Alexander Stewart of Bonkyll (c.1271 – 1319) was a Scottish nobleman. He was the eldest son of Sir John Stewart (d. 1298), and the father of John Stewart, 1st Earl of Angus.

Family

Alexander was the first cousin of Walter the Steward, father of King

Robert II of Scotland Robert II (2 March 1316 – 19 April 1390) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scots from 1371 to his death in 1390. The son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and Marjorie Bruce, Marjorie, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, h ...

, and of Sir James Douglas, two of the most important commanders during the First War of Scottish Independence. He was also the brother-in-law of Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, nephew of King

Robert I of Scotland Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

. His mother was Margaret de Bonkyl, the daughter of Sir Alexander de Bonkyl of that Ilk. Alexander's wife was Jean Fitz James ean's surname should be "fitz Alexander" as the custom was "fitz" (daughter of) or "Fitz" (son of) then the father's Christian name in this case "Alexander" hence "Jean fitz Alexander" daughter of Alexander Fitz James, with whom he had two children, a son and heir, John Stewart, and a daughter, Isabella Stewart, who married Domhnall II, Earl of Mar.Alison Weir, ''Britain's Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy'' (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), page 208. Hereinafter cited as ''Britain's Royal Families''.

Life

His father had been one of the strongest supporters of the exiled John Balliol and was killed at the

Battle of Falkirk The Battle of Falkirk (; ), on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence. Led by Edward I of England, King Edward I of England, the English army defeated the Scottish people, Scots, led by William Wal ...

. After the disaster at Falkirk William Wallace resigned as Guardian of Scotland and was replaced by John Comyn, nephew of the exiled Balliol. After Comyn achieved some notable success fighting against the English a quarrel broke out between Comyn and his rival

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

over their competing rights to the throne. During a meeting between the two sides at

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

in 1306, Comyn was fatally stabbed by Bruce and his supporters and the War of Independence now became a civil war. Because of his father's long allegiance to King John, Alexander fought under John MacDougall of Lorn against Bruce but was captured by his cousin James Douglas in 1308 and was given a royal

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

. He died circa 1319.

References

Year of birth unknown 1319 deaths Nobility from the Scottish Borders 14th-century Scottish nobility

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

Year of birth uncertain {{Scotland-noble-stub

Family

Life

See also

References