Earl of Arran

“ At the same time that Charles of Austria, Eric of Sweden, and Adolphus of Holstein were contending for the royal prize, the Earl of Arran was put forward by Cecil himself, and strongly recommended as giving a claim on the throne of Scotland. Arran, the son of the Duke of Chatelherault, had been very active in the Scottish war of the Reformation, stimulated by the smiles of the queen, and the support of her great minister ”

“ He was one of the few Scottish earls who escaped the succeeding carnage, and, the king being among the slain, was, at a parliament held at Perth in the ensuing October, appointed, along with the Earl of Angus and the Archbishop of Glasgow, a council to aid the queen mother in the government. He supported her and Angus against the Earl of Arran's attempts to assume the regency, but afterwards sided with the Duke of Albany against Angus. During the absence of Albany in France in 1517 he was appointed one of a council of regency. ”

“ Moreover, in this engagement the English were burning to avenge the defeat of their troops at Ancrumford and Paniershaugh, where Sir Ralf Evers and many men had been cut to pieces by the Earl of Angus; and now, filled with fury on beholding the destruction of his castle and the pitiless devastation of his lands, no man in all the army of Arran on this day of blood hewed a passage further into the English host than old Claude Hamilton of Preston, who forgot all about his proffered titles, and with his two-handed sword sent many a younger man to his long home. ”

“ He then put spurs to his horse and galloped to the head of his father's vassals, all stout yeomen of Cunninghame and Kyle, who were arrayed in a dense and steely mass under the banner with the hayfork sable, and were preparing to cross the fatal river at a ford.
The rash movement of Arran was urged by the Earl of Glencairn and many others, who are now known to have been the pensioners of England, and in secret league with Somerset; but dearly did it cost the earl and his Cunninghames.
"The lord regent is right," said he; "let us down at one fell swoop upon them ”

“ But strangely enough a saviour now appeared to Arran in the person of the master of Gray, who, either because he had become doubtful of Elizabeth's regard for himself or wished to conceal his intrigues with her, arranged with the king, on the receipt of certain bribes from Arran, that Arran should be sent to nominal confinement in Kinneil. Nevertheless, the master knew that he could not trust Arran, and immediately set on foot a new plot for his overthrow by the recall of the banished lords. ”

“ As regent of Scotland, all honour must, after our young queen, flow from you."
Arran gave a cold smile, and replied,
"This is well-timed flattery, and proves that you have not spent seven years, as I have heard, with the Duchess Anne of Albany without benefit."
Fawside bowed, and presented the letter of Henry II.
"What spots are these on the cover?" exclaimed Arran. "Blood! You have been fighting, sir—been wounded! Where was this? And you have delayed——"
"Three swords in one's body are likely enough to cause delay ”

“ Henry's ships might sweep the seas, the Buccleughs and the Kers might be cowed by the English troops at Berwick, but in Scotland the power of action was with Beton. The gathering at Stirling was accomplished. While the Regent talked Linlithgow was surrounded, July 23.the Queen was secured by his rivals, and transported to their stronghold. As soon as he had lost the ability to interfere, Arran was contemptuously invited to allow her to remain in a national fortress, and under national guardianship. ”

“ According to the articles forming part of the convention or treaty of peace signed at Edinburgh on 6 July 1560, Arran and his father were to be reinstated in their French estates (articles in Knox, ii. 73-82, and Keith, i. 298-306) . The death of the queen-regent, on 10 June, made the lords of the congregation anxious for the marriage of Arran to Elizabeth, in which case they would 'cause the French queen to renounce for ever her title to Scotland' (Throckmorton to the queen, 4 May, Cal. State Papers, For. Ser. 1560-1, entry 27) . ”

“ The queen-dowager issued writs for a rival parliament to be held at Stirling on the 12th of the same month (Diurnal of Occurrents, p. 36; Tytler, History, v. 359–65) . But by the cardinal's intervention she was constrained to give way, and on 6 March 1545 consented to acknowledge Arran's supremacy, and co-operate with him in the conduct of affairs (Hamilton MSS. p. 36) . Meanwhile the war with England still went on. After the defeat of the Scots at Pinkie Cleugh (10 Sept. 1547) the situation of Scotland was grave in the extreme. ”

