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'Alexander Stewart', Alasdair Mór mac an Rígh, and called ''the Wolf of Badenoch'' (1343 – June 20 1405), was the fourth son of King Robert II of Scotland and also the youngest by his first wife, Elizabeth Mure of Rowallan. He was the first Earl of Buchan since John Comyn, from 1382 to his death. Alexander married the widowed Euphemia, Countess of Ross but had no children by her. He did have a large family by his mistress, Mairead inghean Eachann, however. Alexander was also Justiciar of Scotia for a time, but not an effective one. He held vast territories in the north of Scotland before eventually losing a large part of them. Alexander is infamously remembered for his sacking of the royal burgh of Elgin and its cathedral. His nickname was earned due to his notorious cruelty and rapacity but there is no proof that it was used during his lifetime.

Contents

Power and influence

Church defiance

Royal pressure

Elgin Cathedral and aftermath

See also

Notes

References

Power and influence

Stewart, known in charters as Alexander ''Senescalli'' (Latin for Steward), is first noted when, on 14 August 1370, he issued letters patent from Ruthven Castle undertaking to grant protection to the Bishop of Moray and all of his lands, men and property in Badenoch.^[1] His father, Robert the Steward, had acquired the lands of Badenoch probably from Euphemia, Countess of Moray who had become his second wife.^[2]
Robert had a petulant relationship with his uncle, King David II of Scotland.^[3] In 1368 he and his sons were required by David's parliament to take an oath that they would keep their undisciplined followers in check; later that year, Robert and Alexander were imprisoned in Lochleven Castle possibly as a result of these oaths having been broken.^[4] Following Robert's accession to the throne, Alexander was formally made lord of Badenoch on 30 March 1371. Alexander's possession of Badenoch was unaffected by the restoration of the earldom of Moray to John Dunbar in March 1372, nor were the territories of John MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, in Lochaber; similarly with the lands of Urquhart (south of Inverness) which had been granted to David, Earl of Strathearn and King Robert's eldest son with his second wife, Euphemia.^[5]
Alexander further extended his territorial gains by leasing the lands in Urquhart from his younger half-brother, David ^[6] and then obtained possession of the Barony of Strathavon bordering his Badenoch lands. ^[7] He followed this up by making a number of acquisitions in what is now Caithness, Aberdeenshire and Perthshire. ^[8] However Alexander effectively doubled his land holdings when he married Euphemia countess of Ross, in June 1382.^[9] Alexander became the ''jure uxoris'' earl of Ross and this provided him the earldom lands (but only during his own lifetime). Other lands belonging to his wife outwith the earldom — including Lewis, Skye, Dingwall and Kingedward in Aberdeenshire — he held in joint ownership with her.^[10] His possession of the barony of Kingedward, a large part of the former earldom of Buchan allowed King Robert to give Alexander the title of earl of Buchan only days after his marriage.^[11]
In addition to these lands most of which were held in regality, Buchan became powerful as a royal appointee. In October 1372, King Robert made him royal lieutenant for the lands north of the Moray Firth.^[12]He was also Sheriff of Inverness and Nairn. Alexander ruled his territories with help of his highland ''caterans'' (thuggish enforcers) building up resentment among other land owners and none more so than in the person of Alexander Bur, Bishop of Moray.^[13]

Church defiance

There was no dominant potentate in Moray during 12th and 13th centuries and the bishops ruled their territories with a great deal of independence. This ended when King Robert I of Scotland elevated Thomas Randolph to the earldom of Moray sometime between 12 April and 29 October 1312.^[14] The Randolph earls did not hold the earldom for long and it reverted to the crown on the death of Thomas's son John, in 1346, and lay vacant for the next 26 years. In 1365 Bishop Bur persuaded David II that his lands in Badenoch and Strathspey should be governed as if in regality.^[15] To emphasise this, Bur, when he entered into the protection agreement with Alexander in 1370, ensured that the ''de facto'' lord of Badenoch would have no hold on him, nor of his lands and people.^[16] But a few months later in March 1371, on his father's accession to the throne, Alexander was officially made lord of Badenoch. Robert II's charter gave Alexander the lands of Badenoch seemingly in regality thus restoring the terms of ownership enjoyed by Thomas Randolph and, presumably, with authority over the church lands.^[17] It is not recorded whether or not Bishop Bur protested, but the details of the grant of Badenoch contained in ''Register of the Great Seal'' has no reference to regality; Alexander was therefore to hold the Badenoch lands with no greater authority than what John Comyn had, a century before.^[18]
This did not prevent Alexander from trying to assert his influence over the episcopal lands and in 1380, Bishop Bur was summoned to Alexander's court at Kingussy.^[19] Bur was challenged to prove that the church did in effect own the lands. The bishop asserted that the lands were held of the Crown and had even discussed this with King Robert at the royal court in Inverness just a few months before.^[20] The Badenoch court found against Bishop Bur and declared that all church lands in Badenoch were forfeit, but within a day, and after private talks between the parties the court's decision was overturned.^[21] Further, on 7 March 1382, King Robert formally confirmed that his son would have no authority over any of the bishopric's lands.^[22] The king had, however, elevated Alexander to earl of Buchan. On 20 April 1383, Bur leased the lands of Rothiemurchas to Buchan for his own lifetime and also for two successive heirs in return for a renewed protection agreement^[23] After a dispute over the rent for Rothiemurchas, the two men met in Inverness on 2 February 1387 for its re-negotiation and it was then apparent that Alexander had now been appointed Justiciar. ^[24]

