Elizabeth (Mure) Stewart
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Elizabeth (Mure) Stewart (abt. 1320 - bef. 1355)

Elizabeth Stewart formerly Mure
Born about in Rowallan, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotlandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Daughter of and [mother unknown]
Sister of [half], [half] and [half]
Wife of — married 22 Nov 1347 in Kyle, Ayrshire, Scotlandmap
Descendants descendants
Died before before about age 35 in Paisley Abbey, Renfrewshire, Scotlandmap [uncertain]
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Medieval Scotland
Elizabeth (Mure) Stewart was an inhabitant of Medieval Scotland.
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Contents

Biography

Notables Project
Elizabeth (Mure) Stewart is Notable.
Elizabeth (Mure) Stewart is a member of Clan Muir.

Elizabeth Mure of Rowallan was the daughter of Adam Mure[1] but the name of her mother is uncertain. [see research note] When they were both no more than twenty years of age, Robert Stewart (later Robert II) persuaded Elizabeth to elope with him to his family home in Dundonald, which was about six miles from Rowallan.[2] There were two impediments to their marriage which may have seemed like serious obstacles to the young couple: (1) they were related in the fourth degree of consanguinity and therefore marriage would require a papal dispensation; and (2) when Elizabeth was eleven years old her parents had contracted her in marriage to nine-year-old Hugh de Giffard, the son of Sir John de Giffard of Yester, Midlothian.[3] This contract would have to be nullified by both contracting parties and/or their parents.[3] Among the records of John Learmonth, chaplain to the archbishop of St Andrews, is a notation stating that "Robert, great steward of Scotland, having taken away the said Elizabeth, drew to Sir Adam her father ane instrument that he should take her to be his lawful wife, which myself have seen....as also ane instrument in Latin by Roger M'Adam, priest of our Lady Marie's Chapel, that the said Roger married Robert and Elizabeth foresaids."[3]

Elizabeth and Robert spent not only their honeymoon but many years of their marriage happily ensconced at Dundonald.[2] In 1344 they were finally able to get Elizabeth's childhood marriage contract dissolved, it was annulled on the joint petition of Huge Giffard and Elizabeth on the grounds that the marriage had never been consummated.[3] In 1347, Robert Stewart applied for a papal dispensation so there could be no question regarding the legality of their marriage, not necessarily to satisfy his father-in-law, but to ensure his own children's succession to the throne if David II died childless.[3] A special provision in the dispensation legitimized the "multitude prolis utriusque sexus" who had previously been born.[4] Not content, however, to leave anything to chance, on 27 March 1371 (the day after he was crowned at Scone) King Robert II had his eldest son John, earl of Carrick, declared by parliament to be heir to the throne of Scotland.[5]

Elizabeth Muir and John Stewart had nine children:

Death

Elizabeth Mure died sometime before 1355, and was buried in the Church of the Blackfriars at Perth.[1] Robert II died 19 April 1390, choosing to spend the final years of his life in the family home at Dundonald where he had lived for so many years with Elizabeth.[2] He was buried in Scone Abbey, Perthshire.[1]

