Alexander (Livingston) of Callender (bef. 1375 - bef. 1451)

Alexander (Livingston) of Callender is a member of Clan Livingstone.

Sir Alexander Livingston was a member of the aristocracy in Scotland.

Alexander (Livingston) of Callender is Notable.

Alexander was the son of John Livingston and Hannah Menteith,^[1] daughter of John Menteith of Kerse,^[2][3] born before 1375 . . . he was the oldest of his father's four sons by his first marriage and his father married again in 1381.^[3] He was probably born in Stirlingshire, Scotland; his family's principal estate was Callendar, near Falkirk.^[3]

It is alleged that Alexander married a daughter of Dundas of Dundas,^[4][3][5] whose father was reputed to be James (or John) de Dundas of Dundas, the elder, and she was a great-great-great-granddaughter of King Robert the Bruce of Scotland.

Alexander and his wife had two sons and four daughters:^[3]

1. James, heir,^[4][6] born circa 1400, died circa August 1467, may or may not have been knighted, created first Lord Livingston, married Marion, died between June and October 1478, the daughter of Thomas Berwick, burgess and custumar of Edinburgh, and the widow of Sir John Oliphant of Aberdalgie, he died 1446.^[3] Alternatively, James was born circa 1408, at Callendar House, Stirling, died before 11/7/1467; Marion was born at Biggar, Lanarkshire; James' and Marion's children included:
   1. James,^[6] second Lord Livingston, an idiot,^[3] who died without having children and was succeeded by his brother, Alexander;
   2. Alexander,^[6] third Lord Livingston
   3. Elizabeth, who was married to John MacDonald, earl of Ross and lord of the Isles;^[3]
2. Alexander, executed in January 1450,^[4][3] on Castle Hill in Edinburgh on 21/22 January 1449/50 for high treason, was Constable of Stirling Castle, in the lordship of Methven, Captain of Methven Castle, was the ancestor of the Livingstons of Dunipace, Bantaskine, Kirklands of Dunipace, Balrownie, and Halls of Airth; His forfeited estate of Phildes was granted to Alexander Napier, Comptroller, for his faithful service as servant of the Queen-mother, when she was treasonably imprisoned by Sir Alexander Livingston, his son James, and their accomplices.(4-429) ^{[citation needed]} Alexander Livingstone of Phildes or Fildes, (Perthshire?),^[7] had children:
   1. Alexander Livingstone First of Dunipace, died circa 1532, married Alison Gourlay (Reg Mag Sig, 24 December 1521);^[7] or died 1488? born 1445? He was a member of the Town Council of Stirling in 1527-28. Alexander and Alison had children:
      1. David of Bantaskine, died before 14 April 1525 predeceasing his father, married Elizabeth Shaw;^[7] and they had:
         1. Alexander Livingstone of Bantaskine;^[7]
      2. Master Alexander Livingstone, Second of Dunipace and of Fildes, died 1560, married the Elizabeth daughter of Sir Adam Hepburn of Craigs (cf. ante, vol. ii. 149; Reg Mag Sig, 24 July 1525),^[7] he was born 1430 at Stirlingshire, Stirling, Callendar House;
3. Janet married James Hamilton of Cadzow,^[4][3] she was born about 1409 in Callendar House, Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland, or born about 1395; (Eleventh Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm._, App. vi. 14, 15; cf. vol. iv. 348).
4. Joanna married Sir John Sibbald of Balgonie, master of the king's household;^[3]
5. Elizabeth,^[4][3] Elizabeth Livingston (doubtful) who is said to have married James Dundas of Dundas, the younger;
6. a daughter,^[3] Helen Livingston who married William Menteith of Carse of Kerse;

Eupham Livingstone is another alleged daughter of Alexander or his son Alexander? Euphame b. abt 1441 d. aft 6/1/1493 Lanarkshire, Biggar, m. Malcolm Fleming

