Kenny MacAskill’s Roots And Branches
Alexander Stewart was one of the most vicious villains in Scottish history
Investigate the deeds of one of the most vicious villains in Scottish history, the Wolf of Badenoch, Alexander Stewart
SCOTTISH history is littered with villains but there are few as vile and vicious as Alexander Stewart. Known as the wolf of Badenoch, he raped and pillaged, murdering and marauding across the north and north east of Scotland in the latter part of the 14th century.
He’s perhaps best known for his destruction of Elgin Cathedral, with his accompanying Caterans, which is an altogether benign
Gaelic name for free-booting soldiers.
It seems that the sobriquet of “the
Wolf” was only given after his death – perhaps confirming the fear he engendered across the entire country – but another effective moniker I saw attached to him was
“The Celtic Atilla.”
Born in 1343, he was the fourth and illegitimate son of King Robert II of Scotland and Elizabeth Mure of Rowallan. Subsequently legitimised by his parents’ marriage, it didn’t temper his future behaviour, which remained thoroughly wicked throughout his life.
Being part of the ruling dynasty meant that favour and fortune was almost certainly bound to be bestowed upon him. Though, the intrigue and backstabbing among the ruling elite could also prove costly, as feudal lords and kings vied for power and influence. However, Alexander Stewart seems to have embarked, at the outset, on amassing fortune with little consideration of the consequences for him or for those he cheated or robbed. He was made Lord of Badenoch in 1371, and though it was the first of several titles that he was to acquire, this name remained linked with him. Badenoch was his heartland, and his principal lair was to become Lochindorb Castle, situated on an island in a loch, just north of what’s now Grantown-on-spey.
His other domains included Drumin Castle, near Glenlivet, Castle Garth near Glen Lyon and Ruthven Castle sited on what is now the barracks built to suppress the Highlands after the 1745 Rebellion.
In 1382, he became the Earl of Buchan, the first to hold the title since John Comyn during the Wars of Independence. His influence was spreading fast. Lands in Moray, Buchan and Urquhart came his way through patronage, intrigue or good fortune.
Areas north and west of Inverness were also obtained and increased with his marriage to Euphemia, Countess of Ross, as her ancestral domain fell into his clutches.
It wasn’t to be a happy marriage and there were no offspring. However, emulating his own father he had numerous children to other mothers. It’s reckoned by some that he fathered up to 40, although he also appears to have had a long-term relationship with Mairead nic Eachainn, mother of his son, Alexander, who was named after him and later became Earl of Mar.
Despite his well-known despotism he was made Justiciar of Scotia in the 1380s. In medieval Scotland, this was the most senior legal post in the land, along with the Justiciar of Lothian and the Justiciar of Galloway.
That triumvirate were responsible for justice across the entire kingdom, with the Wolf responsible for lands north of the Forth and Clyde to the Pentland Firth, north of Caithness. Needless to say, it didn’t last long and nor did he make his mark.
His father then died in 1390 and an interregnum followed as his brother Robert III ascended to the throne. There’s no suggestion that he expected or ever would have succeeded to the title, but it appears he may have been irked by a lack of acknowledgment or further favours being dispensed his way.
Added to that, he was in dispute with the Church as he sought to divorce his wife.
This was not a good combination for such a nasty and narcissistic man as, with other major landowners who might have curtailed him away in England, a reign of terror was about to be unleashed across Moray.
In May of that year, he and his marauding band swooped down on Forres, ransacking the town. Worse was to follow as they headed east along the Moray coast. Pluscarden Abbey was next to be set on fire as they roamed onwards, arriving in Elgin on June 17, 1390.
There they ran amok, looting, raping and killing indiscriminately and setting Elgin Cathedral alight. The ruins still stand today, giving an outline of just how magnificent a building it must have been.
It was then the second largest cathedral in Scotland after St Andrews. Sadly, it was trashed along with other buildings including churches and a hospital.
All that was too much for both Church and state and he was forced to seek absolution from his brother. That appears to have finally tempered him, although several of his sons seem to have taken up his mantle.
He was divorced by his wife and moved south to Perthshire dying there in 1394. He’s buried in Dunkeld Cathedral in a tomb with an effigy of a warrior upon it. An entirely inappropriate resting place for such a brutish and sacrilegious man.
Next month your expert on Scottish history, Kenny Macaskill, considers the career of Keir Hardie, trade unionist in the early 1900s, and some lesser-known Hardies.