Walter fitz Gilbert of Cadzow
Encyclopedia
Sir Walter fitz Gilbert of Cadzow, 1st Laird of Cadzow (died ca. 1346) 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. The son of Gilbert fitz William of Hameldone, and an unknown wife, possibly Isabelle Randolph. He is the first historically confirmed progenitor of the House of Hamilton, which includes the Dukes of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that Peerage , and as such its holder is the Premier Peer of Scotland, as well as being head of both the House of Hamilton and the House of Douglas...

, Dukes of Abercorn
Duke of Abercorn
The title Duke of Abercorn was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn.This article also covers the Earls and Marquesses of Abercorn, all named after Abercorn, West Lothian, in Scotland.-History:...

 and Earls of Haddington
Earl of Haddington
Earl of Haddington is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1627 for the noted Scottish lawyer and judge Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Melrose. He was Lord President of the Court of Session from 1616 to 1625...

.

Umfraville or Beaumont?

There is some confusion as to the ancestry of his grandfather William de Hameldone, who could, it has been argued, be descended from the Umfraville
Umfraville
Umfraville, the name of an English baronial family, derived from Amfreville in Normandy. Members of this family obtained lands in Northumberland, including Redesdale and Prudhoe, from the Norman kings, and a later member, Gilbert de Umfraville , married Matilda, daughter of Malcolm, earl of Angus,...

 family of Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

, or the Beaumont
House of Beaumont
The Norman family of Beaumont was one of the great baronial Anglo-Norman families which became rooted in England after the Norman conquest.Roger de Beaumont, lord of Pont-Audemer, of Beaumont-le-Roger, of Brionne and of Vatteville, was too old to fight at Hastings, staying in Normandy to govern...

 Earls of Leicester
Earl of Leicester
The title Earl of Leicester was created in the 12th century in the Peerage of England , and is currently a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1837.-Early creations:...

. Both assertions are based on armorial evidence (both families used Cinquefoils in their arms), and references to various Hamilton place-names in Northumberland and Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

. The Leicester connection is considered more likely as Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester was an English nobleman, one of the principal followers of Henry the Young King in the Revolt of 1173–1174 against his father Henry II...

 is known to have had a son William.

Documentary evidence

Walter fitz Gilbert first appears as a witness to a charter 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:...

 granting land to the monks of Paisley Abbey
Paisley Abbey
Paisley Abbey is a former Cluniac monastery, and current Church of Scotland parish kirk, located on the east bank of the White Cart Water in the centre of the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, in west central Scotland.-History:...

 in 1294, and also later in the year in another granting land to the same establishment. The other signatories were all minor landowners in Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...

.
Fitz Gilbert was present at Berwick Castle
Berwick Castle
Berwick Castle is a ruined castle in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England.The castle was founded in the 12th century by the Scottish King David I. In 1296-8, the English King Edward I had the castle rebuilt and the town fortified, before it was returned to Scotland...

 to sign the Ragman Roll, alongside the majority of other Scots Nobility, at the behest of Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...

. He is styled on that document as "Wauter fiz Gilbert de Hameldone".

The arms of fitz Gilbert are represented on the Bute Mazer
Bute mazer
The Bute Mazer, also known as the Bannatyne Mazer is a medieval communal feasting cup of a type known as a mazer. Dating to around 1320, it is the oldest Scottish mazer still surviving. The cup has long been associated with the Isle of Bute, on the west coast of Scotland...

, a drinking cup exhibited in the National Museum of Scotland
National Museum of Scotland
The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the Royal Museum next door, with collections covering science and technology, natural history, and world...

, that been dated to soon after Bannockburn, and was possibly commissioned by him.

Wars of Scottish Independence

During the risings of William Wallace
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence....

, and later Robert the Bruce, Walter fitz Gilbert remained loyal to the English party, holding lands in Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

 of King Edward. By 1314 he was constable of Bothwell Castle
Bothwell Castle
Bothwell Castle is a large medieval castle sited on a high, steep bank, above a bend in the River Clyde, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located between Uddingston and Bothwell, about south-east of Glasgow. Construction of the castle was begun in the 13th century by the ancestors of Clan...

 in South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages....

. Following the defeat of 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...

 at the Battle of Bannockburn
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn was a significant Scottish victory in the Wars of Scottish Independence...

