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Birth:          1255 
Death:          24 Jan 1298 

Notes
ancestry.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Hardy,_Lord_of_Douglas
Sir William Douglas "le Hardi" (the Bold), Lord of Douglas (1255 – January 24, 1298)
[1][dubious – discuss][original research?] was a Scottish nobleman and warlord.
Early life[edit]

William Douglas was the son of William Longleg, Lord of Douglas and it is supposed 
by his possible second wife, Constance Battail of Fawdon.[2] He first is recorded at an 
Assize at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1256, when his father made over a Carucate of land 
at Warndon, Northumberland to him. Douglas' father William Longleg was Lord of 
Fawdon, and had as his superior Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus, Longleg was 
acquitted of withholding rents by a jury, Umfraville notwithstanding attacked Fawdon, 
imprisoned Longleg at Harbottle Castle and made off with some £100 sterling of goods. 
William Douglas was injured in the fight. Ita quod fere amputaverunt caput ejus – So 
as to nearly cut off his head.[3]

Eighth Crusade[edit]

Sir William Fraser puts forward a theory that David Hume of Godscroft is mistaken 
about the William Douglas that went Crusading, and suggests that it is this William 
Douglas, the son the rather than the father, who accompanied David I Strathbogie, 
Earl of Atholl, and other Scots nobility on the Eighth Crusade in 1270, as recorded by 
John of Fordun in his Chronica Gentis Scotorum.[4][5][6] Fraser also concedes that 
there is no existing evidence left to verify this, except the reference in Godscroft's 
work.

Lord of Douglas[edit]

Douglas' father, Longleg died at some point c. 1274 and there is some confusion as to 
whether his eldest son Hugh predeceased him, however William the Hardy was 
certainly in possession of his estates by the end of the decade. Douglas was knighted 
before 1288, when he was called upon by Sir Andrew Moray, to imprison his uncle Sir 
Hugh de Abernethy at Douglas Castle. Abernethy had been party to the murder of 
Donnchadh III, Earl of Fife, one of the six Guardians of Scotland. Abernethy died in 
custody despite attempts by Edward I of England to have him released.

In 1289, Douglas requested the release of certain family charters from Richard, Abbot 
of Kelso. These charters had been kept at the Priory of Lesmahagow, a daughter 
house of the Tironensian Abbey of Kelso, for safety. In the receipt for these 
documents, Douglas styled himself Dominus de Duglas, Lord of Douglas, the first time 
the title had been recorded.

Marriages[edit]

Elizabeth Stewart[edit]

Douglas had married Elizabeth, daughter of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of 
Scotland, by whom he had his eldest son James. Elizabeth Stewart appears to have 
died before the end of 1288, possibly in childbirth.[7]

Eleanor de Lovaine[edit]

Later in 1288, William Douglas and a Borders Knight known as John Wishart 
surrounded the Castle of Fa'side near Tranent. The castle was held by Alan la 
Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby, feudal superior of the barony of Tranent. 
Within the Castle was Zouche's wife Eleanor, and another Eleanor, recently widowed 
wife of William de Ferrers of Groby, second son of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of 
Derby. Eleanor Ferrers was the daughter of Matthew de Lovaine, a great grandson 
himself of Godfrey III, Count of Louvain. King Edward had provided a handsome dowry 
from her husband's English lands following his death. He had also possessed lands in 
five counties in Scotland, and Eleanor had come north to collect her rents. Rather 
than despoliate the land and the castle, Douglas contented himself by abducting 
Eleanor and removing her to Douglas Castle.

Reaction to the abduction[edit]

Eleanor – apparently not averse to the rough charms of her kidnapper – and Douglas 
were wed soon afterwards. King Edward was not so charmed and ordered the Sheriff 
of Northumberland to seize all Douglas possessions in that county and to apprehend 
Douglas and Wishart if the chance arose. Edward also demanded that the Guardians 
of Scotland immediately arrest Douglas and deliver him and Eleanor to his pleasure. 
The Guardians did not respond. Douglas was connected to two of the Guardians: 
James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland was his brother-in-law, and Alexander 
Comyn, Earl of Buchan was a brother-in-law of Eleanor de Lovaine. Furthermore, the 
Guardians may not have reacted well to the peremptory nature of the English king's 
request.

