Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale

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Robert V de Brus,
Lord of Annandale, Lord of Ireby, Constable of Carlisle Castle, Sheriff of Cumberland
Born c1217
Died March 31, 1295 (aged c 75)
Place of death Lochmaben Castle
Buried Guisborough Priory, Guisborough, Yorkshire
Predecessor Robert de Brus, 4th Lord of Annandale
Consort i) Isabella of Gloucester and Hertford
ii) Christina de Ireby
Issue i) Robert_de_Brus,_jure_uxoris_Earl_of_Carrick
ii) Richard Bruce
Father Robert de Brus, 4th Lord of Annandale
Mother Isobel of Huntingdon

Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale (Robert de Brus) (c1215 – 31 March 1295[1])), 5th Lord of Annandale, was a feudal lord, Justice and Constable of Scotland and England, a Regent of Scotland, and a leading Competitor to be King of Scotland in 1290-92 in the Great Cause.

Robert was son of Robert Bruce, 4th Lord of Annandale and Isobel of Huntingdon, the second daughter of David of Scotland, 8th Earl of Huntingdon and Matilda de Kevilloc of Chester. David in turn was the son of Henry of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon and Northumberland and Ada de Warenne; Henry's parents were King David I of Scotland and Maud of Northumberland.

In addition to Annandale, Robert was Lord of Hartlepool in county Durham and Writtle and Hatfield Broadoak in Essex, England. His first wife brought to him the village of Ripe, in Sussex, and his second wife the Lordship of Ireby in Cumberland,[2]

His possessions were later increased following the defeat of Simon de Montford at the Battle of Evesham (1265), via a series of grants that included the estates of the former rebel barons Walter de Fauconberg and John de Melsa. Henry III also re-appointed Robert a Justice, and Constable of Carlisle and keeper of the Castle there in 1267, a position he had been sacked from in 1255, for his support during the rebellion.

It's believed Robert joined the princes Edward and Edmund on their 1270-4 crusade, as his sons failed to attend.[3]

He succeeded in having the young widowed Marjorie of Carrick, heiress of that earldom, married to his son, another Robert Bruce in 1271. She was the daughter of Niall, 2nd Earl of Carrick.

Robert Bruce was Regent of Scotland sometime during minority of his second cousin King Alexander III of Scotland (1241-1286) and was occasionally recognized as a Tanist of the Scottish Throne. He was the closest surviving male relative to the king: Margaret of Huntingdon's issue were all females up until birth of Hugh Balliol sometime in the 1260s. When Alexander yet was childless, he was officially named as heir-presumptive, but never gained the throne as Alexander later fathered three children. The succession in the main line of the House of Dunkeld became highly precarious when towards the end of Alexander's reign, all three of his children died within a few years. The middle-aged Alexander III induced in 1284 the Estates to recognize as his heir-presumptive his granddaughter Margaret, called the "Maid of Norway", his only surviving descendant. The need for a male heir led Alexander to contract a second marriage to Yolande de Dreux on November 1, 1285. All this was eventually in vain. Alexander died suddenly, in a fall from his horse, when only 45 years old, in 1286. His death ushered in a time of political upheaval for Scotland. His three-year old granddaughter Margaret, who lived in Norway, was recognized as his heir. However, the then 7-year old heiress Margaret died, travelling towards her kingdom, on the Orkney Islands around September 26, 1290. With her death, the main royal line came to an end and thirteen claimants asserted their rights to the Scottish Throne.

After this extinction of the senior line of the Scottish royal house (the line of William I of Scotland) David of Huntingdon's descendants were the primary candidates for the throne. The two most notable claimants to the throne, John Balliol and Robert himself (grandfather of Robert The Bruce) represented descent through David's daughters Margaret and Isobel respectively.