Research Notes

Mother of Elizabeth Mure:
  • It is uncertain whether (as Douglas Richardson states) Elizabeth's mother was Adam's first wife, Joan de Cunningham, widow of Hugh de Houston;[1] or whether (as Alexander Moir states) she was Adam's second wife, Janet Mure.[30] Richardson does not appear to include in his bibliographic notes any source for naming Joan de Cunningham as Adam's wife. Moir's source for naming Janet Mure, identified as a granddaughter of Ronald More and heiress of Polkellie, is cited as "The Historie and Descent of the House of Rowallan" by Sir William Mure (1657). However, the "Historie" contains so many errors of fact that Moir himself acknowledges that "no reliance is to be placed on the Historie farther back than can be corroborated by concurrent testimony."[31] Alison Weir merely states that Elizabeth is the daughter of Adam Mure by either his first wife, Joan Cunningham, or his second wife, Janet Mure.[32] However, James Dennistoun suggests a third possibility. He believes that Adam Mure's wife and Elizabeth's mother was Joanna Danzielstoun.[33] As evidence he cites a portrait of Elizabeth done by George Jameson, reknown Scottish artist, which contains the inscription: "Elizabeth Mure filia Dom...Adam Mure Militis et Joan de Danzelstoun, Rigina Scotorum."[33]It was originally included in the artist's historic 'suite of the queens' and now is in the possession of the marchioness of Hastings (heir of the House of Rowallan).[33] As further proof, he cites numerous grants from Robert II and Robert III to the House of de Danzielstoun in which both kings use the phrase "delectus consanguineus noster," and he notes that several of the charters were actually dated at Finlaystone, which was the chief seat of the Danzielstouns.[33]
(Son) Alexander Stewart, lord of Badenoch:
  • Douglas Richardson gives the date of Alexander's death as "probably within the year ending 25 Marcy 1406."[16] The Exchequer Rolls (in volume 4) state that he died 24 July 1394[34] Sir James Balfour Paul concurs with Richardson,[35] citing in evidence an entry in the Exchequer Rolls dated 25 March 1406 where Alexander received reimbursement for monies he had expended.[36]


Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed, Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author 2013), vol. 1, pp. 615 BRUS 10. Robert Stewart.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Henderson, Thomas Finlayson. The Royal Stewarts. Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons (1914), p. 18
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Henderson, Thomas Finlayson. The Royal Stewarts. Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons (1914), pp. 19-20
  4. Burnett, George (ed). Rotuli Scaccarii Regum Scotorum (Exchequer Rolls of Scotland). Edinburgh: General Register House (1880), vol. 4, appendix to preface, p. cliv.
  5. Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 161
  6. Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 1, p. 17.
  7. Burnett, George (ed). Rotuli Scaccarii Regum Scotorum (Exchequer Rolls of Scotland). Edinburgh: General Register House (1880), vol. 4, appendix to preface,p.clxx.
  8. RRS, vi, no. 372. PoMS doc. 1/54/520 (31 May 1367), Charter from King David to John Stewart of Kyle and Annabella, daughter of the late John Drummond, his spouse, of the earldom of Atholl.
  9. Balfour, Sir James. The Annales of Scotland MCVII-MDCIII. Edinburgh: W. Aitchison (1824), pp. 143-144.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed, Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author 2013), vol. 1, pp. 617-618 BRUS 10.ii. Walter Stewart.
  11. Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 166.
  12. Burnett, George. Rotuli Scaccarii Regum Scotorum (The Exchequer Rolls of Scotland). Edinburgh: H.M. General Register House (1880), vol. 4, appendix to preface, pp. clvi-clvii.
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed, Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author 2013), vol. 1, pp. 618-625 BRUS 10.iii. Robert Stewart.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Burnett, George. Rotuli Scaccarii Regum Scotorum (The Exchequer Rolls of Scotland). Edinburgh: H.M. General Register House (1880), vol. 4, appendix to preface, pp. clxxv-clxxxviii.
  15. Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinbrough: D. Douglas (1910), vol. 7, p. 241.
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed, Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author 2013), vol. 1, pp. 625-629 BRUS 10.iv. Alexander Stewart.
  17. Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed, Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author 2013), vol. 1, pp. 629-631 BRUS 10.iv. Margaret Stewart.
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 Burnett, George. Rotuli Scaccarii Regum Scotorum (The Exchequer Rolls of Scotland). Edinburgh: H.M. General Register House (1880), vol. 4, appendix to preface, p. clxii.
  19. 19.0 19.1 Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed, Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author 2013), vol. 1, pp. 631-633 BRUS 10.iv. Marjory Stewart.
  20. Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 1, p. 16.
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed, Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author 2013), vol. 1, pp. 633-634 BRUS 10.viii. Isabel Stewart.
  22. 22.0 22.1 Burnett, George. Rotuli Scaccarii Regum Scotorum (The Exchequer Rolls of Scotland). Edinburgh: H.M. General Register House (1880), vol. 4, appendix to preface, p. clxiii.
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 3, p. 157.
  24. 24.0 24.1 Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1911), vol. 8, pp. 268-269.
  25. Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 6, pp. 36-37.
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed, Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author 2013), vol. 1, pp. 634-636 BRUS 10.ix. Jean Stewart.
  27. Weir, Alison. Britain's Royal Families. London: The Bodley Hear (1989), p. 222
  28. 28.0 28.1 Burnett, George. Rotuli Scaccarii Regum Scotorum (The Exchequer Rolls of Scotland). Edinburgh: H.M. General Register House (1880), vol. 4, appendix to preface, p. clxiv.
  29. 29.0 29.1 Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1911), p. 381.
  30. Moir, Alexander L. Moir Genealogy and Collateral Lines. Lowell, Mass: by the author (1913), p. 352.
  31. Moir, Alexander L. Moir Genealogy and Collateral Lines. Lowell, Mass: by the author (1913), pp. 351-352.
  32. Weir, Alison. Britain's Royal Families. London: The Bodley Head (1989), p. 215.
  33. 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 Dennistoun, James Wallis. Some Account of the Family of Dennistoun of Dennistoun. Glasgow: James MacLehose and Sons (1906), pp. 2-3
  34. Burnett, George. Rotuli Scaccarii Regum Scotorum (The Exchequer Rolls of Scotland). Edinburgh: H.M. General Register House (1880), vol. 4, appendix to preface, p. clviii.
  35. Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1905), vol. 2, p. 263.
  36. Burnett, George. Rotuli Scaccarii Regum Scotorum (The Exchequer Rolls of Scotland). Edinburgh: H.M. General Register House (1880), vol. 3, p. 364.

