory of Lesmahagow, a daughter house of the Tironensian Abbey of Kelso, for safety. In the receipt for these documents, Douglas styled himself Dominus de Duglas, Lord of Douglas, the first time the title had been recorded.

Marriages
Elizabeth Stewart

Douglas had married Elizabeth, daughter of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland, by whom he had his eldest son James. Elizabeth Stewart appears to have died before the end of 1288, possibly in childbirth.[7]

Later in 1288, William Douglas and a Borders Knight known as John Wishart surrounded the Castle of Fa'side near Tranent. The castle was held by Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby, feudal superior of the barony of Tranent. Within the Castle was Zouche's wife Eleanor, and another Eleanor, recently widowed wife of William de Ferrers of Groby, second son of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby. Eleanor Ferrers was the daughter of Matthew de Lovaine, a great grandson himself of Godfrey III, Count of Louvain. King Edward had provided a handsome dowry from her husband's English lands following his death. He had also possessed lands in five counties in Scotland, and Eleanor had come north to collect her rents. Rather than despoliate the land and the castle, Douglas contented himself by abducting Eleanor and removing her to Douglas Castle.
Reaction to the abductionEdit

William Douglas was imprisoned and fined for the abduction, but also granted permission to marry his captive. [8] Eleanor and Douglas were wed soon afterwards. King Edward was not so charmed and ordered the Sheriff of Northumberland to seize all Douglas possessions in that county and to apprehend Douglas and Wishart if the chance arose. Edward also demanded that the Guardians of Scotland immediately arrest Douglas and deliver him and Eleanor to his pleasure. The Guardians did not respond. Douglas was connected to two of the Guardians: James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland was his brother-in-law, and Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan was a brother-in-law of Eleanor de Lovaine. Furthermore, the Guardians may not have reacted well to the peremptory nature of the English king's request.

However, Douglas seems to have fallen into the hands of the English monarch in early 1290 and was confined at Knaresborough Castle. His imprisonment does not appear to have been unduly harsh, he was released by the spring of 1290 when his wife Eleanor posted bail for his release with four manucaptors in May 1290, these four knights, all her cousins, were John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, Nicholas de Segrave, 1st Baron Segrave, William de Rye and Robert Bardulf. He was in favour with Edward again and he and Wishart had their Northumbrian lands restored to them.[9] Eleanor Douglas was fined £100 sterling, and by way of payment had some of her manors in Essex and Herefordshire taken by the crown in 1296.

Douglas' seal is on the Treaty of Salisbury approving the putative marriage between Margaret, Maid of Norway with Edward of Caernarfon, and was amongst those nobles that hammered out the deal that would become the Treaty of Birgham. At Norham, in June 1291, the Guardians accepted King Edward as Lord Paramount of Scotland. Whilst the negotiations were progressing, regarding the choice of the next King of Scots, Edward was staying with Sir Walter de Lindsay at Thurston Manor, near Innerwick, when William Douglas paid an oath of fealty to him in the chapel there. By the end of 1291, Douglas had fallen again into disfavour and had his lands of Douglasdale forfeited to the English King. Edward appointed his own creatures as baronial officers and made one Master Eustace de Bikerton, Parson of St. Bride's Kirk, the spiritual home and burying ground of the Douglases. John Balliol was declared King of Scots on 17 November 1292, and called his first parliament on 10 February 1293. Douglas along with Robert de Brus, Earl of Carrick, Aonghus Mór mac Domhnaill, Lord of Islay, John, Earl of Caithness failed to attend and were proclaimed defaulters. Douglas attended the second parliament of King John, but was imprisoned again for failing to comply with royal officers enforcing a judgement against him, and imprisoning said officers in Douglas Castle. Whilst in prison Douglas was duty bound to be at his lands in Essex, in order to provide service for Edward, his failure cost him £20 sterling in fines.

