Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 22.djvu/193

 Gordon to be carried by assault, and on account of the approach of winter he disbanded his forces and returned home. The following year Huntly obtained letters of fire and sword against Bothwell for an attack on Holyrood Palace, and as Bothwell escaped him he, it is said at the instigation of Maitland (History of James the Sext, p. 248), resolved to make use of the writ to take private vengeance on Moray, on the plea that he had sheltered Bothwell for a time in his castle of Donibristle in Fife. On the night of 8 Feb. 1591-2 he surrounded the castle, and having collected some sheaves from the neighbouring barnyard, piled them against the walls and set fire to the building. The sheriff of Moray was burned to death within; but the Earl of Moray, traditionally styled the ‘Bonnie Earl,’ a man of great strength, rushed out of the flames, and, striking down those who attempted to capture or slay him, made his escape to a neighbouring cave (, v. 144;, Memoirs, p. 89). Unfortunately, the flames had set on fire the silken plume of his helmet, and thus enabled his pursuers to trace him in the darkness to his hiding-place, where he was stabbed to death. Huntly struck him the last blow in the face with his dagger, whereupon Moray upbraided him with having spoilt a better face than his own (Ashton to Bowes, 8 Feb. 1591-2). The incident of Moray's murder is the theme of the old ballad, ‘The Bonnie Earl of Moray.’ The outrage provoked such an outburst of indignation that Huntly deemed it advisable to retire to his own dominions, but, having received a private assurance from the king (Letter printed in, v. 146-7), he had an interview with the king at Linlithgow, and on the understanding that he would incur no danger agreed to go into ward in Blackness Castle. This he did on 10 March, and on giving surety that he would appear to take his trial when called on he received his liberty on the 21st. Meantime the Earls of Argyll and Atholl with the Grants and Mackintoshes had taken vengeance on Huntly by ravaging his lands, and the king therefore appointed the Earl of Angus, lieutenant in the north, to bring matters into order. In December of the same year George Kerr, of the Newbottle family, when about to set out to the continent, was captured on the west coast with eight blank papers in his possession, afterwards known as the Spanish Blanks, to two of which Huntly's signature was attached. This led to a renewal against Huntly of the accusation of having entered into a treasonable correspondence with Spain, and he was summoned to appear at St. Andrews on 5 Feb. 1592-3. Instead of doing so he remained in his own dominions, and was therefore proclaimed a rebel. On 10 Feb. the king set out against him, and as soon as the king reached Aberdeen, Huntly retreated with a few followers to Caithness. The king's advance was made chiefly for the sake of appearances, and when the Countesses of Huntly and Erroll appeared before him he granted to them the keeping of ‘their own special houses and rents’ (History of James the Sext, p. 268). On 19 March Huntly was relaxed from the horn, and summoned to appear before parliament on 2 June. At a convention of the nobility held on 8 May the king sought ‘a whinger to throw at William Murray for comparing Huntly to Bothwell in wickedness’ (, v. 249). On 25 Sept. Huntly was excommunicated by the synod of Fife (ib. p. 263), but on 2 Nov. a royal proclamation was made that as he and others had craved trial, no one should ‘invade, trouble, or pursue them’ during the time of their trial (ib. p. 280). On the 26th they were declared free of the crime of trafficking with Spain, but were required to show their acceptance of the benefit of the edict by either, before 1 Feb. 1593-4, submitting to the church and renouncing popery, or leaving the kingdom (ib. p. 288). To this announcement no answer was returned by them, and at a parliament held in May 1594 they were attainted and their arms riven at the cross of Edinburgh (History of James the Sext, p. 330). These earls were subsequently joined in a conspiracy against the government by Bothwell, who had been expelled by Elizabeth from England. Huntly succeeded in gathering a large force in the north, commanded for the most part by officers who had gained their experience in the continental wars, while Bothwell undertook to make a diversion in the south, and if the opportunity offered to imprison the king and seize the young prince (heads of the band printed in, v. 360-1). At the special request of the presbyterian clergy, Argyll [see Campbell, Archibald (1576?-1638) (DNB00), seventh earl] undertook to lead his followers against those of Huntly, and with an army of six thousand men marched towards Strathbogie. Huntly and Erroll waited for him with a force numbering only about one-third of his, but much better disciplined and officered. Huntly was an experienced commander, and Argyll was a raw youth of about eighteen. Campbell of Lochnell, who commanded a division of Argyll's army, was also in secret communication with Huntly. The two armies met on 4 Oct. 1594. Lochnell's retreat at a critical moment destroyed Argyll's chance of victory. Huntly Rh