David (Graham) Lord of Dundaff and Kincardine and Old Montrose (aft. 1267 - abt. 1329)

Ancestors Descendants

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Birth 1.2 Marriage and Issue 1.3 Notable Events 1.4 Declaration of Arbroath 1.5 The Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton 1.6 Death 2 Research Notes 3 Sources

Biography

Birth

David Graham, son and 5th lord of Kincardine, may have been born between 1267 and 1280^[1] (see Research Notes) to Sir Patrick Graham of Kincardine and Dundaff and Annabella, the likely daughter of Robert, Earl of Strathearn.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} It is noted in a charter dated circa 1260 that Annabella received the whole land of Kincardine in Kather Levenas, which is next to Auchterarder, for her marriage from her brother Malise, son of Robert, Earl of Strathearn.^[4][5][7] From this marriage, David, as well as three additional children were born: Patrick, an Unknown daughter who married Sir Malcolm Drummond, and John,^[4] confirmed in a 1272 charter that referenced the donation of the village of Aleuth church to Cambuskenneth priory, subscribed by Lord Patrick Graham [and] John, his son.^[5] No primary sources have been located to affirm the parentage of Patrick or Unknown Graham Drummond.

Although there is debate among historians regarding Annabella's place in the Graham pedigree, in a charter dated 3 September 1296, petitions were presented to Edward I by women whose Scottish estates were confiscated, which included, "Annabella the wife of Patrick Graham who was killed in battle against the king at Dunbar."^[5][8] It is posited, however, that she may, instead, have been David's grandmother^[9] (see Research Notes: John M Sutherland-Fisher), although according to Balfour Paul, David's grandfather, David III of Dundaff and Kincardine/Aberuthven, may have been married to a woman by the name of Agnes Noble.^[10]

Marriage and Issue

Although David's wife is unknown, their marriage produced two known sons and a daughter: David VI (heir), Patrick of Kinpunt, and Margaret, who in a dispensation dated 24 November 1329 had her marriage to Hugh, Earl of Ross, legitimised.^[11][12] Balfour Paul also suggests the possibility of another son, William, keeper of Lochleven castle in 1362, but no sources have been located that support this claim.^[12]

Notable Events

Ruins of Dunbar Castle

On 27 April 1296, Sir David Graham fought in the Battle of Dunbar alongside his father Patrick, who lost his life on the battlefield. Although David's father was one of few who perished in this battle, many more were captured, including David, who was taken prisoner by Edward I and on 16 May 1296^[2] placed in the Tower of London and later, at St Briavels Castle. He was released on or about 30 July 1297,^{[12][13][14][15][16]} with the condition that he would serve Edward I in Flanders and in England's wars against France.^[3] Following this agreement and whatever engagements it entailed, David returned to Scotland, where through his support of John Balliol, he became embroiled in a quarrel between adversaries Robert Bruce and John Comyn at a meeting in Peebles on 19 August 1299. Moreover, in an extant letter dated 20 August 1299, while at this meeting, David demanded the lands and goods of William Wallace "as he was going abroad without leave," whereby Malcolm (brother of William Wallace) vehemently objected, drawing a knife on David, who responded in kind.^[17] Disputes were finally resolved, however, when an agreement was reached, whereby Comyn, Bruce, and the Bishop of St. Andrews would serve as joint Guardians of Scotland.^[12][18][19]

By 1302, John Comyn had emerged as sole Guardian of Scotland, but his tenure was short lived. Edward I, intent on destroying Comyn's powerful control of northern Scotland, planned a well-organized offensive that Comyn and his followers believed their defenses were inadequate to repulse. Instead, he and other Balliol supporters, including David, surrendered to the English forces at Strathord 9 February 1303-4, with one of the conditions imposed upon David being that of a six-month exile from Scotland.^[12][20] While the terms of his exile are unknown, it is likely he returned to Scotland afterward, but following the murder of Comyn in 1306 and the crowning of Robert Bruce, David apparently did not align with the new king, for he and others received the following from Edward II on 20 May 1308:^[12]

The king thanks David, earl of Atholl, David of Brechin, David of Graham, Reginald le Cheyne, and seven other Scottishmen for their faithful service to his father and himself. The king thanks John Comyn, earl of Buchan [cousin of John Comyn of Badenoch]^[21] for his good service in the district committed to him [north of the Forth], and requests him to remain there till the Feasts of St Peter...^[22]

