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the-busy-ghost · 5 years

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However the removal of James I was undoubtedly the occasion for those whose ambitions had been kept in check by the strength of his personality to pursue their own interests and re-establish their perceived rights. At approximately the same time as the general council was meeting in Stirling in May 1437, Isabella, duchess of Albany (widow of Murdac duke of Albany and daughter of Duncan earl of Lennox, both of whom had been executed by James I in 1425 along with Isabella's two sons) was holding her own court in Lennox on the Isle of Inchcailloch in Loch Lomond. She may have been released from captivity, possibly in Stirling Castle, shortly after the assassination, and her determination to reassert her rights in the Lennox, which had been taken under royal administration on the orders of James I, was underlined by her use of the titles 'Duchess of Albany and Countess of the Lennox'. Interest in the Lennox attracted some initial dispute, in the form of a revival of claims by the Stewarts of Darnley. Alan Stewart of Darnley, whose interest in Lennox came through his mother Elizabeth, the younger daughter of Duncan earl of Lennox, was in France leading a band of Scottish mercenaries when news reached him of the murder of James I. Although he may have thought that the removal of the king who had blocked Darnley claims to a part of the earldom would revive his chances, there is no indication that Alan's aunt Isabella was prepared to offer any compromise. Two entries in the Auchinleck chronicle appear to be bound up with Darnley's ambitions, with the first stating that , on 20 September 1438, 'Allan Stewart lord of Darnley was slane at pomais thorne be sir Thomas Boyd under ane assouerance taken betuix tham'. The second records that 'The zere of god 1439 the 7th day of July sir Thomas Boyd was slane be Alexander Stewart buktuth and his sonis and mathow Stewart with his brother and uther sundry'. Darnley may have entered into an agreement with Sir Thomas Boyd in a quest for allies to advance his perceived right, which subsequently turned sour and resulted in a blood-feud, although there is no evidence that this involved Isabella. However, a further reference in the Auchinleck Chronicle to another event in 1439 would appear to underline the assertion of Isabella's authority: . 'The samyn zere the 24th day of september John of Colquhoun the lord of Luss was slane in Inchmuryne underneth an assouerance be Lauchlane McClanis and Murthow Gibson.' . Colquhoun was the late king's local agent in Lennox and had either continued to act in that capacity or was having punishment inflicted on him in settlement of old grievances. Reference to an 'assouerance' and the involvement of Lauchlan Maclean of Duart may indicate a deliberate plot on the part of Isabella and her allies to remove the encroachment of royal intervention from the rights and customs vested in the lordship. Inchmurrin on Loch Lomond was the chief stronghold of the Lennox-Stewarts and Isabella re-established herself there and proceeded to build on alliances made with families such as the Campbells of Glenorchy (...) By October 1439 a papal dispensation had been secured for Colin Campbell's marriage to Marion Stewart, grand-daughter of Countess Isabella (arranged by James I in 1425), and Colin received a grant from his wife's grandmother on 4 October 1440 of lands at the head of Gare Loch in addition to other lands in the Lennox. Stephen Boardman argues that these arrangements reflect acceptance, at least by the Glenorchy Campbells, of revived Albany/Lennox authority, although the early and childless death of Marion Stewart allowed Colin Campbell to seek alternative alliances. As Michael Brown has shown, the Lennox was a powerful example of the strength inherent in local traditions and loyalties vested in the exercise of regional lordship and when that lordship was exercised by a character as redoubtable as Isabella, it was prudent to accept rather than challenge a structure of power that was not overtly threatening to the crown.

‘James II’ by Christine McGladdery

#Isabella of Lennox #the Albany Stewarts #the Lennox #fifteenth century #Scottish history #women in history

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