An Indenture was made at Edinburgh on 6 July, 1445 between the honourable and worshipful "Sir Alexander of Levingstoun of the Calenter, knicht, and James of Levingstoun, son and ayre to the said Sir Alexander, and capitane of Striveline, conjunctly and severally on the ta parte, and Walter of Ogilby of Beufurde, on the tother parte," who agreed that "Cresteane of Erskyn, the dochter and ayr of umquhile Sir John of Erskyn of Kynnoule, knicht," was to be freely delivered to James of Levingston, at the "castel of Striveline" or in the "castel of Mefl'aine" by Walter, before the nativity of Our Lady next, and "Cristiane" was to be married with James, son and heir to James of Levingstone, and if "God forbede" James the son deceased with the "marriage unfullfullit," Cristiane was to marry Alexander, the second son and heir to James the "fadir", and so forth, while James the fadir had a living son or heir; there was to be no alienation of Cristian’s lands, "for that thai drawis til ane hundred marcs worth of land" from the rightways heirs of Cristiane; by the time Cristiane was delivered to James the fadir, Walter was to have a "mandement thairupon" by the King's letters patent; Sir Alexander, and James the fadr shall do all "thair gudelie power and diligence to get a tallie be maid," and through our sovereign Lord’s hands, and "his consalis freli" and but cost of the said Walter of all and hale the lands and annual rents, which are now Alexander of "Ogilvis of Auchtirhous," brother to the said Walter, and held of the king; and this to be done between the date of the present letter, and the feast of Saint Martyn in winter afer the next thereafter; Sir Alexander and James the fadir sal will do all in their "gudeli" powers and diligence to have Walter confirmied by the king in his office of deputy, under his said brother of the sheriff-domes of Forfar and Bamf for life, together with the confirmation of all lands that Walter now has, or shall get of the Erle of Ros, and of his said brother Alexander, and costs as is forsaid; Sir Alexander and James the fadir shall make Walter to have in fee and heritage, "al and hale" the lands of the Brethirtoun, with the "pertinents liand within the scherefi'dome of Kincardin, to be haldin of the Lorde of Keith; and for such service as thai ar now haldin, of the quhilks lands the said Sir Alexander, and James the fadir, sal gife to the said Walter the day of the deliverance of the said Cristiane, letters of resignation, als uele belonging the said Sir Alexander, as Beatrice of Cunynghame, with consent and assent of Robert of Cunynghame, hir son and ayr, togidder with letters of the King our Lorde to ressave the said resignation, and the said Walter as tennent ..."^[6]

Political Career

Alexander was knighted sometime after the return of James I king of Scotland in 1424 from his captivity in England.^[3]

Neither he nor any son of his acted as a hostage for the king's ransom.^[3] Contrary to this, on 23 Feb. 1423-4 he received a safe-conduct till 30 April as hostage for James I at Durham. (Cal. Documents relating to Scotland, iv. entry 942).

He was one of the jurors at the trial of Murdac, duke of Albany, in 1424.

He sat on the assize at Stirling, 27 May 1425, which condemned Murdoch, Duke of Albany, his son and father-in-law, the aged Earl of Lennox.

He continued to enjoy the royal favour till the assassination of the King by Sir Robert Graham and his accomplices. The possession and governorship of the young King then became the object of the two contending factions in the kingdom, one of which was led by Sir William Crichton, Governor of Edinburgh Castle, and the other by Sir Alexander Livingston. The latter had the advantage of the Queen-mother's friendship and support, and through her influence (if not by the stratagem with which she is credited by Boece of concealing her son in a chest, and taking him to Stirling from Leith by water) James II. was removed to Stirling Castle, and placed in the custody of Livingston, who was Governor. This took place before 13 March 1439, when the Estates passed measures obviously directed against Livingston's rival Crichton.(1-427) The following few months witnessed a series of remarkable occurrences. Fear of the King's Lieutenant, Archibald, fifth Earl of Douglas, and fourth Duke of Touraine, led to a coalition of the parties of Crichton and Livingston, the former surrendering the Castle of Edinburgh, and receiving the office of Chancellor of the Kingdom, while the latter retained possession of the young King's person. The Queen was evidently no party to this arrangement, and to strengthen her position she married Sir James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorn. Livingston, however, took prompt measures to frustrate any scheme the Queen may have had to free her son from bondage.

Alexander was the favourite counsellor of James I king of Scotland.^[8]

In June 1439, after the mother of eight-year-old James II king of Scotland, Joan Beaufort grand-daughter of John of Gaunt,^[8] married Sir James Stewart of Lorne, Sir Alexander arrested her and imprisoned Steward and his brother in Stirling Castle. In September that year, a settlement agreed that the king during his minority was to reside in Stirling Castle under Sir Alexander's guardianship. Sir Alexander was justicar from circa 1444 and sheriff of Stirlingshire by 1448, and at times acted as Ambassador to England.^[3]

After the assassination of James I in 1437 Livingstone seems to have been entrusted with the guardianship of the infant prince James II. To frustrate the designs of Sir William Crichton, he aided the queen in removing the prince to Stirling in 1439. Shortly afterwards he came to terms with Crichton, and on 3 Aug. he forcibly entered the queen's chamber at Stirling, and placed her under restraint; but difficulties were finally arranged between them, and by a solemn indenture of 4 Sept. Livingstone was to retain the custody of the king till his majority (_Acta Parl. Scot._ ii. 54).

