|
MAR, DONALD, tenth
EARL OF (d. 1297), was the son of William, ninth earl [q. v.], and Elizabeth
Comyn, his first wife. He was knighted by Alexander III at Scone in 1270,
and succeeded as earl before 25 July 1281, when he took oath at Roxburgh to
observe the treaty for the marriage of Princess Margaret of Scotland and
Eric, king of Norway. At Scone in 1284 he similarly undertook to acknowledge
their daughter, the Maid of Norway, as queen of Scotland in the event of
Alexander's death, and in 1289 he united with the community of Scotland in
recommending to Edward I of England the marriage of the Prince of Wales and
the Maid of Norway. This was agreed to, and the marriage arranged at Birgham,
Berwickshire, in July 1290, in a treaty to which Mar was a party.
After the death of the Maid of Norway, when different claimants appeared for
the Scottish crown, Mar united in the Scots' appeal to Edward to be their
arbiter. Personally he supported the claim of Robert Bruce, whose son, the
future king, married his daugh- terIsabel, and whose daughter, Christian,
married his son, Gratney. He swore allegiance to Edward at Upsettington,
Berwickshire, on 13 June 1291, and was a witness to Edward's protest at
Berwick as to his claim to be lord superior of Scotland. Under Edward's
suzerainty he held the office of bailie of Aboyne.
In 1294 Mar, with other Scottish nobles, was summoned to London to attend
Edward on foreign service. Rather than obey they revolted. But after the
battle of Dunbar, in 1296, Mar came to Edward at Montrose, and afterwards
swore fealty again at Berwick, He was, notwithstanding, carried prisonei to
England, but was released on parole, 23 June 1297, in order to visit
Scotland, Edward at the same time exacting from him a pledge that he would
serve him against France. He died about this time, leaving a son and
successor, Gratney, eleventh earl oi Mar, and father of Donald, twelfth earl
ot Mar [q. v.J; he also left two daughters, Isabel, wife of Robert the
Bruce, and Mary, who married Kenneth, earl of Sutherland.
[Bain’s Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, vol. ii. passim;
Antiquities of Aberdeenshire (Spalding Club), iv. 198, 600, 698-704; Rymer’s
Fcedera, i. 596, 638, 730-74, 791, 804.] H. P.
MAR, DONALD, twelfth Earl or (1293 P-1332), was the son of GratnCy,
eleventh earl, and Lady Christian Bruce, sister of King Robert Bruce. He was
probably born about 1293 (Fbasee, Red Book of Menteith, vol. i. p. Ixxx),
and, as his father died about 1305, he was but a young boy at the time of
his succession. After the defeat of Bruce at Methven in 1306, along with
others, Mar was brought to Edward in token of submission, and was carried
prisoner to England, where, in respect of his tender age, he was entrusted
to the custody of the Bishop of Chester, first in the castle of Bristol, and
afterwards at the bishop’s own house, with suitable attendants (Palgeave,
Documents and Records, Scotland, pp. 353-6)
He spent nearly all the
remainder of his life in England, taking service with Edward III, for which
he received fifteen pence per day as wages. During this time he is never
styled earl, but simply Donald of Mar. He was the owner of a trading vessel
there called La Blithe.
After the battle of Bannockburn, in 1314, Mar and his mother, with Bruce’s
wife and daughter, and "Wishart, bishop of Glasgow, were exchanged for the
Earl of Hereford, Edward’s brother-in-law, who had been taken prisoner by
the Scots at Bothwell. But when Newcastle was reached in their journey to
Scotland Mar turned back, preferring to remain in England (Chronicon de
Lanercost, p. 229). He paid visits to Scotland in 1318 and 1323. But to
encourage him to remain in his service Edward conferred upon him various
grants of lands and wardships, including the manor of Longbynington in
Lincolnshire, and in 1321 appointed him keeper of Newark Castle (some call
it Bristol Castle), which he held for the king till 1326, when he delivered
it up to Queen Isabella and Lord Mortimer (Sealacrwiica, p. 151). He went to
Scotland in 1327 for assistance to replace Edward III upon his throne, but
instead of bringing help he joined the Scots in their raid of that year to
Byland Abbey in Yorkshire, and was declared a rebel by Edward. Mar now
remained in Scotland, and assumed his position as one of the seven earls. He
had grants of lands from Bruce there in 1328 and 1329, and after the death
of Randolph, 30 July 1332, he was chosen regent of Scotland. But he only
held the honour ten days. Edward Ijaliol landed in Scotland the very day of
his appointment, and Mar took command of the Scottish force which was raised
to meet him, a post for which he was no way qualified. The battle was fought
on 9 Aug. at Dupplin Moor in Perthshire, and Mar's army of thirty thousand
was routed by Baliol’s of three thousand, and himself slain. He left a
widow, Isobel Stewart, who had two other husbands, Geofrey de Moubray, whom
she divorced, and Sir William Oarswell; also a son, Thomas, who succeeded as
thirteenth earl of Mar [q. v.], and a daughter, Margaret, who succeeded as
Countess of Mar after her brother’s death, and married William, first earl
of Douglas [q. v.]
[Bain’s Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, vol. iii. passim ;
Antiquities of Aberdeenshire (Spalding Club), iv. 698-725 ; Acta of the
Parliaments of Scotland, i. 13-97.] H. P.
