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The Polbuthy Charter
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King Robert I’s Grant of Polbuthy to Sir James Douglas, 1318
In the closing months of 1318, with Scotland’s eastern marches newly
secured and the great fortress of Berwick restored to Scottish hands,
King Robert I issued a charter that stands as one of the clearest
acknowledgements of Sir James Douglas’s place at the heart of the realm.
Sealed at Arbroath on 15 December, the document grants to Douglas the
whole lands of Polbuthy in the high valley of Moffat, a strategic upland
holding commanding the routes between Annandale, Clydesdale, and the
forested interior of the Borders. The grant is made in fee and heritage
to Douglas and his heirs, to be held freely and honourably, with no
burden upon the estate save the annual render of twelve broad arrows - a
symbolic payment that signalled royal favour rather than feudal
obligation.
The charter belongs to the period in which Bruce
consolidated his kingdom through a network of trusted captains, and few
were more trusted than Douglas. His campaigns of 1317-18, culminating in
the recovery of Berwick, had demonstrated both his military brilliance
and his unwavering loyalty. The witnesses to the charter - Bernard,
Abbot of Arbroath and Chancellor of Scotland; Thomas Randolph, Earl of
Moray; Gilbert de Haya, the High Constable; Robert de Keith, the
Marischal; and other senior officers — reflect the political weight of
the moment and the standing Douglas had achieved within the king’s inner
circle.
Polbuthy, later known as Polmoody, thus entered the
Douglas sphere not as a casual reward but as part of a deliberate royal
strategy: to anchor the Borders in the hands of men whose service had
shaped the survival of the kingdom. The charter’s language, its
witnesses, and its timing all affirm the deep bond between Bruce and
Douglas - a partnership forged in exile, proven in war, and formalised
in the enduring fabric of Scotland’s territorial order.
Provenance: Charter of Robert I to Sir James Douglas, Arbroath, 15
December 1318.
See also:
•
How Sir James Douglas got his
lands
Contributions:
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Source
Sources for this article include:
The Annandale Family Book of the Johnstones, Earls and Marquises of Annandale, by Sir William Fraser, K.C.B., LL.D.
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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