Page:The Complete Peerage Ed 1 Vol 5.djvu/301

 MENTEITH. 299 sworn fealty to King Edward III. he suffered death as a traitor in Feb. 1346/7. He (/. s.p.m. The Countess was living 16 Aug. 1352,!") and nut improbably as late 1300.('>) tho' .lead before 1381, XI. 13G0? 11. Margaret, mm jure Countess of Men- tkith FS.J only du. and h. She m. firstly (dispensation 21 Nov. 134S), John Moray, of Rothwell. who d. s.p. 1.352. She m. seeondly (disp. 15 Aug. 1352, and again 135-1), Thomas, Earl OK MaR [S.] from whom she was divorced in or before 1360 or 1361. She, or possibly her mother( 1 ') had dispensation IS April 1360 to marry (and pardon for having" dim "contracted marriage with) John Drkmmond. Finally!' 1 ) shehad dispensation i) Sep. 1361 to marry Robert Stewart, afterwards Earl or Vm: and Duke ok Albany [S.], and sometime Regent of Scotland. To him who d. 3 Sep. 141.°, she was first wife. "1 ; XII. 13901 to 1425. 7 J. MuRDocn (Stewart), Earl of Mexteitid s. and h. : sue. his mother in that dignity. He, subse- quently, 3 Sep. 1119, sue. his father as Dukk ok Albany, &C- [S.], and as Regent of Scotland. He was beheaded H May 1435, when, having been attainted, all his honours were forfeited. V CI 9 3 XIII. 1425, 1. Malise (Graham), Earl of Stratiiern [S.], only s. or and h. of Enpbemia, sun jure Countess ok Strathern [S.J, by Sir 1427. Patrick Graham, (°) who jure uxoris was (1406), Earl ok Strathern, which Euphemia, was da. and h. of David (Stewart), Earl of Strathkhn [S.], the older of the two sous by the second wife(') of King Robert II. [S.] He sue. his father 10 Aug. 1413, but was a minor as late as 1425, about which time he was divested^) of the Earklom of Strathern [S.], by King James I. [S.] (on the ground that it was a male fee) and, was cr. EARL OF MENTEITH [§.], obtaining (•) See note " d," next following. ( h ) The arguments that it was she (and not her da. , Margaret), who m. (dispensa- tion and pardon for having formerly ["olim"] contracted marriage, dated IS April 1360), John Drummond (the word "Margaret" being conjectured to be a misprint for " Mary ") are very ably put forward by " Sigma " in " N. and Q.," 7th s. X, 163, where is quoted a charter, 30 March 1372, of King Robert II. [S.J continuing (Rcy. Mai). Sii/., 113, 3), the donation which " Maria, Comitissa de Menteth, fecit et con- cessit Joh'ni de Dromond ; " a donatiou more likely to be made on her men marriage than on the third re-marriage of her daughter. (°) Sec note "b" next above. ( d ) In the four dispensations the lady is thus (severally) described, viz., (1) In 134S as Margaret, da. of John Graham, Earl of Meuteith. (2) In 1352 as Margaret, widow of John de Moravia, while (3 and 4) in 1360 and 1361, she is called Margaret, Countess of Menteith. Mr. Burnett (Exeh. Rolls [S.], vol. iv. clxxvclxxvii), argues, therefrom, her succession to her mother Mary, in that Earldom as being between 1352 and 1360. (°) He was yr. bf. of the half blood of Sir William Grahaui, of Kincardine, cr. about 1415, Lord Graham who was ancestor of the Earls and Dukes of Montrose IS.] (f) The questionable legitimacy of that King's children by his Urst wife, gave the heir of line of the second marriage a not implausible pretext for a claim to the throne and was the cause of constant jealousy between them and the reigning family, the issue of thejirst marriage. See p. 301, note ". a." (R) This unjust deprivation is usually said to have been one of the causes of the assassination of King James I. [S.j, and it is said that when King James VI. [S.J, was solicited to bestow the Earldom of Stratiiern he replied " that he had nothing else for the murder of King James I." See some interesting remarks thereon in appendix vi. (pp. xiv-.w.) of ir Harris Nicolas's " Earldoms of Strathern, Mouteith and Airth."