“ The difficulty is, again, increased by the Crown’s admission in 1433 that the possession of the castle of Arundel carried with it the right to the title of earl of Arundel, though later investigation (see Lords’ Reports on the Dignity of a Peer, i. 404–429) has proved the invalidity of the claim, and Mr J. H. Round and other modern authorities maintain that inasmuch as Norman earls were earls of counties, the earldom of Arundel was strictly that of Sussex. ”

“ There have been few stirring events in English history in which Arundel Castle has not had its share. As Norman barons, the Earls of Arundel could not do less than the other barons of their time, and so quarreled with their king. When the Magna Charta was going about to gain signers, these feudal Arundel gentlemen figured in the bill, so to speak. The fine Baron's Hall, which commemorates this memorable signing, in the castle yonder, was built in honor of those remote but far-sighted ancestors. The Englishman, of course, has neither the vanity of the Frenchman nor the pride of the Spaniard. ”

“ About the middle of October 1585 rumours reached Scotland of the advance of the banished lords, and Arran, escaping from Kinneil, hurried to the king at Stirling to announce that he was being betrayed by the master of Gray. But learning this, the master returned also to court, and Arran, frustrated in a design for the master's assassination by the rapid approach of the lords, secretly left the castle (Relation of the Master of Gray in the Bannatyne Club, pp. 59, 60; Calderwood, iv. 389–90) . ”

“ Merchants and artificers tread upon our knightly heels, and the avarice of trade eats up our chivalry as a rust. We nobles, in our greater day, have had the crown at our disposal, and William the Norman dared not think what Edward Earl of March hath been permitted with impunity to do. We, Sir Earl—we knights and barons—would a king simple in his manhood and princely in his truth. Richard Earl of Warwick, thou art of royal blood, the descendant of old John of Gaunt. In thee we behold the true, the living likeness of the Third Edward, and the Hero-Prince of Cressy. ”

“ Arnold, Bishop of Le Mans, his buildings, ii. 240, 634. Arnold of Saint Evroul, translates Robert of Rhuddlan’s body to Saint Evroul, i. 128. Arnold of Escalfoy, poisoned by Mabel Talvas, i. 215. Arnold of Percy, signs the Durham charter, ii. 530. Arnold, Dr., on chivalry, ii. 508. Arnulf of Hesdin, his alleged foundation at Ruislip, i. 376 (note) ; his gifts to Gloucester Abbey, ii. 65; his innocence proved by battle, ib.; goes to the crusade and dies, ii. 66. Arnulf of Montgomery, son of Earl Roger of Shrewsbury, i. 57 (note) ; begins Pembroke Castle, ii. 96; plots against Henry, ii. ”

“ ARNOLD, Sir NICHOLAS (1507?–1580) , lord justice in Ireland, born about 1507, was the second but eldest surviving son of John Arnold (d. 1545–6) of Churcham, Gloucestershire, and his wife Isabel Hawkins. His father was prothonotary and clerk of the crown in Wales, and in 1541–2 was granted the manors of Highnam and Over, also in Gloucestershire. Nicholas Arnold was one of Henry VIII’s gentlemen pensioners as early as 1526; after 1530 he entered Cromwell’s service, and was by him employed in connection with the dissolution of the monasteries. ”

“ On the 13th of January 1544, with Angus, Lennox and others, he signed a bond repudiating the English alliance. In 1544 an attempt was made to transfer the regency from him to Mary of Lorraine, but Arran fortified Edinburgh and her forces retired ”

“ As lieutenant-general of the kingdom Arran was sent in 1504 to co-operate with Sir Andrew Wood and Robert Barton in reducing the Western Isles. After his return he was despatched, with ten thousand men, to the assistance of the king of Denmark, whom he succeeded in re-establishing on his throne (Lesley, History, Bannatyne ed. p. 72) . ”

“ After the escape of the king from the power of the Douglases at Falkland, Arran attended the meeting of the council at Stirling, at which the Douglases were forbidden to approach within six miles of the court on pain of death. ”

