House of Bruce
| House of Bruce | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Armorial of Bruce | |||
| Country | Scotland, England, Normandy | ||
| Titles | |||
| Founder | Robert de Brus, 1st Lord of Annandale | ||
| Final ruler | David II of Scotland | ||
| Current head | Andrew Bruce, 11th Earl of Elgin | ||
| Founding year | 1113 | ||
| Ethnicity | Normans, Scottish, English (see details) | ||
The House of Bruce (originally de Brus) is an aristocratic and previously royal house, most noted for providing two kings of Scotland in the form of Robert the Bruce and David II of Scotland, as well as for their participation in the Wars of the Scottish Succession.
Contents
Early history
The first de Brus in England
Their paternal ancestors were Normans, carrying the surname de Brus, who came from Brix, dept. of Manche, in Valognes canton, and a Robert de Brus is said to have come to England with or soon after William the Conqueror, receiving grants of lands in Yorkshire. His son Adam de Brus held Skelton Castle and manors in Guisborough, Normanby and elsewhere, in the middle and western divisions of the Wapentake of Langbarge, which were given to this Robert de Brus about 1106.[1] This Robert is said to have been married to an Agnes Saint Clair[2] and if so it seems quite likely that she has some connexion with Saint-Clair-sure-Elle, which is also in the dept. of Manche.
Yorkshire
Adam de Brus held Skelton Castle in Cleveland, in north Yorkshire, and married Emma, said to be a daughter of Sir William de Ramsey, who may have had some connexion with the once great Benedictine Abbey at Ramsey in Cambridgeshire. Little is known of his eldest son who appears to have died young. His second son, Robert de Bruce of Skelton, was a notable figure at the court of King Henry I, where he became intimate with Prince David of Scotland, that monarch's brother-in-law. They had been allies with Henry in his campaign to recover the Duchy of Normandy. When the Prince became King of Scots, in 1124, Bruce obtained from him the Lordship of Annandale, and great possessions in the south of Scotland. However Robert remained busy in England: a member of the Feugeres family, of Feugeres, Calvados, arr.Bayeux, canton of Isigny, witnessed charters of this Robert de Brus circa 1135 in Yorkshire.[3] After King David split with Henry's successor Stephen, and invaded England, Bruce parted company with David, transferred his Scottish estates to his son Robert, fought at the Battle of the Standard (1138) in the English interest, and henceforth remained in his more lucrative English estates. He founded Gisborough Priory and was buried therein in 1142 (some records state he was interred in Gisburn Priory). He had married Agnes, daughter of Fulk de Paynel of Carleton Manor, Yorkshire, the superiority of which was held by Robert.
Scotland
Their second son, Robert de Brus, Lord of Annandale, 'The Cadet' (d.1194) had been invested in the new Scottish estates by his father in his lifetime, and this Robert was the first to make his home in Scotland and made Lochmaben the centre of his lordship, constructing a new caput there. (Notwithstanding that, he too was buried in Guisborough Priory.)
Royal connexions
Robert de Brus, 4th Lord of Annandale (d.1245) married Isabella (d.1252), daughter of David 9th Earl of Huntingdon (d.1219), a grandson of King David 1st. It was as a result of this ancestral link that his son Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale (d.1295) made a claim for the Scottish throne during the succession crisis known as the Great Cause, after the unexpected death of Margaret, Maid of Norway who had been heir to Alexander III of Scotland. However, he lost to John II de Balliol from the House of Balliol who had a closer genealogical claim. His grandson Robert de Brus (1274-1329) would later be crowned as King of Scots by the Guardian of Scotland and Bishop of St Andrews, William de Lamberton, during the course of the Wars of the Scottish Succession.
Robert 'The Bruce' also tried to have his brother Edward Bruce set up as 'king' in Ireland, against the Lordship of the Plantagenets. However this gained little support from the Irish kings, outside of the O'Neills of Tyrone. The Annals of Loch Cé claimed the Bruce Wars caused widespread famine. Edward was, however, defeated and killed in battle at Tagher, near Dundalk, in 1318 without legitimate issue.
Robert 'The Bruce', by his second wife Elizabeth (d.1327), daughter of Sir Richard de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster, Knt., had a son, David II of Scotland, who also reigned as King of Scots. However, although he married twice, he produced no heir and the throne passed to the House of Stewart through the marriage of Robert's daughter, Marjorie de Brus (d.1316), by his first marriage.
Others
Other branches continued on in the Scottish nobility, such as the Earl of Elgin who is currently head. Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, was noted for the saving and preservation of the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon, which are today int he keeping of the British Museum.
List of monarchs
Kings of Scotland
| Portrait | Name | From | Until | Relationship with predecessor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Robert I of Scotland Robert the Bruce |
25 March 1306 | 7 June 1329 | interregnum under the Guardian of Scotland. |
 |
David II of Scotland | 7 June 1329 | 22 February 1371 | Son of Robert the Bruce. |
References
- ↑ Farrar, William, D.Litt., editor, Early Yorkshire Charters, vol.iii, Edinburgh, 1916, p.457.
- ↑ Burke, Messrs., John and John Bernard, The Royal Families of England, Scotland, and Wales, with their Descendants, London, 1848: vol.1, pedigree XXXIV.
- ↑ Loyd, Lewis C., The Origins of some Anglo-Norman Families, edited by Charles Travis Clay & David C. Douglas, Harleian Society, Leeds, UK, 1951; reprinted Baltimore, Md., 1999 edition, p.43