First Imprisonment[edit]

However, Douglas seems to have fallen into the hands of the English monarch in early 
1290 and was confined at Knaresborough Castle. His imprisonment does not appear to 
have been unduly harsh, he was released by the spring of 1290 when his wife Eleanor 
posted bail for his release with four manucaptors in May 1290, these four knights, all 
her cousins, were John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, Nicholas de Segrave, 1st Baron 
Segrave, William de Rye and Robert Bardulf. He was in favour with Edward again and 
he and Wishart had their Northumbrian lands restored to them.[8] Eleanor Douglas was 
fined £100 sterling, and by way of payment had some of her manors in Essex and 
Herefordshire taken by the crown in 1296.

Build up to War[edit]

Douglas' seal is on the Treaty of Salisbury approving the putative marriage between 
Margaret, Maid of Norway with Edward of Caernarfon, and was amongst those nobles 
that hammered out the deal that would become the Treaty of Birgham. At Norham, in 
June 1291, the Guardians accepted King Edward as Lord Paramount of Scotland. 
Whilst the negotiations were progressing, regarding the choice of the next King of 
Scots, Edward was staying with Sir Walter de Lindsay at Thurston Manor, near 
Innerwick, when William Douglas paid an oath of fealty to him in the chapel there. By 
the end of 1291, Douglas had fallen again into disfavour and had his lands of 
Douglasdale forfeited to the English King. Edward appointed his own creatures as 
baronial officers and made one Master Eustace de Bikerton, Parson of St. Bride's Kirk, 
the spiritual home and burying ground of the Douglases. John Balliol was declared 
King of Scots on 17 November 1292, and called his first parliament on 10 February 
1293. Douglas along with Robert de Brus, Earl of Carrick, Alexander, Lord of Islay, 
John, Earl of Caithness failed to attend and were proclaimed defaulters. Douglas 
attended the second parliament of King John, but was imprisoned again for failing to 
comply with royal officers enforcing a judgement against him, and imprisoning said 
officers in Douglas Castle. Whilst in prison Douglas was duty bound to be at his lands 
in Essex, in order to provide service for Edward, his failure cost him £20 sterling in 
fines.

Siege of Berwick[edit]

Upset at the humiliations heaped upon John Balliol and the ineffectiveness of his rule, 
a new Guardianship was created in 1295. These men concluded a treaty at Paris and 
ratified it at Dunfermline between the Kingdoms of Scotland, France and Norway, that 
would become known as the Auld Alliance. Douglas siding with his countrymen, was 
appointed Governor of Berwick upon Tweed, the most important commercial centre in 
Scotland at the time. When the Guardians threw down the Gauntlet to Edward, he 
arrived at the walls of Berwick with 5000 Cavalry and 30,000 Infantry. There followed 
one of the most brutal episodes in British history, the Sack of Berwick. The English 
army took the town by storm on Good Friday 1296 and gave no quarter to the 
inhabitants. The slaughter lasted for two days and the estimated death toll was 
between 7,500 and 8,500 men women and children. Appalled and after a resolute 
defence, the garrison of Berwick Castle under the leadership of William Douglas, gave 
themselves up to the mercy of King Edward. The garrison were freed and were allowed 
to march out of the castle with their arms, but Douglas was imprisoned and the last of 
his estates in Essex forfeit. (Douglas’ two-year-old son Hugh had been taken into ward 
by the Sheriff of Essex at Stebbing, one of the forfeited properties)

Ragman Roll[edit]

Douglas was imprisoned in the Hog's Tower at Berwick castle and stayed there until 
gaining his freedom by appending his seal to the Ragman Roll, in common with the 
majority of the Scots nobility. Within days of his swearing his new oath of Fealty to 
Edward, Douglas was restored to his lands in Scotland, but not those in England. To 
add salt to the wound, Douglas' Land at Fawdon and others in Northumberland were 
made over to his old foe Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus, Douglas had no 
reluctance in joining the patriotic party.

