General Notes

Name Suffix:<NSFX> Sir
Alias:<ALIA> Lord of /Dalkeith/
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 Aug1353, killed by his relative William Douglas, 1st
Earl of Douglas. [Burke'sPeerage]
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, andwas 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 Atholeat 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 themacross the Tweed, but was himself
severely wounded in the contest. He expelled the enemy from Teviotdale,
captured Sir John Stirling at the head of fivehundred 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
assistancefrom 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 experiencedFrench 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, andhis 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
restorationof Baliol to the throne. It is certain that Edward at this
time appointed commissioners with full powers 'to treat of and to

2nd Baron of Drumlanrig