Lord High Constable of Scotland | |
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Style | The Earl of Errol, Lord High Constable of Scotland |
Succession | Hereditary |
The Lord High Constable is a hereditary, now ceremonial, office of Scotland. In the order of precedence of Scotland, the office traditionally ranks above all titles except those of the royal family. [1] The Lord High Constable was, after the King of Scots, the supreme officer of the Scottish army. He also performed judicial functions as the chief judge of the High Court of Constabulary. From the late 13th Century the Court – presided over by the Lord High Constable or his deputies – was empowered to judge all cases of rioting, disorder, bloodshed and murder if such crimes occurred within four miles of the King, the King's Council, or the Parliament of Scotland. Following James VI's move to England, the jurisdiction of the Lord High Constable was defined in terms of the "resident place" appointed for the Council.
The Constable historically also commanded the Doorward Guard of Partisans, the oldest bodyguard in Britain. [1] The Constable also held several honorific privileges, such as the right to sit on the right side of the King when he attended Parliament, custody of the keys to Parliament House, the ceremonial command of the King's bodyguards, and precedence above all Scotsmen except the members of the royal family and the Lord Chancellor of Scotland. Most of the powers, however, disappeared when Scotland and England combined into Great Britain under the Act of Union 1707. The office, nonetheless, continues as a ceremonial one.
The office became hereditary in the 12th Century and was held by the Comyn family, but they ended up on the wrong side in the Wars of Scottish Independence. Since then it has been held by the Hays of Erroll, later Earls of Erroll. The first was Gilbert Hay, who was given the office by Robert the Bruce, followed by David Hay.
The Constable and the Duke of Hamilton (as Lord of Abernethy) may sit as assessors to the Lord Lyon King of Arms. The Earl of Erroll, Lord High Constable, is one of four peers entitled to appoint a private pursuivant, with the title of Slains Pursuivant of Arms. [1]
In 1952, the Court of Claims allowed the right of the Countess of Erroll, as Lord High Constable, to be present by deputy at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The present holder (2021) is Merlin Hay, 24th Earl of Erroll.
During the Hundred Years War, a significant amount of Scottish soldiery served in France. These troops served under their own commanders and were quite distinct from their French allies. In order to keep the command structure of the enlarged allied forces intact, the French King appointed a High Constable of the Scots Army, more commonly known as the Constable of Scotland. Perhaps the most celebrated of these men was John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Buchan, who latterly was also created Constable of France.
The wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
Earl of Erroll is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay. The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are Lord Hay and Lord Slains (1452), both in the Peerage of Scotland. The Earls of Erroll also hold the hereditary office of Lord High Constable of Scotland. The office was once associated with great power. The Earls of Erroll hold the hereditary title of Chief of Clan Hay.
Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, hereditary Constable of Scotland, was a nobleman of Anglo-Norman and Scottish descent who was prominent in both England and Scotland, at his death having one of the largest baronial landholdings in the two kingdoms.
Helen of Galloway was a daughter and co-heiress of Alan, Lord of Galloway and his first wife, a daughter of Roger de Lacy, Constable of Chester. Helen was the first wife of Roger de Quincy, Earl of Winchester. Although Helen was the first of Roger's three wives, his only descendants were his three daughters by Helen. The eldest daughter, Margaret, married William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby ; the second daughter, Elizabeth, married Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan ; the third daughter, Helen, married Alan de la Zouche.
Clan Hay is a Scottish clan of the Grampian region of Scotland that has played an important part in the history and politics of the country. Members of the clan are to be found in most parts of Scotland and in many other parts of the world. However, the North East of Scotland, i.e. Aberdeenshire (historic), Banffshire, Morayshire and Nairnshire Nairn (boundaries), is the heart of Hay country with other significant concentrations of Hays being found in Perthshire, especially around Perth, in the Scottish Borders, and in Shetland.
Slains Pursuivant of Arms is a private officer of arms appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of Hay – presently the Earl of Erroll, Lord High Constable of Scotland. It is believed that the Hay family had an officer of arms since the time that the office of Lord High Constable was forfeited by the Comyn family and passed to the Hays. The first mention of Slains Pursuivant is from around 1412 when the Earl of Erroll introduced Slains to a guild in Perth.
