William (Keith) Keith Third Earl Marischal (abt. 1452 - bef. 1527)

Born about 1452 in Dunnottar Castle, Kincardineshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died before 2 May 1527 before about age 75 in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland

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Biography

William (Keith) Keith Third Earl Marischal is a member of Clan Keith.

William Keith, 3rd Earl Marischal was the son of William de Keith, 2nd Earl Marischal and Mariot Erskine.

He married Lady Elizabeth Gordon, daughter of George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly and Annabella Stewart, circa 11 January 1481/82. They had issue:

1. Agnes^[1]

7

Research Notes

William died between 24 November 1526 and 2 May 152^[2][3][4]

Childrenof William Keith and Elizabeth Gordon ^{[citation needed]}

1. Lady Janet Keith d. c 25 Aug 1547
2. Robert Keith, Master of Marischal d. bt 24 Aug 1524 - 22 Apr 1525
3. Lady Elizabeth Keith d. a 24 Nov 1549
4. Robert Keith
5. Alexander Keith of Aquhorsk
6. John Keith of Craig

History

III. WILLIAM, third Earl Marischal, sat in Parliament as Master of Keith 18 March 1481-82 ; as Earl Marischal 1483 onwards. Forespeaker for his father 10 December 1482 ; succeeded and had sasine of the estates 1483.

In 1488 he aided King James in raising an army to suppress the insurgent barons, who were keeping the heir-apparent to the throne, James, Duke of Rothesay, a prisoner, and after the indecisive skirmish at Blackness, he was one of the King's representatives to treat with the insurgents.

On the death of the King in the same year, 11 June 1488, and the accession of King James iv., he remained faithful to the late King's party, and on 8 April 1489 he, with the Master of Huntly and Lord Forbes, concerted measures with the disaffected in the south of Scotland against the Govern- ment, and in October of that year was on the side of the vanquished at the battle of Talla Moss. He was, however, taken into the young King's favour, and pardoned, for in 1501 he was made Commander of the Scottish forces along with the Earls of Argyll, Huntly, Crawford, and Lord Lovat, and he took part in the campaigns in the Highlands which ended in the capture of the notorious Donald Dhu. 3

He acquired the lands and barony of Uras from Patrick Crichton on 14 October 1495. 4 On 15 October 1504 he entertained King James iv. at Dunottar. 5

He attended the Parliament in Edinburgh called by King James iv. in 1510.

He made a mortification of some lands to the Black Friars of Aberdeen, to pray for the souls of himself, his wife, his father and his mother. From his frequent use of the phrase, he was commonly given the nickname of ' Hearken and take heed.'

He is said by Pitscottie 6 to have had a command at the battle of Flodden. This has, however, been denied. The banner carried by the Keiths at this battle is still in existence, having been saved by the standard-bearer, John Skirving of Plewlandhill, and it is now in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh.

During the years 1517-20, when John, Duke of Albany, was Governor of Scotland, and for the time absent in France, the Earl Marischal, along with Lords Borthwick and Ruthven, was given the custody of the young King in the Castle of Edinburgh. In recompense for large sums advanced to the Treasury, the Regent granted him the ward of the heiress of Inverugie, which was confirmed to his grandson by the King, when of age, on 24 July 1527. l

He was lying very ill on 24 November 1526, and was dead before 2 May 1527. 2 He married (contract dated 11 January 1481-82) Elizabeth Gordon, third daughter of George, second Earl of Huntly. ^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ Paul, James Balfour. The Scots Peerage : founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom, Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1904, Vol. I, Archive.org, p. 184
2. ↑ Innes, Thomas. "The First Earl Marischal." The Scottish Historical Review 24, no. 96 (1927): 280-97
3. ↑ Marischal, Earl (S, 1458 - forfeited 1716) Cracroft's Peerage
4. ↑ McGladdery, C. A. 2004 "Keith family (per. c. 1300–c. 1530), nobility." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
5. ↑ Paul, James Balfour. The Scots Peerage : founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom, Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1909, Vol. VI, Archive.org, William Keith, Earl of Marischal, pp. 39-46

See also:

• http://thepeerage.com/p1927.htm#i19262 citing Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 2, page 2195.