Early Life
From the
Scots Peerage1:
William Douglas, who succeeded to the estates of Douglas under his uncle's entail of 1342, was, as already stated, the second son of Sir Archibald Douglas, the Regent, and only lawful heir-male of the 'good Sir James.' The date of his birth is not certain, but he was a minor in 1342, and a ward of his godfather Sir William Douglas, the Knight of Liddesdale. The earliest notices of him state that he was educated in France, and bred to arms in that country, and there seems no doubt that his earlier years were spent there. He returned to Scotland in or about 1348, probably at his majority, as he threw himself at once into the tide of events, gathering together a band of followers from Ettrick or Jedburgh Forest, where he was gladly welcomed by the people.
Career
From the
Scots Peerage1:
William Douglas first appears in political life in 1351, as a commissioner to arrange the temporary release of King David II. from his captivity in England; which mission was successful, and he accompanied the King to Scotland. Lord Hailes, mistaking his share in the negotiations, has attributed to him the treacherous league with England, which was really made by his namesake, the Knight of Liddesdale. But the Lord of Douglas, although he did visit England early in 1353, had nothing to do with such unpatriotic schemes. On the other hand he, in the same year, devoted himself to reducing the Anglicised Scots to their true allegiance, and made a descent on Galloway, overawing the chiefs, and compelling or treating with them to take oaths of fealty to their proper sovereign. In this policy Douglas was imitated by others, and thus Nithsdale and Annandale also were wrested from the English.
...
In 1356 Douglas succeeded in harassing a large army with which Edward in. had been devastating Scotland with more than usual fury, to such an extent that the English were compelled to retire, and Douglas, on his own account, concluded with the English Warden a six months' truce from April 1356, of which he took advantage to visit the captive Scottish King, and then to go to France. There he was well received by King John, who conferred on him the rank of knighthood, and he fought at the battle of Poitiers, so bravely that he would probably have been made prisoner had he not been dragged out of the fray by his own attendants. This battle, fought on 19 September 1356, tended to aid the proposals for truce, and the peace comprehended England, Scotland, Ireland, and a part of France. Douglas was one of the Wardens appointed to keep the truce, though it was nearly endangered by his seizing the castle of Hermitage, in revenge, apparently, for an English raid on Eskdale.
Sir William Douglas was present at the Parliament of Scotland in September 1357, when a truce was arranged, and the liberation of David II. decided upon. In the following January, probably on the 26th, he was created EARL OF DOUGLAS. He was one of the hostages for King David, and passed frequently to and from England, accompanied apparently at intervals by his Countess, to whom he was married in 1357.
In 1363 there was a rupture between King David and his three principal nobles, the High Steward, the Earls of March and of Douglas, who complained, not without reason, that the money raised by the country to pay the King's ransom was squandered in an improper manner. King David had previously, in 1359, given ground for offence in another way by bestowing the Scottish earldom of Moray on an alien, Henry, Duke of Lancaster, although curiously enough Douglas and the Steward were both witnesses to the transaction, which took place at Dundee 5 April 1359.
But the above reason was a matter which touched Douglas more closely, as he was one of the sureties to the English Government for payment of the yearly instalments of the ransom. He was the first to take up arms to put matters right, but, perhaps because he was unsupported, his rebellion suddenly collapsed, and he appears to have suddenly turned round and consented to a policy which, had it been successful, would have made Scotland a mere appanage of England. The terms of the policy were embodied in a proposed treaty, which may be read in the records of the Scottish Parliament of March 1364, by whom it was rejected. One provision related to Douglas, namely, that he should be restored to the estates in England to which his father and uncle had right, or receive an equivalent.
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In 1374 Douglas is found styling himself Earl of Douglas and Mar, as he had obtained the latter title after the death of his brother-in-law Thomas, thirteenth Earl of Mar. The latter's sister, Margaret of Mar, Countess of Douglas, became in 1374 Countess of Mar in her own right, and the Earl of Douglas entered into possession of her estates, and also of the title of Mar. There is no doubt he held and used the double title to the end of his life, but by what tenure he held the title is doubtful, some stating that it was by the courtesy of Scotland, and others that he was created Earl of Mar.
Family Life
William married
Margaret of Mar, daughter of
Donald, Earl of Mar, around 1357.
Death
William Douglas died at
Castle Douglas of a fever around May 1384
Footnotes
[1] The Scots Peerage, by Sir James Balfour Paul, Volume 3, Edinburgh (1906); Douglas, Earl of Douglas (pages 132-185)
Abt 1327 - Abt 1384 (~ 57 years)