Forbes: A Story of Scotland offers a sweeping yet remarkably readable journey through Scotland’s past, told through the vivid, deeply human lens of one of its most influential clans. Spanning the Wars of Independence, the upheavals of the Protestant Reformation, the rise of the Stuart monarchs, and the turbulent age of rebellion and union, the book reveals how the choices and convictions of Clan Forbes intersected with the forces that shaped a nation.
Rather than recounting history from a distant national perspective, the narrative unfolds through unforgettable episodes: Lady Margaret Forbes of Towie’s defiance, the tragic execution of the Master of Forbes, Arthur Forbes of Rires’s fateful act of vengeance, and Charles Forbes of Brux’s notorious drinking binge that altered the Jacobite cause.The climactic chapter on the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion brings the era to life through the authentic voices of Duncan Forbes of Culloden, Lord Pitsligo, and their contemporaries.
These intimate moments illuminate the clan’s alliances and rivalries with families such as the Bruces, Stewarts, Gordons, Campbells, and Frasers, revealing a world where loyalty carried profound consequences.
Richly researched and deeply human, this is both a compelling family saga and a fresh, authoritative history of Scotland itself.
Forbes: A Story of Scotland offers a sweeping yet remarkably readable journey through Scotland’s past, told through the vivid, deeply human lens of one of its most influential clans. Spanning the Wars of Independence, the upheavals of the Protestant Reformation, the rise of the Stuart monarchs, and the turbulent age of rebellion and union, the book reveals how the choices and convictions of Clan Forbes intersected with the forces that shaped a nation.
Rather than recounting history from a distant national perspective, the narrative unfolds through unforgettable episodes: Lady Margaret Forbes of Towie’s defiance, the tragic execution of the Master of Forbes, Arthur Forbes of Rires’s fateful act of vengeance, and Charles Forbes of Brux’s notorious drinking binge that altered the Jacobite cause.The climactic chapter on the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion brings the era to life through the authentic voices of Duncan Forbes of Culloden, Lord Pitsligo, and their contemporaries.
These intimate moments illuminate the clan’s alliances and rivalries with families such as the Bruces, Stewarts, Gordons, Campbells, and Frasers, revealing a world where loyalty carried profound consequences.
Richly researched and deeply human, this is both a compelling family saga and a fresh, authoritative history of Scotland itself.
Ye Landis of Forbes
While the origin of the name Forbes may be shrouded in mystery and legend, the clan’s legacy is boldly inscribed in the pages of Scottish history. Emerging from oral tradition, the Forbes family established its ancestral claim in law. The early lairds of Forbes secured their homeland not through charter alone, but through loyalty, courage, and sacrifice. In an era of upheaval, they forged strategic alliances, fought formidable foes, and shaped a destiny that endures as one of Scotland’s most resilient and influential lineages.
In 1271 (or 1272 in the later Gregorian calendar), Alexander III, King of the Scots, officially granted the dúthchas of “ye landis of Forbes and Kern” to Duncan de “Forbeys.” The first laird of Forbes was born about 1256 and died about 1303. Other details of his life are fragmentary, preserved through tradition rather than in contemporary chronicles.
Alexander recognized this ancient claim within the larger area of the ancient district Marr or Mar. This was the province of a mormaer, the Gaelic term for a provincial ruler who owed allegiance to the king or queen of Scots. Duncan de Forbes and his descendants would have pledged loyalty to successive Mormaers of Mar. Norman influence later changed the title to the English “earl,” and Mar became an earldom.
This grant had been enshrined in the great charter chest of the ancestors of Duncan de Forbes but later destroyed in the course of a bloody feud. The last person to verify its existence was Sir John Skene of Curriehill, “Clerk of Our Sovereign Lord’s Register,” who verified that John, 8th Lord Forbes, had indeed produced the original charter of “ye landis of Forbes and Kern.” He noted that the wording “is not decisive as to whether the man was called after the lands, or the lands after the man.”
Wars of Scottish Independence
Duncan de Forbes lived in relative stability under King Alexander III, but his heirs were thrust into the crucible of Scotland’s Wars of Independence. Daring to face English steel rather than English rule, the Forbes line stood on the brink of extinction in service to Scottish independence. Twice, the clan survived only through the posthumous births of the sons of freedom fighters, a legacy of sacrifice and resilience.
