Claiming descent from
James Douglas "de Laudonia", Robert managed something very
unusual in the Douglas family in that history has ignored him completely.
The family records skip from James directly to Robert's nephews William
and John, reflecting perhaps the family's wish to remove him (and his
father) from their pedigree given his long tenure at the English court.
Present at the
siege of Berwick in 1296 which saw
the massacre of the whole of the town by Edward Longshanks, Robert stood
hostage in London for the good conduct of William
Douglas, known as "le Hardi", a distant relation but one who
had ensured that all who went by the name of Douglas would prosper, and
who had taken the young Robert under his wing. William had been the
Scottish governor of Berwick, but on its surrender he was among those who
fixed their seals to the "Ragman Roll", granting Scotland to
Edward.
With the rising of Wallace in 1297, William
Douglas was the first Scottish noble to join his cause, conveniently
forgetting the surety he had given. Robert was moved to the Tower, and
William's English estates at Faudon in Northumbria were declared forfeit.
With William's capture in 1298, Robert was
released from the Tower to make way for the head of his family, but was
prohibited from returning to Scotland. Seeking experience and security, he
was granted permission to participate in tournaments across England. Now,
with the coronation of Edward II and the ongoing struggle for control in
Scotland in which Sir James Douglas plays a prominent part on the Scottish
side, he remains in England in the hope of further advancement.
In the current uncertainty, he defends the King
from his detractors, not from any loyalty to the man himself (as Douglas
is all too aware of his failings), but from his belief in the God-given
right of kings to rule. For others to dispute this seems to him to be
close to heresy...
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