George Douglas of Pittendreich
Encyclopedia
George Douglas of Pittendreich (died 1552) was a member of the powerful Douglas family who struggled for control of the young James V of Scotland
in 1528. His second son became James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton
and Regent of Scotland. Initially, George Douglas promoted the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots and Prince Edward of England
. After war was declared between England and Scotland he worked for peace and to increase the power of Mary of Guise
, the widow of James V.
, and so was called 'Master of Angus' in his lifetime. His parents were George Douglas, Master of Angus
, and Elizabeth Drummond, daughter of Lord Drummond
.
The Douglas family gained custody of the young James V in 1526. After the king escaped from them, and laid siege to Tantallon Castle
in 1529, the family members and allies were forfeited of their lands and titles by the Parliament of Scotland
.
George had married Elizabeth Douglas, the daughter and heir of David Douglas of Pittendreich near Elgin. When the Douglases were re-instated in 1543, Pittendreich was the legal representative of the Earl of Morton
whose lands were also forfeited. When the Morton lands were restored, George married his son James
, the future Regent, to Morton's youngest daughter, Elizabeth Douglas. The 3rd Earl of Morton's eldest daughter Margaret married James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran
and another daughter married Lord Maxwell
. Sadly, these three sisters were all affected by mental ill-health.
George's eldest son David Douglas
, who became the 7th Earl of Angus
, married Margaret Hamilton, the daughter of John Hamilton of Samuelston who was a brother of Regent Arran. Arran gave his nephew a dowry of £1000 from the royal exchequer in November 1552.
George had a son, George, and a daughter, Elizabeth, outside his marriage. The son married the Douglas heiress of Parkhead, and became George Douglas of Parkhead. His daughter by Lady Dundas, Elizabeth, married Smeton Richeson.
tried to abduct James V from the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The Douglases transferred the King to the house of the Archbishop of St Andrews
in the Cowgate, where George Douglas could keep a more secure watch with 40 men. When Lennox and Angus joined in battle 2 miles west of Linlithgow
on 4 September 1526, George Douglas was set to bring a force raised in Edinburgh and the young King. The King tried to delay George, and at Corstorphine
, close to Edinburgh, George raised his voice to James V and threatened him.
In May 1528, James V escaped from the Douglases, and George's custody, to his mother at Stirling Castle
. According to Scottish chronicle
historians, including Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
, James escaped from Falkland Palace
at night. In Pitscottie's story, when George Douglas discovered the King had gone, he first rode towards Ballinbreich Castle
, but learned from the Earl of Rothes
that the king was not there. George then returned to Falkland, and the Earl of Angus, George and his brother Archibald rode to Stirling. They learnt that James had declared them excluded from six miles of his presence. Subsequently, the family were forfeited by the Parliament of Scotland
, and although James's siege of their castle of Tantallon
was unsuccessful, they went into exile in England.
of Pitcairn commander of his army before the battle of Solway Moss
. The story was doubted by the modern historian Jamie Cameron who points out that the exiled George had much to gain by fabricating such an incident. After the death of James V, George Douglas and his brother the Earl returned to Scotland in January 1543, in the company of a number of Lords taken prisoner at Solway Moss. Viscount Lisle
, the Lord Warden of the Border, heard that George was welcomed in Scotland, and stayed with Arran till midnight on 15 January 1543 at Holyroodhouse. The next day he met David Beaton and they embraced. Arran declared that the Douglases would be restored to their lands.
; he would pay the Earl £2000, he would help the Earl recover the lands he had resigned (under duress) to James V, and George's son James, the future Regent, would marry the Earl's daughter Elizabeth.
At first George was in favour of the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots to Prince Edward of England
. He was in London briefly in April 1543 as a representative of the Parliament of Scotland
. In Scotland, George planned with the English ambassador Ralph Sadler
another diplomatic mission to England with the Lord Maxwell to discuss sending Mary into England. Sadler wrote to Henry VIII
on 1 May 1543 that George had recommended the Earl of Glencairn as a wiser man than Maxwell, and had said to him;
The family historian, David Hume of Godscroft
records a story that George Douglas is supposed to have used to build consensus for the English marriage. In this tale a physician at court accepted the impossible task of teaching a donkey to speak. Other doctors had failed and been executed. This physician accepted telling the king it would take ten years and be very expensive. His friends asked why he had done this, and his answer was, - in ten years, I, the donkey or the king might be dead, and in the meantime I have had my wage. George was supposed to have argued that Mary's marriage was like this, the English threat was already present, but it would be years before she was of age and the marriage concluded.
