Son and Heir of our Soveraign Lord the KING his Father should be their KING And with Hands lifted up to Heaven in token of their sincerity promised that they should have and esteem him after the death of his Father for their future KING by the strength of Almighty GOD and that they should Defend and Assist him with all their Might against all deadly Which things being so done the sâ—ids bishops Earls and Barons there present did Append and put their Seals to this Decree for ever In testimony of all the Premisses together with the Sign and Subâ—tion of the publick Clerk under-subscribing These things were done at the Abbacy of Scoon Day Moneth and year of GOD above-written c. Here is only the Most authentick Evident which perhaps Europe can shew giving an irrefragable Proof that John afterwards called Robert eldest Son to Elizabeth Mure was in the first year of his Fathers Reign owned and acknowledged as his eldest lawful Son and Heir and undoubted Successor to the Crown and that in the lifetime of Queen Eupheme to which her Son in law the Earl of Douglass his Seal amongst others is appended And therefore Elizabeth Mure his Mother was lawful Wife to Robert Earl of Strathern afterwards KING and consequently it is false that these Children were only legitimat by King Roberts marrying their Mother after Queen Euphems death and after the third year of his Reign And that the Act of Parliament recognizing Iohn as such was past in the fourth year of the said King's Reign This solemn Act and authentick Record yet extant doth evidence to a Demonstration to the dishonour of those negligent Historiographers who did write so confidently what this Act and Instrument doth so clearly canvel Nor is it so by this great Act only but by very many other authentick Documents standing in Record as a Charter granted on the 13 th of Iune Anno Regni primo to Allan Lawder of Whitsled and the other Charters before mentioned and twenty others not mentioned which all bear Record that in the first year of King Robert the seconds Reign and in Queen Euphems Lifetime the KING the Prelats the Lords and all who received Charters from the King did look on the said John as his undoubted eldest Son and Heir Earl of Carrick and STEWART of SCOTLAND and the Charters granted to and received by Queen Eupheme by her Son David and her Son Walter for services to the King and his Heirs do carry in them John is the undoubted eldest Son and Heir Albeit what is said seems demonstrative enough yet to leave no part of this injurious Lybel unransaked We shall next shew that before Robert the second yea very many years before whilst he was Earl of Strathern and STEWART of SCOTLAND JOHN his Son was owned by him and by the whole Nation as his eldest Son and Heir There is a Charter wherein Robertus Senescallus Scotiae Comes de Strathern Joannes Senescallus filius noster primo-genius Haeres confirm a Mortification made by Reginaldus More Pater Wilielmi More Equitis to the Abbacy of Pasly recorded in their Register which tho' it want a Date yet there follows in the same Register a Charter given by the said Robert Senescallus Scotiae confirming all Gifts given by his Predecessors and himself to the Abbacy of Pasly dated anno 1361 which was nine years before he was KING In which amongst other Witnesses Joannes Senescallus Dominus de Kyle primogenitus noster is one Which verifies also that his Father did communicat his Honours and Estate with him at that time This Charter is recorded in Fol. 39. of the Register of Pasly In the year 1328. on the thirteenth of February there is a Submission recorded in the said Register of Pasly betwixt the Procurator of the said Abbacy called Andrew Kelcho who was Prior of the Abbacy on the one part and Reginald More or Mure Procurator for the Master Channons and Monks of Simpringhame concerning 40 Merks of Annuity payable by the Abbacy of Pasly to Simpringhame and assigned by them to the said Reginald On which submission the Abbot is decerned to pay the 40 Merks to Reginald and his Successors he getting a sufficient Write from those of Simpringhame to secure Pasly for what they pay And for further Security to the Abbacy Reginald and his Son Sir William consign a Write disponing his Lands of Sanackar Camsestrang Doulargis Cowdams Stafflour and Hormisdale lying in the Baronies of Renfrew and Cowall in Warrandice to the Abbacy for securing them until he produced the said Writing from Simpringhame as said is he having failed for two years to procure the said security from Simpringhame those of Pasly addressed to Robert Earl of Strathern STEWART of SCOTLAND and to JOHN his eldest Son and Heir Who were Superiors of the Lands disponed by Reginald to them for their Security desiring a Charter whereby they might be seased in the saids Lands Which Robert and his said Son did grant and it is recorded in Folio 16. of the old Register of Pasly The Charter is long and therefore I have only abstracted out of it what is useful for our purpose as follows OMnibus hanc Cartam visuris vel audituris Robertus SENESCALLUS Scotiae Comes de Strathern JOANNES SENESCALLVS primo-genitus Haeres ipsius Dominus Baroniae de Kyle salutem in Domino sempiternam cum dudum Reginaldus More pater domini Wilelmi More militis concesserit pro se haeredibus suis firmiter obligaverit omnes terras suas subscriptas in Baronia de Kyle de Cowall viz. Terras de Sanakar de Camsestrang de Doulargis de Cowdams de Stafflour terram de Hormisdale quascunque alias terras suas possessiones infra dominum nostrum existentes religiosis viris Abboti conventui monasterii de Pasleto ordinis cluniacensis Glascuensis diocesis fore applicandas perpetuis eorum usibus appropriandas in casu quo ante primam solutionem sibi faciendam cujusdem annui redditus quadraginta Mercarum In quo dicebat idem Reginaldus dictos Abbatem conventum magistro Canonicis Monialibus de Sympringhame in Anglia singulis annis obligat Literas quietae clamationis perpetuae securitatis a praedicto Magistro Canonicis Monialibus de Sympringhame non procuraret ac eisdem Abbati conventui Monastrii de Pasleto praedictarum literarum praetextu virtute munitis praedictis Magistro Canonicis Monialibus de Sympringhame de praedicto annuo redditu in toto vel in parte non tenerentur in perpetuum ulterius respondere ac super hoc praedictus Reginaldus pro se haeredibus suis subjecerit praedictas terras voluntati ordinationi cognitioni SENESCALLI scotiae qui pro tempore fuerit patronus dicti Monasterii de Pasleto quod libere possit in favorem dictorum religiosorum virorum Abbatis Conventus Monasterii de Pasleto ad requisitionem
