King James III and 'our cousin' Alexander, Earl of Glencairn

Moderator: MOD_nyhetsgrupper

Svar
Gjest

King James III and 'our cousin' Alexander, Earl of Glencairn

Legg inn av Gjest » 07 jan 2005 03:31:01

Thursday, 6 January, 2005


Hello All,

King James III of Scots faced a significant rebellion at the
end of his reign, led by (or for) his son Prince James,
subsequenty King James IV. One of the few noted supporters of the
King in 1487/8 was Alexander Cunningham, Lord Kilmaurs, who in
early 1488 led his own forces in helping to decide the battle of
Blackness in favor of the King. Due to his faithful support, one
of the last (if not the last) acts of the reign of James III was
the elevation of Alexander Cunningham to the dignity of Earl of
Glencairn on 28 May 1488. The account in SP provides details
re: the charter:

" The words used are ' facimus et creamus eundem
nostrum consanguineum Comitem in exaltationem sui
honoris, perpetuis futuris temporibus Comitem de
Glencairn et Dominum de Kilmauris nuncupandum.' " [1]

While several distant relationships (some identifiable, others
conjectured) existed between James III and Alexander Cunningham, a
near kinship (at least something as close or closer than 4th
cousin, or the 5th degree of consanguinity) seems the most likely
reason for the King calling Alexander 'our cousin' [nostrum
consanguineum]. One relationship, hitherto unexplained, is found
in a dispensation for the marriage of Sir William Cunningham of
Kilmaurs (grandfather of Alexander) and Lady Mary Stewart,
daughter of King Robert III and widow of (among others) James
Kennedy of Dunure. Following the death of Sir William's first
wife Margaret Danielsto(u)n, there was a planned marriage of Sir
William and Lady Mary

' before July 1409, when he had a Papal Dispensation
to marry Marjory (Mary) Stewart, widow of James Kennedy,
notwithstanding Margaret his first wife was related
to Marjory in the second and third degrees. ' [2]

Given that the ancestries of both Margaret Danielstoun and the
Lady Mary Stewart are known in part only, we can render the
relationship between King James III and Alexander Cunningham with
certainty only as follows (degrees of consanguinty shown as <1>,
<2> & c.):

_________________________________________
I I
<sibling> or <1> <1> <sibling> or
<half-sibling> <half-sibling>
I I
.....I..... I
I
Robert III = Annabela <2> I
1390-1406 I Drummond I
__________I_____ I
I I I
James I <3> Mary ~~ Sir William = Margaret <2>
1406-1437 Cunningham I Danielstoun
I d. aft 7 Aug 1413 I
I I
James II <4> Sir Robert Cunningham <3>
1437-1460 d. bef 20 Mar 1450/1
I I
I I
JAMES III <5> ALEXANDER CUNNINGHAM <4>
1460-1488 1st Earl of Glencairn


We can then at least say that Earl Alexander and his King were
related in the 4th and 5th degrees of consanguinity; that is, they
were 3rd cousins, 1x removed.

A followup post will discuss the possible common ancestry of
Lady Mary Stewart (and her brother King James I) and of Margaret
Danielstoun.

Cheers,

John *




NOTES

[1] SP IV:234, cites Maidment's Reports, App. vi. 93.

[2] SP IV:230, cites Papal Registers, Petitions, i. 639.


* John P. Ravilious

Svar

Gå tilbake til «soc.genealogy.medieval»