Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland
Encyclopedia
Walter Stewart was the 6th hereditary High Steward of Scotland
High Steward of Scotland
The title of High Steward or Great Steward was given in the 12th century to Walter Fitzalan, whose descendants became the House of Stewart. In 1371, the last High Steward inherited the throne, and thereafter the title of High Steward of Scotland has been held as a subsidiary title to that of Duke...

. He was also the father of King Robert II of Scotland
Robert II of Scotland
Robert II became King of Scots in 1371 as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. He was the son of Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I and of his first wife Isabella of Mar...

.

Biography

He was the son of James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland
James Stewart, 5th High Steward of Scotland
James, 5th High Steward of Scotland was High Steward of Scotland and a Guardian of Scotland during the First Interregnum.-Birth and ancestry:...

  by his spouse Cecilia, daughter of Patrick Dunbar, 7th Earl of Dunbar
Patrick Dunbar, 7th Earl of Dunbar
Patrick III, 7th Earl of Dunbar was lord of the feudal barony of Dunbar and its castle, which dominated East Lothian, and the most important military personage in the Scottish Borders.-Background:...

 and Marjory, daughter of Alexander Comyn, 2nd Earl of Buchan.

Walter fought on the Scottish side at the Battle of Bannockburn
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence...

 in 1314 commanding, with Douglas, the left wing of the Scots' Army. According to another version of events, he was the nominal leader of one of the four Scottish schiltron
Schiltron
A sheltron is a compact body of troops forming a battle array, shield wall or phalanx....

s, but because of his youth and inexperience, its effective leader was his cousin James Douglas, Lord of Douglas
James Douglas, Lord of Douglas
Sir James Douglas , , was a Scottish soldier and knight who fought in the Scottish Wars of Independence.-Early life:...

. This is, however, disputed, as some claim that there were only three Scottish schiltrons at Bannockburn.

Upon the liberation of Robert The Bruce's wife and daughter from their long captivity in England, the High Steward was sent to receive them at the Border and conduct them back to the Scottish Court.

During The Bruce's absence in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 the High Steward and Sir James Douglas managed government affairs and spent much time defending the Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...

. Upon the capture of Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....

 from the English in 1318 he got command of the town which, on 24 July 1319 was laid siege to by King Edward II of England
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...

. Several of the siege engines were destroyed by the Scots' garrison and the Steward suddenly rushed in force from the town to beat off the enemy. In 1322, with Douglas and Randolph, he made an attempt to surprise the English King at Byland Abbey
Byland Abbey
Byland Abbey is a ruined abbey and a small village in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England at .-History:It was founded as a Savigniac abbey in January 1135 and was absorbed by the Cistercian order in 1147. It wasn't an easy start for the community who had had to move five times before...

, near Malton
Malton, North Yorkshire
Malton is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The town is the location of the offices of Ryedale District Council and has a population of around 4,000 people....

, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

. Edward, however, escaped, pursued towards York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

 by The Steward and 500 horsemen.

Walter, Steward of Scotland, made a charter to John St. Clair, his valet, of the lands of Maxton, Roxburghshire
Maxton, Roxburghshire
Maxton is a hamlet and civil parish in Roxburghshire, Scotland, and part of the Scottish Borders region.Maxton lies just off the A68, south of St. Boswells, north of Ancrum, and east of Newtown St. BoswellsMaxton is part of the St...

, circa 1320/1326, one of the witnesses being "Roberto de Lauwedir (Robert de Lauder) tunc justiciario Laudonie" (Justiciar of Lothian
Justiciar of Lothian
The Justiciar of Lothian was an important legal office in the High Medieval Kingdom of Scotland.The Justiciars of Lothian were responsible for the administration of royal justice in the province of Lothian, a much larger area than the modern Lothian, covering Scotland south of the Forth and Clyde,...

).

Family and issue

Walter married, in 1315, Marjorie
Marjorie Bruce
Marjorie Bruce or Marjorie de Brus was the eldest daughter of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots by his first wife, Isabella of Mar, and the founder of the Stewart dynasty. Her marriage to Walter, High Steward of Scotland gave rise to the House of Stewart...

, only daughter of Robert I of Scotland
Robert I of Scotland
Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...

 by his first wife Isabella of Mar
Isabella of Mar
Isabella of Mar was the first wife of Robert the Bruce and the grandmother of Robert II of Scotland, founder of the royal House of Stuart...

. The Lordship of Largs
Largs
Largs is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" in Scottish Gaelic....

, forfeited by John Balliol, was bestowed upon Walter by Robert the Bruce, who also granted the Farme Castle
Farme Castle
Farme Castle was located in Rutherglen, to the south-west of Glasgow, Scotland. It stood east of Farme Cross where the A724 meets the A749 trunk road. The castle keep acted as one corner of a courtyard, formed by an extension in the form of a castellated mansion. High walls and subsidiary...

 estate in Rutherglen
Rutherglen
Rutherglen is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. In 1975, it lost its own local council and administratively became a component of the City of Glasgow. In 1996 Rutherglen was reallocated to the South Lanarkshire council area.-History:...

 to him, as well as other lands and the feudal barony of Bathgate
Bathgate
Bathgate is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, on the M8 motorway west of Livingston. Nearby towns are Blackburn, Armadale, Whitburn, Livingston, and Linlithgow. Edinburgh Airport is away...

, Linlithgowshire. Walter and Marjorie had one son:
  • Robert II of Scotland
    Robert II of Scotland
    Robert II became King of Scots in 1371 as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. He was the son of Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I and of his first wife Isabella of Mar...



Walter later married Isabel de Graham, daughter of Sir John Graham of Abercorn and Mary of Strathearn. They had three children:
  • John Stewart of Ralston
  • Andrew Stewart
  • Egidia Stewart. She married 1) James Lindsay of Cranson 2) Hugh Eglinton of Ardrossan 3) James Douglas of Dalkeith and Arbroath (widower of Agnes Dunbar).

Ancestry



Further reading

  • Burke, Messrs., John and John Bernard, The Royal Families of England Scotland and Wales, with Their Descendants &c., London, 1848, volume 1, pedigree LXVIII, and volume 2 (1851) page xlvi.
  • Clay, John W., FSA., editor, The Visitation of Cambridge, 1575 and 1619 by Henery St.George, Richmond Herald
    Richmond Herald
    Richmond Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms of the College of Arms in England. From 1421 to 1485 Richmond was a herald to John, Duke of Bedford, George, Duke of Clarence, and Henry, Earl of Richmond, all of whom held the Honour of Richmond...

    , Harleian Society
    Harleian Society
    The Harleian Society was founded in 1869 for the purpose of publishing manuscripts of the heraldic visitations of the counties of England and Wales, and other unpublished manuscripts relating to genealogy, armory, and heraldry in its widest sense...

    , London, 1897, pps: 7 - 11.
  • Dunbar, Sir Archibald H., Bt., Scottish Kings, a Revised Chronology of Scottish History, 1005 - 1625, Edinburgh, 1899, pps: 126 - 144.
  • Louda, Jiri, & Maclagan, Michael, Lines of Succession, London, 1981.
  • Weis, Frederick Lewis, et all, The Magna Charta Sureties 1215, 5th edition, Baltimore, 2002, p.50.
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