Although, by 1312 and for reasons unknown, it appears that David was once again detained in England as a quasi-prisoner. Nonetheless, on 12 February 1312-13 he was granted £80 per annum from the Knights Templar's manor of Eykill in Yorkshire for his services and given provisions for the use of houses and firewood. Following the Scot's victory at the battle of Bannockburn, David was likely released and upon his return to Scotland became a prominent and faithful supporter of Robert Bruce.^[12]

Declaration of Arbroath

Declaration of Arbroath Translation

Yet, despite this victory, the abuse of Scottish barons continued through the political machinations of Edward II, where in an act of righteous defiance, eight earls, 31 barons, as well as David Graham and others, placed their seals on the Declaration of Arbroath on 6 April 1320.^[2][12][23] Written in response to Edward II's abuses and incompetence, as well as the Wars of Scottish Independence, this declaration of sovereignty addressed to Pope John XXII, demanded Scotland's release from the feudal control exerted by the Norman kings and a reversal of the excommunication of Robert Bruce, with the lawful right to select another king if Bruce proved unfit.^[24][9] According to Louisa Graeme in Or and Sable (1903), Sir David's seal, "...(but in an imperfect condition) is still appended in the General Register House, Edinburgh."^[3] Today, the Declaration remains in the General Register House in the National Archives, a part of the National Records of Scotland.^[24]

The Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton

National Records of Scotland SP6/1

Despite the exhortation of the Pope for Edward II to honor the assertions of the Declaration of Arbroath, strife continued and between the years 1321 and 1324, negotiations for peace made little progress, as Edward II refused to recognize Robert Bruce as king. As a requirement of a truce dated June 1323, David was appointed a guarantor to Edward II to ensure that Bruce would fulfill his part of the accord to honor thirteen years of peace.^[25][3] But, once again, this truce was unsuccessful, as Edward II allowed privateers to harass and attack Flemish ships trading with Scotland, thus impacting Scotland's economy and trade relationships. Yet, fortune prevailed, for following the forced abdication of the incompetent Edward II, the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton (pictured left) was signed in 1328, whereby Edward III acknowledged long sought Scottish independence and at last recognized Robert Bruce as king of the Scots.^[26]

By the time David had returned to Scotland circa 1314, he had become an ardent supporter of Robert Bruce and remained a loyal and steadfast friend, for which he was richly rewarded once Bruce became king.^[9] At Scone on 5 March 1325, for example, Bruce issued two charters to David:

Robert king of Scots, has given his beloved and faithful David of Graham the father, knight, for his homage and service, and in exchange for the land of Cardross which the king has from the same, the whole land of Old Montrose in the sheriffdom of Forfar, in feu and heritage, for Scottish service pertaining to a half davoch of land.^[27]

Secondly:

...for his homage and service, in exchange for the land of Succoth in the earldom of Carrick and the island of Inchcailloch and Inchfad in the earldom of Lennox, of three marklands between the lands of Alexander of Allardyce on the east and the land of Hugh Fleming on the east, with 20s annual render owed to him from the land of Charleton with the lordships and tenancies of the said lands and the thanage of Kinnaber with seven marks owed annually to him from the same thanage in the sheriffdom of Forfar; holding in free barony with pit and gallows, with sake and soke, toll, team and infangenthef, saving to the king the fishery of the Water of North Esk and places for hauling and drying the nets, for the service of one archer in his army and one suit of his court of Forfar at the chief pleas held annually after the feast of St Michael the Archangel.^[28][12]

In a later charter dated 11 January 1360, the exchange of Cardross for Old Montrose was reconfirmed by David II, king of the Scots, who:

...has inspected and understood the charter of his lord father to the late David Graham the father, knight, on the exchange of the lands of Old Montrose and of Cardross. He has approved, ratified, confirmed and in the present tenor innovated the charter.^[29]

It was through this exchange that David's descendants were to become the future dukes of Montrose.^[2] Twice created in the peerage of Scotland, this title was first recognized 18 May 1488 for the lifetime of David Lindsay, 5th Earl of Crawford,^[30] and again in 1707 for James Graham, 4th Marquis of Montrose, which has remained in the Graham family since, with James Graham, 8th Duke of Montrose, serving as the current Chief of Clan Graham. ^[31][32]

Death

According to Graeme in Or and Sable, David Grahman died shortly after the land charters of 5 March 1325, which is confirmed by other sources that place his death as occurring around the time of Robert Bruce's death in 1329 or possibly a year later, in 1330.^{[4][9][3][16][2]} While he likely died in Scotland, no sources have been located that confirm his place of death or his burial location.