The Asloan MS.(2-427) says that Livingston put the Stewarts 'in pittis and bollit thaim.'(3-427) The outrage committed on the Queen showed the length Livingston was prepared to go, and he was powerful enough to dictate the terms of an agreement with her, which was sanctioned by a general council held at Stirling 4 September 1439.(4-427) The Castle of Stirling and the Queen's allowance were surrendered by her for the King's maintenance. It was stipulated that she was to have access to her son in the presence of unsuspected persons, and in the event of the death of Sir Alexander Livingston he was to be restored to her. The Queen further declared that she remitted to the Livingstons all the rancour which she had wrongly conceived against them, and that she was satisfied that they had imprisoned her from motives of loyalty, and out of zeal for their sovereign's safety, and engaged that neither Livingston nor any of his friends should at any future time be brought into trouble for their share in these transactions.(1-428) Chancellor Crichton is said to have been displeased with the new arrangement, and to have kidnapped the King in Stirling Park in order to obtain from his former rival more favourable terms for himself and his friends, in which he succeeded. In any event, both parties combined to put down the young Earl of Douglas, who was arrested in Edinburgh Castle, 24 November 1440, and beheaded, but no forfeiture of title or estates followed his execution, in consequence, it is alleged, of an understanding between Livingston and Crichton and James, Earl of Avondale, heirmale to the earldom of Douglas. An alliance between this Earl's son, William, after he succeeded his father, and Sir Alexander Livingston, led to a coalition between the Chancellor and Bishop Kennedy, and to another siege of Edinburgh Castle, which was again unsuccessfully defended by Crichton against Livingston. The office of Justiciary of Scotland appears to have been held by Livingston in 1444.(2-428)

Originally James' mother, Queen Joan Beaufort, was installed as co-Regent of the kingdom until the boy came of age. She shared control with the Governor of Scotland, Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas, who, from motives which are unknown — probably ill health was the reason — does not appear to have taken his duties very seriously. The government of the country was much neglected by him, and seems to have been carried on by whatever person happened to have custody of the young king for the time being. It was around this time that Sir William Crichton had control of James II, and Joan took her leave of Edinburgh Castle after imploring Crichton to look after the boy. Unknown to Crichton, she had concealed James in a large chest, and took him to Stirling Castle and Sir Alexander Livingston. Before long, however, Joan decided to return to Edinburgh and Crichton; with Livingston in hot pursuit. The government of Scotland was truly in a shambles. The inept Governor, Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas, died on June 24, 1439, and Joan Beaufort married Sir James Stewart, the Black Knight of Lorn. Probably she wished to secure some male protector in these stormy times, when her son was so freely used as a pawn in the ever changing game of politics; but this knight adherred to the supporters of the House of Douglas, now led by the youthful William Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas.

Sir Alexander used his position to benefit family members and associates:^[3]

• James, his son and heir, was captain of Stirling Castle by May 1442, keeper of the king's person by March 1445, chamberlain by June 1448.
• other family members were the constable of Stirling Castle, captain of Methven of Doune castles, Perthshire, sheriff of Fife, and king's comptroller;
• associates and more distant relatives held the posts of custumar of Dumbartion burghs, the keepers of Dumbarton and Dunoon castles in Argyll, Restalrigh Castle in Edinburghshire, and Kildrummy Castle in Aberdeenshire, and master of the king's household.

His son James Livingston with three others were arrested on 23 September 1449, followed by Sir Alexander and Robert Livingston, the comptroller. In January 1450, a trial was held in parliament and Robert and Sir Alexander's second son, Alexander, were executed, while Sir Alexander and James Dundas of Dundas (his brother-in-law?), were imprisoned in Dumbarton Castle. His son James was imprisoned in Holyrood but he escaped and in 1451 with his son-in-law, the lord of the Isles, was attacking royal castles in the north, for which he was rewarded with the keepership of the nominally royal castles of Inverness and Urquhart, Inverness-shire. In August 1452, Sir Alexander and the Livingstons had a general remission of rancour. Sir Alexander's son James was chamberlain again by March 1454 until his death, and was sheriff of Stirlingshire by mid-1455 and master of the king's household from October 1455 until 1460.^[3]

