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James Douglas | |
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| Earl of Mar Earl of Douglas | |
 Depiction of James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas, made by William Hole | |
| Tenure | 1 May 1384 - 5 or 19 August 1388 |
| Predecessor | William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas |
| Successor | Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas |
| Born | 1358 Scotland |
| Died | 5 or 19 August 1388 killed atOtterburn, Northumberland |
| Buried | 1388 Melrose Abbey[1] |
| Noble family | Douglas |
| Issue | William Douglas of Drumlanrig(illegitimate) Archibald Douglas(illegitimate) |
| Father | William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas |
| Mother | Margaret, Countess of Mar |
Sir James Douglas, 2ndEarl of Douglas andMar (c. 1358 – 5 or 19 August 1388) was an influential and powerfulmagnate in theKingdom of Scotland.
He was the eldest son and heir ofWilliam Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas andMargaret, Countess of Mar. By the time his father had made over lands inLiddesdale to him in 1380, he had been knighted, being known asSir James Douglas of Liddesdale.[2] Earlier his father had been in dispute withKing Robert over the latter's succession to KingDavid II, but returned to royal favour by concluding a marriage contract between his son and the Princess Isabel, thus binding theDouglas family close to the throne.[3]
In May 1384, the 1st Earl of Douglas died from a fever, and his son inherited.[4] Around the same time aFrench embassy arrived in Scotland to negotiate a truce between theFranco-Scots Allies andEngland. While deliberations were taking place in Edinburgh, a further party of French knights arrived atMontrose. These adventurers led byGeoffroi de Charny, sent word to the court at Edinburgh, fromPerth where they had marched to, in which they offered their services against the English.[5]The new Earl of Douglas, andSir David Lindsay mustered their men and joined forces with the French knights. They then led a raid into England where they ravaged lands belonging to thePercyEarl of Northumberland, and theMowbrayEarl of Nottingham.[6] While thisChevauchée was happening, the Scots agreed to the tripartite truce on 7 July which was to last until May the following year. De Charny and his knights returned to France but promised to Douglas that they would return as soon as possible.
In 1385 when the truce expired, Douglas made war on theEnglish.[7] The French were as good as their word and had previously arrived atLeith with a contingent of Chivalry, armour and monies. The French underJean de Vienne,Admiral of France joined forces with the Scots. Finding that the army ofRichard II of England was numerically superior to the Franco-Scots, Douglas allowed the English to advance toEdinburgh, wisely refusing battle, the English army destroyed the Abbies ofMelrose,Newbattle andDryburgh, as well as burning the burgh ofHaddington and the capital itself. Douglas had to content himself with a carrying out the traditional scorched earth policy, burning Scottish crops and food to deprive the English army of it while his cousinArchibald the Grim led the French and the men ofGalloway on a destructive counter-raid onCarlisle.[8] Disputes soon arose between the allies, and the French returned home at the end of the year.
1386 saw squabbling between the Earl of Northumberland, andJohn Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby over the wardenship of the Eastern March.Roger de Clifford, 5th Baron de Clifford, the warden of the Western March, was engaged to keep the peace between the rivals. While Clifford was away from his duties in the west, Douglas accompanied by theEarl of Fife led a force deep intoCumberland, and raided and burnt the town ofCockermouth.[9]
_Percy%2c_Battle_of_Otterburn.jpg)
In 1388 Richard II had domestic troubles with his recalcitrant barons and was occupied far to the south, and the time seemed right for invasion to avenge the destruction of 1385.
The Scots, following an agreement made between the nobility atAberdeen, mustered atJedburgh in August, including the levies of the earls of Fife,March,Moray and those of Archibald the Grim. Upon finding from an English spy, that the English warden Percy was aware of the muster, and was planning a counter strike, the Scots command decided to split the army, with Fife leading the main body into Cumberland, while a smaller mounted force under Douglas was to go east and despoil Northumberland.
Douglas' force entered England throughRedesdale and proceeded south toBrancepeth laying waste to the countryside. From there the turned east to encircleNewcastle.
Newcastle was held by Northumberland's sons,Sir Henry Percy, known as"Hotspur", and his brother Sir Ralph Percy. Northumberland himself remained atAlnwick Castle, hoping to outflank Douglas should he attempt to return to Scotland.
The Scots, without the siege equipment to invest the Castle, encamped around it. The week that followed saw constant skirmishes and challenges to single combat between the two sides, that culminated when Douglas challenged Hotspur to a duel. In the ensuing joust Douglas successfully felled Hotspur and was able to capture hispennon. According toFroissart, Douglas announced that he would "carry [the pennon] to Scotland and hoist it on my tower, where it may be seen from afar", to which Hotspur retorted "By God! You will never leave Northumberland alive with that."
The following day the Scots struck camp and marched toPonteland where they destroyed its castle, and then on toOtterburn just 30 miles fromNewcastle, Douglas appeared to be tarrying to see whether Hotspur would react.
Douglas chose his encampment in a wood with an eye to protect his force from English archery. But on the evening of 5 or 19 August, the Percies surprised the Scots and a bloody moonlit battle ensued. Douglas was mortally wounded during the fight, but because of the confusion of fighting in darkness this fact was not transmitted to his men who carried on the battle. Froissart gives account in detail of the various individuals wounded, captured or killed, but what is known is that the Scots won the encounter taking Hotspur and many others prisoner. Douglas' body was found on the field the following day. The Scots, albeit saddened by the loss of their leader, were heartened enough by the victory, to frighten off English reinforcements led byWalter Skirlaw, the Bishop of Durham the following day.
Douglas' body was then removed back across the Border and he was interred atMelrose Abbey.
The battle, as narrated byJean Froissart, forms the basis of the English and Scottish balladsThe Ballad of Chevy Chase andThe Battle of Otterburn.
Douglas married Isabel, a daughter of KingRobert II of Scotland. He left no legitimate male issue. His natural sonsWilliam and Archibald became the ancestors of the families of Douglas of Drumlanrig (seeMarquess of Queensberry) and Douglas of Cavers.[10] His sisterIsabel inherited the lands and earldom of Mar, and the unentailed estates of Douglas. Isabel arranged for theBonjedward estate to be passed to their half-sister, Margaret, who became 1st Laird of Bonjedward.
The earldom and entailed estates of Douglas reverted by the patent of 1358 toArchibald Douglas, called "The Grim", cousin of the 1st Earl and a natural son ofThe "Good" Sir James Douglas.[10]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Douglass.v. James, 2nd Earl of Douglas and Mar".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 443.| Peerage of Scotland | ||
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| Preceded by |  Earl of Douglas 1384–1388 | Succeeded by |
| Earl of Mar 1384–1388 | Succeeded by | |
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