Earl of Douglas - Rise To Power

Rise To Power

Sir William the Hardy is the first of the Douglas Lords to take a major part in domestic and international affairs. He partook in Wallace's uprising against English rule in Scotland and died captive in the Tower of London. His son Sir James Douglas, his estates forfeit to the English crown, swore allegiance to Robert the Bruce in 1306 prior to the latter's coronation, and was to share the deprivations and small victories of Bruce during the years, leading up to Bannockburn, and after was to be lieutenant to the King, and the pre-eminent warlord of the Scottish Border. During this time Douglas's international reputation as a paladin was established. Following Bruce's death, Sir James Douglas, now known as either "the Black Douglas" to the English, or "Sir James the Good" to the Scots, took the King's heart on crusade, and died fighting the Moors in Spain.

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