Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Stewart, Murdac
STEWART, MURDAC or MURDOCH, second Duke of Albany (d. 1425), was the eldest son of Robert, first duke of Albany [q. v.], by Margaret, countess of Menteith. During the lifetime of his father he was known as the Earl of Fife. He is mentioned, 30 July 1390, as a conservator of a truce on the marches (Cal. Documents relating to Scotland, 1357–1509, No. 416), and in 1392 as justiciary north of the Forth (Exchequer Rolls, iii. 316). At the battle of Homildon in 1402 he was taken prisoner by Sir John Skelton, who on that account received from Henry IV a grant of one hundred marks (Cal. Documents relating to Scotland, 1357–1509, No. 723). He remained a prisoner in the Tower, with occasional liberty on parole, until, on 4 May 1415, the constable of the Tower was ordered to deliver him up to the king's esquires (ib. No. 859). On 6 July direction was given that his capture and abduction should be inquired into by a Yorkshire jury (ib. No. 863); but no further information is obtainable in regard to the incident. Early in August he was exchanged for Henry Percy, second earl of Northumberland [q. v.] (ib. Nos. 895, 900). On the death of his father on 3 Sept. 1420 he, in the absence of James I in England, succeeded him as governor, but whether by usurpation or by consent of the nobility in parliament there is no evidence to show. In any case, there can be no doubt as to either the incompetence or the corruption of his rule, and the majority of the nation became more than ever anxious for the return of the king. In 1423 a commission was given to Albany by parliament to treat of his liberation, and the negotiations were successful, the king returning to Scotland, amid general rejoicing, on 24 April 1424.
Upon James's coronation at Scone, Albany—in accordance with the privilege which the earls of Fife claimed as successors of Macduff, the conqueror of Macbeth—performed the ceremony of installing him on the throne. But after he had established himself in power, James, either because he believed that his imprisonment in England had been prolonged by the Albany faction, or because of their endeavours to frustrate acts passed for the recovery of crown lands, or because he saw that they constituted a serious possibility of danger, resolved at all hazards to render them impotent. At a parliament held at Perth on 25 March 1425 he suddenly ordered the arrest of Albany, of his younger son, Lord Alexander Stewart, and of twenty of the principal nobility and barons. Previously to this, Walter, the eldest son of Albany, had been arrested and imprisoned on the Bass Rock. Albany himself was sent first to St. Andrews and then to the castle of Dunbar, and his wife Isabella, daughter of the Earl of Lennox—whom the king found in Albany' castle of Doune—was sent to Tantallon. Of the charge against Albany and his sons there is no record. It is usual to assume that as Albany had succeeded to the regency without the sanction of the estates, he had been guilty of treason; but even if he were chargeable with this crime, his sons were not. No doubt Albany and his sons must have been convicted, justly or not, of acts which warranted the death sentence; but the main reason for associating his sons with him probably was that, if spared, they were certain to do their utmost to revenge his death. Walter Stewart (doubtless father of Andrew Stewart, lord Avandale [q. v.]), the eldest son, was tried at a court held at Stirling on 24 May, and, being found guilty, was instantly executed before the castle. A similar fate next day (25 May 1425) befell Albany himself, his son Alexander, and the aged Earl of Lennox. Albany was buried at Stirling. The titles (Earl of Fife and Menteith and Duke of Albany) and estates were forfeited and annexed to the crown. Albany's eldest son, Robert, earl of Fife, died about 1420; the youngest son James escaped to the highlands, collected a band of freebooters, and attacked the burgh of Dumbarton, which he sacked and gave to the sword, killing, among others, the king's uncle, Sir John Stewart of Dundonald, known as ‘the Red Stewart.’ He then retired to the highlands, but, being hard pressed, made his escape to Ireland, where he married one of the Macdonalds, and had a son James, ancestor of the Stewarts of Ardvoirlech. On those of his followers who were captured in Scotland the king took signal vengeance, causing them, while alive, to be torn limb from limb by horses. Some time after her husband's execution Albany's widow received her liberty, and she was permitted to enjoy the estates of the Earl of Lennox, of which she was sole heiress. In 1450 she founded the collegiate church of Dumbarton, and she died in 1460.
[Cal. Documents illustrative of the Hist. of Scotland, 1350–1507; Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, vol. iii.; Chron. by Fordun and Bower; Douglas's Scottish Peerage (Wood), i. 58–9; G. E. C[okayne]'s Complete Peerage.]
Dictionary of National Biography, Errata (1904), p.258
N.B.— f.e. stands for from end and l.l. for last line
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