George and Glencairn went to meet Henry VIII at Hampton Court on 20 May 1543, George stayed only for a few days. Eustace Chapuys
noted he was expected to return with favorable news for Henry. Thomas Wriothesley
helped draft the proposals George carried back to Scotland. Mary would be send to England at 8 or at most 10 years old, and marry Edward when she was twelve. George arrived back in Edinburgh on 29 May and Ralph Sadler said he presented the English articles on 4 June.
On 1 July, George was back in London as a commissioner completing the Treaty of Greenwich
which was intended to bring peace between England and Scotland and secure the royal marriage plan. George then attempted to reconcile Arran and Cardinal Beaton
who was opposed to the marriage. Before the ratification of the treaty by the Scottish lords on 25 August, George held a meeting with the Cardinal at St Andrews Castle
on 15 August 1543 assisted by the Earl Marischal
and James Kirkcaldy of Grange
. The Cardinal gave Regent Arran the Lord Seton
as a hostage for George's safety. George told Sadler after the meeting that the Cardinal was compliant and wished only to obtain Henry's and Arran's favour but feared the Scottish abbeys would be suppressed. Cardinal Beaton refused to come to the ratification on account of the feelings of his party and the personal malice of Arran's wife, Margaret Douglas. (She was the eldest daughter of the 3rd Earl of Morton
.) The ratification was delayed but George's negotiation at St. Andrews prevented armed conflict. Despite George's efforts, Regent Arran and the Scottish Parliament eventually rejected the treaty in December 1543, resulting in the war of the Rough Wooing
.
. Edward Seymour, Lord Hertford
landed an army at Leith
on 3 May 1544 which burnt Edinburgh
,and Arran released the brothers, who made a bond with him to support the French marriage plan.
In June George sent the Scottish Rothesay Herald
to Guise to take her letters to London and advised her to tell Francis I of France
to deal only with her, not with Arran. George spent a night at Redhall
near Edinburgh with Adam Otterburn
and explained his thinking to him. In September, Guise gave him a pension and he wrote to her that; "if there were but two men in Scotland that will bide at your opinion I shall be one." On 18 October George wrote to Guise from Tantallon saying he would bring armed men to Stirling, promising;
In February 1545, George sent a letter to Henry VIII, to be forwarded by his English contact Ralph Eure
, (who was killed at the battle of Ancrum Moor
). George wrote that the war was losing Henry's support in Scotland and offered advice;
, Lord Protector of England, told the Scottish ambassador Adam Otterburn that if George Douglas would negotiate at Newcastle-upon-Tyne he might not invade Scotland. Otterburn advised Arran to allow Douglas to negotiate, writing that he would work for the commonwealth of both realms and to avoid the shedding of Christian blood. Arran objected to this diplomacy, and wished others apart from Douglas might meet at Newcastle. There was no further meeting and the Scottish army was defeated by the English invasion force at Pinkie Cleugh near Musselburgh
on 10 September 1547. David Hume of Godscroft relates that Angus and Sir George were at the battle on horseback marshalling the Scottish forces.
In the summer of 1548, George Douglas maintained communication with an English commander, William Grey of Wilton
. However, Wilton sent James Wilford
and Thomas Wyndham
to trap George at Dalkeith Palace
. The Castle was taken on 3 June 1548, George escaped, but his son James, Master of Morton, was captured. In July 1548, one of George's servants was given £45 to gain intelligence in England. The money was to cover his expenses and the cost of messengers on his covert mission.
George Douglas died in 1552, in the north of Scotland, while serving Mary of Guise
.
