| Douglas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dùbhghlas[1] | |||
 Crest: On a chapeau, a green salamander surrounded by fire | |||
| Motto |
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| Slogan | "A Douglas! A Douglas!" | ||
| Profile | |||
| Region | Lowlands | ||
| District | Lanarkshire,[1]Lothian,Scottish Marches,Angus,[1]Moray,Galloway[1] andDumfriesshire[1] | ||
| Plant badge | Rue | ||
| Pipe music | Dumbarton's Drums | ||
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| Douglas no longer has a chief, and is anarmigerous clan | |||
| Historic seat | Douglas Castle[2] | ||
| Last Chief | His Grace Archibald Douglas The 1stDuke of Douglas | ||
| Died | 21 July 1761[b] | ||
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Clan Douglas (Gaelic:Dùbhghlas) is an ancientclan or noble house from theScottish Lowlands.
Taking their name fromDouglas inLanarkshire, their leaders gained vast territories throughout theBorders,Angus,Lothian,Moray, and also inFrance andSweden. The family is one of the most ennobled in the United Kingdom and has held numerous titles.
The Douglases were one of Scotland's most powerful families,[3] and certainly the most prominent family in lowlandScotland during theLate Middle Ages, often holding the real power behind the throne of the Stewart kings.[citation needed] The heads of the House of Douglas held the titles of theEarl of Douglas (Black Douglas) and later theEarl of Angus (Red Douglas).[4] The clan does not currently have achief recognised by theLord Lyon. The principal Douglas today is theDuke of Hamilton, but as his surname is "Douglas-Hamilton" rather than simply "Douglas" the laws of theLyon Court prevent him from assuming thechiefship of the name.
The originalcaput of the family wasDouglas Castle inLanarkshire. The Kirk of St Bride at Douglas, along withMelrose Abbey and theAbbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés holds the remains of many of the Earls of Douglas and Angus.[5]
The Swedish branch is descended from Field MarshalRobert Douglas, Count of Skenninge, and has been one of Sweden's most prominent noble families since the 17th century.[6][7]
In modern texts, the family's surname is thought to derive from the village of Douglas, the name of which comes from the Gaelic elementsdubh, meaning "dark, black"; andglas, meaning "stream" (in turn fromOld Gaelicdub andglais).[8] However, according to the 17th century historian Frederic van Bossen, the Douglas name means "gray hairs in the old language", and it was first given to a Lord Shulton, who lived in the 8th century. Frederic van Bossen states Lord Shulton was a descendant of Adrolena of Shaultow who was a descendant of the Princes of Caledonia.[9][10][11]
In 1179William Douglas was Lord of Douglas; he is the first certain record of the name Douglas and undoubtedly the ancestor of the family. He witnessed a charter between 1175 and 1199 by theBishop of Glasgow to the monks of Kelso.[3] His grandson, alsoSir William de Douglas had two sons who fought at theBattle of Largs in 1263 against theNorsemen.[3]
One old tradition is that the first chief of Douglas wasSholto Douglas who helped the king of Scotland win a battle in the year 767. This is not substantiated and likely to bepseudohistory.[4][12]
The true progenitor of Clan Douglas may have been "Theobaldus Flammatius" (Theobald the Fleming), who in 1147 received the lands nearDouglas Water in Lanarkshire in return for services for theAbbot of Kelso, who held the barony and lordship ofHolydean.[4][12] The Douglas family names consisted of Arkenbald and Freskin, and were believed to be related to theClan Murray, believed to be descended from a Flemish knight calledFreskin.[13] It seems likely that he was the father of the first William Douglas.[4][12]
However the Flemish origin of the Douglases is disputed; it is claimed by some that the lands which were granted to Theobald the Fleming were not the lands from which the Douglas family later emerged.[12][14]
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During theWars of Scottish Independence,Sir William Douglas "le Hardi," Lord of Douglas (1243 – c. 1298),[15] was governor ofBerwick-upon-Tweed when the town andBerwick Castle were besieged by the English.[3] Douglas was captured and was released only after he had agreed to accept the claim of theEdward I of England to be overlord of Scotland.[3] He subsequently joinedWilliam Wallace in fighting for Scottish independence, but was captured and taken to England, where he died in 1298, a prisoner in theTower of London.[3][4][12]
William Le Hardi's son,James Douglas, "The Good Sir James" (c. 1286–1330), was the first to acquire the epithet "the Black". He shared in the early misfortunes ofRobert the Bruce and in the defeats atMethven andDalrigh in 1306. But for both men these setbacks provided a valuable lesson in tactics: limitations in both resources and equipment meant that the Scots would always be at a disadvantage in conventional medieval warfare.