Upset at the humiliations heaped upon John Balliol and the ineffectiveness of his rule, a new Guardianship was created in 1295. These men concluded a treaty at Paris and ratified it at Dunfermline between the Kingdoms of Scotland, France and Norway, that would become known as the Auld Alliance. Douglas siding with his countrymen, was appointed Governor of Berwick upon Tweed, the most important commercial centre in Scotland at the time. When the Guardians threw down the Gauntlet to Edward, he arrived at the walls of Berwick with 5000 Cavalry and 30,000 Infantry. There followed one of the most brutal episodes in British history, the Sack of Berwick. The English army took the town by storm on Good Friday 1296 and gave no quarter to the inhabitants. The slaughter lasted for two days and the estimated death toll was between 7,500 and 8,500 men women and children. Appalled and after a resolute defence, the garrison of Berwick Castle under the leadership of William Douglas, gave themselves up to the mercy of King Edward. The garrison were freed and were allowed to march out of the castle with their arms, but Douglas was imprisoned and the last of his estates in Essex forfeit. (Douglas' two-year-old son Hugh had been taken into ward by the Sheriff of Essex at Stebbing, one of the forfeited properties)

Douglas was imprisoned in the Hog's Tower at Berwick castle and stayed there until gaining his freedom by appending his seal to the Ragman Roll, in common with the majority of the Scots nobility. Within days of his swearing his new oath of Fealty to Edward, Douglas was restored to his lands in Scotland, but not those in England. To add salt to the wound, Douglas' Land at Fawdon and others in Northumberland were made over to his old foe Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus, Douglas had no reluctance in joining the patriotic party.

The Umfravilles' latterly forfeited Earldom of Angus was granted in 1389 to Douglas' great-grandson, George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus.

Following the Battle of Dunbar, a large section of the Scots nobility were languishing in prison in England. The countryside was fomenting and there was talk of a new champion for the Scots people, William Wallace of Elderslie had started his campaign. Douglas was summoned to attend King Edward in London on 7 July 1297, with fifty other barons to accompany him on an expedition to Flanders to aid Guy of Dampierre, Count of Flanders against Philip le Bel King of France. Douglas refused and joined company with Wallace. Most Scots magnates thought that Wallace was beneath their dignity, but Douglas had no such compunction. He was the first nobleman to join with Sir William Wallace in 1297 in rebellion; combining forces at Sanquhar, Durisdeer and later Scone Abbey where the two liberated the English treasury. With that booty Wallace financed further rebellion. Wallace joined his forces with that of Sir Andrew Moray and together they led the patriot army in the Battle at Stirling Bridge fought on 11 September 1297. They were joined by other patriots such as Robert Wishart Bishop of Glasgow, and the Morays of Bothwell, with a contingent of Douglases at the national muster at Irvine, North Ayrshire.

When Edward heard of Douglas' supposed treason he commanded the future King of Scots Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, then governor of Carlisle for the English to take retribution. Bruce swept into Douglasdale at the king's order. However, young Bruce, who was twenty-two years old at the time, stated, "I must join my own people and the nation in which I was born." He then was joined by the men of Douglas and Lady Douglas, proceeding to join the rebels at Irvine.[10]

The third time Douglas was held a prisoner of King Edward, was after 9 July 1297 when he was accused by Sir Henry de Percy of breaking his covenant of peace with Edward that was agreed to in the document known as the Capitulation at Irving Water, where Douglas was in the company of Robert Brus, Alexander de Lindsay and John and James (the latter three his brothers in law). By the time Sir Andrew de Moray and William Wallace won their great victory at Stirling, Sir William the Hardy was again Edward's prisoner at Berwick Castle; staying in what was now called 'Douglas Tower'.

Following Wallace's success at Stirling Bridge the English fled Berwick on Tweed with Douglas and another Scottish prisoner Thomas de Morham; both were later committed to the Tower of London on 12 October 1297 with Douglas meeting his end there on 24 January 1298 due to mistreatment.

