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Source: Wikisource: Dictionary of National Biography part II

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Titre	Wikisource: Dictionary of National Biography part II

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ROBERT II King of Scotland RS02 RB01

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[Acts of Parliament (Scotland), vol. i.; Exchequer Rolls, vols. i. ii.; and specially Burnett's Prefaces, Wyntoun's Chronicle; Bower's addition to Fordun's Scotichronicon; John Major's Greater Britain (Scottish History Society, Edinburgh); Extracta e variis Chronicis Scocie; Liber Pluscardensis. Pinkerton and Tytler are the best modern historians of this period. Andrew Stewart's History of the Stewarts discusses, in a supplement, the question of the marriage of Elizabeth Mure, and prints the dispensation.]

[Acts of Parliament (Scotland), vol. i.; Exchequer Rolls, vols. i. ii.; and specially Burnett's Prefaces, Wyntoun's Chronicle; Bower's addition to Fordun's Scotichronicon; John Major's Greater Britain (Scottish History Society, Edinburgh); Extracta e variis Chronicis Scocie; Liber Pluscardensis. Pinkerton and Tytler are the best modern historians of this period. Andrew Stewart's History of the Stewarts discusses, in a supplement, the question of the marriage of Elizabeth Mure, and prints the dispensation.]

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There had been comparative peace between England and Scotland till the succession of Richard II in 1377. Border raids, the capture of Mercer, a Scottish merchant captain, and the seizure of Berwick by a small band of independent Scots in the end of 1378, led to the renewal of hostilities. Robert himself, however, took no part in the war, which was conducted by the Earls of Douglas, Moray, and Mar. In 1380 John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, advanced to the border with a large force, but with full power to make peace, and a truce for a year was concluded. Next year he came to Scotland, and carried on further negotiations with the Earl of Carrick near Ayton in Berwickshire. It is significant that the whole negotiations with John of Gaunt were carried through by the Earl of Carrick, whose father, the king, is never once mentioned. The murder in 1381 of the king's son-in-law, Lyon of Glamis, by his nephew, Sir James Lindsay of Crawford, opened the great office of chamberlain, which Lyon held, to the king's second son Robert, earl of Fife, and was the first step in his ambitious career. In 1385 the truce with England expired, and war was renewed on both sides, Lancaster sailing up the Forth as far as Edinburgh, but effecting nothing of importance, while the Earls of Northumberland and Nottingham crossed the border. The Earls of Mar and Douglas, along with some French knights, retaliated in the north of England. ‘Of this journey,’ says Froissart, ‘the kynge of Scottes might ryght well excuse hymselfe, for of their assemble nor of their departyng he knew nothing, and though he had known thereof he coulde not have let it when they were once onward.’ In the parliament which met in Edinburgh in spring 1385 the Earl of Carrick was directed to carry out the restoration of order in the highlands committed to him by the parliament of 1384. All the facts point to the bodily and perhaps mental decline of Robert II. When Vienne, the admiral of France, came with a force of two thousand men and 1,400 suits of armour for the Scots, to enable them to prosecute with vigour the war with England, Robert did not at first meet him; and when he came at last to Edinburgh the French observation of him, as reported by Froissart, was: ‘It seemed right well that he was not a valiant man in arms; it seemed he had rather lie still than ride.’ But many of the Scottish nobles, as well as French allies, were eager to fight, and a levy was fixed on which amounted to thirty thousand men. Robert, perhaps really averse to war, as well as physically incapable for it, retired to the highlands, ‘because he was not,’ says Froissart, ‘in good point to ride in warfare, and there he tarried all the war through, and let his men alone.’ Neither in this expedition, nor in the defence of his kingdom when Richard II invaded it and burnt Edinburgh, nor in Sir William Douglas's brilliant diversion by a descent on Ireland, nor in the still greater expedition of 1388, in which the victory of Otterbourne and the capture of Hotspur were dearly bought with the death of Douglas, did the aged monarch take any part; and it is improbable that it was owing to any influence he personally exerted that shortly before his death Scotland was included in the truce made at Boulogne between France and England. At last, in 1389, the estates saw that the nominal government of Robert must be ended, and his eldest son, the Earl of Carrick, being disabled by a kick from a horse, his next surviving son, Robert, duke of Albany, was named guardian of the kingdom. Albany's son Murdoch was soon afterwards made justiciar north of the Forth in place of his uncle, Alexander, the Wolf of Badenoch, who was deposed from the office. Robert did not long survive his deposition. He died on 13 May 1390, in his seventy-fifth year, at Dundonald in Ayrshire, and was buried at Scone in a tomb he had prepared. It is not quite easy to understand the panegyric which almost all Scottish historians, except John Major [q. v.], have pronounced on Robert II. It seems to have been due in part to his early successes, in part to amiable personal qualities, but chiefly perhaps to the fact that at the close of his reign, as Wyntoun—or rather his substitute, for he did not write this part of the ‘Chronicle’—puts it: Of Scotland wes na fute of land Oute of Scottis mennys hand, Outane Berwyck, Roxburgh, and Jedwurth. Yet the credit was not due to him, but to the able generals who fought for him. Even the successes of his younger days were generally shared by others, like his earlier regencies. Major's sound judgment seems to suit the facts better than the traditionary verdict: ‘Now, whatever our writers may contend, I cannot hold the aged king to have been a skilful warrior or wise in counsel.’ He especially condemns the making of the Earl of Fife regent, which was ‘nought else than to run the risk of setting up two rival kings.’ But it appears probable that the preference given to the brother over the son of Robert II was due not to the king's own act, but to the powerlessness both of Robert and the Earl of Carrick to prevent it. There is a portrait of Robert II in John Johnston's ‘Icones of the Scottish Kings,’ Amsterdam, 1602, and in Pinkerton's ‘Iconographia Scotica.’ Pinkerton doubts its authenticity, and there is a suspicious resemblance, almost amounting to identity of feature, between this portrait and that of Robert III in the same work. Although neither portrait is proved authentic, the costume is that worn at this period, and the features have some resemblance to the faces on the coins of these reigns. Robert II married in the end of 1347, or soon after, Elizabeth More or Mure, daughter of Sir Robert Mure of Rowallan. A dispensation for the marriage, dated in December 1347 by Clement VI, was discovered by Andrew Stuart in 1789. Robert had lived with Elizabeth Mure before marriage, for the dispensation sets forth that they had ‘a multitude’ of children of both sexes. Those known were John, lord of Kyle, created earl of Carrick, who succeeded his father as Robert III [q. v.]; Walter, earl of Fife; Robert, earl of Menteith and, after his brother Walter's death, of Fife, and duke of Albany, the regent [see Stewart, Robert, first Duke of Albany]; and Alexander, earl of Buchan, the Wolf of Badenoch [see Stewart, Alexander, d. 1405]. Robert II also had six daughters: Marjory, wife of John Dunbar, son of the Earl of March, himself created Earl of Murray; Jean, wife of Sir John Lyon, lord Glamis; Elizabeth, wife of Sir Thomas Hay of Errol; Margaret, wife of Macdonald of Isla; Catherine or Jean, wife of David Lindsay, first earl of Crawford [q. v.]; and Giles, wife of William Douglas, lord of Nithsdale, who was deemed the most beautiful Scotswoman of her time. After Elizabeth Mure's death, and before 1356, Robert married as second wife Euphemia, daughter of Hugh, earl of Ross, and widow of John Randolph, third earl of Moray [q. v.], by whom he had David, earl of Strathearn; Walter, earl of Atholl [see Stewart, Walter]; and Isobel, wife of James, earl of Douglas. Besides these he had at least six natural children, among whom were Sir John Stewart of Rowallan, called The Black; and Sir John Stewart of Dundonald, called The Red Stewart. The numerous alliances of Robert II's children with the chief noble families, as in the case of Robert the Bruce himself, probably strengthened his claim to the throne, but after his accession led to discord which he was unable to control.