By the time the fighting flared up again in the spring of 1307 they had learned the value of guerrilla warfare – known at the time as "secret war" – using fast-moving, lightly equipped and agile forces to maximum effect against an enemy often dependent on static defensive positions.[5] Sir James Douglas recapturedRoxburgh Castle from the English in 1313. He was made aknight banneret, a high honor, and fought at theBattle of Bannockburn in 1314.[4][5][12]
John Barbour recounts that the English called Sir James "The Black Douglas"[16][17] for what they considered his dark deeds. According to Sir Walter Scott, he became the bogeyman of a Northern English lullaby "Hush ye, hush ye, little pet ye. Hush ye, hush ye, do not fret ye. The Black Douglas shall not get ye."[18] Unsubstantiated theories point to his colouring and complexion, this is tenuous. Douglas appears only in English records as "The Black" – Scots chronicles almost always referred to him as "The Guid" or "The Good". Later Douglas lords took the by-name of their revered forebear in the same way that they attached the image of Bruce's heart to theircoat of arms: to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies and to exhibit the prowess of their race.[4][5]
KingRobert the Bruce had requested that Douglas, latterly his most esteemed companion in arms, should carry his heart to theHoly Land, as atonement for the murder ofJohn III Comyn.[3] In 1330 Douglas, en route to the East with a company of Scots men-at-arms, joined the forces ofAlfonso XI of Castile,Edward III of England's cousin by his motherQueen Isabella[citation needed], to fight against theMoors of Granada at the siege ofTeba.[3] Here Sir James was killed. Accounts vary of how he died but he is generally depicted either outnumbered or alone, fighting against overwhelming odds. The casket containing the heart of the Bruce was recovered and returned to Scotland, to be interred atMelrose Abbey.[3] Douglas' bones were boiled and returned to Scotland. Tradition claimed that his embalmed heart was lodged in the Douglas vaults at the Kirk of St Bride. Meanwhile, his bones are not in the stone vault lying under his effigy and they have yet to be located.[4][12] By 1333 King Robert's 'bloody heart' was incorporated in the arms of Sir James' son, William, Lord of Douglas. It subsequently appeared, sometimes with a royal crown, in every branch of the Douglas family.
The Scottish army that fought and lost theBattle of Halidon Hill in 1333 was led by James' youngest brother who had been electedRegent of Scotland in late March 1333. Sir Archibald Douglas has been badly treated by some historians; frequently misidentifying this Douglas warrior as theTyneman or loser when the moniker was intended for a later less fortunate but equally warlike Archibald. He was mentioned in Barbour'sThe Brus for his great victory during theWeardale campaign; leading the Scottish army further south into County Durham he devastated the lands and took much booty from Darlington and other nearby towns and villages.[5][12]
Sir James 'The Good' Douglas' sonWilliam succeeded to the title as Lord of Douglas but may not have completed his title to the estates, possibly because he might have been underage. He died at Halidon Hill with his uncle,Sir Archibald Douglas. James' younger brother,Hugh the Dull, Lord of Douglas, a canon serving the See of Glasgow and held a prebendary atRoxburgh became Lord Douglas in 1342; Hugh of Douglas resigned his title to his nephew, the youngest surviving son of the Regent Archibald,William Lord of Douglas who was to become the first Earl. The First Earl's legitimate sonJames Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas succeeded him. Hisillegitimate son byMargaret Stewart, 3rd Countess of Angus wasGeorge Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus, who was the progenitor of theEarls of Angus also known as the "Red Douglases".[4][12]
The prestige of the family was greatly increased when James Douglas's great nephew,James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas married Isabel, a daughter of KingRobert II of Scotland. In 1388 at theBattle of Otterburn he was instrumental to the Scots' victory but was killed during the fighting.[3] Leaving no legitimate heir, his titles passed to the illegitimate son of his great-uncle.[4][12]
Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas did much to consolidate the family's power and influence. He successfully defendedEdinburgh Castle againstHenry IV of England in 1400 but died the following year.[3][5][12]
His son,Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, married the daughter ofRobert III of Scotland. The fourth Earl fought against KingHenry IV of England at theBattle of Shrewsbury in 1403, where he was taken prisoner.