Issue

William the Hardy was twice married and had three sons.[11][12]
By Elizabeth, daughter of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland:

Sir James Douglas (also known as Good Sir James and the Black Douglas, ancestor of the "Black Douglases", including the 3rd to 9th Earls of Douglas).[12]

By Eleanor de Lovaine of Groby, daughter-in-law of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby and great-great-granddaughter of Godfrey III of Leuven:
Hugh Douglas,[12]
Sir Archibald Douglas (ancestor of the "Red Douglas" Earls of Angus, Marquesses of Douglas and Duke of Douglas).[12]

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Timeline William Le Hardi Douglas

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Ancestors (and descendant) of William Le Hardi Douglas

Archibald Douglas
????-± 1290
Margaret Crawford
????-

William Le Hardi Douglas
1258-1298

(1) 

Alianore de Lovaine
????-

Sir Archibald Douglas
1297-1333
Hugh Douglas
????-
(2) 

Elizabeth Stewart
1250-< 1288

James Douglas
± 1286-1330

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    Sources

    1. Web Site Information, WILLIAM Douglas of Douglas "the Hardy" https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SCOTTISH%20NOBILITY%20LATER.htm#_Toc359672180
      WILLIAM Douglas of Douglas "the Hardy", son of WILLIAM Douglas of Douglas & his wife --- (-London in prison 1298). King Edward I ordered the lands of "Willelmi Duglas" to be repledged and his release from prison after his abduction of "Alianoram quæ fuit uxor Willelmi de Ferrariis defuncti"[285]. King Edward I ordered "Willelmo Duzglas" to pay fines for his marriage to "Alianora de Ferariis" by charter dated Jan 1291[286].

      m firstly ELIZABETH Stewart, daughter of ALEXANDER Stewart High Steward of Scotland & his wife Jean of Bute. The primary source which confirms her parentage and marriage has not yet been identified. Balfour Paul records her parentage and marriage without citing a precise source[287]. The marriage is suggested by Barbour’s The Brus which records that "Walter Steward" and "Douglas" were "cosynis in ner degre"[288].

      m secondly (before 28 Jan 1289) as her second husband, ELEANOR de Lovaine, widow of WILLIAM de Ferrers Lord of Groby, daughter of MATTHEW de Lovaine & his wife Muriel --- (-after 3 May 1326). Edward I King of England wrote to the Guardians of Scotland 27 Mar 1289 regarding "Alianora quæ fuit uxor Willelmi de Ferariis" who was abducted by "Willelmus ‘de’ Duglas" after the death of her husband from "manerio…Elenæ la Zusche, de Travernant"[289]. She married thirdly (before 6 Oct 1305) William Bagot.

      William & his first wife had one child:

      1. JAMES Douglas "the good Sir James" (-killed in battle in Spain [Sep/Dec] 1330). Robert I King of Scotland granted revenue from land held by "Jacobus de Douglas de Laudonia miles" to "Reginaldo de Crauford" by undated charter witnessed by "…Jacobo dño de Douglas, Robto de Keth marescallo militibus"[290]. Robert I King of Scotland granted "terras de Kincavill de Caldorcler" to "Jacobo de Douglas de Laudonia" by charter dated 2 Apr "anno regni nostri decimo" (1316) witnessed by "…Jacobo dño de Douglas, Robto de Keth marescallo nostro Scocie militibus"[291]. Robert I King of Scotland granted "terram de Polbuthy" to "Jacobo dño de Douglas militi" by charter dated 15 Dec "anno regni nostri tercio decimo" (1319)[292]. "…Jacobo dño de Douglas…" witnessed the charter dated 20 Oct "anno regni nostri quarto decimo" (1320) under which Robert I King of Scotland confirmed the donation of "Radulphi de Heychlyn…Johanni de Heychlyn filio suo"[293]. "…Jacobo domino de Duglas, Gilberto de Haya constabulario nostro, Alexandro Fraser camerario nostro militibus" witnessed the charter dated 1 Mar "anno nostri vicesimo" (1326) under which "Robertus…rex Scottorum" confirmed donations to Scone abbey[294]. The Chronicle of John of Fordun (Continuator - Annals) records that "James of Douglas" was killed in battle fighting the "Saracens" in 1330, after 26 Aug[295]. Froissart records that "messire James Douglas, frère à messire Guillaume" died "en Grenade"[296]. m ---. James & his wife had one child:

      a) WILLIAM (-killed in battle Halidon Hill 19 Jul 1333). Lord of Douglas. His parentage is confirmed by complaint by the monks of Coldingham to King David II, accusing "William Lord Douglas and Archibald Douglas his uncle" of depriving them of the town of Swinton[297]. Balfour Paul suggests that his immediate succession to his father’s estates provides confirmation of his legitimacy[298].