James V of Scotland
James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his death, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss...
in 1528. His second son became James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton
James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton
James Douglas, jure uxoris 4th Earl of Morton was the last of the four regents of Scotland during the minority of King James VI. He was in some ways the most successful of the four, since he did manage to win the civil war which had been dragging on with the supporters of the exiled Mary, Queen of...
and Regent of Scotland. Initially, George Douglas promoted the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots and Prince Edward of England
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
. After war was declared between England and Scotland he worked for peace and to increase the power of Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise was a queen consort of Scotland as the second spouse of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as regent of Scotland in her daughter's name from 1554 to 1560...
, the widow of James V.
Family
George Douglas was the brother of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of AngusArchibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus
Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus was a Scottish nobleman active during the reigns of James V and Mary, Queen of Scots...
, and so was called 'Master of Angus' in his lifetime. His parents were George Douglas, Master of Angus
George Douglas, Master of Angus
George Douglas, Master of Angus was a Scottish Nobleman. The son of Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus and Elizabeth Boyd, daughter of Robert Boyd, 1st Lord Boyd, he was born at Tantallon Castle and died at the Battle of Flodden....
, and Elizabeth Drummond, daughter of Lord Drummond
Lord Drummond
Lord Drummond may refer to:*Lord Drummond of Cargill, created in 1488 and held since 1605 by the Earl of Perth*Lord Drummond of Stobhall, created in 1605 along with the Earldom of Perth...
.
The Douglas family gained custody of the young James V in 1526. After the king escaped from them, and laid siege to Tantallon Castle
Tantallon Castle
Tantallon Castle is a mid-14th-century fortress, located east of North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland. It sits atop a promontory opposite the Bass Rock, looking out onto the Firth of Forth...
in 1529, the family members and allies were forfeited of their lands and titles by the Parliament of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
.
George had married Elizabeth Douglas, the daughter and heir of David Douglas of Pittendreich near Elgin. When the Douglases were re-instated in 1543, Pittendreich was the legal representative of the Earl of Morton
James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton
James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton was a son of John Douglas, 2nd Earl of Morton and a grandson of James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton and Joan of Scotland, a daughter of James I of Scotland. He married Catherine Stewart, an illegitimate daughter of King James IV of Scotland by his mistress Marion...
whose lands were also forfeited. When the Morton lands were restored, George married his son James
James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton
James Douglas, jure uxoris 4th Earl of Morton was the last of the four regents of Scotland during the minority of King James VI. He was in some ways the most successful of the four, since he did manage to win the civil war which had been dragging on with the supporters of the exiled Mary, Queen of...
, the future Regent, to Morton's youngest daughter, Elizabeth Douglas. The 3rd Earl of Morton's eldest daughter Margaret married James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran
James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran
James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault and 2nd Earl of Arran was a Scottish nobleman.-Biography:He was the eldest legitimate son of James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran....
and another daughter married Lord Maxwell
Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell
Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell , A member of the council of Regency of the Kingdom of Scotland. Regent of the Isle of Arran and like his father before head of the clan Maxwell. A distinguished Scottish nobleman, politician, soldier and in 1513 Lord High Admiral...
. Sadly, these three sisters were all affected by mental ill-health.
George's eldest son David Douglas
David Douglas, 7th Earl of Angus
David Douglas, 7th Earl of Angus was the son of George Douglas of Pittendreich and Elizabeth Douglas of the Pittendriech family.David married Elizabeth Hamilton, daughter of John Hamilton of Samuelston, sometimes called 'Clydesdale John,' who was a brother of Regent Arran...
, who became the 7th Earl of Angus
Earl of Angus
The Mormaer or Earl of Angus was the ruler of the medieval Scottish province of Angus. The title, in the Peerage of Scotland, is currently held by the Duke of Hamilton.-Mormaers:...
, married Margaret Hamilton, the daughter of John Hamilton of Samuelston who was a brother of Regent Arran. Arran gave his nephew a dowry of £1000 from the royal exchequer in November 1552.
George had a son, George, and a daughter, Elizabeth, outside his marriage. The son married the Douglas heiress of Parkhead, and became George Douglas of Parkhead. His daughter by Lady Dundas, Elizabeth, married Smeton Richeson.