nos seu alium vel alios clam vel Palam directe velindirecte procuraverimus seu procuraverit impediri obligamus nos haeredes nostros per omniabona nostra Mobilia Immobilia ad solvend dictas decem Mercas de aliis Redditibus nostris ubi Episcopus Glascuensis qui pro tempore fuerit vel Capitulum ejusdem sede vacante duxerit eligendum toto tempore quo cessatum fuerit a solutione dictarum decem Mercarum percipen de annuo Redditu supradicto subjicientes nos haeredes nostros jurisdictioni coertioni Episcopi Glascuensis ipsius Officialis qui pro tempore fuerint ut ipsi per omnimodam censuram Ecclesiasticam nos haeredes nostros compellere valeant ad percipienda omnia singula supradicta in quo casu defecerimus vel defecerint quod absit in aliquo praemissorum ultra omnia praenotata nos haeredes nostri praedict Donationem Concessionem nostram de dictis decem Mercis annuis precipien ut supra de annuo Redditu praedictis Episcopo Ecclesiae Glascuensi Capellano qui` pro tempore fuerint contra omnes homines faeminas warrantizabimus acquitabimus in perpetuum defendemus In cujus rei testimoniumo sigillum nostrum una cum sigillo Joannis SENESCALLI Domini de Kyle primo-geneti haeredis nostri praesentibus est appensum his testibus venerabili patre Domino Roberto Abbate Monasterii Killwyning Dominis Joanne SENESCALLO fratre nostro Hugone de Eglingtoun Thoma de Fauside militibus Joanne Merser Burgensi de Perth Joanne de Ross Joanne Tayt armigeris aliis apud Perth duodecimo die Mensis Januarii anno Domini millesimo trecentesimo sexagesimo quarto Sigilibatur autem dicta Charta duobus sigillis rotundis ex cera rubra super alba quorum unum refert fasciam tesselatam in Circumferentia scriptum habens literis legibilibus ✚ sigillum Roberti SENESCALLI Scotiae Alterum item refert fasciam tessalatam duplario limbo liliis contra positis consitam in Circumferentia scriptum habens literis legibilibus S. Johis SENESCALLI in quorum omnium fidem praesentes literas omnium nostrorum manu subscriptas sigillo Regalis monasterii insigniri voluimus Datum in eodem monasterio die anno suprascripis Camillus Lesellice Abbas de Louuois H. Caille F. Joannes Mabillon Jalaze Eusebius Renaudot Nicolaus Clement F. Theodoricus Ruinavt Et Nos Hilarius Rouilli Dominus du Caudray Regi sanctioribus Consiliis Regiis in supra Rationum Curia procurator Qui huic virorum eruditissimorum rerum antiquarum peritissimorum Conventui interfuimus Chartam illam inspeximus examinavimus eorum sententiam suffragio nostro approbandam duximus censemusque nullomodo dubitari a quoquam posse quin ea sit verissima omniprorsus supicione carcus in quorum omnium sidem hoc nos manu nostra propria subscripsimus Sigillum apponi fecimus datum ut supra Rouille du Caudray Et Comites Barones alii Regis magnae Britanniae subditi infra scripti presentes sumus dum praedicta Charta inspiceretur examinaretur a supra scriptis viris eruditissimis eorum antiquorum peritissimis candemque nos pariter vidimus sanam integram reperimus in quorum fidem has praesentes literas Chyrographis nostris sigillis firmavimus datum ut supra This Charter granted on the 12. day of January 1364. in performance of a former Obligation and on so long before that the eldest Son of the Marriage with Elisabeth viz. JOHN is a Witness in this Deed under the Designation of the Lord of Kyle and eldest Son and Heir to the said Robert so that the Dispensation for a Marriage to be contracted could be no less than ten or twelve years before that Date And consequently the Marriage with Elizabeth Mure was not in the year 1373. altho' Eupheme Ross had then died as she did not for six years thereafter but the Marriage behoved to be at least 20 years before he was King and 29 years before Eupheme Ross died according to Fordan's account of her Death and 23 years before her Death according to Buchannan and Boetius and if there were no more to canvell the Authority of the groundles Histories but this single Document it were more than sufficient For it first proves that Elisabeth Mure was a person of Quality of Consanguinty and near Relation to the King and it is very probable she might have been so since the Baron of Rowallan was of near neighbour head to the Lords of Kyle and a proper Match for any of the Daughters of that Family and who by authenitck Documents yet upon Record and extent in Rowallans Charter-Chest appears to have been Heretor of 100 Merk-lands of Property and Superiority of old extant above these 300 years which is more than the Estate of ordinary Barons and our Historians telling she was the Daughter of a Knight called Sir Adam Mure and there being then no Families of that Name in Scotland and of that Quality but Rowallan Abercorn those of Abercorn who were co-temporary with Robert Earl of Strathern were Reginald the Father and Sir William the Son and Reginald Son to Sir William but no Sir Adam as appears by several Writs extant in the Records of Pasly in the Reigns of K. David Bruce Robert the 2d and Robert the 3d. there are several Charters and Writings on Record granted to those of Abercorn by the said Robert of Strathern but never with the Designation of Consanguineus or importing any Relation whereas this Dispensation evinces that the Family of Elisabeth Mure was in Consanguinity to the said Robert Nor was it a Disparagement for any Earl to marry a Knights Daughter and about that very time King David Bruce did marry the Daughter of Sir John Logie and Robert the third then called JOHN shortly thereafter whilst PRINCE of SCOTLAND did marry the Daughter of Sir Drummond Predecessor to the now Earl of Perth as appears by a Charter following on a Contract of Marriage confirming the PRINCE and the said Lady in several Lands anno Regni 3. which is extant in the Rolls of the Great Seal This Charter of Mortification to the Church of Glasgow likewise evinces that this Lady was so far from being a Concubine that the Earl of Strathern was at the pains to procure a Dispensation from the Pope before he could have her in Marriage And by the tenor of the Paper it is clear that the Dispensation was obtained before the Marriage was consumate And yet the eldest Son of the Marriage is a conjunct Disponer in this Charter with his Father of ten Merks Sterling to the Chaplain of Glasgow in the year 1364. In which year and in this most authentick Document under the Sign and Seal of her Husband before famous Witnesses she is spoke of as dead at that time Nor was there so great a Disparity betwixt the first and second
