Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox
Encyclopedia
Earl of Lennox
The Mormaer of Lennox or Earl of Lennox was the ruler of the long-lasting provincial Mormaerdom/Earldom of Lennox in the Medieval Kingdom of the Scots. The first Mormaer is usually regarded as Ailin I , but the genealogy of the Mormaers gives earlier names...
, and leader of the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
nobility in Scotland
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...
. He was the son of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox
John 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...
. His grandson was James VI of Scotland.
Elizabeth Hamilton. However, the Earl of Arran
Earl of Arran
Earl of Arran is a title in both the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland. The two titles refer to different places, the Isle of Arran in Scotland, and the Aran Islands in Ireland...
, James Hamilton, was descended from a son of Princess Mary, and thus held the stronger claim. As a result, Lennox was at best third in line of succession, and really behind Arran's sons. Arran was made Regent of Scotland In 1543, Lennox's supporters challenged Arran's claim and legitimacy by suggesting that his father's divorce and second marriage were invalid.
Lennox arrived at Dumbarton Castle
Dumbarton Castle
Dumbarton Castle has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Great Britain. It overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton, and sits on a plug of volcanic basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high.-Iron Age:...
with two ships in March 1543. He came to Edinburgh but refused to ratify Arran's position as second person and Regent. Arran was pushing towards alliance with England and made 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...
on 1 July 1543 agreeing to a marriage between Mary, Queen of Scots, and Henry VIII's
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...
son Edward, Prince of Wales
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...
. Arran began to fortify Linlithgow Palace
Linlithgow Palace
The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are situated in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although maintained after Scotland's monarchs left for England in 1603, the...
where Queen Mary was held with her mother 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...
. 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:...
's and Lennox's supporters camped outside the palace but lacked artillery for an assault. Their representatives parleyed with the Arran's men at Kirkliston
Kirkliston
Kirkliston is a village and civil parish within the City of Edinburgh in Scotland. It sits on the historic route between Edinburgh and Queensferry, the gateway to Fife and the north. Today, it is bypassed by the A90...
, near Edinburgh, and a settlement was reached. Henceforth Arran would rule with the advice of a council and the infant queen would be moved to 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...
. Lennox escorted Mary to Stirling on 26 July 1543.
Although Lennox had come to Scotland lured by the prospect of marriage to Mary of Guise, by September Lennox had been offered the chance to marry Margaret Douglas
Margaret Douglas
Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox was the daughter of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus, and Margaret Tudor, Queen Dowager of Scotland...
, daughter of Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor
Margaret Tudor was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503, she married James IV, King of Scots. James died in 1513, and their son became King James V. She married secondly Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of...
, and half-sister of the deceased James V. After Lennox seized French money and artillery sent to Mary of Guise she even offered the hand of her daughter in marriage. When 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...
rejected the Greenwich treaty, Lennox then changed sides and supported Henry VIII of England
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...
's military efforts to secure a marriage between in the War of the Rough Wooing. After the defeat of his supporters at the Battle of Glasgow Muir he fled once more to England.
When the English army approached Edinburgh before the battle of Pinkie, far to the west a diversionary invasion of 5000 men was lead by Thomas Wharton
Thomas Wharton, 1st Baron Wharton
Thomas Wharton, 1st Baron Wharton was an English nobleman and a follower of King Henry VIII of England. He is best known for his victory at Solway Moss on 24 November 1542 for which he was given a barony.-Early life:...
and Lennox on 8 September 1547. They took Castlemilk
Castlemilk
Castlemilk is a district of Glasgow, Scotland. It lies to the south of the city adjacent to Rutherglen, Croftfoot, Simshill and the separate village of Carmunnock...
and burnt Annan
Annan, Dumfries and Galloway
The royal burgh of Annan is a well-built town, red sandstone being the material mainly used. Each year in July, Annan celebrates the Royal Charter and the boundaries of the Royal Burgh are confirmed when a mounted cavalcade undertakes the Riding of the Marches. Entertainment includes a...
after a bitter struggle to capture its fortified church.