In the King's minority
In August 1526, the Earl of LennoxJohn Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox
John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox was a prominent Scottish magnate. He was the son of Matthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of Lennox, and Elizabeth Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Lord Hamilton and Mary Stewart, Princess of Scotland, daughter of King James II of Scotland.The Earl of Lennox had led...
tried to abduct James V from the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The Douglases transferred the King to the house of the Archbishop of St Andrews
Archbishop of St Andrews
The Bishop of St. Andrews was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews and then, as Archbishop of St Andrews , the Archdiocese of St Andrews.The name St Andrews is not the town or church's original name...
in the Cowgate, where George Douglas could keep a more secure watch with 40 men. When Lennox and Angus joined in battle 2 miles west of Linlithgow
Battle of Linlithgow Bridge
The Battle of Linlithgow Bridge is a battle that took place on 4 September 1526 in the village of Linlithgow Bridge, outside the Scottish town of Linlithgow. It was fought between a force of 10,000 men led by the Earl of Lennox and a force of 2,500 led by James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Arran...
on 4 September 1526, George Douglas was set to bring a force raised in Edinburgh and the young King. The King tried to delay George, and at Corstorphine
Corstorphine
Corstorphine was originally a village to the west of—and separate from—Edinburgh, Scotland, and is now a suburb of that city.Corstorphine retains a busy main street with many independent small shops, although a number have closed in recent years since the opening of several retail parks...
, close to Edinburgh, George raised his voice to James V and threatened him.
In May 1528, James V escaped from the Douglases, and George's custody, to his mother at Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...
. According to Scottish chronicle
Chronicle
Generally a chronicle is a historical account of facts and events ranged in chronological order, as in a time line. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the...
historians, including Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie
Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie was a Scottish chronicler, author of The Historie and Chronicles of Scotland, 1436–1565, the first history of Scotland to be composed in Scots rather than Latin....
, James escaped from Falkland Palace
Falkland Palace
Falkland Palace in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a former royal palace of the Scottish Kings. Today it is in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, and serves as a tourist attraction.-Early years:...
at night. In Pitscottie's story, when George Douglas discovered the King had gone, he first rode towards Ballinbreich Castle
Ballinbreich Castle
Ballinbreich Castle is a ruined tower house castle in Fife, Scotland. The castle was built in the 13th century by Clan Leslie. It is a three storey L-plan castle that overlooks the Firth of Tay.-References:**-External links:*...
, but learned from the Earl of Rothes
George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes
George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes was a Scottish nobleman and diplomat.George became Earl of Rothes after his father's death at the Battle of Flodden. The title had previously been possesed by his uncle, William Leslie, the 2nd Earl...
that the king was not there. George then returned to Falkland, and the Earl of Angus, George and his brother Archibald rode to Stirling. They learnt that James had declared them excluded from six miles of his presence. Subsequently, the family were forfeited by the Parliament of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
, and although James's siege of their castle of Tantallon
Tantallon Castle
Tantallon Castle is a mid-14th-century fortress, located east of North Berwick, in East Lothian, Scotland. It sits atop a promontory opposite the Bass Rock, looking out onto the Firth of Forth...
was unsuccessful, they went into exile in England.
Reports of Solway Moss
A letter of George Douglas is the earliest source of the story that James V made Oliver SinclairOliver Sinclair
Sir Oliver Sinclair de Pitcairnis , , was a favourite courtier of James V of Scotland. A contemporary story tells that James V gave him the battle standard and command at the Battle of Solway Moss...
of Pitcairn commander of his army before the battle of Solway Moss
Battle of Solway Moss
The Battle of Solway Moss took place on Solway Moss near the River Esk on the English side of the Anglo-Scottish Border in November 1542 between forces from England and Scotland.-Background:...
. The story was doubted by the modern historian Jamie Cameron who points out that the exiled George had much to gain by fabricating such an incident. After the death of James V, George Douglas and his brother the Earl returned to Scotland in January 1543, in the company of a number of Lords taken prisoner at Solway Moss. Viscount Lisle
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland
John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jane Grey on the English throne after the King's death...
, the Lord Warden of the Border, heard that George was welcomed in Scotland, and stayed with Arran till midnight on 15 January 1543 at Holyroodhouse. The next day he met David Beaton and they embraced. Arran declared that the Douglases would be restored to their lands.
