William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas, 2nd Earl of Avondale (1425 – 22 February 1452) was a late MedievalScottish nobleman,Lord of Galloway, and Lord of the Regality ofLauderdale,[1] and the most powerfulmagnate in Southern Scotland. He was killed byJames II of Scotland.
Douglas was the eldest son ofJames Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas, and Beatrice Sinclair, the daughter ofHenry Sinclair, Earl of Orkney.
His father, having been a part of the conspiracy that led to the "Black Dinner" and execution of the6th Earl and his brother, on his death only three years later left the title and lands to his eldest son William, who may have taken part in the conspiracy. William gained the lordships ofGalloway andBothwell by marriage (bypapal dispensation) to his cousin,Margaret Douglas, Fair Maid of Galloway (daughter of the5th Earl), thus becoming even more powerful and a danger to the throne.
The Earl and his party were issued with asafe conduct for three years, "to pass through England, to theMarches of Calais and elsewhere in the King of England's dominions" dated 9 November 1450.[2] Douglas was planning to attend theJubilee in Rome and would travel viaEngland,Flanders andFrance.[3] A further safe conduct, this time expressly stating that the Earl could take a party of 100 and naming many of them, was issued (presumably while they were still travelling) on 23 April 1451.[4] The Earl had returned to Scotland by 14 August 1451 as he was the leading Scottish Conservator of the 3-year truce with England, concluded atNewcastle upon Tyne.[5]
At this time he ownedGlendevon Castle in what is now southPerthshire.[6]
During Douglas's absence inRome, James II had attacked the lands of the Douglases because of Douglas offences against neighbouring lords. After Douglas's return, although there was an outward truce, relations continued to be strained between the king's party and that of the earl. In early February [1452]Sir William Lauder of Haltoun, a close friend and relative (his mother Helen was a daughter of Archibald, 3rd Earl of Douglas, "The Grim")[7][8] of Douglas, brought a summons to the Earl to attend the King at Stirling. There was abundant precedent for suspicion in a mandate of this nature, but, as if to allay it, Lauder brought safe conduct for Douglas given under the King's hand in council.[9]
Once there, King James demanded the dissolution of a league into which Douglas had entered withAlexander Lindsay, the "Tiger" Earl of Crawford, andJohn of Islay. Upon Douglas's refusal, the king stabbed him as did the several men with the king, and Sir Patrick Gray, according to the Auchinleck Chronicle, "struck out his brains with a pole ax", and his body wasthrown out of a window.
Since Douglas died without issue, his titles passed to his brotherJames.
Douglas is the central character inBlack Douglas, a novel byNigel Tranter, which is speculative about a few issues e.g. claiming that he had a dysfunctional marriage.
William Douglas is portrayed inJames II: Day of the Innocents which is part of "The James Plays" trilogy penned byRona Munro. This massive theatre production portrays a fictional account (heavily based on what is accepted as facts) of the lives of three generations of Scottish kings (James I, II and III). The stabbing of Douglas by James II is in the play.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Douglas".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.| Peerage of Scotland | ||
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| Preceded by |  Earl of Douglas 1443–1452 | Succeeded by |
| Earl of Avondale 1443–1452 | ||