The Umfravilles' latterly forfeited Earldom of Angus was granted in 1389 to Douglas' 
great-grandson, George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus.

Uprising of William Wallace[edit]

Following the Battle of Dunbar, a large section of the Scots nobility were languishing 
in prison in England. The countryside was fomenting and there was talk of a new 
champion for the Scots people, William Wallace of Elderslie had started his campaign. 
Douglas was summoned to attend King Edward in London on 7 July 1297, with fifty 
other barons to accompany him on an expedition to Flanders to aid Guy of Dampierre, 
Count of Flanders against Philip le Bel King of France. Douglas refused and joined 
company with Wallace. Most Scots magnates thought that Wallace was beneath their 
dignity, but Douglas had no such compunction. He was the first nobleman to join with 
Sir William Wallace in 1297 in rebellion; combining forces at Sanquhar, Durisdeer and 
later Scone Abbey where the two liberated the English treasury. With that booty 
Wallace financed further rebellion. Wallace joined his forces with that of Sir Andrew 
Moray and together they led the patriot army in the Battle at Stirling Bridge fought on 
11 September 1297. They were joined by other patriots such as Robert Wishart Bishop 
of Glasgow, and the Morays of Bothwell, with a contingent of Douglases at the 
national muster at Irvine, North Ayrshire.

Bruce raid on Douglas Castle[edit]

When Edward heard of Douglas' supposed treason he commanded the future King of 
Scots Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, then governor of Carlisle for the English to take 
retribution. Bruce swept into Douglasdale at the king's order. However, young Bruce, 
who was twenty-two years old at the time, stated, "I must join my own people and the 
nation in which I was born." He then was joined by the men of Douglas and Lady 
Douglas, proceeding to join the rebels at Irvine.[9]

Capitulation of Irvine[edit]

The third time Douglas was held a prisoner of Edward Plantagenet, was after 9 July 
1297 when he was accused by Sir Henry de Percy of breaking his covenant of peace 
with Edward that was agreed to in the document known as the Capitulation at Irving 
Water, where Douglas was in the company of Robert Brus, Alexander de Lindsay and 
John and James (the latter three his brothers in law). By the time Sir Andrew de Moray 
and William Wallace won their great victory at Stirling, Sir William the Hardy was again 
Edward's prisoner at Berwick Castle; staying in what was now called 'Douglas Tower'.

Death[edit]

Following Wallace's success at Stirling Bridge the English fled Berwick on Tweed with 
Douglas and another Scottish prisoner Thomas de Morham; both were later committed 
to the Tower of London on 12 October 1297 with Douglas meeting his end there in 
1298 due to mistreatment.

Issue[edit]

William the Hardy was twice married and had three sons.[10][11]

By Elizabeth, daughter of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland:
Sir James Douglas.[11]

By Eleanor de Lovaine of Groby, daughter-in-law of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of 
Derby and great-great-granddaughter of Godfrey III of Leuven:
Hugh Douglas,[11]
Sir Archibald Douglas.[11]

Parents
DOUGLAS William "Longlegs" (ABT 1230 - 1274)
BATAIL Constance (ABT 1230 - AFT 1274)

Siblings
DOUGLAS William "le Hardi" (1255 - 24 Jan 1298)

Marriage To DE LOUVAINE Eleanor (ABT 1272 - AFT 3 May 1326)
    m. ABT 1288 

Notes

Parents
DE LOUVAINE Matthew (ABT 1237 - 24 May 1302)
DU PERCHE Helisant (ABT 1248 - BEF 1290)

Children by DE LOUVAINE Eleanor ABT 1272 - AFT 3 May 1326
DOUGLAS Archibald (ABT 1290 - 19 Jul 1333)

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