      James had one illegitimate son by his mistress ---:

      b) ARCHIBALD Douglas ([1325]-Threave [24 Dec 1400/9 Feb 1401], bur Bothwell). Froissart names "messire Arcebaus Douglas" as son of "messire James Douglas, frère à messire Guillaume" who died "en Grenade"[299]. He succeeded in 1388 as Earl of Douglas.

      - see below.

      William & his second wife had two children:

      2. HUGH Douglas ([1294]-[1347]). According to Balfour Paul, Hugh and Archibald were William Douglas’s sons by his second marriage, stating that Hugh was born in 1294, but he does not cite the corresponding primary source[300]. Lord of Douglas. He resigned the lordship 26 May 1342. "Hugo de Douglas dominus foreste de Jedworth et medietate baronie de Watstirker" granted "medietatem baronie de Watstirker" to "fideli meo Willelmo de Douglas de Laudonia" by undated charter which names "quondam dominus Jacobus de Douglas miles frater meus", witnessed by "…domino Johannes de Douglas archidiacono Laudonie, domino Andrea de Douglas milite…"[301].

      3. ARCHIBALD Douglas (-killed in battle Halidon Hill 19 Jul 1333). According to Balfour Paul, Hugh and Archibald were William Douglas’s sons by his second marriage, but he does not cite the corresponding primary source[302]. Regent of Scotland. The Liber Pluscardensis names "Archibaldus de Douglas custos Scociæ" among those killed in battle at Halidon Hill in 1333[303]. m as her first husband, BEATRICE Lindsay, daughter of ALEXANDER Lindsay of Crawford & his wife --- (-after 1333). Duncan Earl of Fife granted his barony of Wester Caldor to “domine Beatrice de Douglas sponse quondam domini Archibaldi” for her lifetime and after her death to “Johannis de Douglas filio suo et heredi ac heredibus suis” by undated charter[304]. She married secondly Robert Erskine of Erskine. Archibald & his wife had four children:

      a) JOHN Douglas (-before 1342). Andrew Wyntoun’s Cronykil records that "William off Dowglas that Schyr Archebaldis sone was" was father of "Willame" and "ane othir...Jhon, and eldare than he was", adding that John "deyd be-yhond the se"[305]. Duncan Earl of Fife granted his barony of Wester Caldor to “domine Beatrice de Douglas sponse quondam domini Archibaldi” for her lifetime and after her death to “Johannis de Douglas filio suo et heredi ac heredibus suis” by undated charter[306].

      b) WILLIAM Douglas of Douglas (-Douglas May 1384, bur Melrose). Andrew Wyntoun’s Cronykil records that "William off Dowglas that Schyr Archebaldis sone was" was father of "Willame" and "ane othir...Jhon, and eldare than he was"[307]. He was created Earl of Douglas in 1358. m (before 13 Nov 1357) as her first husband, MARGARET of Mar, daughter of DONALD Earl of Mar & his wife Isabel Stewart (-[5 Dec 1389/19 Oct 1393]). She succeeded her brother in [1374] as Ctss of Mar, suo iure. She married secondly ([1385/27 Jul 1388]) as his first wife, John Swinton of Swinton. Mistress (1): MARGARET Stewart Ctss of Angus, wife of THOMAS Earl of Mar, daughter of THOMAS Stewart Earl of Angus, Lord of Abernethy & his wife Margaret St Clair (-[1417/23 Mar 1418]). William & his wife had two children:

      i) JAMES Douglas (-1388). He succeeded his father as Earl of Douglas. m (dispensation 23 Nov 1371) as her first husband, Lady ISABEL Stewart, daughter of ROBERT II King of Scotland & his first wife Elizabeth Mure (-[1410]). The Liber Pluscardensis records the marriage in 1371 of "Willelmus de Douglas…comes de Douglas…Jacobus de Douglas primogenitus eius" and "filiam…Roberti [regis]" to gain his father’s support for the king’s accession[308]. She married secondly ([1388/90]) John Edmonstone of Duntreath. Earl James had two illegitimate children by :

