Earl of Lennox

Earldom of Lennox The Arms of the Realm and Ancient Local Principalities of Scotland[1]

The Mormaer of Lennox or Earl of Lennox was the ruler of the long-lasting provincial Mormaerdom/Earldom of Lennox in the Medieval Kingdom of the Scots. The first Mormaer is usually regarded as Ailin I (also Alpin, Alun or Alwin), but the genealogy of the Mormaers gives earlier names. The last Mormaer of the native line was Isabella, who married Muireadhach Stewart, the Duke of Albany, and died in 1458.

The recent work of Cynthia Neville and Michael Brown has made Lennox perhaps the best understood native scottish Mormaerdom.

After the extinction of the Lennox line, the Scottish Peerage title of Earl of Lennox was granted to John Stewart, Lord Darnley. It has been "created" six times, becoming extinct every time. The Earl of Lennox was elevated to Duke of Lennox in 1581.

Mormaers of Lennox/Gaelic Earls of Lennox

• Ailín I, Earl of Lennox (c. 1200)
• Ailín II, Earl of Lennox (d. 1217)
• Maol Domhnaich, Earl of Lennox (d. 1250)
• Maol Choluim I, Earl of Lennox (d. 1303)
• Maol Choluim II, Earl of Lennox (d. 1333)
• Domhnall, Earl of Lennox (d. 1365)
• Margaret of Lennox (?) (resigned 1385)

  m. Baltar mac Amlaimh, descendant of the 2nd Earl.

• Donnchadh, Earl of Lennox (d. 1425)
• Isabella of Lennox (d. 1458)

  m. Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany

The title became extinct c. 1459, as all four sons of Isabella of Lennox died without legitimate issue.

Earls of Lennox, Second Creation (1488)

Map of Scotland showing the district of Lennox, note this map is based on later sources, and therefore does not show the greatest extent of the Mormaerdom

• John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox, Lord Darnley (d. 1495)
• Matthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of Lennox (1488–Battle of Flodden Field, 1513)
• John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox (d. 1526)
• Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox (1516–1571)
  • Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley (1545–1567), heir to the earldom but predeceased his father; husband to Mary, Queen of Scots and father of James VI of Scotland

The title merged with the crown in James VI of Scotland, grandson of the 4th Earl.

Earls of Lennox, Third Creation (c. 1571)

• Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of Lennox (1555–1576), second son of the 4th Earl of the second creation
• Lady Arbella Stuart, 2nd Countess of Lennox (1575–1615) (over-ridden)

Earls of Lennox, Fourth Creation (1578)

• Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox, "exchanged" for Earldom of March 1580, second son of the 3rd Earl of the second creation

Earls of Lennox, Fifth Creation (1580)

with subsidiary Lord Darnley, Aubigny and Dalkeith (1580)

• Esmé Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox (1542–1583), grandson of the 3rd Earl of the second creation through his third son John

Dukes of Lennox, First Creation (1581)

Loch Lomond, the heart of the Lennox Mormaerdom

• Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, 1st Earl of Lennox (1542–1583)
• Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond (1574–1623)
• Esmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of Lennox (1579–1624)
• James Stewart, 4th Duke of Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond (1612–1655)
• Esmé Stewart, 5th Duke of Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond (1649–1660)
• Charles Stewart, 6th Duke of Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond (1639–1672) (extinct)

See also

• Seigneur d'Aubigny
• Earl of Richmond

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press 
• Brown, Michael, "Earldom and Kindred: The Lennox and Its Earls, 1200–1458" in Steve Boardman and Alasdair Ross (eds.) The Exercise of Power in Medieval Scotland, c.1200–1500, (Dublin/Portland, 2003), pp. 201–224
• Neville, Cynthia J., Native Lordship in Medieval Scotland: The Earldoms of Strathearn and Lennox, c. 1140–1365, (Portland & Dublin, 2005)