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DOUGLAS, SIR WILLIAM, was
the illegitimate son of Sir Archibald, lord of Galloway, commonly called
the Black Douglas; but in those days the bend sinister upon the shield of
one who was otherwise a good knight and true, was not attended with the
opprobrium that branded it in earlier or later periods. Of all the heroes
of the illustrious house from which he sprung, Sir William appears to have
been the most amiable; while in deeds of arms, although his career was cut
short at an early period, he equalled the greatest of his name. His
personal advantages, in an age when these were of highest account,
corresponded with his reputation; for he was not only of a beautiful
countenance, but a tall, commanding form; while his strength was such that
few could cope with him on equal terms. His manners also were so gentle
and engaging, that he was as much the delight of his friends as he was the
terror of his enemies. He was a young warrior, in short, whom Homer would
have selected as his hero, or early Greece have exalted into a demigod. As
his career was to be so brief, it was early commenced; for we find, that
while still very young, he was distinguised not only by his personal feats
of valour, but his abilities as a leader, so that in his many skirmishes
with the English he was generally successful, even when the latter were
greatly superior in numbers. Nor were the charms of romance wanting to
complete his history. Robert II., his sovereign, had a beautiful daughter,
called Egidia, who was sought in marriage not only by the noblest of her
father’s court, but by the king of France, who, in the true fashion of
chivalry, had fallen in love with her from the descriptions of his knights
that had visited Scotland as auxilliaries, and who privately sent a
painter thither, that he might obtain her picture. But to the highest
nobility, and even to royalty itself, Egidia preferred the landless and
illegitimate, but brave, good, and attractive Sir William Douglas, who had
no inheritance but his sword. It was wonderful that in such a case the
course of true love should have run smooth: but so it did. Robert II.
approved of her affection, and gave her hand to the young knight, with the
fair lordship of Nithsdale for her dowry.
Sir William was not
permitted to rest long in peace with a beautiful princess for his bride;
for the piracies of the Irish upon the coast of Galloway, in the
neighbourhood of his new possession, summoned him to arms. Resolved to
chastise the pirates upon their own territory, and in their own
strongholds, he mustered a force of five hundred lances and their military
attendants, crossed the Irish sea, and made a descent upon the coast in
the neighbourhood of the town of Carlingford. Being unable to procure
boats for the landing of his small army simultaneously, he advanced
with a part of it, and made a bold assault upon the outworks of the
town. Struck with terror, the inhabitants, even though their ramparts were
still unscaled, made proposals for a treaty of surrender; and to obtain
sufficient time to draw up the terms, they promised a large sum of money.
Sir William Douglas received their envoys with courtesy, and trusting to
their good faith in keeping the armistice, he sent out 200 of his
soldiers, under the command of Robert Stuart, laird of Durriesdeer, to
bring provisions to his ships. But it was a hollow truce on the part of
the men of Carlingford, for they sent by night a messenger to Dundalk,
where the English were in greatest force, representing the small number of
the Scots, and the ease with which they might be overpowered. Five hundred
English horse rode out of Dundalk at the welcome tidings, and came down
unexpectedly upon the Scots, while the men of Carlingford sallied from
their gates in great numbers, to aid in trampling down their enemies, who
in the faith of the truce were employed in lading their vessels. But
Douglas instantly drew up his small band into an impenetrable phalanx;
their long spears threw off the attacks of the cavalry; and
notwithstanding their immense superiority, the enemy were completely
routed, and driven off the field. For this breach of treaty the town of
Carlingford was burnt to the ground, and fifteen merchant ships, laden
with goods, that lay at anchor in the harbour, were seized by the Scots.
On returning homeward, Douglas landed on the Isle of Man, which he
ravaged, and after this his little armament, enriched with spoil, anchored
safely in Loch Ryan, in Galloway.
As soon as he had stepped
on shore, Sir William heard, for the first time, of the extensive inroad
that had commenced upon the English border in 1388, which ended in the
victory of Otterburn; and eager for fresh honour, instead of returning
home, he rode to the Scottish encampment, accompanied by a band of his
bravest followers. In the division of the army that was made for the
purpose of a double invasion, Sir William was retained with that part of
it which was destined for the invasion of England by the way of
Carlisle, and thus he had not the good fortune to accompany James, Earl of
Douglas, in his daring inroad upon Durham. After the battle of Otterburn,
an interval of peace between England and Scotland succeeded, of which Sir
William was soon weary; and, impatient for military action, he turned his
attention to the continent, where he found a congenial sphere of
occupation. Of late years, the mingled heroism and devotion of the
crusading spirit, which had lost its footing in Syria, endeavoured to find
occupation in the extirpation or conversion of the idolaters of Europe;
and the Teutonic knights, the successors of the gallant Templars, had
already become renowned and powerful by their victories in Prussia and
Lithuania, whose inhabitants were still benighted pagans. Sir William
resolved to become a soldier in what he doubtless considered a holy war,
and enlist under the banner of the Teutonic order. He accordingly set
sail, and landed at Dantzic, which was now the head-quarters and capital
of these military monks. It appears, from the history of the period, that
the order at present was filled with bold adventurers from every quarter
of Europe; but, among these, the deeds of the young lord of Nithsdale were
soon so pre-eminent, that he was appointed to the important charge of
admiral of the fleet—an office that placed him in rank and importance
nearest to the grand-master of the order. Two hundred and forty ships,
such as war-ships then were, sailed under his command—an important fact,
which Fordun is careful to specify. But even already the career of Sir
William was about to terminate, and that too by an event which made it
matter of regret that he had not fallen in his own country upon some
well-fought field. Among the adventurers from England who had come to the
aid of the Teutonic knights, was a certain Lord Clifford, whose national
jealousy had taken such umbrage at the honours conferred upon the
illustrious Scot, that he first insulted, and then challenged him to
single combat. The day and place were appointed with the usual
formalities; and as such a conflict must be at outrance, Sir
William repaired to France to procure good armour against the approaching
trial. His adversary then took advantage of this absence to caluminate him
as a coward who had deserted the appointment; but hearing this rumour, Sir
William hastily returned to Dantzic, and presented himself before the set
day. It was now Clifford’s turn to tremble. He dreaded an encounter with
such a redoubted antagonist; and to avoid it, he hired a band of
assassins, by whom Sir William was basely murdered. This event must have
happened somewhere about the year 1390-1. In this way Sir William Douglas,
like a gigantic shadow, appears, passes, and vanishes, and fills but a
brief page of that history which he might have so greatly amplified and so
brightly adorned. At his death he left but one child, a daughter, by the
Princess Egidia, who, on attaining maturity, was married to William, Earl
of Orkney. |