whence he and many Writers since have imposed this Comment as a Truth But if I prove that Eupheme Ross died not in the 2 d. year of King Robert's Reign but lived many years thereafter that will falsifie the first Assertion of the foresaid Paragraph If Elizabeth Mure whom he calls the Daughter of Adam Mure did not only bear two Daughters to Robert but six then our Historians have not been well informed of the State and Concerns of that Family If John Elizabeths eldest Son was Earl of Carrick Robert Earl of Menteith and Alexander Earl of Badinoch in the first year of King Roberts Reign then it is false that these Honours and Estates were bestowed upon them by their Father after the 3 d. year of his Reign If they were bestowed upon them in Eupheme Ross's Lifetime then it is false that they were bestowed upon them sometime after her Death If the Convention of Estates or Parliament who declared John the eldest Son of Robert by Elizabeth Mure to be his Successor in the Crown was kept and did so declare in the first year of King Roberts Reign and whilst Queen Eupheme was alive then it is false that this Convention was kept and did give this Declaration after her death and after the 3 d. year of King Roberts Reign And if it appear plainly that Robert Stuart of Scotland and Earl of Stratherne did whilst he was in these Stations and long before he was King own John his eldest Son by Elizabeth Mure to be his eldest Son and Heir and did share his Fortune and Honours with him and that he was so owned in all publick Writings by his Father by his Fathers Vassals and by those who contracted with his Father and him both Laicks and Ecclesiasticks and that by many reiterated Acts If he was so owned openly by King David Bruce before his Death then it is a sure Truth that he was so nor could his Right of Legitimacy and Filiation be taken from him no not by his Father And if it be true that not only his Father but the whole Estates of the Kingdom in Parliament conveen'd immediatly upon Robert the 2 ds coming to the Crown and in the first year of his Reign did owne John as the undoubted Heir and Successor to Robert and if at that time he was so owned by Queen Eupheme and all her Relations And if Elizabeth Mure was dead before the year 1364 then it is false that her Children were advanced by her being married to the King in the year 1373 or after Eupheme Rosses death And John the eldest Son's Right and Title is beyond all Controversie tho' not beyond all Calumny And lastly If Elizabeth Mure was so far from being a mean Person or a Concubine that she was a Person of such Quality and near Relation to Robert her Husband that he was at the Trouble to procure a Dispensation from the Pope and that at considerable Expenses for Allowance to marry her before he obtained her And if this Dispensation was granted several years before he was King and many years before Euphame Ross's death Then the Insinuation of her Meanness the Imputation of her being a Concubine the Untruth of her being married three years at least after King Robert was KING and indeed the whole of this Comment and false Relation appears to be a scandalous Libel But all these Positions in favours of JOHN appear from what follows 1. Fordon says that Queen Eupheme and Bishop Wardlaw died about the same time in the year 1387 King David Bruce died on the 7 th of May 1370 and Robert did hold his first Parliament on the 27 th day of March 1371 at Scoon and was then Crown'd as an authentick Record verifies to which also Buchanan and all the other Historians agree so that Queen Eupheme died not till the 17 th year of King Roberts Regin There is a Charter granted by King Robert the 2 d. of the Earldom of Murray excepting Lochquhaber Badinoch Castle and Barony of Vrquhart on the 9 th of March Anno Regni 2 do dilecto filio nostro Joanni de Dumbar Mariotae Sponsae ejus filiae nostre charissimae There is a Charter by Robert the 2 d. Apud Scoon tempore Parliamenti Anno Regni 2 d. Dilecto filio nostro Joanni de Yla of the Lands of Moydart Morvarn and many others And there are two other Charters in the Rolls of the Great-Seal to the said John of Yla Margaretae ejus Sponsae filiae nostrae charissimae Anno Regni 6 to of the Lands of Lochaber and Knoydart There is a Charter granted by Kobert the 2 d. Anno Regni nono to Thomas Hay Constable of Scotland filio nostro charissimo There is another Charter in the Rolls to him under the same Designation Anno Regni secundo And another to him Elizabethae ejus sponsae nostrae filiae on the eighteen Merks Sterling of Inchtuthill A Charter in the Rolls by Robert the 3 d. Anno Regni primo of 200 lib. Sterling of the Customs of Aberdeen to David Lindsay of Glenesk Dilecto nostro Fratri and John Dumbar Earl of Murray and David Lindsay of Glenesk are designed in several of King Robert the third's Charters Fratres nostri There is a Charter in the Rolls granted by King Robert the second to William Douglas Son to the Earl of Galloway Aegidae filiae nostrae charissimae of the Earldom of Nithsdale Anno Kegni Nota they had only one Daughter who was called the Fair Maid of Nithsdale who married Henry de sancto claro with whom he had the Earledom of Nithsdale but his Successors exchanged it with King James the second for the Earldom of Caithness John Lyon of Glames did marry another Daughter of King Robert's the second with whom he got the Lordship of Glames and the Original Charter granted to the said John and to his Daughter is yet in the Custody of the Earl of Strathmore his Successor Both the Historians and several Charters in the Rolls do instruct that the Douglas married King Roberts Daughter by Eupheme Ross. These authentick Records of King Robert's having seven Daughters do sufficiently shew how ill acquainted our Historians were with the State and Condition of the King's Children who say that he had but one Daughter by Eupheme Ross and two by Elizabeth Mure. There is in the Rolls a Charter by Robert the second in June Anno Regni primo to his Son Alexander of the sixty Davachs of Badinoch One the 13 of June and the first year of King Roberts Reign in a Charter granted to Allan Lawder of the Lands of Whitsled and others Testibus Willielm and Patric Episcopis sancti Andrae Brechen Joanne filio nostro natu maximo Comite de Carrick Roberto Comite de Menteith which Buchannan calls Taichiae Alexandero Senescallo filiis nostris Gulielmo Comite de Douglas c. On the 28 of May Anno Regni primo there is a
