General Notes

Name Suffix:<NSFX> 6th Earl de Mar
DONALD, EARL OF MAR [SCT], son and heir by 1st wife, was knighted byAlexander III at Scone, 29 September 1270. He had succeeded to theEarldom by 25 July 1281, when he swore at Roxburgh to observe the termsof the marriage contract between Princess Margaret [SCT] and King Eric ofNorway. He was one of the magnates who, after the death of KingAlexander, acknowledged Margaret, daughter of the said Princess, as heirto the throne of Scotland, at Scone, 5 February 1283/4; and of those who,in their own name and, the name of the community of the realm ofScotland, in a convention at Brigham, 17 March 1289/90, confirmed thetreaty of marriage between the said Margaret of Norway, then Queen ofScotland, and Edward, son of Edward L After Queen Margaret's death in1290 the Earl of Mar became a strong supporter of Bruce's claims, and wasone of the seven earls whose action in 1290 appears to have been thefirst step taken to appeal for a decision to the King of England asoverlord. He swore fealty to Edward I as his overlord 13 June 1291. TheEarl of Mar was one of the Scottish nobles summoned to accompany Edwardto Gascony, September 1294. He was active in the Scottish revolt againstEngland, and was taken prisoner at, or after, the battle of Dunbar, 27Apr. 1296; but, on the submission of Baliol, he did homage at Montrose inJuly following, and on 31 July-1 August, Edward visited him at his castleof Kildrummy. On 28 August he did homage again at Berwick. On 23 June1297, at Westmiinster, he took an oath to serve Edward against the Kingof France. The following month he sent a report to the King about thestate of the magnates in the North, and the 25th of this month is thelast date at which he is known to have been alive. He married Helen,widow of Malcolm, EARL of FIFE [SCT] (who died 1266), and said to havebeen daughter of Llewelyn, PRINCE OF NORTH WALES. She was living inFebruary 1294/5. He died probably soon after 25 July 1297. [CompletePeerage VIII:402-3, XIV:464]

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Donald Mar, tenth Earl of (d 1297), was the son of William, ninth earland Elizabeth Comyn, his first wife. He was knighted by Alexander III atScone in 1270, and succeeded as earl before 25 July 1281, when he tookoath at Roxburgh to observe the treaty for the marriage of PrincessMargaret of Scotland and Eric, king of Norway. At Scone in 1284 hesimilarly undertook to acknowledge their daughter, the Maid of Norway, asqueen of Scotland in the event of Alexander's death, and in 1289 heunited with the community of Scotland in recommending to Edward I ofEngland the marriage of the Prince of Wales and the Maid of Norway. Thiswas agreed to, and the marriage arranged at Birgham, Berwickshire, inJuly 1290, in a treaty to which Mar was a party. After the death of theMaid of Norway, when different claimants appeared for the Scottish crown,Mar united in the Scots' appeal to Edward to be their arbiter. Personallyhe supported the claim of Robert Bruce, whose son, the future king,married his daughter Isabel, and whose daughter, Christian, married hisson Gratney. He swore allegiance to Edward at Upsettington, Berwickshire,on 12 June 1291, and was a witness to Edward's protest at Berwick as tohis claim to be lord superior of Scotland. Under Edward's suzerainty heheld the office of bailie of Aboyne. In 1294 Mar, with other Scottishnobles, was summoned to London to attend Edward on foreign service.Rather than obey they revolted. But after the battle of Dunbar, in 1296,Mar came to Edward at Montrose, and afterwards swore fealty again atBerwick. He was, notwithstanding, carried prisoner to England, but wasreleased on parole, 23 June 1297, in order to visit Scotland, Edward atthe same time exacting from him a pledge that he would serve him againstFrance. He died about this time, leaving a son and successor, Gratney,eleventh earl of Mar, and father of Donald, twelfth earl of Mar; he aldoleft two daughters, Isabel, wife of Robert the Bruce, and