George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly (1514 – 28 October 1562) was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 nobleman.

Biography

He was the son of John Gordon, Lord Gordon, and Margaret Stewart, daughter of James IV

James IV of Scotland

James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

. George Gordon inherited his earldom and estates in 1524 at age 10. As commander of the King's Army he defeated the English at the Battle of Haddon Rig

Battle of Haddon Rig

The Battle of Hadden Rig was a battle fought about 3 miles east of Kelso, in the Scottish Borders, between Scotland and England on August 24, 1542, during the reign of King James V of Scotland. The English army was led by Robert Bowes, Deputy Warden of the English East March...

 in 1542, was a member of the council of Regency under 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 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:...

 and succeeded as Chancellor

Lord Chancellor of Scotland

The Lord Chancellor of Scotland was a Great Officer of State in pre-Union Scotland.Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower status with the title of Keeper of the Great Seal...

 on the murder of Beaton in 1546. He was captured at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh

Battle of Pinkie Cleugh

The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland on 10 September 1547, was part of the War of the Rough Wooing. It was the last pitched battle between Scottish and English armies, and is seen as the first modern battle in the British Isles...

 in 1547, but escaped and in 1550 accompanied 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...

 to France. He joined the Lords of the Congregation

Lords of the Congregation

The Lords of the Congregation were a group of Protestant Scottish nobles who in the mid-16th century favoured reformation of the church along Protestant principles and a Scottish-English alliance.- Historical events :...

 in 1560 and was prepared to accept Mary, Queen of Scots, until she transferred the Earldom of Moray

Earl of Moray

The title Earl of Moray has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland.Prior to the formal establishment of the peerage, Earl of Moray, numerous individuals ruled the kingdom of Moray or Mormaer of Moray until 1130 when the kingdom was destroyed by David I of Scotland.-History of the...

, which had been given to the Earl of Huntly in 1549, to her half-brother Lord James Stewart

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray , a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V, was Regent of Scotland for his nephew, the infant King James VI of Scotland, from 1567 until his assassination in 1570...

, at which point he withdrew to his estates in the North-East of Scotland.

Mary, Queen of Scots, toured the north-east in August 1562, and was refused entry to Inverness Castle

Inverness Castle

Inverness Castle sits on a cliff overlooking the River Ness, in Inverness, Scotland. The red sand stone structure evident today was built in 1836 by architect William Burn. It is built on the site of an 11th century defensive structure. Today, it houses Inverness Sheriff Court. There has been a...

 on Gordon's orders. The Queen's forces captured the Castle before moving to Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

 where she issued a summons for Gordon. He refused to answer and was outlaw

Outlaw

In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...

ed. He marched on Aberdeen but was defeated by James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray

James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray , a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V, was Regent of Scotland for his nephew, the infant King James VI of Scotland, from 1567 until his assassination in 1570...

 at the Battle of Corrichie in October 1562. He died of apoplexy

Apoplexy

Apoplexy is a medical term, which can be used to describe 'bleeding' in a stroke . Without further specification, it is rather outdated in use. Today it is used only for specific conditions, such as pituitary apoplexy and ovarian apoplexy. In common speech, it is used non-medically to mean a state...

 after his capture, and his son, Sir John was executed in Aberdeen. Huntly was posthumously forfeited by parliament in May 1563.

After his death his body and the goods from Strathbogie Castle

Huntly Castle

Huntly Castle is a ruined castle in Huntly in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was the ancestral home of the chief of Clan Gordon, Earl of Huntly.-History:...

 were shipped from Aberdeen to Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

. The body stood for the earl at his trial. The goods were taken to Holyrood Palace

Holyrood Palace

The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. The palace stands at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle...

. When Mary was imprisoned at Lochleven, she was given the earl's cloth-of-estate.

Family

On 27 March 1530 he married Elizabeth Keith, daughter of Robert Keith, Master of Marischal, by whom he had nine sons and three daughters, including;

• Thomas Gordon
• George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly
  George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly
  George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly , was Lord Chancellor of Scotland and major conspirator of his time.-Biography:...
  
  
• Lady Margaret Gordon
• Lady *Jean Gordon, Countess of Bothwell
  Jean Gordon, Countess of Bothwell
  Jean Gordon, Countess of Bothwell was a wealthy Scottish noblewoman and the first wife of James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell who became, after his divorce from Lady Jean, the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. Lady Jean herself had a total of three husbands...
  
   (1546 - 14 May 1629)
• Lady Elizabeth Gordon (died 1557)
• Alexander Gordon, Lord Gordon
• Sir John Gordon, executed 1563
• Adam Gordon, (born 1545)

Sources

• Bonner, Elizabeth, 'The Earl of Huntly and the King of France, 1548: Man for Rent', English Historical Review, vol. 120, no.485 (Feb 2005), 80-103.
• Robertson, Joseph ,Inventaires de la Royne Descosse, Banntayne Club, (1863), xxii-xxv, 49-56.