Charter of Confirmation granted by King Robert to John Kennedy of the half of the Barony of Dalrymple on a Disposition from Malcolm Son to Gilchrist Son to Adam Dalrymple of that Ilk Testibus Episcopis sancti Andreae Dunkelden Johanne primogenito nostro haerede Comite de Carrick Another Charter in June primo Anno Regni of the Lands of Badinoch to Alexander his Son Nota he was the youngest Son of Elizabeth Mure and his Heirs and failzing of him to David his Son and his Heirs Nota David was the eldest Son of Eupheme Ross and at the same time there was a Charter granted to David Earl of Strathern of the Lands of Vrquhart c. And the Reddendo of both these Charters are for Services to him and his Heirs Successors to the CROWN of SCOTLAND In these Charters amongst other Witnesses Joannes filius noster Comes de Carrick is always one Another Charter on the 8. of May Anno Regni secundo confirming to Paul Macktyre some Lands disponed to him by William Earl of Ross Testibus Wilielm Patric Episcopis sancti Andreae Brechen Joanne primo-genito nostro haerede Comite de Carrick c. In the Charters granted the first year of his Reign to David Earl of Strathern of the Lands of Vrquhart and the 2 d. year of his Reign to Queen Eupheme of the Lands and Castle of Kinross amongst the Witnesses Joannes filius noster natu maximus Haeres Comes de Carrick is always one There are twenty other Charters of the like Tenor which were needless to adduce for Confirmation of this Truth That in the very first year of his Reign John was Earl of Carrick Robert was Earl of Menteith and Alexander was Earl of Badinoch And therefore Buchannan and the other Historians are wrong in asserting that they were preferr'd to these Estates and Dignities after Eupheme Rosses Death and after the 3 d. year of his Reign But now we come to the more solid confutation of our Historians assertions and to show that not after the 3 d. year of King Robert the 2 ds Reign and after Queen Euphem's Death but in the first year of his Reign and on the 27 th of March that year being 1371 the King and Parliament do Recognosce John who was afterwards called Robert the 3 d. and was eldest Son of Elizabeth Mure to be the undoubted Lineal and Legal Successor to Robert his Father as his eldest Son and Heir The Evidence whereof is an authentick Act and Record of Parliament yet extant amongst the Kings Records to which the great Seal of the Kingdom is appended together with other 52 Seals of the Prelates Noblemen and Barons in Parliament assembled a full and true Abstract whereof follows In Nomine sanctae individuae Trinitatis Patris Filii Spiritus Sancti Amen Anno ab Incarnatione Domini millesimo tricentesimo septuagesimo primo secundum morem Computationem Ecclesiae Scoticanae Mensis Martii die vicesimo septimo serenissimus Princeps Dominus Robertus Rex Scotorum illustris Apud Sconam tempore suae Coronationis existens assistentibus sibi praelatis Comitibus Baronibus ac caeteris de Clero Populo Regni sui post sacra Vnctionis Coronationis suae Peracta solennia factaque Declaratione Juris quo idem serenissimus Princeps successit ac succedere debuit Domino David Regi Scotiae Avunculo Praedecessori suo tam proximitate sanguinis quam ex quadam declaratione per quaedam instrumenta confecta tempore inclytae memoriae Domini Roberti Regis Scotiae avi praedecessoris ipsius Domini nostri Regis ibidem exhibita atque lecta Nec non receptis homagii fidelitatis solitis juramentis ab ipsis Praelatis Comitibus Baronibus aliis de clero populo ibidem existentibus in Coronatione Regum Scotiae ab olim praestari consuetis debitis volens more exemplo celebris memoriae ejusdem boni Regis Roberti avi sui coram Clero populo Successorem verum Haredem suum declare ibidem licet de ipso clarè constitit atque constet ex abundanti unanimi consensu assensu dictorum Praelatorum Comitum procerum magnatum indicavit asseruit recognovit declaravit voluit quod cum ipsum contigerit pro dispositione divina ab hac luce migrare Dominus Joannes filius suus primogenitus Comes de Carrick SENESCALLVS SCOTIAE erit esse debet verus legitimus haeres fuus ac sibi post mortem suam in Regno Scotiae domino disponente succedet succedere debet posteum sedebit sedere debebit super SOLIVM Regni sui Qua Declaratione sic facta per ipsum Dominum nostrum Regem de praefato primogenito haerede suo ex abundanti ut supra unusquisque praelatorum Comitum procerum magnatum aliorum ibidem existentium voce propriâ singulatim pro se haeredibus successoribus suis asseruit affirmavit declaravit recognovit voluit Quod idem Dominus Joannes post mortem praefati patris sui superstes vivus sit divinà favente gratia futurus Rex Scotiae tanquam haeres legitimus ejusdem patris sui Promittens quilibet bona fide manu in signum fidei dationis levata quod eum pro Rege haerede legitimo ejusdem patris sui habiturus crit ipsumque juvabit atque defendet contra quoscunque mortales nec non sigillum suum scripto seu juramento super hoc fiendo apponens in signum suorum consensus promissionis praedictorum cum ipsi super hoc fuerint requisiti Quibus recognitione promisso fidei datione in consilio Domini nostri Regis sic praemissis actis idem Dominus noster Rex per venerabilem virum magistrum Joannem de Peebles Doctorem Decretorum canonicum Glasguen Clericum suum proponi fecit in publicum qualiter ex abundanti indicavit declaravit prefatum Dominum Joannem filium suum primogenitum verum suum heredem nunc esse esse debere de jure Et post mortem suam regni Scotiae volente Deo REGEM futurum Et qualiter praefati Comites Proceres alii de consilio affirmarunt cognoverunt consenserunt fide media ut praemittitur promiserunt quod populum cum clero convocari fecerat ut in eorum praesentia de eorum consensu unanimi fieret publicaretur Ne aliquis super hoc ignorantiam praetendere posset aliqualiter in futurum Tota autem multitudo Praelatorum Comitum Baronum aliorum tam cleri quam populi unanimi voluntate clamore consono nullo penitus reclamante affirmaverunt recognoverunt voluerunt ipsum Dominum Joannem tanquam primogenitum haeredem Domininostri Regis patris sui suum fore Regem futurum ac manu levata in signum fidei dationis promiserunt quod eum pro Rege suo futuro