In 1406, with the death of the king, the 4th Earl of Douglas became one of the council of regents to rule Scotland during the childhood ofJames I of Scotland. In 1412, the 4th Earl had visited Paris, when he entered into a personal alliance withJohn the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, and in 1423, he commanded a contingent of 10,000 Scots sent to the aid ofCharles VII of France against the English. He was madelieutenant-general inJoan of Arc's French army, and received the titleDuke of Touraine,[4][12] with remainder to his heirs-male, on 19 April 1424. The newly created French duke was defeated and slain atBattle of Verneuil on 17 August 1424, along with his second son, James, and son-in-lawJohn Stewart, Earl of Buchan.[3][4][5]
On 24 November 1440, the 16-year-oldWilliam Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas, and his younger brother David were invited to dine with the ten-year-old KingJames II of Scotland.[3] Later called the Black Dinner, the occasion was organised bySir William Crichton,Lord Chancellor of Scotland, along withJames Douglas, the uncle of William and David's late father; James stood to inherit the young Earl's wealth and titles.[19] While they ate, a black bull's head, a symbol of death, was brought in and placed before the Earl.[3] Over the protests of the young King James II, the two brothers were then dragged out to Castle Hill, given a mock trial and beheaded.[3] Clan Douglas then laid siege toEdinburgh Castle.[20] Perceiving the danger, Crichton surrendered the castle to the king and was rewarded with the title Lord Crichton.[20] It is still unclear exactly who else was ultimately responsible, though it is thoughtLivingston and Buchan were likely candidates.[4][5][12] However, it was James Douglas and his son who profited.
In 1448,Hugh Douglas, Earl of Ormond led a Scottish force to victory against an English army at theBattle of Sark.[12]
Sir Alexander Gordon createdEarl of Huntly in 1449. At this time the king was at enmity with the Black Douglases. The Gordons stood on the king's side, and with their men involved in the south of the country,Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray took the opportunity to sack the Gordon lands, setting Huntly Castle ablaze. However, the Gordons returned and quickly destroyed their enemies. Although the castle was burned to the ground, a grander castle was built in its place.[12]
The Douglases had a long feud withClan Colville. Sir Richard Colville had killed the Laird of Auchinleck who was an ally of the Douglases. To avenge this murder the Douglases attacked the Colvilles in their castle, where many were killed. The Douglases levelled the Colvilles' castle and put their men to the sword.William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas personally executed Richard Colville.[12]
After fruitless feuding with the Douglases, the King invitedWilliam Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas toStirling Castle in 1452 under the promise of safe conduct, but then the King accused the Earl of conspiracy in his dealings with the Yorkists in England and through a pact made between Douglas, theEarl of Crawford and theLord of the Isles.[3] Upon Douglas' refusal to repudiate the pact and reaffirm his loyalty to James II, the King drew his dagger and stabbed Douglas in the throat. The story goes that the King's Captain of the Guard then finished off the Earl with apole axe. The body was thrown from the window into a garden below, where it was later given burial. A stained glass window bearing the Douglas Arms now overlooks "Douglas Garden", the spot where the Earl is said to have fallen.[4][12]
In 1455,James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas (the Black Douglas) rebelled against the king but his forces were defeated at theBattle of Arkinholm by the king's forces who were commanded byGeorge Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus (the Red Douglas). This brought an end to the Black Douglases.[4] After the battle an act of parliament gave theEarl of Angus the lordship of Douglas with the original possessions of his ancestors in Douglasdale. The 9th Earl of Douglas was later defeated by the forces of KingJames III of Scotland at theBattle of Lochmaben Fair in 1484.[12][21][22]
In 1513, there was a strong Douglas contingent at theBattle of Flodden, where two ofArchibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus's sons were killed along with 200 men of the name of Douglas.[4][12]
In 1526,Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus defeatedWalter Scott of Branxholme and Buccleuch, chief ofClan Scott, at theBattle of Melrose, who was attempting to rescue the youngJames V of Scotland from Douglas.[23]
A dispute occurred in 1530, when Sir Robert Charteris, the 8th Laird and chief ofClan Charteris fought a duel withSir James Douglas of Drumlanrig in what was said to have been one of the last great chivalric contests. It was fought with all the observance of a medieval tournament with heralds and the king himself watching from the castle walls. The joust was apparently fought with such fury that Charteris' sword was broken and the king had to send his men-at-arms to part the combatants.[12]
Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus held the post of Lord Chancellor and became guardian ofJames V of Scotland by marrying his widowed mother,Margaret Tudor, sister ofHenry VIII of England, with whom he had a daughter,Margaret Douglas, mother ofHenry Stuart, Lord Darnley. In 1545, Angus led his forces to victory at theBattle of Ancrum Moor where they defeated the English army during theRough Wooing, and he was also present at the defeat in 1547 at theBattle of Pinkie Cleugh.[4][12]
