William (Keith) Keith Second Earl Marischal (abt. 1426 - 1482)

Born about 1426 in Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 10 Dec 1482 at about age 56 in Dunnottar Castle, Kincardineshire, Scotland

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Scotland Project WikiTree [send private message]

William (Keith) Keith Second Earl Marischal was an inhabitant of Medieval Scotland. Join: Scotland Project Discuss: Scotland

Biography

William (Keith) Keith Second Earl Marischal is a member of Clan Keith.

WILLIAM, FIRST EARL MARISCHAL—WILLIAM, SECOND EARL MARISCHAL — WILLIAM, THIRD EARL MARISCHAL — THE MARISCHAL APPOINTED GUARDIAN OF THE KING’S PERSON— WILLIAM, FOURTH EARL—HE JOINED THE REFORMERS.

IN 1457, James II. created Sir William Keith, first Earl Marischal. He was present at the Court held in Aberdeen on the 15th of May, 1457, when Lord Erskine’s claim to the Earldom of Mar was rejected.

His youngest daughter, Lady Egidia, married John, second Lord Forbes. Sir Robert, his eldest son, died in his father’s lifetime; and the Marischal himself died in 1475. He was succeeded by his second son, William, second Earl Marischal.

[NOTE: There is some argument that William's father, also William (Keith-313) was the actual 1st Earl Marichal. Source is provided below. Before the sequence was revised by Thomas Innes in 1927, the 1st Earl's father, William Keith, Marshall of Scotland (d. 1463) was the first Earl,]^[1]

In the strife and rebellion of the southern barons against James III., the Marischal acted with sound judgment and moderation. He officiated in the Parliament of 1488, in which his duties were to keep guard and order within the House when Parliament was sitting.

He married Mariota, a daughter of Thomas, Lord Erskine, by whom he had issue—four sons. From his youngest son, John, the Keiths of Craig were descended.

He was succeeded by his oldest son, William, third Earl Marischal who, 1481, married Lady Elizabeth Gordon, second daughter of George, second Earl of Huntly, by whom he had four sons and two daughters.

His eldest son, Robert, Lord Keith, married Lady Elizabeth, a daughter of John, second Earl of Morton, by whom he had two sons, William and Robert. On the 8th of January, 1506, Lord Keith and his wife received a charter of Auchincloich, Tortoll, and other lands. His daughter Lady Elizabeth, married George, fourth Earl of Huntly, in 1530.

In 1512 Earl William received from James IV. a charter as Marischal of Scotland. His two eldest sons—Robert, Lord Keith, and William—accompanied the army mustered by James IV. in August, 1513, which crossed the Tweed on the 22nd and invaded England. But valuable time was lost in besieging and taking the English border castles of Norham, Wark, Etal, and Ford, which gave the enemy an opportunity of mustering his forces and advancing against the Scots. The English army, under the command of the Earl of Surrey, was advancing northward, and messages passed between him and James IV. Although the King was exceedingly brave and determined, as general of an army he had no qualifications whatever; his idea of leadership was simply to make a stand-up fight.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Paul, James Balfour, Sir, 1846-1931 : 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 : Free Download, Borrow, And Streaming : Internet Archive". 2021. Internet Archive. William Keith, Earl of Marischal, Vol VI, pps 39-46
2. ↑ Historic Earls and Earldoms of Scotland Chapter V - Keiths, Great Marischals of Scotland, and Earl Marischals Section II Link

• The Complete Peerage. 1936, Doubleday.
• Burke's Genealogical & Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage, & Knightage. London, 1938.
• A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, & Extinct Peerages of the British Empire. London, 1866, Sir Bernard Burke.
• The Lineage & Ancestry of HRH Charles Prince of Wales. Edinburgh, 1977, Paget, Gerald.