volente Deo habiturierant post mortem patris sui ipsumque juvabunt atque defendent de toto posse contra quoscunque mortales Quibus sic actis praefati Praelati Comites Barones ibidem existentes sigilla sua huic scripto apposuerunt ad perpetuam futuram memoriam in testimonium omnium praemissorum una cum signo subscriptione publici tabellionis subscripti Acta fuerunt haec apud Abatiam de Sconae Mense die annis supradictis Et ego Joannes Rollo Clericus Moravien Diocaesis publicus auctoritate Apostolica Notarius praedictis indicationi Declarationi Affirmationi nec non Promissioni manuum levationi ac Magistri Joannis de Peebles populo publicationi una cum venerabilibus in Christo patribus Dominis Wilielmo Waltero Patricio sancti Andreae Glasguen Brechen Ecclesiarum Episcopis ac discretis viris Dominis Joanne de Carrick Canonico Glasguen Wilielmo de Biggar Rectore Ecclesiae de Errol Cancellario Camerario Scotiae nobilibus viris potentibus Dominis Thoma de Marr Gulielmo de Douglas Roberto senescal Comitibus Thoma de Hay Gulielmo de Keith Constabulario Mariscallo Scotiae Archibaldo de Douglass Jacobo de Douglass Roberto de Erskin Alexandro de Lindsay Thoma de Erskin Duncano Wallace Baronibus ac Militib Magistro Joanne de Peebles supradicto multis aliis praesentibus ad praemissa vocatis pariter rogatis primo in secreta camera praedicti Domini nostri Regisin suo secreto Concilio post in Camera ut dictum in publicum coram populi multitudine hoc approbante factum Anno Die Mense locis supradictis indictione nonâ pontificatus sanctissimi in Christo patris Gregorii undecimi divina providentia Papae quia presens interfui itaque omnia singula superius expressa dum sic agerentur scivi vidi audivi praesens Instrumentum manu alterius scriptum signo meo consueto ad instantiam predicti Domini Joannis Domini Regis primo-geniti Comitis de Carrick SCOTIAE SENESCALI I signavi mea propria manu subscribens vocatus pariter rogatus in testimonium omnium praemissorum The Names of the Subscribers whose Names and Seals are at this day extant and appended to the Declaration and Act above insert Bishops St. Andreae Glasguen Dunkelden Aberdonen Moravien Rossen Dumblanen Caitenen Brechenen Ergaden Gallovidien Cancellarius Comerarius Dumfermling Aberbroth Melros Sconen Prior Sti. Andreae E. Marr E. Marchiae E. Strathern E. Menteith E. Levenax Dominus Jacobus de Lindsay Constabular Mariscall D. Jacobus de Douglass Walterus de Lesly D.R. de Erskin D. Alexander de Lindsay D. Walterus de Halyburtoun D. Wilielmus de Cuninghame D. Jac de Danielstoun D.H. de Eglintoun Prior St Crucis Kelcho Jedworth Kilwyning Cambustionel Couper Lindors Newbottle Driburgh D. Alexander de Gordon D. filius Walthi D. Pat. de Heburn D. de Dinisdeer The said Act and Declaration rendred in English IN the Name of the Blessed and undivided TRINITY of the Father Son and Holy Spirit Amen Upon the 27 th day of the Moneth of March and year from the Incarnation of Christ 1371 according to the Custom and Computation of the Church of SCOTLAND The most Renowned Prince ROEBRT KING of SCOTS at Scoon the time of his Highness Coronation the Bishops Earls Barons and others of the Clergy and People of his Kingdom standing by and there present after the sacred Solemnities of His Anointment and Coronation were ended and the Declaration of his Right by which the said Illustrious PRINCE did succeed and ought to succeed to David KING of SCOTLAND his Uncle and Predecessor as well by propinquity of Bloud as upon the Account and by Reason and by vertue of certain instruments made in the time of ROBERT KING of SCOTLAND his Goodsir and Predecessor of worthy Memory then opened up and publickly read And the usual Oaths of Homage and Fidelity being taken by the said Prelats Earls Barons and others of the Clergy and People there present used and wont of old to be exacted at the Coronation of the KINGS of SCOTLAND Being desirous after the Custom and Example of the foresaid Good KING ROBERT his Grand-father of blessed Memory to declare before the Clergy and People his Successor and true Heir tho' the same did clearly appear and might abundantly be known by the unanimous Consent and Assent of the said Prelats Earls Lords and Barons His Sacred Majesty did Declare Assert Acknowledge Manifest and Will that whenever it should happen his Highness at the pleasure of Almighty GOD to depart from this Life Lord JOHN his Majesties eldest Son Earl of Carrick and STEWART of of SCOTLAND should and ought to be his lawful Heir and after his Highness Death should succeed to him in the Kingdom of SCOTLAND by the providence of GOD And that after him he should sit and ought to sit upon the THRONE of the Kingdom Which Declaration being so emitted by our Soveraign Lord the KING himself concerning his said eldest Son and Heir Every one of the said Prelats Earls Lords Barons and others there present with a full Voice one by one for himself Heirs and Successors did Assert Affirm Acknowledge Declare and Will that the said Lord JOHN after the death of his said Father being to the sore and on Life by the grace of GOD should be KING of SCOTLAND as lawful Heir of his said Father Promising each of them bona fide and having their Hands lifted up to Heaven in token of their Sincerity that he should be had and esteemed as their KING and lawful Heir of his said Father And that they should Assist and Defend him against all Mortals As also that they should Append and put their Seal to the Act or Statute to be made thereupon in token of their Consent and Promise of these things whenever they should be required thereto Which Acknowledgment Promise and Oath given by them in the Council of our Soveraign Lord the King's Majesty did cause the Right Venerable Mr. John Peebles Clerk of the Records of the Diocess of Glasgow to Insert and Record in publick Register That forasmuch as he had sufficiently declared the said Lord JOHN his eldest Son to be now his true Heir and that by Law he ought after his death at the Disposal of GOD to be KING of the Kingdom of SCOTLAND And that forasmuch as the said Earls Lords and others of the Council did Affirm Acknowledge Consent and by Oath as said is Promise And that his Highness had called the People with the Clergy to the effect in their presence and by their unanimous Consent the same might be Decreed and Published least any should pretend Ignorance of this any manner of way in time-coming The whole Multitude of Prelats Earls and Barons and others as well of the Clergy as People with one accord unanimous Consent and Will none at all gainsaying Did Affirm Acknowledge and Will That the said Lord JOHN as eldest
