The 'Turnberry Band' : A Genealogical Perspective

Moderator: MOD_nyhetsgrupper

Svar
Gjest

The 'Turnberry Band' : A Genealogical Perspective

Legg inn av Gjest » 04 nov 2004 00:21:01

Wednesday, 3 November, 2004


Hello All,

Following the death of King Alexander III in 1286, a period of
uncertainty ensued in Scotland which (one could argue) lasted until
the Scots victory at Bannockburn in June 1314. Early in this
period Robert de Brus, lord of Annandale and "next in line" (so he
thought) to the Scots throne after Alexander's infant granddaughter
in Norway, sought to protect his present position and future
possibilities by entering into an agreement with a number of Scots
and Irish magnates, thereafter frequently referred to as the
"Turnberry Band".

Politically, the agreement at Turnberry has been the subject of
much discussion and debate. In genealogical terms, the agreement
merits some reconsideration given the evidence recently discussed
concerning the relationships of the Earls of Dunbar to the Bruce
Lords of Annandale and others [1].

The following is an accurate, if abbreviated, rendering of the
agreement (the full Latin text will follow in a 2nd post):

" Bond by Patrick Earl of Dunbar, Patrick, John, and
Alexander his sons, Walter Stewart, Earl of Menteith,
Alexander and John his sons, Robert of Bruce, Lord of
Annandale, and Robert of Bruce, Earl of Carrick, and
Richard of Bruce his sons, James, Steward of Scotland,
and John his brother, Enegus, son of Dovenald, and
Alexander his lawful son, whereby they engage to adhere
to Sir Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster, and Sir Thomas
of Clare in all their affairs, and to stand faithfully
by them and their accomplices against all their
adversaries, saving their fidelity to the King of
England, and also to him who should obtain the kingdom
of Scotland by reason of relationship to Alexander
King of Scotland last deceased.
At Turnebyry in Carrick, on the eve of St.
Matthew, 20th September 1286,.... " [2]

The following chart reflects the common descent of all the
Scots lords who agreed to this bond from Walter fitz Alan the
Steward (d. 1177). In fact, Patrick, Earl of Dunbar and Robert de
Brus, lord of Annandale are shown to have been 1st cousins: they
were also 2nd cousins 1x removed, by common descent from Henry of
Scotland, Earl of Northumberland and Huntingdon (d. 1152) and Ada
de Warenne. Walter le Stewart, Earl of Menteith was their 2nd
cousin: James le Stewart and his brother John (later of Bonkil),
and Angus 'Mor' mac Donald of the Isles, were nephews of Earl
Walter.


Walter fitz Alan = Eschina
steward of K David I I
_______________I______________
I I
William = Cristina (= <2> Patrick Alan fitz Walter
de Brus I of Dunbar) le Steward (d. 1204)
I I
__________I_____ I
I I I
Euphemia Robert Walter fitz Alan
= Patrick de Brus le Steward (d. 1241)
E of Dunbar = Isabel of I
d. 1232 Huntingdon I
I I ______ _________I____________
I I I I I I I
PATRICK ROBERT = Isabel I Alexander WALTER NN (dau)
E of Dunbar Lord of I de I le E of = Donald
= Cecilia Annandale I Clare I Steward Menteith of the
filia Joh. d. 1295 I ___I d. 1283 I Isles
I I I I I I
__I_____ ________I Richard ___I_ ____I____ I
I I I I I I I I I I
PATRICK I ROBERT I THOMAS JAMES I ALEXANDER I ANGUS
<later I E of I de le I <later I mac
E of I Carrick I Clare Steward I E of I Donald
Dunbar> I I = Egidia I Menteith> I d. 1296
___I_ ____I ______I ________I ____I___
I I I I I I I
JOHN I RICHARD JOHN JOHN de ALEXANDER I
_____I de Brus le Steward Menteith I
I (of Bonkil) ______I
ALEXANDER I
Angus Og
mac Donald


Although inadequately reflected, the Irish lords involved in
the "Band" were closely linked if not related by this common
Stewart descent. Thomas de Clare, of Inchiquin and Youghal, was
the nephew of Robert de Brus' wife Isabel de Clare, and a first
cousin of his sons Robert and Richard (namesake of Thomas' father
Richard de Clare). Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster (d. 1326), was
the brother of Egidia (or Giles) de Burgh, the wife of James le
Stewart.

Certainly the earls and lords who bound themselves by this
agreement had their own particular interests at heart. The parts
they would play in the subsequent history of Scotland range from
the heroic (Sir John Stewart's death in 1298 as a captain at the
Battle of Falkirk, fighting together with William Wallace comes to
mind) to the infamous (John de Menteith is the Sir John who
subsequently captured William Wallace in 1305, turning him over to
English justice). However, we can now see that this group was
more closely related than was previously understood, which
provides a new perspective for further study of the Turnberry Band
and other aspects of this period.

Cheers,

John *


NOTES

[1] See SGM threads: <: CP Correction: Cristina, 2nd wife of
Patrick, Earl of Dunbar (d. 1232)>, <CP Correction: Euphemia,
wife of Patrick, Earl of Dunbar (d. 1248)> and <CP Correction:
Cecilia, wife of Patrick, Earl of Dunbar>, 29 October 2004. An
ahnentafel for Patrick, Earl of Dunbar (d. 1308) is given in
the SGM thread <Re: Royal Ancestry of the Warkworths>, 1
November 2004.

[2] The Red Book of Menteith II:xxxi, No. 12. The Latin text
(to be provided in a followup post) is found at II:219-220
[also in Bain's Historical Documents Pertaining to Scotland
I:22]


* John P. Ravilious

Svar

Gå tilbake til «soc.genealogy.medieval»