Georgia Douglases

Noted Scottish historian, Sir William Fraser, contends that in 1270, Sir William joined other Scottish nobles under the leadership of David I Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl, to participate in the Eighth Crusade. The Crusade, launched by King Loius IX of Frances upon the city of Tunis, Tunisia, was short-lived, with most crusaders returning to their homelands within a year. 

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Some historians suggest that at the death of William's father, Sir William "Longleg," Lord of Douglas, in 1274, his older brother, Hugh, inherited their father's vast land holdings. However, Hugh is thought to have died shortly after his father, so it is not presently known whether or not he actually took possession of the Douglas estates. Whatever the case, William would soon become the recognized heir to his father's estates, and receive a knighthood prior to the late 1280s.

 

Circa 1288, Sir William married Elizabeth Steward, daughter of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland. The marriage would be short-lived as Elizabeth would pass away shortly thereafter. Some scholars have argued that her death may have been in childbirth, but additional research is needed to corroborate this theory. Prior to Elizabeth's death, however, the couple did have one child -- a child that would become one of Scotland's greatest national heroes:

 

a) Sir James Douglas ("the Good Sir James") (c. 1289 - 8/25/1330)

 

Also in 1288, Sir Andrew de Moray (who would later die while supporting William Wallace during the Battle of Stirling Bridge), asked Sir William to take Sir Hugh de Abernathy (Sir Andrew's uncle) into custody for being an accomplice in the murder of Donnchadh III, Earl of Fife, a standing Guardian of Scotland. Sir William apprehended Sir Hugh and imprisoned him in Douglas Castle. Despite the efforts of King Edward I of England to secure his release, Sir Hugh died while still in Sir William's custody in 1291. 

 

In another 1288 adventure, Sir William, supported by Sir John Wishart, moved upon Baron Alan la Zouche's  Fa'side Castle in East Lothian, Scotland. Baron la Zouche was an English noble who was antagonistic to the Scottish cause. Temporarily residing with la Zouche and his wife was Eleanor de Lovaine Ferrers, daughter of Matthew de Lovaine and widow of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby. The late William de Ferrers owned vast tracts of land in Scottish territory, and Eleanor was in the country to collect rent monies on these properties.

The details surrounding the events that followed remain somewhat murky, but what is known is that Sir William abducted Eleanor and withdrew with her to Douglas Castle. In the course of these events, Sir William and Eleanor developed a relationship and soon married. Together with Eleanor, Sir William had issue:

 

a) Hugh, Lord of Douglas (1294 - c. 1344)

b) Archibald, Guardian of Scotland (c. 1296 - 7/19/1333)

When word of Sir William's adventure reached King Edward of England, he dispatched the Sheriff of Northumberland to arrest Sir William and seize all Douglas holdings in the region. Additionally, Edward implored the Guardians of Scotland to turn both Sir William and Eleanor over to the English crown. However, two of the Guardians were close relatives of both Sir William and Eleanor. Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan, was Eleanor's brother-in-law, and James Steward, 5th High Steward of Scotland, was Sir William's brother-in-law. Consequently, the Guardians ignored King Edward's request.

 

Following his adventure in Northumberland and employing the title, Dominus de Douglas (i.e., Lord of Douglas), Sir William petitioned Richard, Abbot of Kelso, to secure the release of various Douglas family charters then housed at the Priory of Lesmahagow (1289). Sir William's employment of the title, Lord of Douglas, appears to be the first recorded use of the appellation.

 

Scholars are not certain by what means, but in 1290, shortly after the charter request, Sir William was arrested and imprisoned in Knaresborough Castle in North Yorkshire, England. Additionally, his lands in the Northumbrian region were seized. The imprisonment lasted only a few months as Sir William de Rye, Sir Robert Bardulf, Sir John Hastings, and Sir Nicholas de Seagrave, all cousins of Eleanor, posted bail for Sir William on Eleanor's behalf during the spring of 1290. Sir William's and Eleanor's acquiescence to King Edward resulted in the return of their Northumbrian holdings, but not before Eleanor was fined one-hundred pounds sterling (a fine later settled by the seizure of properties in Herefordshire and Essex in 1296). 

 

Sir William was among the Scottish nobles who placed their seals on the Treaty of Salisbury which, along with the Treaty of Birgham, provided that with the marriage of Margaret of Norway (granddaughter of Alexander III, King of Scots) and Edward II of Caernavon (son of King Edward I of England), Scotland would be free and separate from England, and that the parliaments and churches of Scotland and England would be independent of one another. Unfortunately, Margaret would pass away before reaching Scotland, and Edward I decided not to honor the terms of the treaties.