In 1443 Livingstone entered into a coalition with the Douglases against Crichton, and although through the influence of the Douglases he was in 1445 denounced a rebel and imprisoned, he gained his liberty on payment of a large sum of money, and was sub-sequently restored to the king's favour. In 1449 he was appointed justiciary of Scotland. The sane year he was named one of the commissioners to England, and on 18 Sept. he signed a prorogation of the truce till 19 Nov. following (_Cal. Documents relating to Scotland_, iv. entry 1216). Towards the close of the year he, however, fell again into disfavour, and was imprisoned in Blackness, while his son Alexander, at a parliament held at Edinburgh on 19 Jan. 1449-60, was condemned to be executed on the Castle Hill.

But the marriage of the King in July 1449 was quickly followed by the sudden downfall of the Livingstons, which occurred only a few weeks after the promotion of Sir Alexander's eldest son to the office of Great Chamberlain of Scotland. Father and son, together with a younger son, Alexander, Captain of Methven Castle, Robert Livingston, Comptroller, and a number of other relatives, friends, and adherents were arrested, and some of them imprisoned in the fortress of Blackness. They were arraigned before a Parliament held at Edinburgh 19 January 1450, and on the 22 Alexander Livingston, younger son of Sir Alexander, and the Comptroller, were executed, the others being attainted and imprisoned in Dumbarton Castle. The precise charges brought against the Livingstons are unknown, but it is probable that the treasonable imprisonment of the Queen-mother in 1439 was one of them. The possessions of Sir Alexander at this time must have been considerable, as in addition to the patrimonial estates of Callendar and Kilsyth, which were given to the Queen, there were also forfeited the lands of Catscleuch, in the barony of Herbertshire,(1-429) the lands of Terrinterran, part of Kippen, Broominch, etc.(2-429) Some of the estates forfeited were bestowed upon the Earl of Douglas, which excites a suspicion of treachery on his part towards Sir Alexander Livingston. After the Earl's assassination on 22 February 1452, the Livingstons were restored to the royal favour, but Sir Alexander had died in the interval, between 4 July and 6 November 1451.(3-429)

Robert Livingston the comptroller was of Linlithgow,

In March 1458 James was created Lord Livingston and in April 1458 his estates in Stirlingshire, Lanarkshire and Perthshire were consolidated to create the free barony of Callendar for him.^[3]

Death

The first source that refers to James, his oldest son, as "of Callendar" was dated September 1456, so it's likely that Sir Alexander Livingston died shortly before that, rather than in 1451.^[3]

Was Alexander Livingston of Callendar officially Regent of Scotland in 1437?

[Auchinleck Chron.; Histories of Boece, Major, and Lindsay of Pitscottie; Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, vol. iii.; Cal. Documents relating to Scotland, vol. iv.; Douglas's Scottish Peerage (Wood), ii. 124.] T. F. H.* [Ref: DNB, Editor, Sidney Lee, MacMillan Co, London & Smith, Elder & Co., NY, 1908, vol. xi, pp. 1261-2] * Thomas Finlayson Henderson, author of this article.

King James II began ruling Scotland in his own right about 1448, but it appears to have taken a few years to establish full control. In 1452, James personally stabbed and killed William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas who was plotting against him by entering into an alliance with the Lord of the Isles and the Earl of Crawford and negotiating with England.

The Black Dinner of 1440 Sir Alexander Livingston and Sir William Crichton, who had recently come to a power sharing agreement of sorts, were convinced that the Douglases, led by the young, headstrong 6th Earl of Douglas, were enemies of the throne. They felt it necessary to crush the Douglases to secure their own authority. Although it was fairly easy to secure sufficient evidence to support a charge of high treason against the 6th Earl of Douglas and his associates; it was an entirely different matter to arrest this powerful baron in the midst of his own people in his own castle.

It does not appear to have been difficult for Sir William Crichton to lure the young earl from his castle, and to convince him to present himself at the court of the boy king, James II in Edinburgh Castle for a celebratory dinner of reconciliation. Thus, the 6th Earl of Douglas, his brother David, and his advisor Sir Malcolm Fleming of Cumbernauld arrived at Edinburgh Castle on November 24, 1440.

According to legend, a banquet was held in the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle, and the young James II was charmed with the company of the Douglases. At the end of the feast, the head of a black bull was brought into the hall. Under Scottish custom, this formality presaged the death of the principal guest(s) at a dinner. James II is alleged to have pleaded for the lives of his new friends to be spared, but they were said to have been beheaded in front of the ten year old king.