, numerous fleeing English noblemen sought refuge there, including the Earl of Hertford. A detachment of the Scots army, under King Robert's brother Edward Bruce
Edward Bruce
Edward the Bruce , sometimes modernised Edward of Bruce, was a younger brother of King Robert I of Scotland, who supported his brother in the struggle for the crown of Scotland, then pursued his own claim in Ireland. He was proclaimed High King of Ireland, but was eventually defeated and killed in...

 arrived at Bothwell and demanded that the castle and its occupants yield, Fitz Gilbert complied and surrendered the castle and left Hertford and his retinue to their fate.

Later life

Joining the Bruce party, Walter fitz Gilbert was granted lands of Dalserf
Dalserf
Dalserf is a small village and civil parish in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on the River Clyde east of Larkhall and south east of Hamilton. As of 2006, its population is 52...

, previously owned by the Comyn
Comyn
Comyn can refer to:* Clan Comyn, another name for Clan Cumming.People* Dan Comyn, an Irish cricketer.* Stephen George Comyn, Naval chaplain to Lord Nelson* Valens Comyn, English MP* William Leslie Comyn, Californian shipbuilder...

 faction, and was later rewarded with the barony of Cadzow and Cadzow Castle
Cadzow Castle
Cadzow Castle, now in ruins, was constructed between 1500 and 1550 on the site of an earlier royal castle, one mile south-east of the centre of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The town of Hamilton was formerly known as Cadzow or Cadyou , until renamed in 1455 in honour of James Hamilton, 1st...

 on the banks of the Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....

. He was a Justice of Lanark
Lanark
Lanark is a small town in the central belt of Scotland. Its population of 8,253 makes it the 100th largest settlement in Scotland. The name is believed to come from the Cumbric Lanerc meaning "clear space, glade"....

 in 1321, and was knighted the following year. In 1323 he was granted the lands of Kinneil
Kinneil House
Kinneil House is a historic house to the west of Bo'ness in east-central Scotland. It was once the principal seat of the Hamilton family in the east of Scotland. The house was saved from demolition in 1936 when 16th-century mural paintings were discovered, and it is now in the care of Historic...

, Larbert
Larbert
Larbert is a small town in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley above the River Carron which flows from the west. Larbert is 3 miles from the shoreline of the Firth of Forth and 2.5 miles northwest of Falkirk, the main town in the area...

 and Auldcathy
Winchburgh
Winchburgh is a village situated within the geographical county of West Lothian, Scotland. It is located approximately west of the city-centre of Edinburgh, east of Linlithgow and northeast of Broxburn.-Public transport:...

 in present day West Lothian, and Kirkcowan
Kirkcowan
Kirkcowan is a village and parish in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.It is situated in the north of the Machars peninsula, about 7 miles south south west of Newton Stewart....

 in Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire
Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown is a registration county in the Southern Uplands of south west Scotland. Until 1975, the county was one of the administrative counties used for local government purposes, and is now administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway...

.

Walter fitz Gilbert was present at the Battle of Halidon Hill
Battle of Halidon Hill
The Battle of Halidon Hill was fought during the Second War of Scottish Independence. Scottish forces under Sir Archibald Douglas were heavily defeated on unfavourable terrain while trying to relieve Berwick-upon-Tweed.-The Disinherited:...

 in 1333, fighting in the division of the High Steward, (later 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...

), but is thought to have escaped the carnage there. There is little else heard of him. He died prior to 1346, when his son David fought at the Battle of Neville's Cross
Battle of Neville's Cross
The Battle of Neville's Cross took place to the west of Durham, England on 17 October 1346.-Background:In 1346, England was embroiled in the Hundred Years' War with France. In order to divert his enemy Philip VI of France appealed to David II of Scotland to attack the English from the north in...

 as Laird of Cadzow.

Marriage and issue

Walter fitz Gilbert married Mary Gordon, daughter of Sir Adam Gordon of that Ilk, ancestor of the Earls of Huntly. By her he had two sons:
  • David fitz Walter of Cadzow
    David fitz Walter of Cadzow
    Sir David fitz Walter of Cadzow or David fitz Walter fitz Gilbert de Hameldone, 2nd Laird of Cadzow was a Scottish nobleman....

    , Ancestor of the Dukes of Hamilton and Dukes of Abercorn
  • John fitz Walter, Ancestor of the Earls of Haddington and the Hamiltons of Innerwick
    Innerwick
    Innerwick is a coastal civil parish and small village, which lies in the east of East Lothian, from Dunbar and approximately from Edinburgh....


Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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