Notes |
- "...that Mary of Strathearn, daughter of Malise 8th Earl of Strathearnand Marjory of Ross married John (of Drumsargard) Moray, but thismarriage came too late for her to have been the mother of Sir Maurice(9th Earl of Strathearn) Moray. The SP article cited next above at387-388 says that Maurice was more probably born from a prior wife of hisfather. It points out that Maurice was one of the Scottish leaders whoin 1335 rejected terms of peace offered by Edward III. The date of Maryof Strathearn's marriage to Maurice was between 1319 and 1322. Thearticle concludes on this point saying she could hardly have been themother of grown men in 1335. The article also points out that, whenMaurice had dispensation for his marriage to Joan Menteith, Countess ofStrathearn and widow of the 7th Earl, on 11 July 1339, no mention wasmade of the 7th Earl, who, if Mary was Maurice's mother, would have beenhis grandfather. I add the comment that Maurice's bride would also havebeen his stepgrandmother.
On this issue, SP 8:255-256 says that there is no evidence on which onecan validly determine the identity of Maurice's mother, and that thefacts indicate that she was probably an earlier wife of Maurice'sfather. It explains that the date of the marriage to John (ofDrumsargard) Moray can be established by the dates of various propertytransfers to him and to the heirs of Mary between 1318 and 1322. MauriceMoray is first named on record in 1335 as one of the leaders of thepatriotic party in Scotland, and he was among those who rejected terms ofpeace offered them by Edward III. A chronicler stated that in 1335,Maurice Moray slew Godfrey Ross because, through trickery, he had killedMaurice's brother in what was supposed to have been a fair fight. Itseems clear that, if Mary was Maurice's mother, he could not have beenborn until after 1318, which would have made him, at most, 16 years oldin 1335, hardly old enough to have revenged the slaying of a brother andto be serving as a political leader. Further, the article says that, on2 December 1336, King Edward Baliol of Scotland granted the barony ofDrumsargard and all the lands of Maurice de Moravia on the South of theFourth to Anthony de Lucy as Maurice was then an enemy and rebel. Thesefacts show that Maurice had probably already inherited his father'spossessions and was already a well-established landowner by 1336,indicating that he was of age and certainly not a teen-age boy. "
Doug Hickling
516 Blair Avenue
Piedmont CA 94611
510-655-6896
Dhhic@comcast.net
SP= THE SCOTS PEERAGE
CP= The COMPLETE PEERAGE
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