Archibald of Douglas was a Scottish

Kingdom of Scotland

The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...

 Nobleman. He was the son of William of Douglas

William I, Lord of Douglas

William of Douglas was a medieval nobleman of Flemish origin living in Clydesdale, an area under the control of the King of the Scots.-Enigmatic origins:...

.

The earliest attestation of his existence is in a charter of confirmation dated prior to 1198. This charter of Jocelin, Bishop of Glasgow, granted the rights of a toft in Glasgow to Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey is a Gothic-style abbey in Melrose, Scotland. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks, on the request of King David I of Scotland. It was headed by the Abbot or Commendator of Melrose. Today the abbey is maintained by Historic Scotland...

. Archibald's name appears between that of Alan, High Steward of Scotland

Alan fitz Walter, 2nd High Steward of Scotland

Alan fitz Walter was hereditary High Steward of Scotland and a crusader.Alan was the eldest son of Walter fitz Alan by his spouse Eschyna de Londoniis, of Molla & Huntlaw, and succeeded, upon his father's death in 1177, as High Steward of Scotland.Alan fitz Walter accompanied Richard the Lionheart...

 and Robert de Montgomery. Also before 1198, Archibald appears in another document, in which he resigns the lands of Hailes

Hailes Castle

Hailes Castle is a mainly 14th century castle about a mile and a half south west of East Linton, East Lothian, Scotland. This castle, which has a fine riverside setting, belonged to the Hepburn family during the most important centuries of its existence....

 held by him of the Abbey of Dunfermline, to Robert of Restalrig. Between 1214 and 1226, Archibald acquired the use of the lands of Hermiston and Livingston, with Maol Choluim I, Earl of Fife

Maol Choluim I, Earl of Fife

Mormaer Máel Coluim of Fife , or Maol Choluim anglicised as Malcolm, was one of the more obscure mormaers of Fife.He married Matilda, the daughter of Gille Brigte, the mormaer of Strathearn. He is credited with the foundation of Culross Abbey...

 as his feudal superior. Archibald of Douglas must have been knighted before 1226 as he appears in another charter as Dominus de Douglas in that year. Archibald de Douglas appears as a signatory to several royal charters following 1226, and he appears to have spent a considerable time in Moray

Moray

Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...

 as episcopal charters of his brother Bricius de Douglas show.
He was in the retinue of the King Alexander II

Alexander II of Scotland

Alexander II was King of Scots from1214 to his death.-Early life:...

, at Selkirk, in 1238 when the title Earl of Lennox

Earl of Lennox

The Mormaer of Lennox or Earl of Lennox was the ruler of the long-lasting provincial Mormaerdom/Earldom of Lennox in the Medieval Kingdom of the Scots. The first Mormaer is usually regarded as Ailin I , but the genealogy of the Mormaers gives earlier names...

 was regranted to Maol Domhnaich of Lennox

Maol Domhnaich, Earl of Lennox

Mormaer Maol Domhnaich was the son of Mormaer Ailín II, and ruled Lennox 1217–1250.Like his predecessor Ailín II, he showed absolutely no interest in extending an inviting hand to oncoming French or English settlers...

. Douglas disappears from historical record after 1239 and it is presumed that he died about this time.

Marriage and issue

Archibald of Douglas is thought to have married Margaret, daughter of Sir John Crawford of Crawfordjohn

Crawfordjohn

Crawfordjohn is a small village and civil parish located in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.It is west of Abington and north east of Leadhills, near junction 13 of the M74. It lies to the north of the Duneaton Water, a tributary of the River Clyde. It is known for the manufacture of curling stones....

 and had issue:

• William of Douglas
  William Longleg, Lord of Douglas
  William, Lord of Douglas , known as Longleg, was a Scoto-Norman nobleman.The years of the minority of King Alexander III featured an embittered struggle for the control of affairs between two rival parties, the one led by the nationalistic Walter Comyn, Earl of Menteith, the other by pro-English...
  
   (c.1220–c.1274)
• Andrew Douglas of Hermiston, progenitor
  Ancestor
  An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
  
   of the Lords of Dalkeith & Earls of Morton
  Earl of Morton
  The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir to the Earl of Morton....
  
   and Lords of Mains
  Douglas of Mains
  The Douglases of Mains are a branch of the Clan Douglas, related to the Lords of Douglas through Archibald I, Lord of Douglas. The first Laird obtained land through marriage into the Galbraith family, which had been granted land in New Kilpatrick by Maldowen, Earl of Lennox...
  
  .

Sources

• Maxwell, Sir Herbert. A History of the House of Douglas. London 1902
• Balfour Paul, Sir James
  James Balfour Paul
  Sir James Balfour Paul, KCVO was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926....
  
  . The Scots Peerage IX Vols. Edinburgh 1907
• Fraser, Sir William
  William Fraser (historian)
  Sir William Fraser, KCB, was a solicitor and notable expert in ancient Scottish history, palaeography, and genealogy....
  
  . The Douglas Book IV Vols. Edinburgh 1885