Simon Fraser

Notes:

From Wikipedia (accessed 24 Jun 2020):

Sir Simon Fraser of Oliver and Neidpath was a Scottish knight who fought in the Wars of Scottish Independence, for which he was hanged, drawn, and quartered in 1306.

Fraser was captured during the Battle of Dunbar on 27 April 1296 and was sent to a prison in England. He was forfeited of his lands. He was released to serve King Edward I of England's expedition in Flanders in 1297. Fraser was made a household knight - effectively, a member of the royal bodyguard - and gifted a horse by Edward before the Battle of Falkirk. Fraser was thus among the English cavalry divisions that defeated the army of William Wallace. On 27 March 1299, in recognition of his good service, he was restored his lands and titles. He was the Keeper of Selkirk Forest, and was at the Siege of Carlaverock on the side of the English in 1300.

He switched to the Scottish side in mid-1301 and led the Scottish victory at the Battle of Roslin in 1303, alongside John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (also known as "Red Comyn"). Here Fraser killed Ralph Manton, an English treasury clerk, whom Fraser accused of embezzling King Edward of funds and neglecting to pay Fraser's wages when he was in English service. Consequently, the English King Edward I marched north through Stirling taking Perth. As Edward approached Dunfermline, the Bishop of St. Andrews and the bishop of Glasgow along with Red Comyn met his army and submitted. Fraser refused to swear fealty to the English King and did not attend.

In March 1304, Fraser and Wallace were ambushed by English forces at the Action at Happrew and defeated. By June Fraser had deserted Wallace and accepted Edward's peace terms. In January 1305 he was employed, along with all other Scottish knights, to hunt down his former comrade Wallace.

In March 1306 Fraser once again broke faith with King Edward and defected to Robert the Bruce. He escaped from the defeat at the Battle of Methven, but was captured during the summer of 1306 at a subsequent engagement at Kirkencliff near Stirling by Sir Thomas de Multon and Sir John Jose. King Edward had commanded all captured supporters of King Robert executed and, in particular, the lands of Simon Fraser harried and burnt. The prisoner was sent to London, and hanged, drawn, and quartered in September 1306. His head was impaled on a spike on London Bridge, along with Wallace's.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Mary Fraser
2. Joanna Fraser

Notes:

"He was knighted about 1288, before which date the suffix of miles is always wanting, thus distinguishing him from his father, who was knighted before 1249. He was a justice-itinerant in the year 1279, when he and three others held courts at Werke in Tyndale. He witnessed charters in 1265 and 1266, and was a member of the Council held at Scone on 5 February 1283-84. He was keeper of the forests of Traquair and Selkirk. He swore fealty to King Edward I at Norham on 14 June 1291, and was appointed on the part of Baliol one of the auditors who were to hear the pleadings of the Competitors for the Crown, and to report thereon. He died in 1291, when the King granted his keepership of the forests to William Comyn; he left a widow Maria, who married subsequently Richard Siward." [The Scots Peerage, citation details below]

Simon married Maria. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Bef 1283

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Abt 1263

Gilbert married Christian. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

In East Lothian about 1200.

Udard married Maria of Hailes. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]