There had been comparative peace between England and Scotland till the succession of Richard II in 1377. Border raids, the capture of Mercer, a Scottish merchant captain, and the seizure of Berwick by a small band of independent Scots in the end of 1378, led to the renewal of hostilities. Robert himself, however, took no part in the war, which was conducted by the Earls of Douglas, Moray, and Mar. In 1380 John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, advanced to the border with a large force, but with full power to make peace, and a truce for a year was concluded. Next year he came to Scotland, and carried on further negotiations with the Earl of Carrick near Ayton in Berwickshire. It is significant that the whole negotiations with John of Gaunt were carried through by the Earl of Carrick, whose father, the king, is never once mentioned. The murder in 1381 of the king's son-in-law, Lyon of Glamis, by his nephew, Sir James Lindsay of Crawford, opened the great office of chamberlain, which Lyon held, to the king's second son Robert, earl of Fife, and was the first step in his ambitious career. In 1385 the truce with England expired, and war was renewed on both sides, Lancaster sailing up the Forth as far as Edinburgh, but effecting nothing of importance, while the Earls of Northumberland and Nottingham crossed the border. The Earls of Mar and Douglas, along with some French knights, retaliated in the north of England. ‘Of this journey,’ says Froissart, ‘the kynge of Scottes might ryght well excuse hymselfe, for of their assemble nor of their departyng he knew nothing, and though he had known thereof he coulde not have let it when they were once onward.’ In the parliament which met in Edinburgh in spring 1385 the Earl of Carrick was directed to carry out the restoration of order in the highlands committed to him by the parliament of 1384. All the facts point to the bodily and perhaps mental decline of Robert II. When Vienne, the admiral of France, came with a force of two thousand men and 1,400 suits of armour for the Scots, to enable them to prosecute with vigour the war with England, Robert did not at first meet him; and when he came at last to Edinburgh the French observation of him, as reported by Froissart, was: ‘It seemed right well that he was not a valiant man in arms; it seemed he had rather lie still than ride.’ But many of the Scottish nobles, as well as French allies, were eager to fight, and a levy was fixed on which amounted to thirty thousand men. Robert, perhaps really averse to war, as well as physically incapable for it, retired to the highlands, ‘because he was not,’ says Froissart, ‘in good point to ride in warfare, and there he tarried all the war through, and let his men alone.’