Royal pressure

In November 1384, John, Earl of Carrick took executive authority from his father with lawlessness in the north a major issue. In April 1385, at the council-general, Buchan's brother David claimed that Buchan was holding Urquhart unlawfully, while Sir James Lindsay of Crawford reinstated his claim to the earldom of Buchan and finally, the Earl of Moray demanded that some of Buchan's men be prosecuted for the killing of some of his men.^[25] On 1 December 1388, King Robert's third son, Robert, Earl of Fife became the real power in the country and took over the guardianship from his brother John. Within days of this, Fife removed Buchan from the justiciarship of the north and installed his own son, Murdoch.^[26] Fife was very uncompromising towards Buchan, who had been described as 'useless to the community' at a previous council-general meeting. ^[27] Buchan had long deserted his wife and lived with Mairead inghean Eachann with whom he had a number of children, including Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar.^[28] Marital law was the prerogative of the Church and so on 2 November 1389, Bishop Alexander Bur of Moray and Bishop Alexander Kylquhous of Ross, ordered his return to his wife, Euphemia. ^[29] Buchan agreed to this, but didn't live up to his promise and so Fife encouraged Euphemia of Ross during her divorce proceedings against Buchan and in 1392 Euphemia was successful in her appeal to the Avignon papal court and his marriage was annulled.^[30] Following the annulment, Buchan lost all claim to Euphemia's lands which returned to her and to her son Alexander Leslie who was also contracted to marry Fife's daughter.^[31]

Elgin Cathedral and aftermath

Bishop Bur turned to Thomas Dunbar, sheriff of Inverness and son of the earl of Moray to provide his protection.^[32] This enraged Buchan and, in May 1390, he descended from his Lochindorb stronghold and burned the royal burgh of Forres and the choir of the church of St Lawrence.^[33]He followed this up on 17 June by burning a large part of Elgin including the monastery of the Greyfriars, St Giles Church, the Hospital of Maison Dieu and the cathedral.^[34] Church and state now came together to oppose him; excommunicated by Bur, Buchan had to appear at the Church of the Friars Preacher, in Perth in the presence of his brothers, King Robert III of Scotland and the earl of Fife, and the council-general to plead for forgiveness; absolution was granted by Bishop Walter Trail, Bishop of St Andrews.^[35] Although, Buchan appeared to have halted his violent traits after this, his sons did not. A fight ensued near Pitlochry involving Duncan and Robert Stewart at the head of a band of caterans, when Sir Walter Ogilvie and Walter de Lychton along with followers were killed. Later it is recorded that three sons of Buchan's were imprisoned in Stirling Castle from 1396 to 1402.^[36] Buchan is again mentioned at Spynie Castle on 3 May 1398 being ordered to deliver it up to William, bishop of Moray by Robert III.^[37] Alexander Grant theorises that Buchan's low profile during the 1390's may have been because of his sons' incarceration.^[38] Buchan appears to have left Moray in his latter years appearing as baillie of the earldom of Atholl in 1402^[39] and a mention in 1404 in a loan agreement in Perth for some lands in Inverness-shire.
Buchan having acquired vast territories in the north lost a large part of them during his own lifetime (lands of Ross and Urquhart). He held royal appointments only to have them removed (Justiciar of Scotia and royal lieutenant north of the Moray Firth.) He was unsuccessful in maintaining law and order and this seen alongside his inability to hold onto his Ross territories demonstrated his ineffectiveness.^[10] He died in 1405, and was buried at Cathedral of Dunkeld, Perthshire. His chest tomb, topped by an effigy in armour, is one of the few Scottish royal monuments to have survived from the Middle Ages.

