John Lyon, 8th Lord Glamis (died 1578) was a Scottish nobleman, judge andLord High Chancellor of Scotland.
He was the eldest son ofJohn Lyon, 7th Lord Glamis, by his wife, Janet Keith, daughter of Robert Keith, Master of Marischal, and sister ofWilliam Keith, 4th Earl Marischal. He succeeded asLord Glamis on the death of his father in 1558. His name first appears in the list of members of the privy council at a meeting of 22 December 1561. On 10 September 1563 the island ofInchkeith was committed to his charge.[1]
Glamis supported the marriage ofMary Queen of Scots withHenry Darnley, and took part in the roundabout raid againstJames Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray. At the time of the murder of Darnley he was in Edinburgh, but may have had no knowledge of the conspiracy. He signed theAinslie Tavern Bond for the marriage ofJames Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell to the queen; but later joined the association for the overthrow of Bothwell and the protection of the young kingJames VI of Scotland. On 16 February 1569 he was appointed one of a committee for the pursuit ofGeorge Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly. He was one of those who voted against the queen's divorce, 31 July 1569, and assisted with other seven noblemen in bearing the body of the Regent Moray at his funeral toSt Giles' Cathedral, 14 February 1570.[1]
On 30 September 1570 Glamis was appointed anextraordinary lord of session. After Moray's death he became a close associate of his kinsmanJames Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, whom in 1571 he accompanied on an embassy to England, in order to defeat proposals to restore Queen Mary to the throne. On 18 June 1572 he was ordered with other northern nobles to proceed againstAdam Gordon of Auchindown, who had invadedThe Mearns, and in July he barely escaped capture by Gordon atBrechin. On 2 September 1573 he and other barons of the north signed a band of allegiance to Morton, now Regent, and he was thought to be one of the most loyal of his supporters.[1] On the death ofArchibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll he was appointed to succeed him as Lord chancellor of Scotland on 8 October 1573.[2]
Like many Scottish aristocrats, Glamis was often short of money, and seems to have regularly borrowed from the Edinburgh lawyerJohn Shairp ofHouston.[3]
When the question ofepiscopacy was occupying the attention of the lords of the congregation, Glamis corresponded withTheodore Beza on the subject in 1575, and Beza wrote the treatiseDe triplici Episcopatu, prompted by some of his queries. After the complaint ofColin Campbell, 6th Earl of Argyll to the young king of 4 March 1578, regarding Morton's overbearing demeanour, Glamis joined with other noblemen in advising Morton's resignation, and was one of a deputation sent to ask him to resign. In consenting, Morton is supposed to have taken influenced by Glamis's advice.[1]
Glamis was accidentally killed on 17 March 1578 in a street brawl inStirling between his followers and those ofDavid Lindsay, 11th Earl of Crawford.[4] He was shot through the head, andDavid Hume of Godscroft ascribed his death to his height.[5] At the time, several lords had come to Stirling over a power struggle involvingRegent Morton and the keepers of the young James VI.[6]
Andrew Melville composed a Latin epigram to him.[1]Hercules Rollock wrote a Latin epitaph.[7]
He married Elizabeth Abernethy, sister ofAlexander Abernethy, 6th Lord Saltoun. Their children included:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1893). "Lyon, John (d.1578)".Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 34. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
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| Preceded by | Lord Glamis 1558–1578 | Succeeded by |