Malise III of Strathearn (Gaelic: Maol Íosa; c. 1257 – 1312) was a Scottish nobleman, the ruler of the region of Strathearn.
He was the son of Malise II and his second wife Matilda, daughter of Gilbert, Earl of Orkney and Caithness. He succeeded his father on the latter's death in 1271, though for some reason he does not refer to himself as Earl until 1283, perhaps because he had not been formally infeft in the earldom.
Malise helped to keep the Kingdom of Scotland stable after the death of King Alexander, and in an example of his behaviour, he is recorded as levying the tenants of the land belonging to Inchaffray Abbey to help preserve the peace. In 1284 he had joined with other Scottish noblemen who acknowledged Margaret, Maid of Norway as the heir to Alexander.
In the interregnum following Margaret's death, Malise took a prominent part in state affairs, and was involved in most of the political events of the time. Perhaps because of his marriage into the House of Comyn, he took the side of John Balliol in his competition for the throne with Robert Bruce, and accompanied John at the Battle of Dunbar in 1296. Later he swore fealty to Edward I of England, and two of his sons were taken as hostages by that king, to ensure their father's good behaviour.
In 1297 he took the Earl of Fife's uncle as a prisoner for King Edward, along with his two sons. A close friend of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward II), he was invested in 1305 as Lieutenant of the Warden north of the Forth.
In 1306 he was ordered to take the sons of the Steward of Scotland and the Earl of Atholl as hostages, but before he could complete this task, he was imprisoned in Rochester Castle because of his alleged surrender to King Robert Bruce. According to Malise, King Robert and the Earl of Atholl had marched into Strathearn and deceived and coerced him into paying Robert homage. Notwithstanding this explanation, he remained imprisoned. On petition from the Earl's wife and sons, King Edward ordered an inquiry to be made, but nothing came of this. After having been transferred to York in 1307, he was finally acquitted and set free in 1310.
Malise was present on the English side when King Robert stormed Perth Castle in 1312. He died later the same year, and was entombed in Inchaffray Abbey, to the right of the high altar.
Marriage and issueedit
The Earl married a lady named Agnes, likely the second daughter of Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan. The Countess Agnes would later be imprisoned for life for conspiring against King Robert with her nephew William Soules. Malise and Agnes had three sons and a daughter:
malise, earl, strathearn, malise, strathearn, gaelic, maol, Íosa, 1257, 1312, scottish, nobleman, ruler, region, strathearn, malise, second, wife, matilda, daughter, gilbert, earl, orkney, caithness, succeeded, father, latter, death, 1271, though, some, reason. Malise III of Strathearn Gaelic Maol Iosa c 1257 1312 was a Scottish nobleman the ruler of the region of Strathearn He was the son of Malise II and his second wife Matilda daughter of Gilbert Earl of Orkney and Caithness He succeeded his father on the latter s death in 1271 though for some reason he does not refer to himself as Earl until 1283 perhaps because he had not been formally infeft in the earldom Malise helped to keep the Kingdom of Scotland stable after the death of King Alexander and in an example of his behaviour he is recorded as levying the tenants of the land belonging to Inchaffray Abbey to help preserve the peace In 1284 he had joined with other Scottish noblemen who acknowledged Margaret Maid of Norway as the heir to Alexander In the interregnum following Margaret s death Malise took a prominent part in state affairs and was involved in most of the political events of the time Perhaps because of his marriage into the House of Comyn he took the side of John Balliol in his competition for the throne with Robert Bruce and accompanied John at the Battle of Dunbar in 1296 Later he swore fealty to Edward I of England and two of his sons were taken as hostages by that king to ensure their father s good behaviour In 1297 he took the Earl of Fife s uncle as a prisoner for King Edward along with his two sons A close friend of the Prince of Wales later King Edward II he was invested in 1305 as Lieutenant of the Warden north of the Forth In 1306 he was ordered to take the sons of the Steward of Scotland and the Earl of Atholl as hostages but before he could complete this task he was imprisoned in Rochester Castle because of his alleged surrender to King Robert Bruce According to Malise King Robert and the Earl of Atholl had marched into Strathearn and deceived and coerced him into paying Robert homage Notwithstanding this explanation he remained imprisoned On petition from the Earl s wife and sons King Edward ordered an inquiry to be made but nothing came of this After having been transferred to York in 1307 he was finally acquitted and set free in 1310 Malise was present on the English side when King Robert stormed Perth Castle in 1312 He died later the same year and was entombed in Inchaffray Abbey to the right of the high altar Marriage and issue editThe Earl married a lady named Agnes likely the second daughter of Alexander Comyn Earl of Buchan The Countess Agnes would later be imprisoned for life for conspiring against King Robert with her nephew William Soules Malise and Agnes had three sons and a daughter Malise IV succeeded as Earl Gilbert went with King Edward to Flanders in 1297 and may have died or been killed there Robert is recorded as having been imprisoned in the Tower of London with other Scottish youths in 1297 Nothing further is known of him Matilda married Robert de Toeni Lord Toeni of Flamsted 1276 1309 son of Ralph de Toeni References editAnderson Rev d John The Ancient Earls of Strathearn in Sir James Balfour Paul ed The Scots Peerage Volume VIII Edinburgh 1911 pp 247 50 Rymer Thomas Foedera Conventiones Literae et cuiuscunque generis Acta Publica inter Reges Angliae London 1745 Latin 1 Neville Cynthia J Native Lordship in Medieval Scotland The Earldoms of Strathearn and Lennox c 1140 1365 Portland amp Dublin 2005 External links edit Strathearn Malise Dictionary of National Biography London Smith Elder amp Co 1885 1900 Preceded byMalise II Mormaer of Strathearn1271 1317 Succeeded byMalise IV Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Malise III Earl of Strathearn amp oldid 1173528538, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
