This page is an extract from Historical Tales of the
Wars of Scotland and of the Border Raids, Forays and Conflicts; Author:
John Parker Lawson
THE EXPLOITS OF THE GOOD SIR JAMES DOUGLAS
(See summary below)
The noble family of Douglas, “whose coronet so often counterpoised the crown,” and whose patrimonial seat gave name to the parish of Douglas and to the district of Douglasdale in the upper ward of Lanarkshire, is said to have been founded by Theobald, a Fleming, who acquired the lands around that seat at a very early period in Scottish history. But the first great man of the family—and at the same time one of the most distinguished and famous of all the great ones it produced—was “the Good Sir James,” the eighth Lord of Douglas, who lived amid the earliest and fiercest outbursts of the wars of the succession, and bade defiance to Edward of England at the very moment of his riding most rampantly over prostrate Scotland, and fought either at the side of Bruce, or in vigorous support of him, throughout all his efforts to achieve his country’s independence.
Sir James’s own castle of Douglas had been taken and garrisoned by the troops of Edward I.; and he resolved to take it, and at the same time inflict signal chastisement on the intruders. A beautiful English maiden, named the Lady Augusta de Berkeley, had replied to her numerous suitors that her hand should be given to him who should have the courage and the ability to hold the perilous castle of Douglas for a year and a day; and Sir John de Walton, anxious to win by his valour such a lovely prize, undertook the keeping of the castle by consent of Edward. For several months he discharged his duty with honour and bravery, and the lady now deeming his probation accomplished, and not unwilling perhaps to unite her fortunes to one who had proved himself a true and valiant knight, wrote him an epistle recalling him. By this time, however, he had received a defiance from Douglas, who declared that despite all his bravery and vigilance, the castle should be his own by Palm Sunday; and De Walton deemed it a point of honour to keep possession till the threatened day should pass over. On the day named, Douglas having assembled his followers, assailed the English as they retired from the church, and having overpowered them took the castle. Sir John de Walton was slain in the conflict, and the letter of his lady-love being found in his pocket, afflicted the generous and good Sir James “full sorely.”
The account of this taking of the Castle of Douglas, in the *History of the Houses of Douglas and Angus* by Godscroft, is somewhat different, and states that Sir James had drawn Sir John de Walton, by an ambuscade, out from the castle into the open country, where he fell on his band, killed their leader, and took the castle. The castle, however, was more than once taken, retaken, burnt, and rebuilt, during the life of the Good Sir James; and the account of one of the most interesting assaults upon it is given as follows by Godscroft:
> “The manner of his taking it is said to have beene thus—Sir James taking with him only two of his servants, went to Thomas Dickson of whom he was received with tears, after he had revealed himself to him, for the good old man knew him not at first, being in mean and homely apparel. There he kept him secretly in a quiet chamber, and brought unto him such as had been trusty servants to his father, not all at once, but apart by one and one, for fear of discoverie. Their advice was, that on Palm Sunday, when the English would come forth to the church, and his partners were conveened,
that then he should give the word, and cry the Douglas slogan, and
presently set upon them that should happen to be there, who being
despatched the castle might be taken easily…”
(The full passage
continues with the detailed account of the ambush at St. Bride’s Church,
the death of Thomas Dickson, the capture of the castle, and the
destruction of its stores — the origin of the “Douglas Larder.”)
The narrative proceeds through Douglas’s campaigns alongside Bruce, his ambuscades at Ederford and Loudon Hill, his liberation of Douglasdale, Ettrick Forest, and Jedburgh, and his capture of Randolph, later Earl of Moray. It recounts his daring night assault on Roxburgh Castle in 1312–13, his command at Bannockburn in 1314, and his victories against English forces in Jedburgh and Teviotdale. It culminates in his final mission: carrying the heart of Robert the Bruce toward Jerusalem, his death in Spain at Theba in 1330, and the return of his remains to Douglas.