      (a) WILLIAM Douglas . He was ancestor of the house of Drumlanrig, Earls, Marquesses and Dukes of Queensberry.

      (b) ARCHIBALD Douglas . He was ancestor of the house of Craven.

      ii) ISABEL Douglas ([1360]-[Aug/Sep] 1408). Ctss of Mar, suo iure. A charter dated 18 Mar 1390 (O.S.?) records that “Dominus Thomas de Erskyne miles” recorded a contract between “Schir Malcome of Dromonde and Schir Johne of Swyntone apone the landis of the erledome of Marre and the lordshipe of Garvyauch” acknowledging that “Issabell the said Schir Malcoms wyf is verray and lauchfull ayre and failliand of the ayrez of hir body the half of the fornemmyt erldome and lordship perteignys to my wyfe of richt of heretage” and requested the king’s confirmation of his wife’s rights[309]. The seal of "Isabel comitissa de Mare et Garviath" is appended to a contract between "Isabella de Douglas countess of Mar and of Garviach" and "Sir Alexander Stuart son of Alexander Stuart Earl of Buchan" dated 1404[310]. m firstly MALCOLM Drummond of Drummond, son of JOHN Drummond of Stobhall & his wife [Mary de Montefichet] (-Nov 1402). m secondly as his first wife, ALEXANDER Stewart, illegitimate son of ALEXANDER Stewart of Badenoch & his mistress --- ([1375]-25/26 Jul 1435, bur 26 Jul Inverness, Friars Preachers). He is said to have "seized [the] person [of his first wife] as well as the castle of Kildrummy, wrung from her a charter" dated 12 Aug 1404 granting him the earldom of Mar, although she finally granted him the earldom 9 Dec 1404[311]. He remained Earl of Mar after the death of his first wife, as tenant for life under the terms of the confirmation granted 9 Dec 1404[312].

      Earl William had one illegitimate son by Mistress (1):

      iii) GEORGE Douglas (-1402). He was created Earl of Angus.

      - EARLS of ANGUS.

      c) JAMES Douglas (-killed 1335). The Liber Pluscardensis records that "Willelmus de Douglas et frater eius Jacobus" were captured by the English in 1335, the latter being killed[313].

      d) ELEANOR Douglas . m firstly ALEXANDER Bruce, illegitimate son of EDWARD Bruce Earl of Carrick King of Ireland & his mistress --- (-killed in battle Halidon Hill 19 Jul 1333). Created Earl of Carrick in [1330] or soon after. m secondly JAMES Sandilands of Calder, son of --- (-before 1358). m thirdly (before 1361) WILLIAM Towers of Dalry, son of ---. m fourthly (before 1368) DUNCAN Wallace of Sundrum, son of ---. m fifthly (1376) as his second wife, PATRICK Hepburn of Hales, son of ---. 1402.
    2. FamilySearch Family Tree, FamilySearch.org, Alexander Stewart 1214-1283 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Stewart,_4th_High_Steward_of_Scotland
      Alexander Stewart (died 1283), also known as Alexander of Dundonald, was 4th hereditary High Steward of Scotland from his father's death in 1246.