Research Notes

David's Date of Birth: While David's date of birth is uncertain, it can be estimated based upon his military service in the Battle of Dunbar (1296), where according to The Society for Medieval Military History, boys as young as 16 occasionally served in battle, although the forensic evidence indicates that the average age of medieval soldiers was 29.2 years.^[1] With this range in mind, it suggests that David may have been born between the years 1267 and 1280, with his death occurring between the ages of 50 and 63. It is unlikely that he would have been born much earlier than 1267, as at the Battle of Dunbar, David would have been by this time 29, which may have placed his father around age 54, probably nearing the end of his warrior days. While David's birthdate was previously entered in this profile as circa 1274, no sources have been located to corroborate this approximate date of birth.

David's Place of Birth: According to Louisa Graeme in Or and Sable, Sir John, second son of Patrick, appears to have been born prior to his father's acquisition of Kincardine (acquired from Malise, Earl of Strathearn), which later became the residence of the family. Instead, John's birthplace, according to Graeme and "tradition," as she noted, was at Graham’s Castle, which stood near the source of the Carron in Stirling and close to a chapel and cemetery called Kirk of Muir.^[3][33][34] If this was in fact the birthplace of second son John, it is possible that this may have been the eldest son, David's birthplace, as well.

According to John M Sutherland-Fisher Scottish Clans Protocol Team Leader:

There seems to be a conflict among a number of authors as to the identity of leading members of the Graham family from the reign of Alexander II through to that of Robert the Bruce. Some of the marriages, etc. detailed in the People of Mediaeval Scotland simply defy logic, so I have taken the family and listed it generation by generation as detailed by Sir Robert Douglas in his Peerage of Scotland published in 1764.

I have not seen any evidence as to the identity of David's wife, let alone that she was named Annabella.

Sir Robert Douglas and other sources indicate Annabelle of Strathearn was David's grandmother, not his mother^[9].