Neither in this expedition, nor in the defence of his kingdom when Richard II invaded it and burnt Edinburgh, nor in Sir William Douglas's brilliant diversion by a descent on Ireland, nor in the still greater expedition of 1388, in which the victory of Otterbourne and the capture of Hotspur were dearly bought with the death of Douglas, did the aged monarch take any part; and it is improbable that it was owing to any influence he personally exerted that shortly before his death Scotland was included in the truce made at Boulogne between France and England. At last, in 1389, the estates saw that the nominal government of Robert must be ended, and his eldest son, the Earl of Carrick, being disabled by a kick from a horse, his next surviving son, Robert, duke of Albany, was named guardian of the kingdom. Albany's son Murdoch was soon afterwards made justiciar north of the Forth in place of his uncle, Alexander, the Wolf of Badenoch, who was deposed from the office. Robert did not long survive his deposition. He died on 13 May 1390, in his seventy-fifth year, at Dundonald in Ayrshire, and was buried at Scone in a tomb he had prepared.

It is not quite easy to understand the panegyric which almost all Scottish historians, except John Major [q. v.], have pronounced on Robert II. It seems to have been due in part to his early successes, in part to amiable personal qualities, but chiefly perhaps to the fact that at the close of his reign, as Wyntoun—or rather his substitute, for he did not write this part of the ‘Chronicle’—puts it:

Of Scotland wes na fute of land
Oute of Scottis mennys hand,
Outane Berwyck, Roxburgh, and Jedwurth.
Yet the credit was not due to him, but to the able generals who fought for him. Even the successes of his younger days were generally shared by others, like his earlier regencies. Major's sound judgment seems to suit the facts better than the traditionary verdict: ‘Now, whatever our writers may contend, I cannot hold the aged king to have been a skilful warrior or wise in counsel.’ He especially condemns the making of the Earl of Fife regent, which was ‘nought else than to run the risk of setting up two rival kings.’ But it appears probable that the preference given to the brother over the son of Robert II was due not to the king's own act, but to the powerlessness both of Robert and the Earl of Carrick to prevent it. There is a portrait of Robert II in John Johnston's ‘Icones of the Scottish Kings,’ Amsterdam, 1602, and in Pinkerton's ‘Iconographia Scotica.’ Pinkerton doubts its authenticity, and there is a suspicious resemblance, almost amounting to identity of feature, between this portrait and that of Robert III in the same work. Although neither portrait is proved authentic, the costume is that worn at this period, and the features have some resemblance to the faces on the coins of these reigns.

Robert II married in the end of 1347, or soon after, Elizabeth More or Mure, daughter of Sir Robert Mure of Rowallan. A dispensation for the marriage, dated in December 1347 by Clement VI, was discovered by Andrew Stuart in 1789. Robert had lived with Elizabeth Mure before marriage, for the dispensation sets forth that they had ‘a multitude’ of children of both sexes. Those known were John, lord of Kyle, created earl of Carrick, who succeeded his father as Robert III [q. v.]; Walter, earl of Fife; Robert, earl of Menteith and, after his brother Walter's death, of Fife, and duke of Albany, the regent [see Stewart, Robert, first Duke of Albany]; and Alexander, earl of Buchan, the Wolf of Badenoch [see Stewart, Alexander, d. 1405].

Robert II also had six daughters: Marjory, wife of John Dunbar, son of the Earl of March, himself created Earl of Murray; Jean, wife of Sir John Lyon, lord Glamis; Elizabeth, wife of Sir Thomas Hay of Errol; Margaret, wife of Macdonald of Isla; Catherine or Jean, wife of David Lindsay, first earl of Crawford [q. v.]; and Giles, wife of William Douglas, lord of Nithsdale, who was deemed the most beautiful Scotswoman of her time. After Elizabeth Mure's death, and before 1356, Robert married as second wife Euphemia, daughter of Hugh, earl of Ross, and widow of John Randolph, third earl of Moray [q. v.], by whom he had David, earl of Strathearn; Walter, earl of Atholl [see Stewart, Walter]; and Isobel, wife of James, earl of Douglas. Besides these he had at least six natural children, among whom were Sir John Stewart of Rowallan, called The Black; and Sir John Stewart of Dundonald, called The Red Stewart. The numerous alliances of Robert II's children with the chief noble families, as in the case of Robert the Bruce himself, probably strengthened his claim to the throne, but after his accession led to discord which he was unable to control.