Nielsen Hayden genealogy

Archibald Douglas

Male Aft 1290 - 1333  (< 42 years)


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  • Name Archibald Douglas 
    Birth Aft 18 Feb 1290  [1
    Gender Male 
    Alternate birth Abt 1297  [2
    Death 19 Jul 1333  Halidon Hill, Northumberland, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3, 4
    Person ID I28970  Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of GFS, Ancestor of LD
    Last Modified 24 Jun 2020 

    Father William Douglas,   b. Aft 24 Apr 1235   d. Bef 24 Jan 1299, Tower of London, London, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age < 63 years) 
    Mother Eleanor de Lovaine   d. Aft 3 May 1326 
    Marriage Aft 18 Feb 1290  [1
    Family ID F17273  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Beatrice Lindsay,   b. Abt 1286   d. Bef 6 Dec 1352 (Age ~ 66 years) 
    Children 
    +1. William de Douglas,   b. Abt 1320   d. Abt May 1384, Douglas, Lanarkshire, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 64 years)
    Family ID F17272  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 23 Jun 2020 

  • Notes 
    • Regent of Scotland.

      From the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:

      By the time Archibald reached adulthood, his half-brother, Sir James Douglas, had emerged as a key adherent of Robert I and Archibald benefited from the connection. During the 1320s he received estates at Morebattle in Roxburghshire and Kirkandrews in Dumfriesshire, and was granted Crimond and Rattray in Aberdeenshire; in 1327 he participated in the invasion of England.

      Archibald Douglas's importance grew in the aftermath of the death of Sir James Douglas in 1330, when he became tutor to the latter's son. He himself married Beatrice (d. after 1337), daughter of Alexander Lindsay of Crawford, and their infant daughter Eleanor married Alexander Bruce, earl of Carrick, extending Archibald's connections. The losses among the Bruce party at Dupplin Moor on 11 August 1332 increased Archibald's significance and he engineered Edward Balliol's defeat at Annan at the end of the year. This military role and the Douglas reputation made him a natural choice for guardian of Scotland after the capture of Sir Andrew Murray in April 1333. He used his authority to personal advantage, illegally occupying Liddesdale and other southern lands. When Edward III laid siege to Berwick in May, Archibald raised an army and devastated northern England. This tactic failed to force Edward's withdrawal and Douglas marched to relieve Berwick. On 19 July at Halidon Hill he was defeated and killed in the attempt. His sons, John and William Douglas, fled into exile, and Archibald was remembered as the Tyneman or loser for this defeat, but his career shows he recognized the link between war and lordship which would allow William to become first earl of Douglas.

  • Sources 
    1. [S4246] John P. Ravilious, 7 Sep 2006, post to soc.genealogy.medieval.

    2. [S800] The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, Containing an Historical and Genealogical Account of the Nobility of That Kingdom. Ed. James Balfour Paul. Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1904-1914.

    3. [S128] The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant ed. Vicary Gibbs, H. A. Doubleday, Duncan Warrand, Howard de Walden, Geoffrey H. White and R. S. Lea. 2nd edition. 14 volumes (1-13, but volume 12 spanned two books), London, The St. Catherine Press, 1910-1959. Volume 14, "Addenda & Corrigenda," ed. Peter W. Hammond, Gloucestershire, Sutton Publishing, 1998., date only.

    4. [S76] The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004-ongoing.