John Douglas, Lord of Balvenie
John Douglas, Lord of Balvenie (or Balveny, Balvany) (c. 1433–1463)
was the youngest of the five formidable Black Douglas brothers, who
clashed with King James II of Scotland.
Balvenie was the son
of James
Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas and his wife, Beatrice Sinclair,
daughter to Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney. Of him there is not
much on record prior to 1445 when his father resigned the lands of
Balvenie, Boharm, and Botriphnie to him. He is also mentioned as an
heir of entail to his brother William
Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas in 1451 In 1448, in retaliation for
English raids upon the towns of Dumfries, by Richard Neville, 5th
Earl of Salisbury, and Dunbar by Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of
Northumberland, Balvenie is said to have "ravaged Cumberland and
laid the town of Alnwick in ashes." Northumberland, having had his
lands plundered gave chase to Balvenie. Balvenie meanwhile had
regrouped with his brother,
Hugh Douglas, Earl of Ormonde, and on 23 October, met
Northumberland at Gretna, the following engagement was a decisive
victory for the Douglas brothers known as the
Battle of Sark. Northumberland
managed to escape, but his son Lord Poynings was captured.
In
1452 Balvenie's eldest brother, the Earl of Douglas was murdered by
King James II with his own hands. Douglas had arrived at Stirling
Castle with a Safe conduct issued by the King. According to Boece,
Balvenie, along with his brothers, attacked the town of Stirling and
paraded the supposed letter of safe conduct tied to the tail of a
horse.
In the years between the murder of the eighth earl,
and 1455, there followed an intermittent war between the Crown and
the Douglases, with King James attempting to dislodge the brothers
from their position of power. Balvenie and his brothers were given
safe conducts to travel in 1453 which lasted for four years.
On 1 May 1455, at the Battle of
Arkinholm, near Langholm, Balvenie and his elder brothers,
Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray, and Ormond were trapped by forces
loyal to the crown and were defeated. Moray was killed during the
battle, Ormond was captured and executed soon after, but Balvenie
escaped to England. For a time he took refuge there, along with the
other surviving brother, James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas.
Following the defeat at Arkinholm, in the summer of 1455, all
Douglas titles were declared forfeit, and their land reverted to the
crown, Balvenie was specifically cited as having helped his mother
fortify the Douglas castle of Abercorn
against the King. Balvenie, Douglas and their mother were outcast
from Scottish society for their treasonable dealings with the
English.
Following the death of King James at
Roxburgh Castle in 1460, Balvenie
returned to Scotland with his brother after being granted an annuity
by the English King of £100 from the revenues of the customs of
Southampton and other places. In an attempt to foment further
rebellion by John of Islay against the Scottish crown, the brothers
ratified the Treaty of Ardtornish-Westminster, on behalf of the
English with the Lord of the Isles.
For his part in these
negotiations, the Scottish council of regency, put a price upon
Balvenie's head of 1,200 Merks (the equivalent of £45,000 pounds
sterling in the present day). In 1463 Balvenie was again in Scotland
trying to raise men to the Douglas standard, but was captured by
members of the Scotts of Liddesdale. He was taken to Edinburgh,
where he was incarcerated for twelve days before being beheaded.
See also:
Balvenie Castle