See also:





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Comments: 17

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(hubby wasnt king till 1371) + as Elizabeth Mure died in 1355, she was NEVER QUEEN CONSORT,
posted by N Philcox
Hi Jen, I have no objection to the Scotland Project WikiTree taking this action although proof positive one way or another may be difficult.

Regards to all, Stay Safe.

Allan Stuart

posted by Allan Stuart
Thanks Allan! You may be correct, but we'll give it our best try. We will probably start with Adam Mure, whose profile depends almost entirely on Moir as a source, and see if we can determine approximate dates for each of his marriages. Moir doesn't give sources for his claim that Janet Mure is Elizabeth's mother. If need be, we'll contact Douglas Richardson and find out what his sources were....it isn't absolutely clear what he based his decision on.

Jen

posted by Jen (Stevens) Hutton
(hubby wasnt king till 1371) + as Elizabeth Mure died in 1355, she was NEVER QUEEN CONSORT,
posted by N Philcox
There appears to be a difference of opinion among several genealogist/historians (see bio above) as to whether Elizabeth's mother was her father's first wife or his second wife. If there are no objections from anyone, the Scotland Project would like to detach the currently shown mother (keeping an explanation in the bio) until further research can be done to either prove or disprove the correct identity of her mother. Please comment if you strongly agree or disagree with temporarily detaching Elizabeth's mother. The opinion of the PM is especially welcome. Thanks,

Jen

posted by Jen (Stevens) Hutton
I replaced Danzielstour-1 as mother with Mure-184. The current bio supported Mure-184 as the mother. Danzielstour-1 was born too late to be the mother. The confusion was likely due to some mix-up with assigning these two to their husbands, where Danzielstour-1 was the wife of the younger Adam Mure and Mure-184 the mother of the younger Adam Mure and wife of the elder Adam Mure.
posted by [Living Anderson]
In reference to these statements: "she initially became the Steward's mistress. He married her in 1336, but the marriage was criticized as uncanonical, so he remarried her in 1349 following a Papal Dispensation dated at Avignon 22 November 1347. "