James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, nephew of the 6th Earl of Angus, was a bitter enemy ofMary, Queen of Scots.[3] He was one of the murderers of the queen's secretaryDavid Rizzio and was heavily implicated in the murder of her second husbandLord Darnley.[3] In 1572 he was elected regent for the still minorKing James VI. In many respects Morton was an energetic and capable ruler, but he was brutal in crushing factions still loyal to Queen Mary. Regent Morton was finally forced to resign in March 1578, but retained much of his power. Ultimately, he was accused of complicity in the murder of Darnley and was executed in 1581.[3][4][5][12]
During theWars of the Three Kingdoms,William Douglas, 11th Earl of Angus, a Catholic, was a supporter ofKing Charles I.[3] In 1633, he was created Marquess of Douglas.[3] Following theBattle of Kilsyth in 1645, he joinedJames Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, and was present whenRoyalist forces foughtCovenanter cavalry at theBattle of Philiphaugh where he barely escaped with his life.[3] FollowingCromwell's victory, he was able to make peace and was fined £1,000.[3][5]
In 1660,William Douglas, the brother of the second Marquess of Douglas became, through marriage, theDuke of Hamilton.[3] Eventually, the titles of Marquess of Douglas, Earl of Angus, and several others devolved to the Dukes of Hamilton and the heir of that house is always styled Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale.[3] The Douglas and Hamilton lines became Douglas-Hamilton and, underScots law, are barred from inheriting the title of chief of Clan Douglas due to the hyphenated surname.[3] This similarly applies to the Douglas-Home family who joined their surnames in the nineteenth century.[12]
In 1689,James Douglas, Earl of Angus raised theCameronian regiment (Earl of Angus's regiment). Although greatly outnumbered, the regiment managed to defeat a larger Jacobite force at theBattle of Dunkeld. The regiment was victorious under the command of CaptainGeorge Munro, 1st of Auchinbowie.[12][24]
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In 1703, theMarquisate of Douglas was elevated to a Dukedom.Archibald Douglas, 1st Duke of Douglas marriedMargaret Douglas (a distant relation) late in life and had no direct heir – the title of Duke became extinct on his death. By the late 17th century, more political power was wielded by the Douglases of Drumlanrig, in Dumfriesshire who are also descended from the Black Douglases. The Douglases of Drumlanrig had becomeEarl of Queensberry in 1633,Marquises in 1682 andDukes in 1684. The maneuvers ofJames Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry, contributed to theUnion of 1707.[5][12]
During the Jacobite risings of the 18th century the Douglases continued their support for the British Government. Archibald Douglas, 1st Duke of Douglas led the volunteer horse atBattle of Sheriffmuir during theJacobite rising of 1715. Also at that fight was the Duke's young cousin,Archibald Douglas, 2nd Earl of Forfar, colonel of the3rd Regiment of foot, and who died of wounds taken there shortly afterward. Douglas Castle was burnt by the Highland armies ofBonnie Prince Charlie in theJacobite rising of 1745. Douglas Castle was again burnt down in 1755, and the Duke commenced work on a new edifice designed byRobert Adam. Building work ceased on the Duke's death in 1761, and with it his Dukedom became extinct. The Marquisate of Douglas and Earldom of Angus devolved toJames Hamilton, 7th Duke of Hamilton, the senior male-line descendant ofWilliam Douglas, 1st Marquess of Douglas, his great-great-great-grandfather, by the way of his son, Lord William Douglas, 1st Earl of Selkirk, whom upon his marriage toAnne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton, becameWilliam Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton, the adoption of the surname Hamilton being one of the conditions to inheriting the Dukedom. His descendants would later add Douglas back to the surname and become the Douglas-Hamilton branch.
In 1895, Alfred Douglas-Hamilton inherited the Dukedom of Hamilton from his cousinWilliam Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton and becameAlfred Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton. Alfred Douglas-Hamilton was the great-great-great-grandson ofJames Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton through a collateral line.[citation needed] During World War I, Hamilton Palace, the main family seat, was used as a hospital with his blessing. During World War II, his sons,Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton,George Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk,Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton, andLord David Douglas-Hamilton made history by all being squadron leaders or above at the outbreak of the war. Lord David Douglas-Hamilton was killed in action in 1944. The 14th Duke of Hamilton wasthe first man to fly over Mt. Everest. His son,Angus Douglas-Hamilton, 15th Duke of Hamilton was also in the Royal Air Force and achieved the rank of flight lieutenant during his service in the Cold War. He was the father of the current Duke,Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 16th Duke of Hamilton. The current heir apparent to the Dukedom is the 16th Duke's son, Douglas Charles Douglas-Hamilton, Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale.
