Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland

Alexander Stewart (died 1283), also known as Alexander of Dundonald, was 4th hereditary High Steward of Scotland from his father's death in 1246.

Alexander Stewart
4th High Steward of Scotland
Coat of arms of the High Stewart of Scotland: Or, a fess chequy argent and azure
Tenure	1246–1283
Predecessor	Walter Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland
Successor	James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland
Died	1283
Nationality	Scottish
Parents	Walter Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland Bethóc (Beatrix) Mac Gille Críst
Religion	Roman Catholic

Origins

He was a son of Walter Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland by his wife Bethóc, daughter of Gille Críst, Earl of Angus.

Career

He is said to have accompanied King Louis IX of France on the Seventh Crusade (1248–1254).[1] In 1255 he was one of the councillors of King Alexander III of Scotland, though under age.[2]

He was the principal commander under King Alexander III at the Battle of Largs, on 2 October 1263, when the Scots defeated the Norwegians under Haakon IV. The Scots invaded and conquered the Isle of Man the following year, which was then, together with the whole of the Western Isles, annexed to the Crown of Scotland.[3][4]

Marriage and issue

He married Jean Macrory, heiress of the Isles of Bute and Arran, daughter of James (d.1210) (who with his father and brothers were killed by the men of Skye), son of Angus, Lord of Bute & Arran (younger son of Somerled, King of the South Isles). By his wife he had the following issue:[5][6]

• James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland (c. 1260-1309), eldest son and heir; grandfather of King Robert II of Scotland, the first Stewart King of Scots, and thus ancestor of all subsequent Scottish monarchs and of the post-Tudor monarchs of Great Britain, later the United Kingdom .
• Sir John Stewart of Bonkyll, (d. 22 July 1298), 2nd son, who married Margaret de Bonkyll, the heiress of Bonkyll, by whom he had seven sons and one daughter. Ancestor of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, father of King James VI and I of Scotland and England. He was killed in the Battle of Falkirk (1298).[7][8]
• Andrew Stewart,[9] third son,[10] who married the daughter of James Bethe. He was the father of Sir Alexander Steward "The Fierce" and an ancestor of Oliver Cromwell.[11][12][13]
• Elizabeth Stewart (d. before 1288), who married Sir William Douglas the Hardy, Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed. She was the mother of the James Douglas, Lord of Douglas, "Good Sir James Douglas".[14]
• Hawise Stewart, who married John de Soulis (died 1310), brother of the Lord of Liddesdale.[15]

Sources

• Nisbet, Alexander, 1722. Vol.1,p. 48; and appendix, page 149.
• Burke, Messrs., John and John Bernard, The Royal Families of England, Scotland, and Wales, and Their Descendants &c., volume 2, London, 1851, p. xlii.
• Anderson, William, "The Scottish Nation", Edinburgh, 1867, vol.vii, p. 200.
• Mackenzie, A. M., MA., D.Litt., The Rise of the Stewarts, London, 1935, pp. 13–14.
• The Marquis de Ruvigny & Raineval, The Jacobite Peerage &c., London & Edinburgh (1904), 1974 reprint, p. 8n.</ref> Agnatic ancestor of British kings.

References

1. Simpson, David, The Genealogical and Chronological History of the Stuarts, Edinburgh, 1713.
2. Anderson, William, The Scottish Nation, Edinburgh, 1867, vol.ix, p.512
3. Burke, Messrs., John and John Bernard, The Royal Families of England, Scotland, and Wales, with Their Descendants &c., volume 2, London, 1851, p. xli-xlii.
4. Anderson (1867) vil.ix, p.512
5. Sir James Balfour Paul. The Scots Peerage: founded on Wood's edition of Sir Robert Douglas's, The Peerage of Scotland, (Edinburgh, Scotland: David Douglas, 1904), vol. 1, p. 13.
6. Mosley, Charles, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th ed., 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books, Ltd., 2003), vol. 1, p. 449.
7. Paul, James Balfour (1904). The Scottish Peerage. p. 169.
8. "Bunkle Castle". Historic Environment Scotland.
9. International Genealogical Index Source Batch No. 6020347, Sheet 65, Source Call No. 1621525
10. Visitations of Cambridgeshire, 1575 & 1619
11. Noble, Mark, Memoirs of the Protectoral House of Cromwell, London, 1757, vol.2, p.204
12. Foster, John, The Statesmen of the Commonwealth of England, London, 1830, vol.4, p.305
13. Lauder-Frost, 2004, p.152.
14. Maxwell, Sir Herbert, Bt., A History of the House of Douglas, London, 1902, vol.1, p.28.
15. Cokayne; Gibbs; Doubleday; Howard de Walden (1932) p. 206.

Bibliography

• Cokayne, GE; Gibbs, V; Doubleday, HA; Howard de Walden, eds. (1932). The Complete Peerage. Vol. 8. London: The St Catherine Press.
• Lauder-Frost, Gregory, F.S.A.Scot., "East Anglian Stewarts" in The Scottish Genealogist, Dec.2004, vol.LI, no.4., pps:151-161. ISSN 0330-337X
• MacEwen, ABW (2011). "The Wives of Sir James the Steward (d.1309)". Foundations. 3 (5): 391–398.
• Sellar, WDH (2000). "Hebridean Sea Kings: The Successors of Somerled, 1164–1316". In Cowan, EJ; McDonald, RA (eds.). Alba: Celtic Scotland in the Middle Ages. East Linton: Tuckwell Press. pp. 187–218. ISBN 1-86232-151-5.

External links

Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland House of Stewart Born: 1214 Died: 1283
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Walter Stewart	High Steward of Scotland 1246–1283	Succeeded by James Stewart