General Notes

REFN: 7481AN
REFN: P3872
Died in battle at the Battle of Durham on 17 Oct 1346.
Sir Robert Keith married Barbara, daughter of the Chief of DOUGLAS, and
had John (who d ied before his father, but left a son named Robert) and
William (who accompan ied King Robert's heart to the Holy Land). Sir
Robert staunchly defended Scot land against the English in the time of
John BALIOL, and supported Robert BRU CE. He was a principal in winning
the battle of Inverury, and commanded 500 h orse in victory at the 1314
Battle of Bannockburn. For his valuable service, Sir Robert was awarded a
large part of the lands forfieted by his cousin, The Earl of Buchan, who
had supported the English, and received a grant of the R oyal Forest of
Kintore. Was killed at the battle of Duplin (1332 a.d.).
But in 1294 Sir Robert Keith, Great Marischal of Scotland, received a
charter fro m King John. He was a man of great energy and ability, and
took an active par t in the affairs of the nation and the War of
Independence. He joined Robert Bruce, and fought in the battle of
Inverurie, in which he greatly distinguish ed himself. Shortly after this
event he received a grant of lands in Aberdeen -shire, including the seat
called "Hall Forest" in the parish of Kintore.
At the Battle of Bannockburn Sir Robert, Great Marischal, had a very
important duty to discharge. The King gave him the command of the
Scottish cavalry— num bering only 500, and held in reserve for a special
movement After the English cavalry had many times furiously charged the
Scottish spearmen, but were rep elled, then the English bowmen and archers
supported the cavalry charges by s howers of arrows and stones, which
severely galled the ranks of the Scottish spearmen. It was at this
critical moment that Sir Robert Keith, with his 500 cavalry, advanced
round the Milton Bog and charged the left flank of the arch ers, and, as
they had no weapons with which to defend themselves at close qua rters,
they were instantly broken and scattered in all directions, and so
u tterly cowed that they declined to return to their posts, in spite of
all the efforts of their leaders to rally them and restore order. They
dispersed and fled headlong.
There is no reasonable doubt that the dispersion and dispiriti ng of the
English bowmen by Sir Robert Keith’s small body of cavalry was one of the
main causes which contributed to the complete overthrow of the great
English army on the field of Bannockburn.
Sir Robert was present at the meeti ng of Parliament in the Abbey of
Arbroath in April, 1320, in which the memora ble address to the Pope was
drawn up. In this spirited and constitutional add ress, the following,
amongst other very important sentences, occur:—"For, so long as one
hundred of us remain alive, we will never consent in any way to s ubject
ourselves to the English; since it is not for glory, nor riches, nor
honours, but liberty alone that we fight and contend for, which no good
man will lose but with his life."
On the 7th of November, 1324, Robert I. granted a charter of the lands of
Keith Marischal to Sir Robert Keith and his heirs, and the office of
Great Marischal of Scotland.
The Marischal married Barbara Douglas, by whom he had two sons, John and
William. John, the elder, died in his father’s lifetime, leaving a son,
Sir Robert Keith. The Marischal was en gaged in the battle of Dupplin, and
fell on that disastrous field, on the 11t h of August, 1332.