See also

★ Scottish monarchs family tree

Notes

1. Reg. Moray, No 154
2. Grant, Moray: Province and People, p.143
3. S. I. Boardman, ‘Robert II (1316—1390)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 17 May 2007
4. S. I. Boardman, ‘Robert II (1316—1390)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 17 May 2007
5. Grant, Moray: Province and People, p. 144
6. Grant, Alexander: "The Wolf of Badenoch" p. 144
7. APS i, 553; SRO, MSS Register House Charters, RH6/167
8. RMS i, Nos. 601, 674, 675, 676, 677, 678; Illustrations of the Antiquities of the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff (Spalding Club 1847—69) iv, 376, in Grant, Alexander: "The Wolf of Badenoch"
9. Grant, Alexander: "The Wolf of Badenoch", p. 144
10. Alexander Grant, ‘Stewart, Alexander , first earl of Buchan (c.1345–1405)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005 accessed 17 May 2007
11. RMS i, Nos. 736, 737, 741, 742 in Grant, Alexander: "The Wolf of Badenoch"; Boardman, Stephen, The Early Stewart Kings: Robert II and Robert III, 1371-1406, (Edinburgh, 1996), pp. 77-83.
12. RMS i, No.556 in Grant, Alexander: "The Wolf of Badenoch"
13. Alexander Grant, ‘Stewart, Alexander, first earl of Buchan (c.1345–1405)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005 accessed 17 May 2007
14. A. A. M. Duncan, ‘Randolph, Thomas, first earl of Moray (d. 1332)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 17 May 2007
15. Grant, Alexander: "The Wolf of Badenoch", p. 146
16. Reg. Moray, nos. 147, 154, 163, 169
17. Reg. Moray, pp. 472-3
18. RMS i, no. 558
19. Reg. Moray, no. 159
20. Grant, Alexander: "The Wolf of Badenoch"
21. Grant, Alexander: "The Wolf of Badenoch" p. 147
22. Reg. Moray, nos. 161, 186
23. Grant, Alexander: "The Wolf of Badenoch"; Reg. Moray, no. 162
24. Grant, Alexander: "The Wolf of Badenoch" p. 148
25. APS i, 550-3
26. Grant, Alexander: "The Wolf of Badenoch" p. 150
27. APS, i, 556
28. Barrow, G W S, 'The Sources for the History of the Highlands in the Middle Ages', pp. 16,17
29. Reg. Moray, no. 271
30. Burns,C: ed., Calendar of papal letters to Scotland of Clement VII of Avignon, Scottish History Society, 4th ser., 12, 1976, p. 174
31. S. I. Boardman, ‘Stewart, Robert, first duke of Albany (c.1340–1420)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 17 May 2007
32. Scottish Society for Northern Studies, Moray: Province and People, pp. 143- 161, Edinburgh, 1993
33. Grant, Alexander: "The Wolf of Badenoch" p. 152
34. Cramond, William: The Records of Elgin, Aberdeen, 1903, p. 17
35. Reg. Moray, pp. 382-3
36. Walter Bower, ''Scotichronicon ed. D E R Watt, vii , Aberdeen, 1987; APS i, 579-80; ibid., i, 573; ER iii, 45-6
37. Reg. Moray, no. 178
38. Grant, Alexander: "The Wolf of Badenoch", p.154
39. Fraser, William: Memorials of the family of Wemyss, 1888, Vol. ii, p.44
40. Alexander Grant, ‘Stewart, Alexander , first earl of Buchan (c.1345–1405)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005 accessed 17 May 2007

References

★ Barrow, G W S, 'The Sources for the History of the Highlands in the Middle Ages' in ''The Middle Ages in the Highlands'' ed L McLean, Inverness, 1981

★ Boardman, Stephen, The Early Stewart Kings: Robert II and Robert III, 1371-1406, (Edinburgh, 1996), pp. 77-83.

★ Boardman, S I, 'Robert II (1316-1390)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006

★ Burns, C: ed., Calendar of papal letters to Scotland of Clement VII of Avignon, Scottish History Society, 4th ser., 12 (1976)

★ Cramond, William: The Records of Elgin, Aberdeen, 1903

★ Duncan,A A M, ‘Randolph, Thomas, first earl of Moray (d. 1332)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004

★ Grant, Alexander: "The Wolf of Badenoch" in W.D.H. Sellar (ed.), Moray: Province and People. Scottish Society for Northern Studies, Edinburgh, 1993. ISBN 0-9505994-7-6

★ Registrium Episcopatus Moraviensis (Bannatyne Club) Edinburgh 1837 (Reg. Moray)

★ Boardman, S I,'Robert II (1316-1390)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006

★ Grant, Alexander 'Stewart, Alexander , first earl of Buchan (c.1345-1405)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2005

★ The Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1814 - 75 [APS]

★ Scottish Records Office [SRO]