Marriage and children
In 1544 he married Lady Margaret Douglas, which significantly improved the claim to the Scottish throne of any of his progeny, and also introduced a claim to the English throne.Their children were Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, born 1545 at Temple Newsam
Temple Newsam
Temple Newsam is a Tudor-Jacobean house with grounds landscaped by Capability Brown, in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
, who married Mary, Queen of Scots, and Charles Stewart, future Earl of Lennox
Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of Lennox
Charles Stuart, 5th Earl of Lennox was the second son of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox and of Margaret Douglas, daughter of Margaret Tudor....
, was born in 1556 and died in 1576. Charles married Elizabeth Cavendish
Elizabeth Stuart, Countess of Lennox
Elizabeth Cavendish, Countess of Lennox was the wife of Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of Lennox. She was the mother of Arbella Stuart, a close claimant to the English and Scottish thrones.- Family :...
in 1574. Elizabeth was the daughter of William Cavendish and Elizabeth, Bess of Hardwick
Bess of Hardwick
Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury (c. 1521 – 13 February 1608, known as Bess of Hardwick, was the daughter of John Hardwick, of Derbyshire and Elizabeth Leeke, daughter of Thomas Leeke and Margaret Fox...
.
Matthew's grandchildren were; by Henry, James VI of Scotland and I of England; and by Charles, Lady Arbella Stuart.
Father of the king and regency.
In August 1548 he made four promises to Mary of Guise in order for her assent to Queen Mary's French marriage. These were; that he and his friends and retainers would preserve the Catholic faith in Scotland; they would guard the Auld AllianceAuld Alliance
The Auld Alliance was an alliance between the kingdoms of Scotland and France. It played a significant role in the relations between Scotland, France and England from its beginning in 1295 until the 1560 Treaty of Edinburgh. The alliance was renewed by all the French and Scottish monarchs of that...
; Guise would remain guardian of Queen Mary; and he would punish all who supported the king of England.
He returned to Scotland upon Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth 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...
's urging during the marriage negotiations of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1564. He quickly took up his position as the most powerful lord in the Glasgow area and was instrumental in the marriage of his son, Lord Darnley
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley
Henry Stewart or Stuart, 1st Duke of Albany , styled Lord Darnley before 1565, was king consort of Scotland and murdered at Kirk o'Field...
, to Queen Mary. Whether Elizabeth had intended this (in order to eliminate the threat of a continental marriage), as is sometimes conjectured, remains doubtful. Elizabeth reacted with disapproval and had Lennox's wife confined in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
. By August 1565, William Cecil
William Cecil
William Cecil may refer to:* Lord William Cecil , British royal courtier* William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley , English politician and advisor to Elizabeth I* William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter , Knight of the Garter...
had heard that Darnley's insolence had driven Lennox from the Scottish court.
After Darnley was murdered early in 1567, Lennox was the most ardent pursuant of justice against the lords who had conspired in the murder. He also became the main witness against Mary, though her involvement in the murder, thought to have been carried out by her later husband, Lord Bothwell
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell
James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney , better known by his inherited title as 4th Earl of Bothwell, was hereditary Lord High Admiral of Scotland. He is best known for his association with and subsequent marriage to Mary, Queen of Scots, as her third husband...
, is controversial.
In 1570, Lennox became regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
for his grandson, James VI
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, but the queen's party declared war against him. He was shot dead next year in a skirmish when the queen's party attacked Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
. The raid on Stirling on 4 September 1571 was led by the 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:...
, Claude Hamilton
Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley
Claud Hamilton, 1st Lord Paisley was a Scottish politician. He was a younger son of James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran. In 1553, he received the lands of the abbey of Paisley...
, and the lairds of Buccleuch and Ferniehurst. Early reports said he was killed by his own side. William Kirkcaldy of Grange
William Kirkcaldy of Grange
Sir William Kirkcaldy of Grange , Scottish politician and general, was the eldest son of Sir James Kirkcaldy of Grange , a member of an old Fife family...
said the shot was fired by the queen's party, and another account names David Bochinant as the assassin.