The first war of Scottish Independence was precipitated when Alexander III died in 1286. Since his daughter, Queen Margaret of Norway, had died in 1283, only his granddaughter Margaret, called the “Maid of Norway,” remained as the heir to the throne. She died uncrowned in 1290.
Into that power vacuum stepped thirteen distant claimants to the throne. The two most powerful were Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale, and John Balliol, Lord of Galloway. Rather than choose between them and risk civil war, the Scottish nobles asked King Edward I of England to arbitrate the claims in 1292. In his own interest, Edward chose Balliol, whom he considered the weaker of the two.
Edward demanded that the new King John Balliol provide him with military support against the French. Scottish nobles, however, overruled Balliol and negotiated a treaty of mutual assistance with France in 1295, later called the “Auld Alliance.” Infuriated with this pact with his long-time foe, Edward invaded Scotland in 1296 and decisively defeated the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar. He captured Urquhart Castle, a strategic fortress on Loch Ness. He gave command of the castle to “Black” John Comyn II of Badenoch and brother-in-law of John Balliol.
Edward forced King John Balliol to abdicate in 1296, and Scotland was left without a monarch. Scottish nobles granted the title of Guardian of Scotland to Sir William Wallace, a Scottish knight of Brittonic ancestry from the southwest. Wallace chose as his commander Andrew de Moray, whose wife, Euphemia Comyn, was the sister of Black John Comyn.
Moray’s first target was Urquhart Castle, which commanded the Great Glen, a vital corridor for movement and communication between the Highlands and Lowlands. In 1297, Moray conducted a nighttime siege of the castle, forcing its surrender. Moray assigned the command of this strategic post to John, the second laird of Forbes. Born the son of Duncan de Forbes, John was knighted around the 1290s and inherited his father’s estates.
Moray and Wallace joined forces and led the Scots to victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297. Moray was mortally wounded in that battle, but his earlier success at Urquhart had already shifted the balance of power in the north. Wallace served as Guardian of Scotland until his defeat at Falkirk in July 1298. In the aftermath, Scottish nobles chose as Guardians Robert the Bruce, grandson of Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale, and “Red” John Comyn III of Badenoch, son of the “Black” John Comyn II of Badenoch and former commander of Urquhart Castle on behalf of the English King Edward. However, Bruce resigned in 1300 because of a feud with John Comyn and the political pressure surrounding the possible restoration of King John Balliol.
After the failure of his earlier invasions, Edward launched a renewed offensive in May 1303. He chose as his commander Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan, one of the most influential nobles of his generation. Like his brother, Black John Comyn, he opposed his nephew, Red John Comyn.
Alexander Comyn led an assault on Urquhart Castle with several hundred troops and siege weaponry. Sir John de Forbes held the castle with only a small garrison, likely fewer than one hundred men. Despite the “stout defence” by Forbes and his men, the castle fell. Sir John escaped with a few of his men. The fall of Urquhart marked not only a tactical loss but a symbolic blow to Highland defiance. Sir John, however, lived to play a key role in supporting the Bruce family and the reestablishment of Scottish rule.
In February 1304, Red John Comyn, Guardian of Scotland, formally surrendered to Edward. The King appointed his nephew, the Earl of Richmond, to head the government of Scotland.
William Wallace refused to surrender and rallied forces to defy the English rule of Scotland. In August 1305, a Scottish knight betrayed Wallace and captured him in Robroyston, near Glasgow. King Edward had him hanged, drawn, and quartered for high treason and crimes against England.
At the time, Robert the Bruce, Earl of Carrick and 7th Lord of Annandale, held extensive estates in Scotland and a barony in England. With his strong claim to the Scottish throne, he was a formidable rival to former Guardian John Comyn, who had capitulated to King Edward. In 1306, Bruce was implicated in Comyn’s death at Greyfriars Church in Dumfries. Some accounts suggest the two had struck a deal: one would take the Crown, the other would receive the other’s lands. In the church, Bruce allegedly accused Comyn of betraying him to the English. Bruce may have killed him with a dagger or merely wounded him for his companions to finish with their swords. In any event, with Comyn removed as a contender, Bruce was crowned Robert, King of Scots, later that year.