Towards the treaty of Greenwich
On 18 March 1543 George made a contract with James Douglas, 3rd Earl of MortonJames Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton
James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Morton was a son of John Douglas, 2nd Earl of Morton and a grandson of James Douglas, 1st Earl of Morton and Joan of Scotland, a daughter of James I of Scotland. He married Catherine Stewart, an illegitimate daughter of King James IV of Scotland by his mistress Marion...
; he would pay the Earl £2000, he would help the Earl recover the lands he had resigned (under duress) to James V, and George's son James, the future Regent, would marry the Earl's daughter Elizabeth.
At first George was in favour of the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots to Prince Edward of England
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
. He was in London briefly in April 1543 as a representative of the Parliament of Scotland
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
. In Scotland, George planned with the English ambassador Ralph Sadler
Ralph Sadler
Sir Ralph Sadler, PC, Knight banneret was an English statesman of the 16th century, and served as a Secretary of State for King Henry VIII.-Background:...
another diplomatic mission to England with the Lord Maxwell to discuss sending Mary into England. Sadler wrote to Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
on 1 May 1543 that George had recommended the Earl of Glencairn as a wiser man than Maxwell, and had said to him;
"Two things moved me the rather to be content to go; one was that Henry VIII, besides good pledges for the deliverance of the young Queen within two years of her lawful age, should have the Governor's son, James HamiltonJames Hamilton, 3rd Earl of ArranJames Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran was a Scottish nobleman and soldier who fought against French troops during the Scottish Reformation....
(who, if the said young Queen fail, shall be Prince of this land) into your court for Henry VIII's daughter (Princess ElizabethElizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
), which is the best pledge Henry VIII can devise to have for the better obtaining of all his purpose in time. ... The second cause, is that in case Henry VIII refuse these offers, I may nevertheless confer with his Highness upon the estate of this country, and say my poor mind how the same is to be conquered by force."
The family historian, David Hume of Godscroft
David Hume of Godscroft
David Hume was a Scottish historian and political theorist, poet and controversialist, a major intellectual figure in Jacobean Scotland. He also spent a decade as pastor of a Protestant congregation in France.-Life:...
records a story that George Douglas is supposed to have used to build consensus for the English marriage. In this tale a physician at court accepted the impossible task of teaching a donkey to speak. Other doctors had failed and been executed. This physician accepted telling the king it would take ten years and be very expensive. His friends asked why he had done this, and his answer was, - in ten years, I, the donkey or the king might be dead, and in the meantime I have had my wage. George was supposed to have argued that Mary's marriage was like this, the English threat was already present, but it would be years before she was of age and the marriage concluded.
George and Glencairn went to meet Henry VIII at Hampton Court on 20 May 1543, George stayed only for a few days. Eustace Chapuys
Eustace Chapuys
Eustace Chapuys was a Savoyard diplomat who served as the Imperial ambassador to England from 1529 until 1545 and is best known for his extensive and detailed correspondence.-Life:...
noted he was expected to return with favorable news for Henry. Thomas Wriothesley
Thomas Wriothesley
Sir Thomas Wriothesley was a long serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He was the son of Garter King of Arms, John Writhe, and he succeeded his father in this office.-Personal life:...
helped draft the proposals George carried back to Scotland. Mary would be send to England at 8 or at most 10 years old, and marry Edward when she was twelve. George arrived back in Edinburgh on 29 May and Ralph Sadler said he presented the English articles on 4 June.
On 1 July, George was back in London as a commissioner completing the Treaty of Greenwich
Treaty of Greenwich
The Treaty of Greenwich contained two agreements both signed on July 1, 1543 in Greenwich between representatives of England and Scotland. The accord, overall, entailed a plan developed by Henry VIII of England to unite both kingdoms...
which was intended to bring peace between England and Scotland and secure the royal marriage plan. George then attempted to reconcile Arran and Cardinal Beaton
David Beaton
The Most Rev. Dr. David Cardinal Beaton was Archbishop of St Andrews and the last Scottish Cardinal prior to the Reformation.-Career:...
who was opposed to the marriage. Before the ratification of the treaty by the Scottish lords on 25 August, George held a meeting with the Cardinal at St Andrews Castle
St Andrews Castle
St Andrew's Castle is a picturesque ruin located in the coastal Royal Burgh of St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The castle sits on a rocky promontory overlooking a small beach called Castle Sands and the adjoining North Sea. There has been a castle standing at the site since the times of Bishop Roger...