“ Ireland has two Dukes, twelve Marquises, sixty-four Earls, and sixty Barons, besides twelve Viscounts. When three Irish Peers die in succession without issue, one other Irish Peer is created to fill the gap.
Scotland has seven Dukes, four Marquises, forty-four Earls, five Viscounts, and twenty-five Barons. The wife of a Duke is entitled "Duchess," the wife of a Marquis "Marchioness," the wife of an Earl is a "Countess," the wife of a Viscount is called a "Viscountess," and the wife of a Baron enjoys the title of "Baroness." ”

“ The Earl of Arundel was a dark-featured man of some fifty years of age; his black beard and moustache, worn in the Tudor style, was streaked with grey. A soldier, a statesman, a courtier of immense power and influence, he had steered his political barque with supreme skill through the stormy period of the English Reformation, when many greater than he, and more highly placed, had suffered shipwreck. Just now he was the acknowledged leader of the Spanish faction at Court, and no man stood higher than he in the favour of King Philip. ”

“ The young Earl of March, now left in the supreme direction of affairs, so far as we know, had no better title to govern than that he was heir to the English throne, unless it may have been considered an additional recommendation that he was sixth in descent from the Lady Eva McMurrogh. To his English title, he added that of Earl of Ulster and Lord of Connaught, derived from his mother, the daughter of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, and those of Lord of Trim and Clare, from other relations. ”

“ In accordance with the policy agreed upon before the death of the late King the Duke of Ormond was removed from the viceroyalty; but, as Rochester, who had formerly been intended for his successor, was now selected by his brother-in-law to fill the great office of Lord High Treasurer of England, the government was temporarily entrusted to Michael Boyle, Archbishop of Armagh, and to the Earl of Granard, as Lords Justices. It was, perhaps, hoped that the appointment of the Primate would prove satisfactory to the Established Church; that that of Granard would conciliate the Presbyterians ”

“ Arran exerted himself as much as his weak nature was able; but, deserted by the nobles, many of whom had privately made their peace with England, he was unable to work to much purpose, and the reins of government gradually slipped into the stronger hands of the queen-dowager. By her advice a council was convened at Stirling, when it was resolved to appeal to France for assistance against England. The proposal was warmly supported by the French ambassador D'Oysel, and a suggestion was made that the young Queen Mary should be removed to France for safety. ”

“ With regard to the title of earl of Arundel, taken by this Philip, eldest son of Thomas, duke of Norfolk, the following passage from Collins's Peerage affords a very ample explanation: "The title of the duke of Norfolk being, by the attainder of this Thomas, thus taken away, Philip, his eldest son, was called earl of Arundel, as owner of Arundel Castle in Sussex, by descent from his mother; it having, in II Henry VI. been adjudged in parliament to be a local dignity, so that the possessors thereof should enjoy that title of honour. ”

“ Arnold demanded help from all the Irish clans in the central parts of the island. The Earl of Kildare was ordered to assemble his people, and letters were sent to the gentlemen of the Pale and to the settlers in the King’s and Queen’s counties. Wexford and Carlow were not forgotten, and Ormonde, who received a special commission and pay for 200 kerne for three months, was directed to watch the rebels, who were proclaimed by name, and to attack them if they came near his border. ”

“ Knowing that no guarantee could be given, the Spaniard wisely asked for none but his host’s word of honour. The Earl declared his fixed intention—and here at least he spoke quite sincerely—to use all his strength and that of his friends in prosecuting the war against Piers Butler, the King’s Deputy, and against the cities of Limerick, Waterford, and Dublin. He begged the Emperor’s help, and renewed his request for cannon; as for men, he could bring 16,500 foot and 1,500 horse into the field, and his allies could furnish 9,000 additional foot and 300 additional horse. ”

“ Within ten years of the Conquest, the king had to take arms against a rebellion of some of his own followers. Ralf, Earl of Norfolk, and Roger, Earl of Hereford, took counsel against him, and tried to enlist in their plot Waltheof, the last surviving English Earl. "Let one of us be king, and the two others great dukes, and so rule all England," was their suggestion to him, when they had gathered all their friends together under the pretence Pg 77 of Earl Ralf's marriage feast. ”