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Dervorguilla of Galloway (c. 1210 – 28 January 1290) was a 'lady of substance' in 13th century
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, the wife from 1223 of John, 5th Baron de Balliol, and mother of
John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I ...
, a future king of Scotland. The name Dervorguilla or Dervorgilla was a Latinisation of the
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, an ...
Dearbhfhorghaill (alternative spellings, Derborgaill or Dearbhorghil).


Family

Dervorguilla was one of the three daughters and heiresses of the Gaelic prince
Alan, Lord of Galloway Alan of Galloway (before 1199 – 1234), also known as Alan fitz Roland, was a leading thirteenth-century Scottish magnate. As the hereditary Lord of Galloway and Constable of Scotland, he was one of the most influential men in the Kingdom of S ...
. She was born to Alan's second wife Margaret of Huntingdon, who was the eldest daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon and Matilda (or Maud) of Chester. David in turn was the youngest brother to two Kings of Scotland, Malcolm IV and
William the Lion William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...
. Thus, through her mother, Dervorguilla was descended from the Kings of Scotland, including
David I David I may refer to: * David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399 * David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741) * David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881) * David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048) * David I of Scotland ...
. Dervorguilla's father died in 1234 without a legitimate son (he had an illegitimate son
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
). According to both
Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 *Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature *Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...
feudal laws and to ancient
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, an ...
customs, Dervorguilla was one of his heiresses, her two sisters Helen and Christina being older and therefore senior. Because of this, Dervorguilla bequeathed lands in
Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or ...
to her descendants, the
Balliol Balliol may refer to: * House of Balliol, Lords of Baliol and their fief * Balliol College, Oxford ** Balliol rhyme, a doggerel verse form with a distinctive meter, associated with Balliol College * John Balliol (King John of Scotland) (1249–1314 ...
and the Comyns. Dervorguilla's son
John of Scotland John Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as ''Toom Tabard'' (meaning "empty coat" – coat of arms), was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered a ...
was briefly a
King of Scots The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have gro ...
too, known as ''Toom Tabard'' ( Scots: 'puppet king' literally "empty coat").


Life

The Balliol family into which Dervorguilla married was based at Barnard Castle in
County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. Although the date of her birth is uncertain, her apparent age of 13 was by no means unusually early for betrothal and marriage at the time. In 1263, her husband Sir John was required to make penance after a land dispute with Walter of Kirkham,
Bishop of Durham The Bishop of Durham is the Anglican bishop responsible for the Diocese of Durham in the Province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler has been the Bishop of Durham ...
. Part of this took the very expensive form of founding a
College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
for the poor at the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
. Sir John's own finances were less substantial than those of his wife, however, and long after his death it fell to Dervorguilla to confirm the foundation, with the blessing of the same Bishop as well as the University hierarchy. She established a permanent
endowment Endowment most often refers to: *A term for human penis size It may also refer to: Finance * Financial endowment, pertaining to funds or property donated to institutions or individuals (e.g., college endowment) *Endowment mortgage, a mortgage to ...
for the College in 1282, as well as its first formal Statutes. The college still retains the name
Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...
, where the history students' society is called the Dervorguilla Society and an annual seminar series featuring women in academia is called the Dervorguilla Seminar Series. While a Requiem Mass in Latin was sung at Balliol for the 700th anniversary of her death, it is believed that this was sung as a one-off, rather than having been marked in previous centuries. Dervorguilla founded a
Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...
Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The c ...
7 miles south of
Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from t ...
and
Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or ...
Scotland, in April 1273. It still stands as a picturesque ruin of red
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...
. It is claimed that she was also responsible for the establishment of the first library in
Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
. When Sir John died in 1269, Dervorguilla had his heart embalmed and kept in a casket of ivory bound with silver. The casket travelled with her for the rest of her life. In 1274–5 John de Folkesworth arraigned an
assize of novel disseisin In English law, the assize of novel disseisin ("recent dispossession"; ) was an action to recover lands of which the plaintiff had been disseised, or dispossessed. It was one of the so-called "petty (possessory) assizes" established by Henry II i ...
against Dervorguilla and others touching a tenement in Stibbington, Northamptonshire. In 1275–6 Robert de Ferrers arraigned an assize of mort d'ancestor against her touching a messuage in Repton, Derbyshire. In 1280 Sir John de Balliol's executors, including Dervorguilla, sued Alan Fitz Count regarding a debt of £100 claimed by the executors from Alan. In 1280 she was granted letters of attorney to Thomas de Hunsingore and another in England, she staying in Galloway. The same year Dervorguilla, Margaret de Ferrers, Countess of Derby, Ellen, widow of Alan la Zouche, and Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan, and Elizabeth his wife sued Roger de Clifford and Isabel his wife and Roger de Leybourne and Idoine his wife regarding the manors of Wyntone, King’s Meaburn, Appleby, and Brough-under-Stainmore, and a moiety of the manor of Kirkby Stephen, all in Westmorland. The same year Dervorguilla sued John de Veer for a debt of £24. In 1280–1 Laurence Duket arraigned an assize of novel disseisin again Dervorguilla and others touching a hedge destroyed in Cotingham, Middlesex. In 1288 she reached agreement with John, Abbot of Ramsey, regarding a fishery in Ellington. In her last years, the main line of the Royal House of Scotland was threatened by a lack of male heirs, and Dervorguilla, who died just before the young heiress
Margaret, the Maid of Norway Margaret (, ; March or April 1283 – September 1290), known as the Maid of Norway, was the queen-designate of Scotland from 1286 until her death. As she was never inaugurated, her status as monarch is uncertain and has been debated by historian ...
, might, if she had outlived her, have been one of the claimants to her throne. Dervorguilla was buried beside her husband at New Abbey, which was christened ' Sweetheart Abbey', the name which it retains to this day. The depredations suffered by the Abbey in subsequent periods have caused both graves to be lost. A replica is to be found in the covered south transept.