before he was KING longer before Eupheme Rosses death yea in the whole tract of her Lifetime and likeways by Eupheme Ross her self and by her Children who did take all their Charters either with the said John's Consent or admitting him as Witness in their Writings under the Designation of the King 's eldest Son and Heir It is also clear that he was owned under that Designation by his Fathers Vassals who did take their Charters from the Father always with His Consent with the solemnity of his Seal as well as his Fathers and always under the Designation of his eldest Son and Heir The Bishops Lords and Gentlemen of the best Quality in the adjacent Countrey owned him as such in being Witnesses with him under that Designation But if such a Cloud of Witnesses and Writings do leave any doubt then that of a whole Kingdom can leave none And this we have also For the Bishops of Scotland had no Right to dispose of their Moveables by Testament King Robert the Bruce had promised ta give them this Priviledge yet had not performed it before his death King David Bruce his son in one of his last Parliaments passes a Deed by way of Act narrating his Fathers Promise and Resolution And therefore he ratifies the said Promise and of new grants and confirms to all the Bishops in Scotland Power and Priviledge to dispone their Moveables by Testament Which authentick Act and Deed stands recorded in the Records of the Great-Seal and is as follows DAVID Deigratia Rex Scotorum notum facimus universis quod licet ex consuetudine ab antiquis introducta temporibus continuata usque praesens per nos praedecessores nostros extitit tanquam pro privilegio speciali servatum quod bona quecunque mobilia Episcopis Regni nostri temporemortis ipsorum Regiis sic applicata sunt usibus quod ab ipsis Episcopis in suis testamentibus condendis super bonis disponen hujusmodi omnino fuerit hactenus adempta facultas Quia tamen tam per cleri nostri quam aliorum de nostro Consilio prudentiam sumus cum veris lucidis rationibus informati quod consuctudo hujusmodi cessit hactenus in posterum cedere demonstratur in indecentiam honestatis Ecclesiae in opprobrum status cleri Nos ob reverentiam divini Nominis ad instantiam Praelatorum super hoc nobis instanter supplicantium de consensu assensu Roberti SENESCALLI Scotiae nepotis nostri liberorum suorum nec non aliorum Baronum procerum ac communi Comitatuum Regni nostri in pleno nostro Parliamento tento apud Perth pro nobis nostrisque haeredibus successoribus de gratia nostra speciali concedimus praesentium literarum serie confirmamus quod omnes singuli Episcopi Regni nostri tam postea quam praesentes de quibuscunque Mobilibus suis tempore mortis suae sua testamenta condere valeant pro sua voluntate disponere sine aliquo objectu contradictione vel impedimento dicta consuetudine sive usu longaevi temporis in contrarium non obstante terris tamen redditibus dominiis servitiis quibuscunque ipsorum episcopatuum cum pertinentiis nec non juribus patronanum ecclesiarum quae ad regaliam nostram pertinere consueverint adhuc pertinent sede vacante omnibus singulis aliis praeter expressa superius juri regio voluntatique dispositioni nostri haredum ac successorum nostrorum in omnibus per omnia reservatis Et si contigerit aliquem ipsorum Episcoporum Regninostri aliquo unquam tempore quod absit ab intestato decedere volumus tenore praesentium concedimus pro nobis nostris haeredibus successoribus in perpetuum quod Amici propinquiores dictorum Episcoporum de universis suis bonis Mobilibus absque quocunque impedimento per nos aut Ministros nostros faciendo disponere pro suae libito volunta t is prout pro salute animarum ipsorum Episcoporum melius videat expedire Et propter praefatam gratiam ipsis Episcopis praesentibus futuris concessam ipsi eorum singuli ac successores eorundem pro nobis in vita nostra post mortem pro anima nostra anima recolendae memoriae Domini patris nostri nec non pro salubri statu cujuslibet haeredum successorum nostrorum dum vixerint pro animabus eorundem cum ab hac luce migraverint in Cathredralibus Ecclesiis continuo unam Capellam perpetuam qualibet cathedrali Ecclesia constituend unam missam facient in perpetuum specialiter celebrari praeter mifsas alia orationum suffragia ad quae antecessoribus successoribns nostris ex debito jam tenentur In cujus rei testimonium has literas nostras ad perpetuam rei memoriam duraturas sigilli nostri authentici fecimus appensione muniri testibus Roberto SENESCALLO Comite de Stratherne Nepote nostro supradicto Ioanne SENESCALLO comite de Carrick filio suo primogenito haerede Thoma Comite de Marr Georgio de Dumbar Comite Marchiae Willelmo Comite de By this notable Charter verbatim Extracted from the authentick Records it is evident that JOHN afterwards called Robert the 3 d. was eldest Son and Heir to Robert the 2 d. not after the third year of Robert the 2 ds Reign nor after Eupheme Ross's Death but in King David Bruces Reign 37. years before Eupheme Ross's Death Now if King David Bruce and the whole States of the Kingdom do solemnly Recognize and owne JOHN eldest Son and Heir to Robert Earl of Strathern before Robert was KING and whilst he was married on Eupheme Ross and if all his Vassals and Neighbours did own him also as such and his Father likewise doing always so And if his Father Queen Eupheme Queen Euphem's Children did own him as such after he was KING And if the whole Estates of the Kingdom have by the most solemn and authentick Document that is extant in all our Records or perhaps in Christendom and sealed it with their Seals which is as yet extant in publick Custody then our Historians Assertion of Elizabeth Mure's being a Concubine and of her Children's being Bastards until they were forsooth legitimat by a Marriage after Eupheme Rosses death And which Marriage was many years after Elizabeth Mur's death since in an autentick Document after adduced she is spoke of as dead anno 1364 and her eldest Son is Witness in that Document which had been both fraudulent and without Fond in Law is false and the whole Superstructure against the Honour of that Lady and her Children and against the lawful Succession and just Rights of the Crown do fall as founded on groundless Assertions and Untruths Since the aforementioned Papers do prove that Elizabeth Mure was lawful Wife and her Children lawful and eldest Children to Robert the second and that the Right of Succession was due to them thereby and not by any