MAR, THOMAS, thirteenth Eabl of (d. 1377), was the son of Donald,
twelfth earl [q. v.], and succeeded on his father’s death in 1332, though
probably still under age. He was one of the Scottish commissioners sent to
Newcastle in 1351 to treat for peace with England, and for the release of
David II, and was also one of the hostages for the payment of his ransom. In
1358 he was appointed great chamberlain of Scotland, but held the office
only about a year. He entered into an agreement with Edward III of England
at Westminster (24 Feb. 1359) whereby he promised to remain with and
faithfully serve the king of England against all the world (David, king of
Scots, excepted) in return for a pension of six hundred merits sterling
yearly, with compensation if on account of this agreement he should lose his
Scottish estates {Jiotuli Scotia, i. 83G). After this date he only
occasionally appears in Scotland.
David II in 1361 seized Mar's castle of Kildrummy (Wyntowk, Cromjkil, lib.
viii. cap. xlv. II. 113-28). According to 1 Scala-cronica ’ (pp. 202, 203),
the seizure w’as due to a quarrel arising out of a single combat between Mar
and Sir William Keith (d. 1407 ?) [q. v.] at Edinburgh, when Mar accused the
king of unduly favouring Keith. He was to receive back the castle upon
payment of l,000Z. Scots at the expiry of five years, and during that
period, at least, it remained in the hands of the king (Exchequer Rolls of
Scotland, ii. 164, 166).
Between 1857 and 1373 Mar had numerous passports from Edward for journeys
through England and pilgrimages to France and elsewhere, and also for the
transit of horses and cattle, in which he seems to have trafficked (Rotuli
Scotia, i. 471, 807-960 passim). He attended so little to his Scottish
duties that the parliament in 1369 declared him to be contumaciously absent
(Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland, i. 149),.and on his next visit to
Scotland, in the following year, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Bass
(Exchequer Rolls, ii. 357). In that year (1370), however, Bavidll died, and
Mar was present at Scone on 27 March 1371, when Robert II was crowned, and
he affixed his seal to the deed of that date, which settled the order of
succession (Acts of Parliament, i. 181). He founded an altar in the
cathedral church of Aberdeen in honour of St. James (Antiquities of
Aberdeenshire, i. 151).
In 1352 the earl married Lady Margaret Graham, countess of Menteith, and
widow of Sir John Moray of Bothwell. He received a dispensation from Pope
Clement VI in that year, and another from Pope Innocent VI in 1354 (Feaser,
Red Rook of Menteith, i. 121-30). But he divorced this lady ‘ at the
instigation of the devil,’ says For-dun’s ‘Continuator,’ and upon entirely
false pretences (Foedun, ed. Goodall, ii. 150). She had no children by him.
He married, secondly, Lady Margaret Stewart, countess of Angus, but neither
had he any issue by her, and on his death in 1377 the male line of the
Celtic earls of Mar ended. He was succeeded in the earldom by his sister
Margaret, countess of Douglas.
[Rymer’s Foedera, iii. 630-969; Bain’s Calendar of Documents relating to
Scotland, vol. iii. No. 1629, vol. iv. Nos. 27, 90, 101, 154; Antiquities of
Aberdeenshire, vols. i-iv. passim.] H. P.
MAR, WILLIAM, ninth Ease of (d. 1281 ?), was the son of Duncan,
eighth earl of Mar, and grandson of Morgrund, fifth earl. He succeeded his
father in or before 1287, when he attested at York the agreement between
Henry III of England and Alexander II of Scotland. His right of succession
was contested by Alan Durward, who asserted that William’s father and
grandfather were both of illegitimate birth, and that he ought to succeed as
lawful heir. But apparently the case was arranged on the footing of an
agreement which had been made about 1228 with Thomas Durward, father of
Alan, who received a large accession of territory in Mar; and the earldom
remained with William de Mar. In 1249, during the minority of Alexander III,
he was appointed one of the regents of Scotland. lie held the office of
great chamberlain of Scotland from 1252 to 1255, in which year, owing to
political dissensions, he was removed from the government, and received
permission fromHenryto sojournfor a time in England. In 1258 he was a party
to the treaty between some of the Scots and Llewellyn, prince of Wales, not
to make peace with Henry without each other’s consent (Rymbb, Fcedera, i.
370). But in the same year he was reappointed one of the Scottish regents,
and they received the promise of Henry’s support so long as they acted
righteously. He again became great chamberlain of Scotland in 1262, and
continued in the office till 1267. He was also sheriff of Dumbartonshire.
After the battle of Largs in 1263 he was sent by Alexander III with a
military force to reduce the chiefs of the Western Isles who had supported
Haco, king of Norway. He was still alive in 1273, but must have died in or
before 1281. He married Elizabeth, daughter of William Comyn, earl of
Buchan, by whom he had two sons, Donald, tenth earl [q. v.], who succeeded,
and Duncan; and after her death he married an English lady, Muriel,
granddaughter and one of the heiresses of Robert de Muschaump, whose barony
lay in the see of Durham, but had no issue by her. She died in 1291 (Raine,
North Durham, p. 267).
[Bain’s Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, vol. i. passim, vol. ii.
Nos. 201, 477, 544 ; Antiquities of Aberdeenshire, vols. i-iv. passim ;
Exchequer Bolls of Scotland, i. Ixv, Id, 11, 30, ii. cxxi; Eymer’s Foedera,
i. 329, 353, 378, 402.] H. P. |
