General Notes

1st and last Earl of Atholl, so created 18 July 1341, though he resigned the title soon afterwards in favour of Robert Stewart of Liddesdale, grandson of Robert I of Scotland; acquired the feudal Lordship of Dalkeith from the Grahams, also the territorial Barony of Aberdour, Fife, and lands in Tweeddale, Liddesdale, Eskdale, and Ewesdale which had been forfeited by the Soulis's and Lovel's and which he entailed 1351 on his nephews (younger brother John's sons); known as the "Flower of Chivalry"; allegedly m? 1st? Margaret sister and coheir of John Graham of Dalkeith and Abercorn; married? 2nd? Elizabeth (married 2nd 4th Lord (Baron) Dacre) and dspm Aug 1353, killed by his relative William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas.  [Burke's Peerage]


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Copied from "Douglas Family" by Mark Freeman, freepages.genalogy.rootsweb.com/~markfreeman/douglas.html:
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Lord of Liddesdale

" ... the Knight of Liddesdale, also known in history by the title of 'The Flower of Chivalry.' ... He was the lawful son of Sir James Doulgas of Loudon, and came into possession of the lands of Liddesdale through his marriage with Margaret, daughter of Sir John Graham of Abercorn. He took a distinguished part in the expulsion of Baliol and his English partisans from Scotland, after the young King David Bruce had taken refuge in France. He was unfortunately taken prisoner in 1332 in an encounter with an English force at Lochmaben, and was confined in iron fetters by the orders of Edward III himself. He was detained two years in captivity, and was released only on paying a large ransom.

"On his return to Scotland the Knight of Liddesdale exerted himself more energetically than ever to expel the English invaders and to vindicate the independence of his country. He took part in the conflict with the Earl of Athole at the Forest of Kilblane, in which that powerful but rapacious and unpatriotic noble was defeated and killed. He captured and demolished the Castles of Dunnotar, Kinclaven, and Laurieston, which had been garrisoned by the English. He encountered, near Crichton, the Lords Marchers of England, who had come to the relief of Edinburgh Castle, then besieged by the Regent, and drove them across the Tweed, but was himself severely wounded in the contest. He expelled the enemy from Teviotdale, captured Sir John Stirling at the head of five hundred men-at-arms, intercepted a convoy of provisions on its way to Hermitage, and succeeded in reducing that fortress; defeated Roland de Vaux, a celebrated warrior in the English interest, and in a fierce and repeatedly renewed engagement with Sir Lawrence Abernethy, a Scotsman who had espoused the cause of Edward Baliol, he succeeded at the fifth encounter in capturing that knight and dispersing his followers. In 1339 he was sent to solicit assistance from the French Court, and brought back with him from France five ships of war, having on board a body of men-at-arms under the command of an experienced French officer, who contributed largely to the reduction of Perth, at that time held by the English. Shortly after he succeeded, by a dexterous stratagem, in recoving the Castle of Edinburgh. He tarnished his laurels, however, and his reputation, but cruel murder of his friend and companion in arms, Sir Alexander Ramsay. Such was the weakness of the Government at this time, that King David was obliged not only to pardon the savage murderer, but to bestow upon him the office on account of which he had perpetrated the atrocious crime. The assassination of David de Berkeley shortly after, at the instigation of Douglas, is supposed to have been connected with a plot for the restoration of Baliol to the throne. It is certain that Edward at this time appointed commissioners with full powers 'to treat of and to conclude a treaty with William Douglas, to receive him into our faith, peace, and amity, and to secure him a reward; and that Douglas accepted the terms which they offfered. But, for some unknown cause, the conspiracy was laid aside for some time.

"The Knight of Liddesdale commanded the right wing of the Scottish army at the battle of Neville's Cross (17th October, 1346), and was taken prisoner along with his sovereign. He was induced to purchase his liberty at the expense of his loyalty and honour, and promised to transfer to the English monarch that allegience which he owed to his own sovereign. He bound himself by a secret treaty to allow the English to pass unmolested through his estates at all times and for all purposes; neigher openly nor secretly to give counsel or aid to his own country, or to any other nation, against the King of England; and to keep on foot a body of men for his service. In return for this treasonable compact he was liberated from prison, and received from Edward a grant of the territory of Liddesdale and the Castle of Hermitage, and some possessions in Annandale. But his treachery was discovered and his intrigues baffled by his kinsman, William, first Earl of Douglas, by whom, shortly after his return to Scotland, he was waylaid and slain while he was hunting in Ettrick Forest. Some contemprary writers ascribe this deed to revenge for the murder of Sir Alexander Ramsay and Sir David Berkeley, which, however, does not appear at all probable. Others affirm that it was owing to domestic jealousy, and Hume of Godscroft has preseved a single stanza of a ballad composed on the murder of Douglas which conveys this impression: --

'The Countess of Douglas out of her bower she came, And loudly then did she call: It is for the lord of Liddesdale That I let the tears down fall.'

It is probable, however, that the treachery of Douglas to his country, and his attempt to deprive his kinsman and chief of his patrimonial inheritance, led to his violent end."
The Great Historic Families of Scotland, by James Taylor.