Robert Douglas of Morton

Claiming descent from James Douglas "de Laudonia", Robert managed something very unusual in the Douglas family in that history has ignored him completely.

The family records skip from James directly to Robert's nephews William and John, reflecting perhaps the family's wish to remove him (and his father) from their pedigree given his long tenure at the English court.
 

Present at the siege of Berwick in 1296 which saw the massacre of the whole of the town by Edward Longshanks, Robert stood hostage in London for the good conduct of William Douglas, known as "le Hardi", a distant relation but one who had ensured that all who went by the name of Douglas would prosper, and who had taken the young Robert under his wing. William had been the Scottish governor of Berwick, but on its surrender he was among those who fixed their seals to the "Ragman Roll", granting Scotland to Edward.

 

With the rising of Wallace in 1297, William Douglas was the first Scottish noble to join his cause, conveniently forgetting the surety he had given. Robert was moved to the Tower, and William's English estates at Faudon in Northumbria were declared forfeit.

 

With William's capture in 1298, Robert was released from the Tower to make way for the head of his family, but was prohibited from returning to Scotland. Seeking experience and security, he was granted permission to participate in tournaments across England. Now, with the coronation of Edward II and the ongoing struggle for control in Scotland in which Sir James Douglas plays a prominent part on the Scottish side, he remains in England in the hope of further advancement.

 

In the current uncertainty, he defends the King from his detractors, not from any loyalty to the man himself (as Douglas is all too aware of his failings), but from his belief in the God-given right of kings to rule. For others to dispute this seems to him to be close to heresy...

 

 

 

Errors and Omissions

The Forum

What's new?

We are looking for your help to improve the accuracy of The Douglas Archives.

If you spot errors, or omissions, then please do let us know


Contributions

Many articles are stubs which would benefit from re-writing. Can you help?


Copyright

You are not authorized to add this page or any images from this page to Ancestry.com (or its subsidiaries) or other fee-paying sites without our express permission and then, if given, only by including our copyright and a URL link to the web site.

 

If you have met a brick wall with your research, then posting a notice in the Douglas Archives Forum may be the answer. Or, it may help you find the answer!

You may also be able to help others answer their queries.

Visit the Douglas Archives Forum.

 

2 Minute Survey

To provide feedback on the website, please take a couple of minutes to complete our survey.

 

We try to keep everyone up to date with new entries, via our What's New section on the home page.

We also use the Community Network to keep researchers abreast of developments in the Douglas Archives.


Help with costs

Maintaining the three sections of the site has its costs.  Any contribution the defray them is very welcome
Donate

 

Newsletter

If you would like to receive a very occasional newsletter - Sign up!
Temporarily withdrawn.