EARLS OF DOUGLAS.—Hitherto, the Douglases had no higher title than that of knight; but in 1357, sir William of Douglas, who had fought at Poitiers, and distin guished himself in other fields, was made earl of Douglas, and afterwards by marriage became earl of Mar. His ambition aimed at still greater things, and in 1371 he disputed the succession to the Scottish crown with Robert II. (the first of the Stewarts). He claimed as a descendant of the Baliols and Cummings; and his pretensions were aban doned only on condition that his son should marry the king's daughter. He died in 1384. His son James, second earl of Douglas and Mar, the conqueror of Hotspur, fell at Otterburn in 1388; and as he left no legitimate issue, the direct male line of William the hardy and the good sir James now came to an end. His aunt had married for her second husband one of her brother's esquires, James of Sandilands, and through her lord Torphichen is now the heir general and representative at common law of the house of Douglas.
The earldom of Douglas, meanwhile, was bestowed on an illegitimate son of the good sir James—Archibald, lord of Galloway, surnamed the grim. By his marriage with the heiress of Bothwell, he added that fair barony to the Douglas domains; and having married his only daughter to the heir-apparent of the Scottish crown, and his eldest son to the eldest daughter of the Scottish king, he died in 1401. His son and successor, Archibald, fourth earl of Douglas, was, from his many misfortunes in battle, surnamed "the Tyneman," i.e., the loser. At Homildon, in 1402, he was wounded in five places, lost an eye, and was taken prisoner by Hotspur. Next year, at Shrews bury, he felled the English king to the earth, but was again wounded and taken pris oner. Repairing to France, he was there made duke of Touraine, and fell at Verneuil in 1424. He was succeeded by his son Archibald, who distinguished himself in the French wars, and dying in 1439, was buried in the church of Douglas, where his tomb yet remains, inscribed with his high titles of " duke of Touraine, earl of Douglas and of Longueville, lord of Galloway, Wigton, and Annandale, lieutenant of the king of Scots." His son and successor, William, a boy of sixteen, is said to have kept a thou sand horsemen in his train, to have created knights, and to have affected the pomp of parliaments in his baronial courts. His power and foreign possessions made him an object of fear to the Scottish crown; and, having been decoyed into the castle of Edinburgh by the crafty and unscrupulous Crichton, he was, after a hasty trial, beheaded, along with his brother, within the walls of the castle, in 1440.
His French duchy and county died with him; his Scottish earldom was bestowed on his grand-uncle the second son of Archibald the grim), James, surnamed the gross, who in 1437 had been made earl of Avondale. He died in 1443, being succeeded by his son William, who, by marriage with his kinswoman (the only daughter of Archibald, fifth earl of Douglas, and second duke of Touraine), again added the lordship of Gallo way to the Douglas possessions. He was, for a time, all-powerful with king James II., who made him lieut.gen. of the realm; but afterwards losing the royal favor, he seems to have entered into a confederacy against the king, by whom he was killed in Stirling castle, in 1452. Leaving no child, he was succeeded by his brother James, who, in 1454, made open wart against king alines II., as the' murderer of his brother and kins man (the sixth and "eighth earlS of Douglas). The issue seemed doubtful for a time, but the Hamiltons and others being gained over to the king's side, Douglas fled to Eng land. The struggle was still maintained by his brothers, Archibald, who by marriage had become earl of Murray, and Hugh, who in 144,5 had been n made earl of Ormond. They were defeated at Arkinholm in May, 1455, Murray being slain on the field, and Ormond taken prisoner, and afterwards beheaded. Abercorn, Douglas, Strathaven, Thrieve, and other castles of the Douglases, were dismantled; and the earldom of Douglas came to an end by forfeiture, after an existence of 98 years, during which it had been held by no fewer than nine lords. The last earl lived many years in England, where he had a pension from the crown, and was made a knight of the garter. In i 1484, he leagued himself with the exiled duke of Albany to invade Scotland. He was defeated and taken prisoner at Loehmaben, and, on being brought to the royal presence, is said to have turned his back upon the king. The compassionate James III. spared his life, on condition of his taking the cowl. "He who may no better be, must be a. monk," k " muttered the old man, as be bowed to his fate. He died in the abbey of Lin dores, in April, 1488; and so ended the elder illegitimate line of the Douglases.