on 15 August 1543 assisted by the Earl Marischal
William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal
William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal was a Scottish nobleman and politician.-Family background and career:Keith was born on 24 July 1506, the son of Robert Keith, Master of Marischal and Lady Elizabeth Douglas....
and James Kirkcaldy of Grange
James Kirkcaldy of Grange
James Kirkcaldy of Grange was a Fife laird and treasurer of Scotland.He married Janet Melville, aunt of Sir James Melville of Halhill. Their heir was William Kirkcaldy of Grange. His main property at the Grange was called Halyards Palace...
. The Cardinal gave Regent Arran the Lord Seton
George Seton, 6th Lord Seton
George Seton IV, 6th Lord Seton was a Lord of the Parliament of Scotland.He was the son of Jean Hepburn, daughter of Patrick Hepburn, 1st Earl of Bothwell. His father, the 5th Lord Seton was killed at the battle of Flodden and George's mother survived her husband by 45 years till 1558, managing...
as a hostage for George's safety. George told Sadler after the meeting that the Cardinal was compliant and wished only to obtain Henry's and Arran's favour but feared the Scottish abbeys would be suppressed. Cardinal Beaton refused to come to the ratification on account of the feelings of his party and the personal malice of Arran's wife, Margaret Douglas. (She was the eldest daughter of the 3rd Earl of Morton
Earl of Morton
The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir to the Earl of Morton....
.) The ratification was delayed but George's negotiation at St. Andrews prevented armed conflict. Despite George's efforts, Regent Arran and the Scottish Parliament eventually rejected the treaty in December 1543, resulting in the war of the Rough Wooing
The Rough Wooing
The War of the Rough Wooing was fought between Scotland and England. War was declared by Henry VIII of England, in an attempt to force the Scots to agree to a marriage between his son Edward and Mary, Queen of Scots. Scotland benefited from French military aid. Edward VI continued the war until...
.
The Rough Wooing
After the first English raids of 1544 there were moves to depose Arran as regent and give the role to Mary of Guise. George and the Earl of Angus were among her supporters and were imprisoned in Blackness CastleBlackness Castle
Blackness Castle is a 15th century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by Sir George Crichton in the 1440s. At this time, Blackness was the main port serving the Royal Burgh of...
. Edward Seymour, Lord Hertford
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp of Hache, KG, Earl Marshal was Lord Protector of England in the period between the death of Henry VIII in 1547 and his own indictment in 1549....
landed an army at Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
on 3 May 1544 which burnt Edinburgh
Burning of Edinburgh (1544)
The Burning of Edinburgh in 1544 by an English sea-borne army was the first major action of the war of the Rough Wooing. A Scottish army observed the landing on 3 May 1544 but did not engage with the English force. The Provost of Edinburgh was compelled to allow the English to sack Leith and...
,and Arran released the brothers, who made a bond with him to support the French marriage plan.
In June George sent the Scottish Rothesay Herald
Rothesay Herald
Rothesay Herald of Arms in Ordinary is a current Scottish herald of arms in Ordinary of the Court of the Lord Lyon.The office was created after 1398 when the dukedom of Rothesay was conferred on David, eldest son of King Robert III, on 28 April 1398...
to Guise to take her letters to London and advised her to tell Francis I of France
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
to deal only with her, not with Arran. George spent a night at Redhall
Bonaly
Bonaly is an area on the south-western outskirts of Edinburgh and the northern slopes of the Pentland Hills, lying within the Parish of Colinton. It is a mix of mainly post-war housing, woodland, pasture-land and heather moorland. Bonaly Burn has its sources in the hills above Bonaly and flows...
near Edinburgh with Adam Otterburn
Adam Otterburn
Adam Otterburn of Auldhame and Reidhall was a Scottish lawyer and diplomat. He was king's advocate to James V of Scotland and secretary to Mary of Guise and Regent Arran.-Servant to James V:...
and explained his thinking to him. In September, Guise gave him a pension and he wrote to her that; "if there were but two men in Scotland that will bide at your opinion I shall be one." On 18 October George wrote to Guise from Tantallon saying he would bring armed men to Stirling, promising;
"We sall fors the gufurnor and his part-takaris to come furth to the feilddis and fecht with us, or ellis we sall hungar tham to deith."The brothers were duly summoned for treason by Arran's parliament of 6 November 1544. The issues were quickly reconciled, and the Douglas brothers were pardoned by a parliament on 12 December 1544 for recent and previous treasons before 1542.
