William Keith, 4th Earl Marischal (died 7 October 1581) was a Scottish nobleman and politician.
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Family background and career
editWilliam Keith was the son of Robert Keith, Master of Marischal and Lady Elizabeth Douglas, daughter of John Douglas, 2nd Earl of Morton.[1] He succeeded his grandfather, William Keith, 3rd Earl Marischal.[2] He was one of the earls who accompanied James V to France for his marriage to Madeleine of Valois, daughter of King Francis I of France. The wedding took place on 1 January 1537 at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and was followed by days of Jousting at the Louvre.[3]
He fought at the Battle of Pinkie in 1547, in which the Scots were defeated by the English forces led by Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset in a bloody battle that was part of the War of the Rough Wooing.[4] Keith was said to have been in favour of the proposed marriage between the infant Mary, Queen of Scots, and Prince Edward of England, son of King Henry VIII.[5] He held the Office of Extraordinary Lord of Session in 1541, 1561, and lastly in 1573. In 1561, he was a member of Queen Mary's Privy Council,[5] and while refraining from extreme partisanship, he was an adherent of the Reformation.[6] Later, the Earl Marischal retired with his great fortune to a secluded life at Dunnottar Castle becoming known locally as "William of the Tower."[7][8] The Earl died on 7 October 1581.[2][8]
Marriage and issue
editHe married Margaret Keith. William and Margaret had thirteen children:
- William Keith, Master of Marischal (died 1580).[9]
- Robert Keith, 1st Lord Altrie (died 1596).[10]
- John Keith, probable Rector of Duffas.[10]
- Agnes Keith, Countess of Moray (or Annas), m. 1st to the Regent Moray, 2nd. to Colin Campbell, 6th Earl of Argyll. She died 16 July 1588 at Edinburgh.[10]
- Alexander Keith
- Alison, m. to Alexander Abernethy, 6th Lord Saltoun (died 1587).[10]
- Mary, m. to Sir John Campbell of Calder (dispensation for consanguinity).[10]
- Beatrice, m. to Sir John Allardice of Allardice. She died 19 May 1596.[10]
- Joneta, m. to James Crichton of Frendraught.[10]
- Margaret, m. to John Kennedy of Blairquhan.[10]
- Elizabeth, m. to Sir Alexander Irvine of Drum.[10] Their son Robert Irvine was Master of Household to George, Earl Marischal, during his diplomatic mission to Denmark.[11]
- Isobel, m. Alexander Strachan of Thornton. She died August 1595.[10]
- Barbara, promised in m., failing her sister Isobel, to Alexander Strachan; m. Alexander Forbes of Pitsligo.[10]
Keith's chief residence was Dunnottar Castle in Aberdeenshire.[12]
When he died on 7 October 1581, he was succeeded by his grandson, George Keith, son of William, Master of Marischal; George became the 5th Earl Marischal.[9]
Arms
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References
edit- ^ Bernard Burke, Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire (Burke's Peerage/Genealogical Publishing Co., 1883/1985, 1996) p. 303
- ^ a b George Edward Cokayne, The complete peerage; or, A history of the House of lords and all its members from the earliest times, Volume VIII (The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., London, 1932), p. 477
- ^ Guy-Michel Leproux, La Peinture à Paris sous le règne de François Ier (Paris, 2001), p. 26
- ^ George MacDonald Fraser, The Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers (Skyhorse Publishing, NY, 2006), p. 252
- ^ a b The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, Sir James Balfour Paul, Vol. VI (David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1909), pp. 46–7
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 715.
- ^ HMC 3rd Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (London, 1872)
- ^ a b The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, Sir James Balfour Paul, Vol. VI (David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1909), pp. 48–9
- ^ a b The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, Sir James Balfour Paul, Vol. VI (David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1909), p. 49
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, Sir James Balfour Paul, Vol. VI (David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1909), p. 50
- ^ Jonathan Forbes Leslie, Irvines of Drum (Aberdeen, 1909), p. 151.
- ^ . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.