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Alvarez, S. (3 March 2014). Teenagers at war during the middle ages. Retrieved from De Re Militari (Available online); accessed 20 December 2020.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} People of Medieval Scotland 1093 - 1371. (n.d.). David Graham (V), knight (d. ca. 1330) (n.d.). Nicholas Graham, knight (no. 16855). Retrieved from PoMS (Available online); accessed 4 December 2020.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} Graeme, L. G. (1903). Or and sable: A book of the Graemes and Grahams (p. xxvi). Edinburgh: W. Brown. Retrieved from Internet Archive (Available online); accessed 4 December 2020.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} Balfour Paul, J. (1909). The Scots peerage: Founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom (Vol. VI, pp. 207, 208). Edinburgh: D. Douglas. Retrieved from Internet Archive (Available online); accessed 4 December 2020.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Cawley, C. (21 September 2020). Scotland untitled nobility (Graham, David II de Graham, sec. 1. a.). Retrieved from Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (Available online); accessed 4 December 2020.
6. ↑ Graham, L. (2020). House Graham: From the Antonine Wall to the Temple of Hymen (fig. 1.1, p. 14). Retrieved from Clan Graham Society (Available online); accessed 12 December 2020.
7. ↑ People of Medieval Scotland 1093 - 1371. (n.d.). Gift of land of Kincardine in Kather Levenas next to Auchterarder (document 3/21/47; trad. I.D.: Neville, Strathearn, no. 58.). Retrieved from PoMS (Available online); accessed 26 December 2020.
8. ↑ People of Medieval Scotland 1093 - 1371. (n.d.). Petition of Amabel, widow of Patrick Graham (document 5/3/0; trad. I.D.: Stevenson, docs., ii, no. 385a). Retrieved from PoMS (Available online); accessed 26 December 2020.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4} Douglas, R. (1764). The peerage of Scotland: Containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom, from their origin to the present generation: Collected from the public records, and ancient chartularies of this nation, the charters, and other writings of the nobility, and the works of our best historians (pp. 480, 481). Edinburgh: R. Fleming. Retrieved from Internet Archive Available online; accessed 15 December 2020.
10. ↑ Balfour Paul, J. (1909). The Scots peerage: Founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom (Vol. VI, p. 202). Edinburgh: D. Douglas. Retrieved from Internet Archive (Available online); accessed 21 December 2020.
11. ↑ Cawley, C. (21 September 2020). Scotland untitled nobility (Graham, David II de Graham, David [V] de Graham). Retrieved from Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (Available online); accessed 6 December 2020.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8} Balfour Paul, J. (1909). The Scots peerage: Founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom (Vol. VI, pp. 208-211). Edinburgh: D. Douglas. Retrieved from Internet Archive (Available online); accessed 4 December 2020.
13. ↑ People of Medieval Scotland 1093 - 1371. (n.d.). Document 5/3/0 (CDS, ii, no. 742). Retrieved from PoMS (Available online); accessed 4 December 2020.
14. ↑ People of Medieval Scotland 1093 - 1371. (n.d.). Document 5/3/0 (CDS, IV, no. 1768). Retrieved from PoMS (Available online); accessed 4 December 2020.
15. ↑ People of Medieval Scotland 1093 - 1371. (n.d.). Document 5/3/0 (CDS, II, no. 742). Retrieved from PoMS (Available online); accessed 12 December 2020.
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} People of Medieval Scotland 1093 - 1371. (n.d.). Title/occupation: Knight (1/53/336, RRS, v, no. 294). Retrieved from POMS (Available online); accessed 12 December 2020.
17. ↑ Murison, A. F. (2014). Sir William Wallace (secs. 46, 120). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Retrieved from The Project Gutenberg E-Book (Available online); accessed 14 December 2020.
18. ↑ Medieval Bruce Heritage Trust. (n.d.). Comyn. Retrieved from MBHT (Available online); accessed 14 December 2020.
19. ↑ Murison, A. F. (2014). Sir William Wallace (sec. 108). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Retrieved from The Project Gutenberg E-Book (Available online); accessed 14 December 2020.
20. ↑ Rose, A. (2003). Kings in the north: The house of Percy in British History (p. 161). London: Orion Books, Ltd. Retrieved from the personal library of Pamela Moen; accessed 20 December 2020.
21. ↑ Oxford Reference. (n.d.). Earl of Buchan, John Comyn. Retrieved from Oxford Reference (Available online); accessed 20 December 2020.
22. ↑ People of Medieval Scotland 1093 - 1371. (n.d.). Document 1/28/0 (CDS, iii, no. 43). Retrieved from PoMS (Available online); accessed 4 December 2020.
23. ↑ Burns, W. (1874). The Scottish war of independence, its antecedents and effects (Vol. 1, pp. 297-304). Glasgow: James MacLehose. Retrieved from Internet Archive (Available online); accessed 28 December 2020.
24. ↑ ^{24.0 24.1} National Records of Scotland. (2005). The Declaration of Arbroath: 700th anniversary display. Retrieved from the National Records of Scotland Available online; accessed 4 October 2020.
25. ↑ Balfour Paul, J. (1909). The Scots peerage: Founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom (Vol. VI, p. 209). Edinburgh: D. Douglas. Retrieved from Internet Archive (Available online); accessed 4 December 2020.
26. ↑ Johnson, B. (n.d.). The Anglo-Scottish wars (or wars of Scottish independence). Retrieved from Historic UK (Available online); accessed 17 November 2020.
27. ↑ People of Medieval Scotland 1093 - 1371. (n.d.). Document 1/53/336 (RRS, v, no. 294). Retrieved from PoMS (Available online); accessed 4 December 2020.
28. ↑ People of Medieval Scotland 1093 - 1371. (n.d.). Document 1/53/335 (RRS, v, no. 293). Retrieved from PoMS (Available online); accessed 4 December 2020.
29. ↑ People of Medieval Scotland 1093 - 1371. (n.d.). Document 1/54/251 (RRS, vi, no. 229). Retrieved from PoMS (Available online); accessed 4 December 2020.
30. ↑ Lindsay, Lord. (1858). Lives of the Lindsays; or, a memoir of the houses of Crawford and Balcarres (Vol. I, pp. 159, 167, 173, 180). London: John Murray. Retrieved from Internet Archive (Available online); accessed 12 December 2020.
31. ↑ Graham, L. (2020). House Graham: From the Antonine Wall to the Temple of Hymen (pp. 10, 11). Retrieved from Clan Graham Society (Available online); accessed 12 December 2020.
32. ↑ Clan Graham Society. (n.d.). Chief of the Clan Graham James Graham, 8th Duke of Montrose. Retrieved from Clan Graham Society (Availabe online); accessed 12 December 2020.
33. ↑ Forestry and Land Scotland. (2020). Sir John de Graham Castle. Retrieved from FLS (Available online); accessed 19 December 2020.
34. ↑ Kirk o'Muir Report. (2019). Sir John de Graham’s castle and Kirk o’Muir archaeological survey final report. Retrieved from Valley Renewables Group (Available online); accessed 19 December 2020.