In February 1545, George sent a letter to Henry VIII, to be forwarded by his English contact Ralph Eure
William Eure, 1st Baron Eure
Sir William Eure of Witton was an English knight and soldier active on the Anglo-Scottish border. Henry VIII of England made him Baron Eure by patent in 1544. The surname is often written as 'Evers.' William was Governor of Berwick upon Tweed in 1539, Commander in the North in 1542, Warden of the...
, (who was killed at the battle of Ancrum Moor
Battle of Ancrum Moor
The Battle of Ancrum Moor was fought during the War of the Rough Wooing in 1545. The Scottish victory put a temporary end to English depredations in the Scottish border and lowlands.-Background :...
). George wrote that the war was losing Henry's support in Scotland and offered advice;
"the Scots are informed that you would make gentlemen no better than shepherds, and by reason of the extreme war that uses killing women and young children and Scots prisoners that come forth of England, gentlemen say that Your Majesty will have a plane conquest of this realm, and that you will kill men women and children. This bruit (rumour) puts a great fear in the peoples's hearts and turns their hearts clearly from you: but gentle handling and good words will turn the favour of the people which may be a great help to Your Majesty's affairs.
In the service of Mary of Guise
A month before the battle of Pinkie, on 9 August 1547 Hertford, now Duke of SomersetDuke of Somerset
Duke of Somerset is a title in the peerage of England that has been created several times. Derived from Somerset, it is particularly associated with two families; the Beauforts who held the title from the creation of 1448 and the Seymours, from the creation of 1547 and in whose name the title is...
, Lord Protector of England, told the Scottish ambassador Adam Otterburn that if George Douglas would negotiate at Newcastle-upon-Tyne he might not invade Scotland. Otterburn advised Arran to allow Douglas to negotiate, writing that he would work for the commonwealth of both realms and to avoid the shedding of Christian blood. Arran objected to this diplomacy, and wished others apart from Douglas might meet at Newcastle. There was no further meeting and the Scottish army was defeated by the English invasion force at Pinkie Cleugh near Musselburgh
Musselburgh
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, six miles east of Edinburgh city centre.-History:...
on 10 September 1547. David Hume of Godscroft relates that Angus and Sir George were at the battle on horseback marshalling the Scottish forces.
In the summer of 1548, George Douglas maintained communication with an English commander, William Grey of Wilton
William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton
William Grey, 13th Baron Grey de Wilton KG, was an English baron and military commander serving in France in the 1540s and 1550s, and in the Scottish wars of the 1540s.He was the thirteenth Baron Grey de Wilton....
. However, Wilton sent James Wilford
James Wilford
Sir James Wilford was an English soldier, and commander of Haddington in Scotland during its occupation in the war of the Rough Wooing....
and Thomas Wyndham
Thomas Wyndham (navigator)
Thomas Wyndham was an English naval officer and navigator.The son of Sir Thomas Wyndham of Felbrigg and Elizabeth Wentworth, he was educated at Louvain University and possibly in Italy....
to trap George at Dalkeith Palace
Dalkeith Palace
Dalkeith Palace in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland, is the former seat of the Duke of Buccleuch.Dalkeith Castle was located to the north east of Dalkeith, and was originally in the hands of the Clan Graham in the 12th century and given to the Douglas family in the early 14th century. James Douglas...
. The Castle was taken on 3 June 1548, George escaped, but his son James, Master of Morton, was captured. In July 1548, one of George's servants was given £45 to gain intelligence in England. The money was to cover his expenses and the cost of messengers on his covert mission.
George Douglas died in 1552, in the north of Scotland, while serving Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise was a queen consort of Scotland as the second spouse of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as regent of Scotland in her daughter's name from 1554 to 1560...
.