From
TSP1:
the first of his family to attain a position of power and influence in the government of Scotland, had a share in the negotiations for the release of James I. from captivity in England, and was knighted for his services. 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 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. The following few months witnessed a series of remarkable occurrences. Pear 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. On 3 August 1439 he
and his son James forcibly invaded her chamber in Stirling Castle, and had her removed to another room as a prisoner, while her husband and his brother William Stewart were also seized and confined in the castle dungeons. The Asloan MS says that Livingston put the Stewarts 'in pittis and bollit thaim.'
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. 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. 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, heir male 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. 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, the lands of Terrinterran, part of Kippen, Broominch, etc. 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
Footnotes
[1] The Scot's Peerage by James Balfour Paul; Livingston, Earl of Linlithgow; Volume 5, 1906, Pages 421-451
Abt 1375 - 1451 (~ 76 years)
(Age ~ 52 years)