William Comyn was Lord of Badenoch and Earl of Buchan. He was one of the seven children of Richard Comyn, Justiciar of Lothian, and Hextilda of Tynedale. He was born in Scotland, in Altyre, Moray in 1163 and died in Buchan in 1233 where he is buried in Deer Abbey.
Alexander Comyn, 2nd Earl of Buchan was a Scoto-Norman magnate who was one of the most important figures in the 13th century Kingdom of Scotland. He was the son of William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan, and Marjory, Countess of Buchan, the heiress of the last native Scottish Mormaer of Buchan, Fergus. He was the chief counsellor of Alexander III, King of Scots for the entire period of the king's majority and, as Scotland's leading magnate, played a key role in safeguarding the independence of the Scottish monarchy. During his long career, Alexander Comyn was Justiciar of Scotia (1258–89), Constable of Scotland (1275–89), Sheriff of Wigtown (1263–66), Sheriff of Dingwall (1264–66), Ballie of Inverie and finally, Guardian of Scotland (1286–89) during the first interregnum following the death of Alexander III. In 1284 he joined with other Scottish noblemen who acknowledged Margaret of Norway as the heiress to King Alexander. He died sometime after 10 July 1289.
John Comyn (Cumyn) was Lord of Badenoch in Scotland. He was Justiciar of Galloway in 1258. He held lands in Nithsdale and Tynedale.
Sir Robert Keith was a Scottish nobleman and a hereditary Great Marischal of Scotland.
Gilbert Hay may refer to:
Sir Gilbert de la Hay, fifth feudal baron of Errol in Gowrie, was Lord High Constable of Scotland from 1309.
The Castle of Rattray was a medieval Scottish castle, with multiple variations on its structure over approximately six centuries. Originally built as a "late 12th- or early 13th century defensive motte" it provided protection for Starny Keppie Harbour and Rattray village. Sometime between 1214 and 1233 it was upgraded by William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan before being destroyed in the 1308 Harrying of Buchan. After Comyn's timber castle was burned down, it was replaced by a stronger stone castle which was engulfed during a 1720 sand storm along with nearby Rattray village. After the storm, the castle was not dug out and remains covered to this day. The castle was described by W. Douglas Simpson as one of the nine castles of the Knuckle, referring to the rocky headland of north-east Aberdeenshire.
Alice Comyn, Countess of Buchan, Lady Beaumont was a Scottish noblewoman, a member of the powerful Comyn family which supported the Balliols, claimants to the disputed Scottish throne against their rivals, the Bruces. She was the niece of John Comyn, Earl of Buchan, to whom she was also heiress, and after his death the Earldom of Buchan was successfully claimed by her husband Henry de Beaumont, Earl of Buchan, by right of his wife. His long struggle to claim her Earldom of Buchan was one of the causes of the Second War of Scottish Independence.
William Hay, 1st Earl of Erroll was a Scottish peer. He was the first Earl of Erroll and the second Lord Hay of Erroll.
Gilbert Hay, 11th Earl of Erroll PC was a Scottish nobleman.
Charles Hay, 13th Earl of Erroll was a Scottish peer and Lord High Constable of Scotland who strongly opposed the 1707 union of Scotland and England.
Sir Gilbert de la Hay, third feudal baron of Errol in Gowrie, was co-Regent of Scotland in 1255 during the minority of King Alexander III of Scotland and Sheriff of Perth in 1262.
The Galloway revolt of 1234–1235 was an uprising in Galloway during 1234–1235, led by Tomás mac Ailein and Gille Ruadh. The uprising was in response to the succession of Alan of Galloway, whereby King Alexander II of Scotland ordered Galloway to be divided the amongst Alan's three heiresses under Norman feudal law. This judgement excluded Alan's illegitimate son Tomás, who believed he was the rightful heir under the Gaelic system of tanistry. Alexander II responded by leading an army into Galloway to crush the rebellion. The Scottish army was almost routed, however was saved by the arrival of Fearchar, Earl of Ross and his forces. Walter Comyn, Lord of Badenoch was left to mop up the revolt, however was forced to abandon the region. Patrick II, Earl of Dunbar led another army in 1235, with Adam, Abbot of Melrose, and Gilbert, Bishop of Galloway and forced the submission of Tomás and Gille.
Marjory, Countess of Buchan, also known as Margaret de Buchan, was a Scottish noblewoman.