Alias: "The Black" "The /Good"/ Killed in battle wit h the Moors in Spain on August 25, 1330 while carryi ng th e heart of Robert the Bruce to the Holy Land.Sir James "Th e Goo d" or "The Black Douglas", Lord of Douglas

Sir James, son of William "le Hardi", continued his father' s fight for Sco ttish independence at the siDe of Robert th e Bruce. He fought with Bru ce at Methven in 1306 then le d a raid on Douglas Castle, his Douglasdale E state, whic h had been confiscated by the English. Disguised as peasant s, S ir James and his men surprised and defeated the Englis h garrison in the ba ttle which has become known as the "Do uglas Larder". Once again disguisi ng his men, this time a s oxen, he attacked and captured Roxburgh Castle. H is stea lthy and effective means of combat are remembered in a chil dren's b edtime song,

Hush ye, hush ye, little pet ye, Hush ye, hush ye, do not f ret ye, The Black Douglas shall no get ye.

Sir James also played a major role in the defeat of the Eng lish Army at t he Battle of Bannockburn and was one of th e signatories of the Declarati on of Arbroath, at Arbroat h Abbey, in 1320. On the death of Bruce in 132 9, Sir Jame s was entrusted with the Monarch's heart in order to car r y it on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He was killed fighti ng the Moo rs in Spain while on this pilgrimage in 1330.

Sir James "The Good" or "The Black Douglas", Lord of Douglas

Sir James, son of William "le Hardi", continued his father' s fight for Sco ttish independence at the siDe of Robert th e Bruce. He fought with Bru ce at Methven in 1306 then le d a raid on Douglas Castle, his Douglasdale E state, whic h had been confiscated by the English. Disguised as peasant s, S ir James and his men surprised and defeated the Englis h garrison in the ba ttle which has become known as the "Do uglas Larder". Once again disguisi ng his men, this time a s oxen, he attacked and captured Roxburgh Castle. H is stea lthy and effective means of combat are remembered in a chil dren's b edtime song,

Hush ye, hush ye, little pet ye, Hush ye, hush ye, do not f ret ye, The Black Douglas shall no get ye.

Sir James also played a major role in the defeat of the Eng lish Army at t he Battle of Bannockburn and was one of th e signatories of the Declarati on of Arbroath, at Arbroat h Abbey, in 1320. On the death of Bruce in 132 9, Sir Jame s was entrusted with the Monarch's heart in order to car r y it on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He was killed fighti ng the Moo rs in Spain while on this pilgrimage in 1330.

Sir James' body and Bruce's heart were returned to Scotlan d and laid to re st at St. Bride's Church and Melrose Abbey , respectively.

Lord Douglas; 2nd Earl of Douglas and Mar ; "The Good Sir J ames" ; Kno wn to the Scots as "good Sir James" and to th e English as "the Black Dougl as", along with Wallace and B ruce, one of the three great heroes of Scotti sh Independen ce.

http://www.scotclans.org/history/other/douglas_james.htm in cludes a major article on this man. "... the "good Sir Jame s,' the friend of Robert Bruce, the most illustrio us membe r of the Douglas family, and one of the noblest of the ban d of her oes who vindicated the freedom and independence o f Scotland against the En glish arms. The romantic incident s in the career of this famous warrior a nd patriot would f ill a volume. On the imprisonment of his father he retir e d to France, where he spent three years, 'exercising himsel f in all virtu ous exercise,' says Godscroft, and 'profite d so well that he became the mo st compleat and best-accomp lished young nobleman in the country or elsewhe re.' On th e death of his father young Douglas returned to Scotland. H is pa ternal estate having been bestowed by King Edward o n Lord Clifford, he w as received into the household of Lam berton, Bishop of St. Andrews, with w hom he 'counted kin ' through his mother. He was residing there when Robe rt Br uce assumed the crown in 1305-6, and took up arms against t he Engli sh invaders. Douglas, who was then only eighteen y ears of age, on receivi ng intelligence of this movement, r esolved to repair at once to Bruce's st andard. According t o Barbour, he took this step secretly, though with t he kno wledge and approval of the patriotic prelate, who recommend ed h im to proviDe himself with a suit of armour and to tak e a horse from his s tables, with a show of force, thur 'ro bbing the bishop of what he durst n ot give.' Lesley, Bisho p of Ross, however, makes no mention of force, a nd says Do uglas carried a large sum of money from Lamberton to Bruce . He m et the future King at Erickstane, near Moffat, on hi s way to Scone to be c rowned, and proferred him his homag e and his services, which were cordial ly welcomed. From th at time onward, until the freedom and independen ce of th e kingdom were fully established, Douglas never left Bruce' s sid e, alike in adversity and prosperity, and was conspic uous both for his val our in battle and his wisdom in counc il. He was present at the battle of M ethven, where the new ly crowned King was defeated, and narowly escaped bei ng ta ken prisoner. He was one of the samll band who took refuge , with Bru ce and his Queen and other ladies, in the wild s first of Athole and th en of Breadalbane, where for som e time they subsisted on wild berries a nd the scanty and p recarious produce of fishing and the chase. Barbour mak e s especial mention of the exertions of Sir James Douglas t o proviDe for t he wants and to promote the comfort of th e ladies." The Great Historic Families of Scotland, by Jame s Taylor

The story continue at length and is quite interesting. Skip ping to the end :

"Godscroft states that Sir James was never married, but Dr . Fraser has dis covered that he was married, and left a le gitimate son, who fell at Halido n. Archibald the Grim, hi s natural son, became third Earl of Douglas. S ir James wa s succeeded by his next brother, Hugh Douglas."


Sir James Douglas ('The Good') c.1286 - 1330

Freedom fighter. The son of Sir William Douglas (d.1298), w ho had been a s upporter of William Wallace (1274 - 1305) , James was sent to France for sa fety in these dangerous t imes. He returned in 1306, fighting alongsiDe Ki ng Rober t I - 'the Bruce' - (1274 - 1329) in the Wars of Independen ce a nd having considerable success in south-west Scotlan d against the Engli sh King Edward I (1239 - 1307). He wa s knighted by Robert at Bannockbur n. He became known as th e 'Black' Douglas, a name which carried on throu gh one bra nch of his family. He took Robert's heart for a posthumou s crusa De against the Moors in Spain, where he died.

• Married:
• Change Date: 2 Jun 2007

1. Archibald Douglas b: Abt 1325 in Hermiston, Roxburghshire, Scotland

• Married: Abt 1302 in Scotland
• Note: CHAN21 Nov 2005
• Change Date: 18 Jun 2010

1. John Douglas b: 1303 in Hermiston, Midlothian, Scotland
2. Elizabeth Douglas b: Abt 1305 in Loudunhill, Ayrshire, Scotland
3. William Douglas b: Abt 1307
4. Joanna Douglas b: 1314 in Douglas Castle, Lanarkshire, Scotland

1. Abbrev: Testerman, Cynthia
   Title: "Testerman," supplied by Testerman, 27-11-2005.
   Author: compiled by Cynthia Testerman [(E-ADDRESS) FOR PRIVATE USE\ ,]
   Repository:
   Name: n/a
2. Abbrev: Lane and Johnston Families
   Title: Lane and Johnston Families
   Author: Cynthia Testerman, Carole Lane
   Publication: unpublished,1988-2005, Maryland
   Note:
   This is a family genealogy researched by a mother and daugh ter team.