      Origins

      He was a son of Walter Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland by his wife Bethóc, daughter of Gille Críst, Earl of Angus.
      Career

      He is said to have accompanied King Louis IX of France on the Seventh Crusade (1248–1254).[1] In 1255 he was one of the councillors of King Alexander III of Scotland, though under age.[2]

      He was the principal commander under King Alexander III at the Battle of Largs, on 2 October 1263, when the Scots defeated the Norwegians under Haakon IV. The Scots invaded and conquered the Isle of Man the following year, which was then, together with the whole of the Western Isles, annexed to the Crown of Scotland.[3][4]
      Marriage and issue

      He married Jean, heiress of the Isles of Bute and Arran, daughter of James Mac Angus (d.1210) (who, with his father and brothers, was killed by the men of Skye), son of Aonghus, Lord of Bute & Arran (younger son of Somerled, King of the South Isles). By his wife he had the following issue:[5][6]

      James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland (c. 1260–1309), eldest son and heir; grandfather of King Robert II of Scotland, the first Stewart King of Scots, and thus direct male ancestor of all seven subsequent Scottish monarchs until Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587) - who married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1545-1567) (a male descendant of the 5th High Steward's younger brother Sir John Stewart (d.1298), founder of the Bonkyll line (see below)) by whom she had issue King James I & VI of England and Scotland, ancestor of the post-Tudor monarchs of England and Scotland, later of Great Britain, finally of the United Kingdom.
      Sir John Stewart (d. 22 July 1298), 2nd son, who married Margaret de Bonkyll, the heiress of Bonkyll Castle in Berwickshire, by whom he had seven sons and one daughter, thus founding the line of "Stewart of Bonkyll". He was the male line ancestor of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who by his wife Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587), the heiress of the senior royal Stewart line descended from James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland (c. 1260–1309) (see above), was the father of King James VI and I of Scotland and England. He was killed in 1298 at the Battle of Falkirk.[7][8]

      Heraldic augmentation of honour (Argent, a lion rampant gules debruised by a bend raguly or) supposed to have been granted to Sir Alexander Steward "The Fierce" by King Charles VI of France[9]

      Andrew Stewart,[10] third son,[11] who married the daughter of James Bethe. His son is supposed in many sources (possibly most notably the Heraldic Visitations of Cambridgeshire[12]) to have been Sir Alexander Steward "The Fierce", whose existence has been questioned by some historians, and who is quoted in bogus ancient pedigrees as the ancestor of the English gentry family of "Steward" or "Styward", of the Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire, from which family was the mother of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell,[13][14][15] who (therefore ironically) tried to bring an end to the royal house of Stuart. However "the Lord Protector himself never took it seriously, though he did once joke that his mother was a Stuart at a drinking party in Edinburgh in 1651".[16] This family, of which the most influential was Robert Steward (d. 1557) Dean of Ely, assumed the coat of arms of the Scottish Stewarts, Or, a fess chequy argent and azure, as is visible on their elaborate monuments in Ely Cathedral.[17] In addition they bore a supposed augmentation of honour (Argent, a lion rampant gules debruised by a bend raguly or) said to have been granted to Sir Alexander Steward "The Fierce" by King Charles VI of France (1380-1422).[18] However the supposed familial connection between the Stewart family of Scotland, Hereditary High Stewards and kings of Scotland, and the English "Steward" or "Styward" family of the Isle of Ely, has been definitively disproven by the renowned genealogists Horace Round (Studies in Peerage and Family History, 1907)[19][20] and Walter Rye (Two Cromwellian Myths, 1925, and The Steward Genealogy and Cromwell's "Royal Descent").[21]
      Elizabeth Stewart (d. before 1288), who married Sir William Douglas the Hardy, Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed. She was the mother of the James Douglas, Lord of Douglas ("Good Sir James Douglas").[22]
      Hawise Stewart, who married John de Soulis (died 1310), who was the Guardian of Scotland and the brother of the Lord of Liddesdale.[23]
      Lady Beatrix Alice Stewart (Lady of Crawford) married Sir Alexander Lindsay (died 1308), Lord of Barnweill, Byres and Crawford
      / FamilySearch

    Historical events

    Day of death January 24, 1298

    

    Same birth/death day

    Source: Wikipedia


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    Colin Harrower, "Harrower Family Tree", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/harrower-family-tree/I4783.php : accessed May 7, 2025), "William Le Hardi Douglas (1258-1298)".