Robert sent his wife, Elizabeth de Burgh, and his daughter Marjory, by his first wife Isabella of Mar, to Kildrummy Castle for protection. The castle was controlled by Domhnall I, Earl of Mar—Robert’s former father-in-law and grandfather to his daughter. Sir John de Forbes joined the Earl of Mar in defending the castle.
King Edward besieged the castle until a blacksmith betrayed Robert by setting it on fire. Sir John held the fortress long enough for the King’s family to escape. Robert's brother, Sir Neil, was captured by the English forces and executed for high treason in September 1306. Sir John was likely killed during the battle or was also executed. His son, also named John, was born after he died in 1306/07 and became the 3rd laird of Forbes.
That was the last time King Edward threatened Scotland. He died in 1307, and his son, as Edward II, continued his father’s campaigns for power over the Scots. He was not as successful.
In 1314, Robert decisively beat back the English forces under Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn. Edward and Robert agreed to a truce on June 7, 1323. Due to political intrigues involving his wife, Isabella of France, Edward was forced to abdicate in favor of his son, Edward III, in January 1327. He was murdered while imprisoned in Berkeley Castle in September of that year.
The next year, Edward III signed the 1328 Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton that formalized the end of the conflict between Scotland and England. In exchange for £100,000, the English Crown recognized Scotland as independent and Robert I—and his heirs and successors—as the rightful rulers. The treaty reaffirmed that the border between Scotland and England would revert to the boundary established during the reign of Alexander III.
Robert I died in 1329 and left his five-year-old son David II on the throne, with Sir Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, appointed Guardian of Scotland. In the name of King David II, Moray recognized the loyalty and valor of Sir John, 2nd laird of Forbes, by granting to his son John, 3rd laird, an undated charter for Edinbanchorie and Craiglogie.
When Moray died in July 1332, the magnates of Scotland elected Donald, Earl of Mar, as Guardian of Scotland. Edward Balliol, the eldest son of former King John Balliol, seized this opportunity to claim the throne. Backed by Edward III of England, Balliol invaded Scotland in 1332. Balliol’s force was small, just 1,500 men, mostly seasoned English longbowmen and knights. They landed in Fife and marched north toward Scone, then the Scottish capital. The city was guarded by more than 10,000 men under the Earl of Mar. Among them was John, 3rd laird of Forbes, who supported Robert I’s young son David II as the legitimate heir to the Scottish throne.
Confident in their numbers, the Scots made a fatal error: they failed to post sentries. On the night of August 11, Balliol’s army crossed the River Earn undetected and took a defensive position on high ground above Dupplin Moor. At dawn, the Scots charged uphill into a deadly trap. English longbowmen, posted on both flanks, unleashed a storm of arrows. The narrow valley became a killing ground. Many Scots died not by blade but by suffocation and trampling, crushed by their own ranks.
Among the fallen was John, 3rd laird of Forbes. His death was not just a personal tragedy; it marked the near extinction of his line. His son, also named John, was born posthumously. The Earl of Mar also perished, his leadership undone by tactical missteps and overconfidence. Balliol seized Perth and was crowned king at Scone weeks later—but his reign would be short, and the blood spilled at Dupplin Moor would haunt Scotland for generations.
In 1333, David and his advisors escaped to France and sought the protection of King Philip VI, who declared that “no Anglo-French peace settlement could scant the interest of France's ally Scotland.” Ironically, this mutual defense pact—the Auld Alliance—had been established when Edward Balliol's father, John, signed a treaty in 1295 with Philip IV of France against Edward I of England. After a series of victories in David’s name, he returned to Scotland in 1341 to resume his reign at the age eighteen.
King David welcomed the children whose fathers had been slain at Dupplin Moor. He was informed of the “forwardness of the young Forbes of Drumminor,” then about ten or twelve years of age. The king was “much taken with his sprightly and handsome personage in so green an age, conceives great hopes of his future services …” On that first impression, the King invested John, 4th laird of Forbes, in knighthood.