Successors

Dervorguilla and John de Balliol had issue: *Sir Hugh de Balliol, who died without issue before 10 April 1271.SCOTTISH ROYAL LINEAGE - THE HOUSE OF ATHOLL Part 2 of 6
Burkes Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great Br ...
. Retrieved on 2007-11-01
*Alan de Balliol, who died without issue. *Sir Alexander de Balliol, who died without issue before 13 November 1278. *King
John of Scotland John Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as ''Toom Tabard'' (meaning "empty coat" – coat of arms), was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered a ...
, successful competitor for the Crown in 1292. *Cecily de Balliol, who married John de Burgh, Knt., of Walkern, Hertfordshire. *Ada de Balliol, who married in 1266, William de Lindsay, of Lamberton. *William de Balliol, "Le Scott," who issued John LeScott. Some sources say it is probable he was a distant cousin of this Balliol line, not a son of John and Dervonguilla. *Margaret (died unmarried) *Eleanor de Balliol, who married John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch. *Maud, who married Sir
Bryan FitzAlan, Lord FitzAlan Bryan FitzAlan, Baron FitzAlan Knt. (died 1 June 1306) was Lord of the Manor of Bedale in Richmondshire, Askham Bryan in the Ainsty, Bainton, Heworth &c., in Yorkshire, Bicker and Graby in Lincolnshire, a J.P. &c. He was appointed a Guardia ...
, of
Bedale Bedale ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the district of Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is north of Leeds, south-west of Middlesbrough and south-west of the county town o ...
, Knt., (d. 1 June 1306), who succeeded the Earl of Surrey as Guardian and Keeper of Scotland for
Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a va ...
. Owing to the deaths of her elder three sons, all of whom were childless, Dervorguilla's fourth and youngest surviving son
John of Scotland John Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as ''Toom Tabard'' (meaning "empty coat" – coat of arms), was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered a ...
asserted a claim to the crown in 1290 when Queen Margaret died. He won in arbitration against the rival
Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale Robert V de Brus (Robert de Brus), 5th Lord of Annandale (ca. 1215 – 31 March or 3 May 1295), was a feudal lord, justice and constable of Scotland and England, a regent of Scotland, and a competitor for the Scottish throne in 1290/92 in the ...
in 1292, and subsequently was King of Scotland for four years (1292–96).


Aunt and niece

She should not be confused with her father's sister
Dervorguilla of Galloway, heiress of Whissendine
who marrie

Her daughter Joan de Stuteville married 1stly Sir Hugh Wake, Lord of Bourne and 2ndly
Hugh Bigod (Justiciar) Hugh Bigod (c. 1211 – 1266) was Justiciar of England from 1258 to 1260. He was a younger son of Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk. In 1258 the Provisions of Oxford established a baronial government of which Hugh's elder brother Roger Bigod, 4t ...
. Her other daughter Margaret marrie
William de Mastac
but died young.Brown, William, ed.
Yorkshire Inquisitions of the Reigns of Henry III and Edward I
', Vol I, Pp 167 (Footnote a). The Yorkshire Archaeological and Topographical Association, 1892


See also

* ''John Balliol'' (play)


Notes


Sources

* This article originated with the 'Sweetheart Abbey' guidebook, by J S Richardson HRSA, LLD, FSA Scot., published by the Ministry of Works in 1951. * Anderson, Rev. John, editor, ''Callendar of the Laing Charters A.D. 854 - 1837'', Edinburgh, 1899, page 13, number 46, contains the Foundation Charter for Sweetheart Abbey by Devorguilla, daughter of the late Alan of Galloway, dated 10 April and confirmed by King David II on 15 May 1359, which gives relationships for this family. * Oram, Richard D., ''Devorgilla, The Balliols and Buittle'' in 'Transactions of the Dumfrieshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society', 1999, LXXIII. pp. 165–181. * Huyshe, Wentworth, ''Dervorguilla, Lady of Galloway'', 1913, has been condemned as "romantic twaddle and error" by the historians of
Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...
.


External links


Balliol College
named its 1989-90 fundraising campaign the Dervorguilla Campaign. * Information about th
founders of Balliol College
Oxford, by the Fellow Archivist. *

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dervorguilla Of Galloway 1210 births 1290 deaths History of Galloway House of Balliol Medieval Gaels from Scotland Balliol College, Oxford People from Dumfries and Galloway 13th-century Scottish people 13th-century Scottish women Burials at Sweetheart Abbey