Robert Bruce pleaded tanistry and proximity of blood in the succession dispute. He descended from the second daughter of David of Huntingdon, whereas John Balliol descended from the eldest, and thus had the lineal right. However, Robert was a second cousin of kings of Scotland and descended in 4th generation from King David I of Scotland, whereas John Balliol was a third cousin of kings and descended in 5th generation from King David I, the most recent common ancestor who had been Scottish king. The ensuing 'Great Cause' was concluded in 1292. It gave the Crown of Scotland to his family's great rival, John Balliol. The events took place as follows:

Soon after the death of young queen Margaret, Robert Bruce raised a body of men with the help of the Earls of Mar and Atholl and marched to Perth with a considerable following and uncertain intentions. Bishop Fraser of St. Andrews, worried of the possibility of civil war, wrote to Edward, asking for his assistance in choosing a new monarch.

Edward took this chance to demand sasine of the Scottish royal estate, but agreed to pass judgement in return for recognition of his suzerainty. The [guardians of Scotland] denied him this, but Robert Bruce was quick to pay homage. All the claimants swore oaths of homage, but John Balliol was the last to do so. The guardians were forced to concede and were thus reinstated by Edward.

Judgement processed slowly. On August 3, 1291 Edward asked both Balliol and Bruce to choose forty auditors while he himself chose twenty-four, to decide the case. After considering all of the arguments, in early November the court decided in favour of John Balliol, having the superior claim in feudal law, not to mention greater support from the kingdom of Scotland. In accordance with this, final judgement was given by Edward on 17 November. On November 30, John Balliol was crowned as King of Scots at Scone Abbey. On December 26, at Newcastle upon Tyne, King John swore homage to Edward I for the kingdom of Scotland. Edward soon made it clear that he regarded the country as his vassal state. The Bruce family thus lost what they regarded as their rightful place on the Scottish throne.

(Edward I decided in favor of the senior legitimate heir by primogeniture, John Balliol; however, in 1306, the crown was assumed by a grandson of the Robert himself, who became King Robert I. In doing this, the rightful heir- John Balliol's own son- was smited by his father's misfortune of having been placed on the throne in an inopportune period.)

Robert, 5th Lord of Annandale resigned the lordship of Annandale to his son, the Earl of Carrick, as well as his claim to the Crown. Shortly after this, Robert's daughter-in-law Marjorie died in 1292, and on the day of her death his son transferred Carrick to his eldest grandson, the future Robert I of Scotland thus making the boy the Earl of Carrick.

In 1292 Robert V de Brus held a market at Ireby, Cumberland, in right of his wife. The following year he had a market at Hartlepool, county Durham within the liberties of the Bishop of Durham.[4]

Sir Robert de Brus died at Lochmaben Castle and was buried at Guisborough Priory.[5]

[edit] Family and children

He married firstly May 12, 1240:

  • Isabel (b. 1249 - c1284), married (as his first wife) Sir John FitzMarmaduke, Knt., of Horden, Eighton, Lamesley, Ravensholm, and Silksworth, county Durham, Sheriff of North Durham, and Joint Warden beyond the Scottish Sea between the Forth and Orkney. He fought on the English side at the Battle of Falkirk, July 22, 1298, and was present at the Siege of Caerlaverock Castle in 1300. In 1307 he was commanded to assist the Earl of Richmond in expelling Robert de Brus and the Scottish rebels from Galloway. In 1309 his armour and provisions in a vessel bound for Perth were arrested off Great Yarmouth. He was governor of St. John's Town (Perth) in 1310 until his death. Isabel was buried at Easington, county Durham.[6]

He married, secondly on May 3, 1275 at Hoddam, in the diocese of Glasgow:

  • Christina (d. 1305), daughter and heiress of Sir William de Ireby of Ireby, Cumberland. They had no issue.
Preceded by
Robert IV de Brus		 Lord of Annandale
1226 x 1233-1295		 Succeeded by
Robert VI de Brus

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Richardson, Douglas, Magna Carta Ancestry, Baltimore, Md., 2005, p.731-2, ISBN0-8063-1759-0 where he is said to have been of age in or before 1237
  2. ^ Richardson (2005) p.731
  3. ^ Dictionary of National Biography
  4. ^ Richardson (2005) p.732
  5. ^ Richardson (2005) p.732
  6. ^ Richardson (2005) p.539