|
Douglas, Archibald,
fifth earl of Douglas, and duke of Touraine in the French nobility (c.1391–1439),
magnate and soldier, was the elder son of
Archibald Douglas, fourth
earl of Douglas and duke of Touraine (c.1369–1424), and
Margaret Douglas, née Stewart (b. before 1373?, d. 1450/51), daughter of
Robert III.
His early career was dictated by the ambitions of his
father in Scotland, England, and France. During the fourth earl's English
captivity his heir acted as a hostage for his good behaviour on temporary
release from custody and, while in London, the younger Archibald witnessed
two of his father's charters. Similarly, in Scotland Archibald and his
younger brother, James, were associated with an indenture designed to
regulate possibly uneasy relations between their father and the governor,
Robert Stewart, duke of Albany, in 1409. The assumption by Archibald of
the title earl of Wigtown (the lands of which earldom had been held by the
Black Douglases since 1372) may have been part of his father's attempt to
raise the status of his house in Scotland and beyond. More particularly,
occurring as it did between 1417 and September 1419, Archibald's elevation
was probably connected with his co-leadership of an army in France.
In the autumn of 1419 Archibald, earl of Wigtown, was one of the
principal commanders of a Scottish force of up to 6000 men sent to France.
He and the other main leader, John Stewart, earl of Buchan, second son of
the duke of Albany and husband of Archibald's sister, Elizabeth, had been
sent to support the dauphin, Charles (the future Charles VII), in his war
against Henry V. Although he returned to Scotland on recruiting missions
in early 1420 and late 1422, between 1419 and 1423 Wigtown's career was as
a French commander. The high point of his efforts was the victory won by
the Scots and their French allies at Baugé
in Anjou on Good Friday 1421 in which Henry V's brother Thomas, duke
of Clarence, was killed. Wigtown was rewarded for this success with the
lands of Dun-le-roi in Berri and the title of count of Longueville (then
in English hands). His role at Baugé and his prizes indicate that in the
leadership of Scots troops on the continent he played a junior part to
Buchan, who was made constable of France after the battle. Wigtown
probably represented his father both at the French court and in the
Scottish army—the latter contained considerable numbers of kinsmen,
tenants, and adherents of the Black Douglases.
The return of
Wigtown to Scotland in 1423 was once more in response to the ambitions of
his father. The fourth earl was preparing for his own entry into the
French war, encouraged by the offer of the duchy of Touraine from Charles
VII, the imminent return of James I from English captivity, and the death
of Henry V, whom the earl had promised to serve in France. Wigtown was
again to stand in for his father, this time in Scotland. Since 1419
Wigtown had been confirming grants made by Archibald the elder. Such
confirmations by an heir of alienations by his father are commonplace, but
these may also reflect the fourth earl's long-standing intention to serve
in France. Between late 1423 and the departure of the fourth earl to
France in March 1424 Wigtown was given power to run the Douglas lands in
his place, with the exception of Galloway, where his mother, Margaret, was
left in authority. Although he had helped secure the king's release, the
fourth earl was apparently not prepared to experience James's rule.
Wigtown's marriage, around 1423, to Euphemia Graham (d. 1468),
sister of Malise Graham, earl of Strathearn, and great-niece of Walter
Stewart, earl of Atholl (d. 1437), forged connections with other
magnates which could be valuable in the uncertain circumstances of the
king's return.
In the event Wigtown found his uncle James I anxious
to maintain Black Douglas support. Though he relinquished part of his
father's dominance in the marches, Wigtown successfully forged a working
relationship with the king; James knighted him in May 1424, which seemed
to secure his family's power. This position was weakened in August by the
death of the fourth earl and the destruction of the Scottish army at
Verneuil. The French lands received by both Douglases were quickly
repossessed by Charles VII and given to new owners, despite continued
complaints from the family. More damagingly, the removal of the earl and
so many of his adherents meant that his son had to concede influence in
Lothian and Berwickshire to the king. Archibald, now fifth earl of
Douglas, backed the king's attack on Murdoch Stewart, duke of Albany, in
March 1425 not because he was the mainstay of royal power envisaged by the
fourth earl, but in hope of reward. The support of the Black Douglas
connection was none the less crucial to the assize which condemned Albany,
and Douglas had his title to the lordship of Bothwell confirmed in return.
Further recompense was not forthcoming. Instead in 1426 the king confirmed
his sister, Douglas's mother, in her hold on Galloway and displayed his
ability to intervene in the family's border power base.
The fifth
earl was clearly dissatisfied with the limitations on the regional powers
established by his father. He continued to concern himself in Galloway
after 1426, and in 1429 sought to exert influence in Carrick in a dispute
between members of the Kennedy kindred. James I distrusted such activities
and, although Douglas was given the rank and role of a trusted councillor
at court and served on James's 1429 highland campaign, the king blocked
his local ambitions. Tension increased with the king's move towards a war
in the highlands and with England, which Douglas saw as potentially
disastrous. The earl was removed as a march warden and in 1431 was
arrested, once again perhaps in connection with the feuding Kennedys. He
was quickly restored to lands and offices, but his local role remained
curtailed. While he did not go to France, as David Hume of Godscroft later
claimed, his activities were confined to the heartlands of the family,
Bothwell, Annandale, and Selkirk Forest, and his support drawn largely
from those regions.
Throughout James's reign Douglas benefited from
the rise of family servants. Men such as his uncle James Douglas of
Balvenie, John Cameron, and William Crichton maintained contact between
king and earl and prevented wider conflict. They were also vital in the
earl's promotion following the assassination of James in February 1437.
Douglas had no part in a plot which sought power for his rival, Walter,
earl of Atholl. To many, though, he was the most acceptable lieutenant for
the young James II, no doubt in part because of his descent from Robert
III. In June he received the office from a general council, forcing Queen
Joan to relinquish power. All the same, it is arguable that his rise owed
less to legitimacy than to the support of Balvenie and Crichton. Both
profited from his brief period of power, in which Douglas showed himself
aware of the need to forge agreements with the other major Scottish
magnates, the earl of Crawford and the lord of the Isles, and widened his
own basis of support in Ayrshire and Lothian. However, the earl's own
death on 26 June 1439 at Restalrig, Edinburghshire, was to prove the
dangers of reliance on such powerful servants as Balvenie and Crichton,
who orchestrated the murder of Douglas's sons, David and
William Douglas, the following year.
 The earl was buried in an
impressive tomb in the church of Douglas,
St Bride's, on which were
recorded his full titles—earl of Douglas and Wigtown and lord of Galloway,
Bothwell, Selkirk and Ettrick Forest, Eskdale, Lauderdale, and Annandale
in Scotland, and duke of Touraine, count of Longueville, and lord of
Dun-le-roi in France.
Research: •
Nicola
Marshall-Roth asks: I am trying to determine if there is any truth in
our family folk lore that says Thomas Pringle married Lady Jane Douglas who was
daughter of the 5th Earl of Douglas. Lady Jane and Thomas had a daughter Euphemia
who married into the Caldwell family and that is my paternal grandmother's
maiden name.
|
|