Barbour’s verse memorializes his burial:
> “Quhen his men lang had mad murnyn,
> Thai debowlyt him, and syne
> Gert scher him swa, that mycht be tane
> The flesch all haly fra the bane…”
The text closes with Sir Walter Scott’s reflections on Douglas Castle — “Castle Dangerous” — describing its ruins, the choir of St. Bride’s Church, and the silver case said to contain the dust of the brave heart of the Good Sir James.
Chronicle of the Good Sir James Douglas
Origins and Lineage
From the upper ward of Lanarkshire rose the noble house of Douglas — “whose coronet so often counterpoised the crown.” Its founder, Theobald the Fleming, settled the lands that gave name to Douglasdale. Yet it was Sir James Douglas, eighth Lord of Douglas, who first carried the name into legend. Amid the wars of succession, when Edward of England trampled Scotland’s freedom, Sir James stood beside Robert the Bruce, defiant and unyielding.
The Taking of Douglas Castle
When Edward’s troops seized Douglas Castle, Sir James vowed its recovery. The tale of
Lady Augusta de Berkeley and her suitor Sir John de Walton — who held the castle for love and honour — ends in tragedy. On Palm Sunday, Douglas struck as the English left St. Bride’s Church, reclaiming his ancestral stronghold. The fallen De Walton’s letter from his lady was found upon him, and Douglas grieved “full sorely.”
Godscroft’s chronicle tells another version: Douglas, disguised in humble garb, gathered loyal men under Thomas Dickson. At the cry of “A Douglas! A Douglas!” the Scots fell upon the garrison. Dickson was slain, but Douglas prevailed, taking the castle and destroying its stores — mingling grain with blood and salt, leaving behind the infamous **Douglas Larder**, a grim warning to all invaders.
Campaigns of Liberation
Through Ayrshire and the Border forests, Douglas struck swift reprisals. He ambushed Sir Philip Mowbray at Ederford, freed Douglasdale, Ettrick, and Jedburgh from English rule, and captured Bruce’s nephew Randolph — later Earl of Moray — bringing him to the King’s side. His daring night assault on **Roxburgh Castle** in 1312–13, with sixty men blackened for stealth, remains one of Scotland’s most audacious feats.
At Bannockburn (1314), Douglas commanded the centre of Bruce’s army. In the years that followe, he routed English forces in Jedburgh and Teviotdale, slew their leaders, and carried Scotland’s banner deep into England. His name became a rallying cry — the Douglas slogan — feared from Berwick to York.
The Heart of Bruce
When Robert the Bruce lay dying in 1329, he entrusted his heart to Douglas, bidding him bear it to the Holy Sepulchre. With a passport from Edward III, Douglas sailed the next year, but hearing of Christian battle in Spain, joined King Alphonso
XI against the Moors. At Theba (1330), he cast the casket before him, crying,
“Onward, brave heart, that never failed, and Douglas will follow thee or die!”
He fell in the fight, and his companions bore home his body and the heart of Bruce. The King’s heart was laid at Melrose Abbey; Douglas’s bones rest at St. Bride’s Church, Douglas , beneath alabaster carved by his brother Archibald.
Legacy and Memory
Sir Walter Scott, visiting the ruins centuries later, found only a single tower of Douglas Castle, “Castle Dangerous,” standing near the modern mansion. The choir of St. Bride’s still holds the vault of the Douglases, where a silver case is said to contain the dust of the brave heart of the Good Sir James. Though time and Cromwell’s troopers have marred the tombs, Scott wrote that Douglas’s monument “must have been not inferior to the best of the same period in Westminster Abbey.”
Thus ends the chronicle of the Good Sir James Douglas — knight of the
heart, scourge of tyrants, and guardian of Scotland’s honour.
See also:
•
A Narrative on the Origins and Nature of Lawson’s Historical
Tales
Contributions
The Douglas Archives are built
from families histories. Do you have an ancestor whose
story should be told here? Please let us have the details.
|