 

In 1291, King Edward convened a conference of Scottish nobles at Norham-on-Tweed. Before those convened, King Edward proclaimed himself Lord Paramount of Scotland, to which the Scottish nobles agreed to acquiesce for the time being. Sir William provided his loyalty oath to the king in person in the private chapel of Sir Walter de Linsay at Thurston Manor.

 

Sir William's loyalty to King Edward was short-lived as by the end of 1291 the king moved to seize his holdings in Douglasdale and installed personally appointed administrators to govern the region. He manipulated the reign of Scottish King John Balliol, who convened a parliament on February 10, 1293. Sir William, among other Scottish nobles, did not attend the proceedings. For this action, the men were held in default. Sir William did agree to attend King John's second parliament, but because of his lack of compliance with prior judgments, he was apprehended and placed under house arrest at Douglas Castle. As he was under arrest, he was not able to provide agreed upon services for King Edward, for which he was fined twenty pounds sterling.

 

Growing weary of King John's weakness via the manipulations of King Edward, Scottish nobles established a council of twelve lords to rule Scotland at Stirling in 1295. The council was supported by a treaty with France (i.e., the Auld Alliance), that bound the two nations together against English aggression. In essence, if either country was attacked by England, the other would render assistance. Sir William was afforded the honor of serving as Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed, the seat of Scottish commerce.

 

In response to the Scottish nobles' establishment of self rule, Edward mounted a massive army of 35,000 men and marched on Berwick-upon-Tweed. The overwhelming force stormed into the city on Good Friday, 1296, and provided no mercy to the citizenry. The two-day slaughter resulted in the deaths of approximately 8,000 men, women, and children, and forced Sir William, then housed at Berwick Castle, to cede his forces to Edward's men. Sir William was imprisoned, one of his sons, Hugh (only 2 years old), was taken into custody, and the last of his lands in the region of Essex seized.

 

During his imprisonment, Sir William was housed in Hog's Tower of Berwick Castle. His release was only secured after signing an oath of allegiance (the Ragman Roll) to King Edward. While Edward did return Sir William's properties in Scotland, he did not relinquish those in England. Moreover, Sir William's beloved estates in Northumberland and Fawdon were granted to Sir William's long-standing enemy, Sir Gilbert de Umfraville. This action only served to further fuel Sir William's animosity towards King Edward.

 

In 1297, Edward called upon Sir William to join him in battle against the forces of Philip IV in Flanders. However, Sir William Wallace was mounting forces and initiating preliminary strikes upon English targets. Wallace's perceptions of English tyranny were in alignment with those of Sir William, who ignored Edward's request and joined forces with Wallace.

 

Sir William's decision to align with Wallace was controversial among the Scottish nobility as he was not viewed with the esteem of other nobles. Sir William, however, overlooked such prejudices, and developed a strong alliance and friendship with Wallace.

 

During this period, Sir William's castle at Sanquhar had been overtaken and occupied by English troops. Learning of the seizure, Sir William developed a clever plan whereby one of his men secretly made his way into the castle and, unbeknownst to the English soldiers inside, quietly opened the front gates. Sir William's troops stormed the castle and liberated it from the English army. In response, additional English troops mounted an offensive, but were crushed by the joint forces of Sir William and Wallace. As the English troops retreated, Wallace pursued and killed an estimated 500 soldiers. Wallace and Douglas would continue their attacks on English forces in Durisdeer and Scone Abbey.  

 

In response to Sir William's attacks, King Edward enlisted the assistance of Sir Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, to avenge English losses. Initially, Sir Robert followed Edward's orders and moved on Douglas Castle. During the course of events, Sir Robert had a change of heart and joined Sir William's forces as they made their way to Irvine, North Ayrshire.

 

During the summer of 1297, while with Sir Robert Bruce, Sir William was captured by English troops. He was taken to Berwick Castle where he was held by force. By September, Wallace had amassed a large army and was moving on the River Forth at Stirling. Despite Sir William's captivity, a number of Douglases were still able to accompany Wallace to Stirling Bridge, where the Scots won a decisive victory over English forces.

 

With the Scottish victory at Stirling Bridge, English forces launched a massive retreat. Rather than leave Sir William to reunite with Wallace, he was taken by force from Berwick Castle to England and imprisoned in the Tower of London on October 12, 1297. While there he suffered great abuse and would eventually die as a result in 1298.