subsequent Marriage nor by any Act of Parliament And therefore Elizabeth Mure or More was first and lawful Wife to Robert Earl of Strathern STEWART and thereafter KING of SCOTLAND and John was his eldest Son and apparent Heir antecedently to the Act of Parliament and to Eupheme Rosses death As the foregoing Collection and Abstracts do fully verifie that Elizabeth Mure's Children were recognized and owned as King Robert the seconds eldest lawful Children and his Son as his eldest Son and undoubted Heir before Robert was King so soon as he was Crowned King and in the whole Tract of his Reign before he married Eupheme Ross during her Marriage and after her Death and that by no less evidence than authentick Deeds and Instruments extant both on Record and in their Originals and with no lower Avouchers than Kings and Parliaments in Parliament conveened and many other authentick Documents of undoubted Faith besides a few of which much more all do make so strong a Probation of Elisabeth Mure's Marriage and the Legitimation of her Children that they could not be redargued by Robert the 2 d. himself if he would and are stronger proofs thereof than any perhaps in the World can produce after so long a time yet to confirm this truth I shall add one whch is not in our Records but in a very publick one the notice whereof came to my knoledge lately by Mr. Forbes who came from Doway and had an authentick Extract which he gave me whilst he was Prisoner here And very long after I had made the former Collection It is an Abstract of a Charter gtanted by Robert STEWART of SCOTLAND Earl of Strathern in the year 1364. Whereby he gives grants and founds a Chaplanary in the Church of Glasgow and that for performing an Obligation under which he did ly to the Bishop of Glasgow as delegate from the Pope to grant to the said Robert Earl of Strathern a Dispensation for a Marriage to be contracted betwixt him and Elisabeth Mure by reason of his Affinity and Consanguinity with her The Original of which Charter with its Seals and Subscriptions is as yet extant and entire in the Scots Colledge of Paris whether it was carried by James Beton Arch-bishop of Glasgow and depositat there with many other authentick Records of that Bishoprick The Abstract of which Deed and Instrument follows Nos infra scripti rogati a clarissimo viro Ludovico Innese Reginae magnae Britaniae Eleemosinario Primario Collegii Scotorum in Academia Parisiensi ut conveniremus in regale monasterium sancti Germani a pratis situm in hac urbe parisiensi illic inspecturi diligenter examinaturi Chartam Roberti SENESCALLI Scotiae datam apud Perth Anno Domini millesimo trecentesimo sexagesimo quarto duodecimo die Mensis Januarii quae servatur authentica in archivo ejusdem collegii denuo instaurati per reverendissimum in Christo patrem Jacobnm a Bethum Archepiscopum Glascuensem in Scotia quisecum vetera Ecclesiae suae monumenta in hanc Vrbem transtulit partim in eodem Collegio ad perpetuam rei memoriam deposuit convenientes anno Domini millesimo sexcentesimo nonagesimo quarto die vigesima sexta mensis Maii chartam supra commemoratam nobis ab eodem clarissimo viro Ludovico Innese exhibitam diligenter inspeximus examinavimus eacura qua major adhiberi non potuit excussimus eam jue testamur esse antiquam genuinam scriptam charactere illorum omnino temporum nullam falsi aut suppositionis suspicionem facere posse sigillis duobus sigillatam quae testamur etiam esse antiqua integra Ad majorem autem testimonii judiciique nostri fidem eandem Chartam hic de verbo ad verbum describi curavi mus Que talis est OMnibus hanc Cartam visuris vel audituris Robertus SENESCALLVS Scotiae Comes de Stratratherne salutem in Domino sempiternam cum dudum venerabili patri Domino Zuillano Dei gratia episcopo Glascuensi fuerit per literas apostolicas specialiter delegatum ut supra matrimonio contrahendo inter nos quondam Elisabeth More dum ageret in humanis non obstante impedimento consanguinitatis affinitatis contractui matrimoniali praedicto impedimentum praestante authoritaate apostolica dispensaret dummodo duas Capellas las velunam pro arbitrio ipsius episcopi perpetuo fundaremus ac dictus venerablis pater consideratis in hac parte considerandis nobiscum super impedimento praedicto authoritate qua supra dispensans nobis injunxit ut una Capellania in Ecclesia Glascuensi ad unum certum Altare ad pensionem decem mercarum Sterling annuatim percipend de certis Redditibus nostris fundaretur perpetuo nosque eandem capellaniam sic fundare fideliter promisimus infra certum tempus jam transactum nobis per dictum Episcopum limitatum Noverit universitas vistra nos ex causa praemissa dedisse concessisse hac presenti carta nostra Confirmasse pro nobis haeredibus nostris perpetuo Deo beatae Mariae Virgini beato Kentigerno uni Capellano celebrat celebraturo perpetuo in Ecclesia Glascuensi praedicta decem mercas Sterling ad sustentationem ejusdem Capellani anuatim percipend de annuo redditu quadraginta Librarum Sterling exeunte de terra de Cars Abbatis infra vice-comitatum de Stryveline nobis haeredibus nostris debet per religiosos viros Abbatem conventum monasterii sanctae crucis de Edinburg Tenen haben percipien annuatim in perpetuum eidem Capellano qui pro tempore fuerit per manus dictorum Religiosorum ad terminos Pentecostes sancti Martini in hyeme per portiones aequales in liberam puram perpetuam Eleemosynam adeo liberè quietè plenariè honorificè sicut aliqua Elymosina per totum Regnum Scotiae liberius conceditur percipitur sive datur Et nihilominus totum jus nobis competens per Chartam infeodationis recolendae memorae Domini Regis Roberti avi nostri sive obligatorum dictorum Abbatis Conventus seu quascunque alias Evidentias ad compellendum dictos Abbatum Conventum adsolutionem dicti annui redditus decem Mercarum in Episcopum Glascuensem qui pro tempore fuerit Capitulum Glascuense sede vacante per hanc Chartam nostram perpetuo transferimus ipsosque eorum alterum quantum ad hoc nostros haeredum nostrorum Assignatos Assignatum facimus constituimus etiam ordinamus si forte contingat quod absit quod dictae decem Mercae annuae per dictum Capellanum qui pro tempore fuerit percipi non potuerint ut est dictum vel ex eo quod dicti Abbas Conventus solvere noluerint aut compelli non potuerint ad solutionem earundem vel ex eo quod nos aut aliquis haeredum nostrorum contra praesentem infeodationem concessionem nostram solutionem dictarum decem Mercarum impediverimus aut impediverit aut per