In 1364, Thomas, Earl of Mar, confirmed the grant to Sir John de Forbes of the lands of Edinbanchory and Craiglogy held by his father. That same year, David II granted John the “lands of Meikle Fintery” and appointed him sheriff of Aberdeenshire. In 1375, John served as procurator, similar to an estate manager, for the Bishop of Moray. The Bishop granted him a charter of the lands of Findrassie in 1378. When John died sometime before August 20, 1387, the Register of Aberdeen referred to him as “a gude man, mychty and manly.”
John of the Black Lip
His son John, the 5th laird of Forbes, was a formidable figure in shaping the clan’s legacy. Known as John of the “Black Lip” for a distinctive birthmark, he balanced loyalty to kin with the demands of royal justice. He built an alliance with one of the most powerful families in the Lowlands and trained his sons as skilled fighters. A man of fiery spirit, he ignited fierce quarrels with both churchmen and rival clans. His legacy remains as a laird whose authority was shaped by both blood and crown, and whose character reflected the turbulent balance of justice, politics, and clan allegiance.
John married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Kennedy of Dunure, in 1375, forging ties with one of Scotland’s most prominent Lowland families. The Kennedys had established themselves firmly in the district of Carrick, Ayrshire, with Dunure Castle as their seat. Their estates in fertile Ayrshire provided a steady income, while proximity to coastal trade routes enhanced their economic standing. Like the lairds of Forbes, the Kennedys were loyal supporters of Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Independence, earning favor and protection from the monarchy. By the late 14th century, the Kennedys were already recognized as chiefs of their name, exercising lordship over tenants and rival families in Ayrshire.
John’s union produced three sons who founded powerful branches of the House of Forbes: Alexander, the future 1st Lord Forbes; William, founder of the Pitsligo line; and John, progenitor of the Tolquhon line. A fourth youth in the household, Alastair of Brux, was probably a “natural,” or illegitimate, son. From him sprang the Skellater and Inverernan branches. John also fathered three other natural sons: Duncan, Malcolm, and John.
John of the Black Lip’s temper was the cause of the clan’s first—but not last—clash with pontifical privilege. On August 20, 1387, he filed a complaint against Adam de Tyninghame, the Bishop of Aberdeen, over the fertile lands of Knockespock. The quarrel involved land boundaries and jurisdictional rights. The bishop claimed Knockespock as part of the church’s patrimony, while Forbes asserted overlapping rights through his expanding territorial influence. The clash illustrates the broader struggle between ecclesiastical landlords and secular lairds, both competing for control of valuable estates. Challenging the Bishop was John’s way of asserting clan independence and territorial dominance, even against the powerful church.
The matter was serious enough that King Robert III later ordered a formal “perambulation” (boundary-walk) in 1391 to settle the dispute. This involved officials and witnesses physically inspecting the land to define the limits between Forbes territory and the Bishop’s holdings.
Sir John was knighted sometime before April 6, 1391, and likely claimed the family’s first coat of arms. Although a Gaelic clan with Pictish heritage, the Forbes family adopted Norman customs, including heraldry. The earliest references to heraldic authority in Scotland date back to 1318, during the reign of Robert the Bruce.
Asserting lineage from Ochonochar Forbhasach, Sir John chose three muzzled bear heads as his blazon, representing protection of kin, bravery, and resilience. The number may well have been a nod to his three legitimate sons. For his crest, he chose the stag’s head, symbolizing nobility, strength, regeneration, and spiritual connection to nature.
In 1394, Sir John was appointed the first recorded hereditary “crowner” of Aberdeenshire. A contraction of “coroner,” a crowner acted on behalf of the Crown to uphold royal justice, especially in cases involving unexplained deaths, violent crimes, or breaches of the king’s peace. He investigated deaths, enforced fines, and helped maintain public order.
Sir John’s life took a dramatic turn in 1400. His wife Elizabeth died, and he became betrothed to the daughter of Thomas Bisset of Balhagarty, known as the “Fair Maid of Kemnay.” Her beauty, however, also captivated “Red Sir Andrew” Leslie of Pitscurry, a fiery natural son of Sir Andrew Leslie, 3rd Baron of Balquhain. Red Sir Andrew abducted and married the Fair Maid.