I would question whether or not Elizabeth Mure was ever the mistress of Robert of Strathearn, High Steward of Scotland. In some later sources, such as Hector Boethius' Chronicle of Scotland, Elizabeth is falsely said to have been Elizabeth's "leman" or mistress rather than his wife. As far as I can tell, these old stories of her being Robert's mistress arose as a garbled memory of the fact that the marriage of Robert and Elizabeth had been found to be canonically invalid due their being within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity (probably a large percentage of Scotland's nobility in the 1300s were related to each other within the prohibited degrees), requiring a papal dispensation to rectify matters. The dispensation validated their union. There is no evidence that Robert and Elizabeth had ever intentionally been involved in an illicit union.

posted by Jared Olar
edited by Jared Olar
This is how Stephen Boardman describes Robert's and Elizabeth's marriage (Early Stewart Kings, 1997, pp.8-9):

"One of the Steward's earliest actions as guardian was to secure a retrospective papal legitimation for the children produced by his relationship with Elizabeth Mure, the daughter of Adam Mure of Rowallan, a landowner in the Steward's lordship of Cunningham. In the late 1330s Robert had co-habited with Elizabeth and produced children by her, in what appears to have been a secular marriage. . . . The 1347 dispensation has all the hallmarks of the Steward protecting the position of his own family in the succession, . . . ."

That would mean Robert and Elizabeth lived together as man and wife even though under Church law their marriage was illicit (in this case due to consanguinity). Hence the need for a papal dispensation, to remove the legal bar of illegitimacy that would otherwise have attached to their 10 or more children.

Robert of course did have several non-marital sexual liaisons resulting in children, but the duration and stability of his relationship with Elizabeth (indicated by the large number of children they had) supports the interpretation that they considered themselves to be married, and that Elizabeth was not just one of Robert's lemans. As with many a medieval noble, they may not have been aware of the degree of their kinship invalidating their union until much later.

posted by Jared Olar
(hubby wasnt king till 1371) + as Elizabeth Mure died in 1355, she was NEVER QUEEN CONSORT, My records say they did marry, twice.
posted by N Philcox
Elizabeth Mure was never surnamed "O'Rowallan." Rather, she belonged to the family of Mure (Muir) of Rowallan. (Is there even such a family as "O'Rowallan"?)
posted by Jared Olar
Looks like they already have been merged.
posted by Marc Cohen
Murre-2 and Mure-3 are not ready to be merged because: Murre-2 was born after Mure-3 died so cannot be same person at present
posted by Allan Stuart
This profile is obviously a duplicate and I dont understand why the original entries did not come up when I was looking to link into them as I felt they must've been there. Sorry for the noise!
posted by Anon Cripps Clark
Mure Of Rowallan-1 and Mure-3 appear to represent the same person because: same name, husband, child
posted by Darrell Parker
Murr-372 and Mure-3 appear to represent the same person because: New profile is just a raw cut and paste from Wikipedia. These are both same wife of Robert II. Do not just copy the content from WIkipedia directly as this against Wikitree guidelines.
posted by Marty (Lenover) Acks
Mure of Rowallan-3 and Mure-3 appear to represent the same person because: same birth and death dates, same husband, one shared child, same location
Husband: ``Sir Robert II 'the Steward' UNKNOWN

Wife: Elizabeth Mure Countess Atholl Child: Alexander Stewart Child: Jean Stewart Child: ISABEL EUPHAME Princess Stewart Child: Son Stewart Child: Margaret Stewart Child: Sir John Stewart Child: Lady Elizabeth Princess of Scotland, Baroness of Yester UNKNOWN

posted by Sheri (Petersen) Sturm

M  >  Mure  |  S  >  Stewart  >  Elizabeth (Mure) Stewart

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