The lineage of the Swedish branch of the Douglas of Dalkeith line begins with James Douglas, documented in 1353, died in 1420. His descendant Sir William Douglas ofWhittingehame (which had come from the Earls of March by marriage to James Douglas of Dalkeith in 1372) became English ambassador to the royal Danish court atCopenhagen in 1603. His grandson, the Scottish-bornRobert Douglas (1611–1662), transplanted this branch of the Scottish clan toSweden when in 1627 he became an officer in theThirty Years' War; In 1657 he became field marshal. He received the Swedish title of Baron in 1651 and the title of Count (the highest title awarded to non-royalty in Sweden) in 1654. He was enfeoffed with the county ofSkänninge and introduced in 1654 to the class of counts of theSwedish nobility under No. 19. From 1655 he builtStjärnorp Castle in Östergötland, which is still an ancestral seat of the Swedish branch today, besidesEkensholm Castle andRydboholm Castle. Theescutcheon of the Swedish Douglas family's arms is the Scottish Douglas arms.[7]
Robert Douglas' descendants, the Swedish counts Douglas (the title is not primogenitary, but is held by all members of the line), are one of Sweden's most prominent noble families since the mid 17th century and has included numerous prominent individuals, such as Foreign MinisterLudvig Douglas.[25] CountGustaf Douglas was an important entrepreneur. His sisters areRosita Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, and Princess Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria, the wife ofPrince Max, Duke in Bavaria.Walburga Habsburg, Countess Douglas, the daughter ofAustria-Hungary's last crown prince, is a member of this family by her marriage to Count Archibald Douglas.[26][27][7]
Through a marriage in 1848 to Countess Louise vonLangenstein undGondelsheim, an illegitimate daughter ofLouis I, Grand Duke of Baden, the Swedish Count Carl Israel Wilhelm Douglas (1824–1898) came into possession ofLangenstein Castle in Baden, near Lake Constance. Their children achieved important political offices in both Sweden and Germany: their son Count Wilhelm Douglas (1848-1908) was a member of theGerman Reichstag, his brother Count Ludvig Douglas (1849–1916) was the Swedish foreign minister, and their grandson count Archibald Douglas (1883–1960) was chief of staff of the Swedish army. In 1906, the grandson, Count Karl Robert (1880-1955), second husband ofAugusta Victoria of Hohenzollern, titularQueen consort of Portugal, took up his main residence at Langenstein Castle, which his descendants still live in today. The castle and the surrounding estate is owned by Count Leopold Douglas (b. 1989), which he inherited from his father Count Christoph Douglas (1948-2016), who bought it in 2014 from his cousin, Count Axel Douglas (b. 1943).
Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, 16th Duke of Hamilton, and 13thDuke of Brandon is heir to thechiefdom of the house of Douglas, but he cannot assume the title ofchief since theLord Lyon King of Arms requires him to assume the single name Douglas. Note that the Duke of Hamilton is the Chief ofClan Hamilton. For a list of the historic chiefs of Clan Douglas see:Earl of Douglas until 1455 andEarl of Angus for after 1455.
| Tartan image | Notes |
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 | Douglas Tartan (modern). The Douglas tartan was worn by the former British Army Regiment,The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and is still worn by theRoyal Gurkha Rifles. In its grey form, it is worn by the officers of all Scottish squadrons of theRAuxAF as part of their mess uniform. |
.png) | Douglastartan, as published in 1842 in theVestiarium Scoticum. Whether the Douglasses wore tartan in the sixteenth century, as theVestiarium asserts, can be questioned.[28] |
Douglases have excelled in many fields, from politics to sports, science to the military, and more. Biographies held on Wikipedia can be found in the lists: 'Douglas (surname) andDouglass (surname)'.
Samuel Rutherford Crockett's 1899 novelThe Black Douglas featured the "Black Dinner".
In theHighlander novelScotland the Brave,James Douglas is a fictional Scot born into Clan Douglas, who died his First Death in 1746 at theBattle of Culloden.
The Black Dinner served as inspiration for the events of the Red Wedding depicted inA Storm of Swords, the third book ofGeorge R. R. Martin'sA Song of Ice and Fire series. Material based on the Red Wedding was included in the episode "The Rains of Castamere" of the HBO dramaGame of Thrones which aired on 2 June 2013 in the United States.[30]
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