However, Mr. E.B. Livingston suggests a more likely scenario on pages 43 and 44 of The Livingstons of Callendar, Edinburgh University Press, 1920: "But what we do know for certain is that on the arrival of the Earl of Douglas at the castle, he was at once arrrested, together with his only brother David, and his friend and consellor Sir Malcolm Fleming of Cumbernauld, who had accompanied him; that the three of them were hastily tried for high treason, found guilty, and proptly beheaded on the Castle Hill. The earl and his brother were executed on 24 November, 1440, and Sir Malcolm Fleming four days later. The later execution must have been carried out contrary to the wishes of Livingston, hence probably the four days' delay. For about three years later, on 16 August 1443, Sir Alexander Livingston, in the presence of Robert Fleming and four bishops, solemnly purged himself upon oath of having given any counsel, assistance, or consent to the slaughter of Sir Malcolm Fleming.

"Some of the old chronicle writers, who like some modern journalists were not averse to inserting fictitious picturesque details, so as to enliven their narratives, declare that the Douglases were arrested while sitting at dinner, on the signal being given by a black bull's head, supposed to be a sign of sudden death, being placed on the table; and this fable, according to an old historian of the House of Douglas, gave rise to the following doggerel rhyme:—

'Edinburgh castle, toun, and tower,

God grant ye sink for sin; And that even for the black-dinner, Earl Douglas gat therin.'

"It is, however, highly improbable that either Livingston or Crichton would have been parties to the introduction of such a theatrical dâenouement into this ghastly tragedy . . . ."

Following the demise of William, 6th Earl of Douglas and his brother at the Black Dinner, William's great uncle James, known as "James the Gross" became the 7th Earl of Douglas. Apparently, he had connived at the execution of his nephew, and thus inherited the earldom and the Douglas Estates.

In another interesting development, Beatrice Fleming, the granddaughter of Sir Malcolm Fleming of Cumbernauld and daughter of Sir Robert Fleming, 1st Lord Fleming, married circa 1472 to Sir James Livingston, 3rd Lord Livingston of Callendar whose great grandfather, Sir Alexander Livingston, was deeply involved in the Black Dinner of 1440 that had resulted in the execution of Sir Malcom Fleming of Cumbernauld.

Research Notes

There are claims that DNA evidence^{[citation needed]} shows Alexander Livingston was a cuckoo in the nest of the person historically believed to be his father, Sir John Livingston.

Sources

1. ↑ Duff, Hector Livingston, "The Sewells in the New World", Exeter: Wililam Pollard & Co. Ltd., 1924, Archive.org, p. 111
2. ↑ Lee, Sidney, ed,"Dictionary of National Biography", London: Smith Elder & Co., 1892, Vol. XXXII p. 382
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19} Alan R. Borthwick, ‘Livingston, Sir Alexander, of Callendar (b. c.1375, d. in or before 1456)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography', Oxford University Press, 2004 (http://www.oxforddnb.com.rp.nla.gov.au/view/article/16800 : accessed 20 June 2016). Website
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4} Lee, Sidney, ed,"Dictionary of National Biography", London: Smith Elder & Co., 1892, Vol. XXXII p. 383
5. ↑ Burke, John Bernard, "A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire", London: Harrison,1866, Archive.org, p. 327
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} John Stuart, ed, "XXIII Indenture between Sir Alexander Livingston of Callender, and Walter Ogilvy of Beaufort", The Miscellany of the Spalding Club, 5, (Aberdeen, Scotland: Spalding Club, 1852), 282-3, Hathi Trust Digital Library (http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.31175011984054?urlappend=%3Bseq=370 : accessed 22 June 2016).
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4} Gibson, Lands and Lairds of Larbert and Dunipace, 88, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/stream/landslairdsoflar00gibs#page/n145/mode/2up : 21 June 2016).
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Sir Hector Livingston Duff, The Sewells of the New World, (William Pollard and Co., 1924) citing E. B. Livingston, Livingstons of Callendar, pp. 38-49.

See also:

• Wikipedia: Alexander Livingston of Callendar

• Wikidata: Item Q4719422, en:Wikipedia

• http://www.thepeerage.com/p11033.htm#i110327
• E.B. Livingston, The Livingstons of Callendar (Edinburgh, 1920) Chapters XIV., XV., and XVI.
• Gerald Paget, The Lineage and Ancestry of H.R.H. Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Vol II:320.