Governour of Scotland and both Sons to to the said Elisabeth Mure puts it out of all Reasonable Doubt that this Lady was a Daughter of that Family There is such a heap of Absurdities and Inconsistencies as well as Falshoods in the Forgery of this Fable that in pity to our Historiographers I will prosecute it no further hoping it may teach all future Writers to have better Avouchers for their Assertions than common bruit and open Fame or to take on Trust what 's writ by former Authors without authentick Evidence The Proofs of this Marriage are so strong and clear as to leave no Doubt except that of their being too clear for why should one design his Son always his eldest Son and Heir unless it had been doubtful that he was so As this is but a silly Conjecture in ballance with the least of the former Evidences so it will only occur to those who are little acquainted with the Stile of Writings at that time for there are hundreds of Charters by privat Subjects standing on Record then and thereafter with the very like Designations A second scruple is why should a Parliament recognize JOHN to be King Robert the 2 ds Son and Heir unless there were ground to doubt it And that an Act of Parliament was necessary to make that be believed But if they read this that they call an Act of Parliament Recognizing John's Title they will find a Narration sufficient to answer their Objection and those who are acquaint with our History know that it was ordinary for our Kings to make publick Declarations of their eldest Sons Succession David the first did send Malcolm his eldest Grand-child by Henry the Prince with Mcduff Earl of Fife through the whole Kingdom to be shewen and declared as his successor and Heir but this Custom was judged more necessary by King Robert Bruce and his Successors For the debate in the Succession betwixt the Baliol and the Bruce having brought the Kingdom to the very Brink of Ruine King Robert the Bruce before his Death did in Parliament declare that David his Son was his undoubted Heir and Successor albeit at that time he had neither Son nor Brother but David only Which is one of Mr. Cookes mistakes who writes as if Edward Bruce his Brother were then alive whereas he was dead long before King David Bruce after his Fathers Example did in a Parliament at Scoon Publish and Declare that Robert Earl of Strathern his Sisters Son was his undoubted Heir and Successor albeit at that time there was none of that Family to compete with him And as this Instrument before insert does narrate that this wise King in Example of his Predecessors did publish this Document so neither wanted their good Reasons why these three last Kings should have done so the Crown having been but lately before transported from the Baliols to their Family so that albeit there was no shadow of Competition in their own Family yet there was no imprudence in engaging the Parliament to own their Succession and to put frequent Bars upon the Door against the Race of the Baliol which then did exist both in the Baliol and the Cumming The last frivolous Objection is why did our Historians unanimously assert Elisabeth Mure's being married to Robert the 2 d. after Eupheme Ross's Death that is to say there are very great proofs that Elisabeth Mure was King Roberts Wife but some will not believe the truth unless you tell why our Historiographers did ly to which this is a sufficient Answer you should believe truth because it is proven and reject the Assertion which is redargued by so many Demonstrations but if you will allow me after clear Demonstrations of their Error to make some Excuse for their rash Injuries I offer these Conjectures viz. Major the eldest of these Historians wrote his History in the beginning of Queen Maries Reign some 200. years after Elisabeth Mure's Marriage he cites no Author nor can we learn of any that he had except the Manuscript of the Continuator of Fordan an obscure man whose Writings shew that he did take common Reports as Proofs and Warrants for his Assertions but Fordan who wrote before that time hath not the least Assertion of this so considerable a matter had it been true and Majors Philosophy as well as his History does sufficiently shew that he did take for truth what others reported at Random Boetius's Business was to give good Latine to the Collections of his Predecessors and he was happy enough in Writing had he not unhappily stuffed it with too many Fables which we must only impute to his easie Nature Lesly had no Design in writing his History but to assert his Queens Right and resent the Injuries done her and therefore minded little to put his Authors to the Test of Record Buchanan who was to support a bad Design by writing excellently his care was not to canvell Fashoods especialy when they contributed to his purpose as this Imputation bound on Elisabeth Mure and her Succession did and albeit the first must needs have founded the Account on false Report and never looked into the Records which had they done that which now appears clearly to us in redarguing that Falshood would certainly have done so to them so the succeeding Authors have this Excuse tho' I confess a bad one that they found their Falshood on what was writ before them And perhaps even the first of them by a supine inadvertence having heard that Robert the 2 d. after Queen Euphem's Death had Children by a Concubine to whom he had great Kindness and that this Concubin's Name was Moram did ignorantly confound this Concubine Moram with his first Wife Mure. My Conjecture is founded on this following Charter ROBERTUS Dei gratiâ Rex Scotorum sciatis nos dedisse hac praesenti Cartâ nostrâ Confirmasse JOANNI SENESCALL genito inter nos dilectam nostram Moram omnes singulas terras nostras de Ballachie de Moncreiff cum pertinen in Thanagio de Kinclaven infra vice-comitatum Perth Tenen Haben eidem Joanni haeredibus suis de Corpore suo legitime procreandis quibus utique forsitan deficientibus dilecto filio nostro JACOBO SENESCALL genito inter nos Mariotam de Cairden haeredibus suis de Corpore suo legitime procreandis Quibus utique forsitan deficien ALEXANDRO SENESCALL dilecto filio nostro de dicta Mariota genito haeredibus suis de Corpore suo legitime procreandis quibus similiter fortasse deficientibus ad nos haeredes nostros Reges Scotiae plenarie perpetuo revrsuris c. Reddendo unum denarium c. apud Perth 15. January anno Regni nostri 12. This Charter gives you Account of 4. â—Sons of King Robert the 2 d. and two Concubines never mentioned in our Histories Moram seems to have been the last of the two Concubines because her Son John's Charter bears a