Life

He was the third son of Alexander, Earl of Menteith

Alexander, Earl of Menteith

Alexander of Menteith , son of Mary I, Countess of Menteith and Walter Bailloch Stewart, her husband, was a Mormaer or Earl of Menteith for most of the 1290s. He is first noted with his brother John de Menteith in a compact between Bruce and the Stewarts on 20 September 1286, at Turnberry, Carrick...

. Like his father and brothers, his "surname" was "Menteith" rather than Stewart, even though he could claim agnatic descent from the Stewarts. He was the third Earl or Mormaer of Menteith to bear the name "Muireadhach", which occurs in non Gaelic

Goidelic languages

The Goidelic languages or Gaelic languages are one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages, the other consisting of the Brythonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland through the Isle of Man to the north of Scotland...

 sources in various corrupt forms, such as Muretach, Murdoc, Murdoch, Murdach, Murdo and even Maurice.

He was a brother of the previous earl, and a nephew of John de Menteith

John de Menteith

Sir John de Menteith was a Scottish nobleman.He was born to Mary, Countess of Menteith and her husband Walter "Bailloch" Stewart, Earl of Menteith jure uxoris. He and his older brother, Alexander, Earl of Menteith, replaced their paternal Stewart surname in favour of Menteith, which earned him the...

, an important figure during the Wars of Scottish Independence

Wars of Scottish Independence

The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries....

 most famous for handing William Wallace

William Wallace

Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence....

 over to the English crown.

He is first referred to in 1311 as a valet in the service of William Ferrers, 1st Baron Ferrers of Groby in England. He was knighted in early 1317/1318, when he is referred to as "Sir Murdac de Mentethe" in a charter. Menteith returned to Scotland by 1318 where he witnessed a charter of Robert the Bruce

Robert I of Scotland

Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...

 as Earl.

Menteith is alleged to have uncovered the plot of William de Soules and others to depose the Scots King, and in return was granted lands of those then declared forfeit.

He was killed at the Battle of Dupplin Moor

Battle of Dupplin Moor

The Battle of Dupplin Moor was fought between supporters of the infant David II, the son of Robert the Bruce, and rebels supporting the Balliol claim in 1332. It was a significant battle of the Second War of Scottish Independence.-Background:...

.

External links

• History of the Menteith family]