Enraged, Sir John rallied his men and stormed Balquhain Castle: “Forbes having gathered together a great number of men, attacked the castle of Balquhain, and took and burned it.”
This vengeance came at a cost as Sir Andrew retaliated with brutal efficiency. He “pursued the Forbeses into their own country, and, in retaliation, destroyed the house of Sir John Forbes, and devastated a great part of the Forbeses' lands, killing many of the people and burning their houses.” This destruction made an enemy of the Forbes mormaer, Isabel Douglas, Countess of Mar. Sir Andrew escaped to an old Leslie fortress on the 2,000-foot peak of Bennachie. He remained there until he made his peace with the Countess and returned to Balquhain Castle.
Although this feud cooled, it never entirely died. Over the years, both clans expanded their influence in Aberdeenshire, often competing for land, titles, and royal favor. Proximity in land and power kept tensions smoldering, ready to erupt anew.
Alexander, 1st Lord Forbes
Sir John’s eldest son, Alexander, was a pivotal figure in the transformation of his family from regional warriors into hereditary lords of Parliament. While his father, Sir John, was fierce and uncompromising, Alexander tempered this warrior’s spirit with pragmatism and political acumen. Trained from youth as a knight, he rose through martial service, royal favor, and shrewd alliances to become one of the most influential nobles of fifteenth‑century Scotland. His life was marked by loyalty to the Crown, devotion to kin, and a pragmatic sense of justice that sometimes demanded ruthless action. By consolidating lands, securing dynastic marriages, and erecting Castle Forbes, he ensured that the Forbes clan would endure as a premier noble house for centuries.
At the time of Alexander’s birth in 1380, Scotland was a realm of dynastic tension, noble ambition, and shifting allegiances. At the heart of this turbulent era stood the Stewart dynasty, fractured by internal rivalries and challenged by external threats.
The Stewarts were once the hereditary “high stewards” of the Gaelic kings, from which the surname originated. David II died without an heir and was succeeded by his uncle Robert the Steward, who had married his sister Marjorie. At his coronation, he took the regnal name Robert II. His eldest legitimate son, John Stewart, became Robert III, and his younger brother, Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, became regent during Robert III’s early reign. Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, was Robert II’s third surviving son. His lawless behavior earned him the nickname the “Wolf of Badenoch.”
The Wolf’s natural son, Alexander, was to play a significant role in the life of Alexander de Forbes. Born about 1375 as the illegitimate grandson of Robert II, he was barred from royal succession. Instead, his ambition drew him down a darker path. In 1402, he murdered Sir Malcolm Drummond, husband of Isabel Douglas, Countess of Mar and brother-in-law to King Robert III. In 1404, he captured Isabel at Kildrummy Castle, forcing her to sign over her lands and agree to marriage. Upon her death in 1408, Stewart seized the Earldom of Mar and control over the northeast. The new title of Earl of Mar gave him a claim to legitimacy through marriage. His actions were brutal but politically effective. Since his uncle was the regent, Stewart’s crimes went unpunished. He became a powerful noble and a key ally of Alexander de Forbes.
From his youth, Alexander de Forbes was trained as a warrior. He quickly gained renown for his martial prowess and loyalty to the Scottish Crown. He became a distinguished knight, battlefield commander, and nobleman. In 1402, Isabel Douglas granted him lands at Edinbanchory and Craiglogy, territory once held by his grandfather John, 4th laird of Forbes and son of the martyr of Dupplin Moor. King Robert III confirmed this charter in 1405, signaling royal favor and Alexander’s rising status.
During Robert III's reign, actual power largely rested with his brother, Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany. After the suspicious death of Robert III’s elder son, David, Duke of Rothesay, in 1402, Robert became fearful for the safety of his eleven-year-old son, the future James I. In 1406, he sent James to France. English pirates captured the boy and delivered him to King Henry IV of England. When Robert III died later that year, Albany took control of the Scottish government. James, now the uncrowned King of Scots, was held hostage for eighteen years while Albany amassed power, effectively sidelining the nobility from direct communication with England.
Despite the political isolation, the culture of chivalry and noble identity persisted. Henry Beaumont, 5th Baron Beaumont, held a jousting tournament in England and invited Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar. Alexander de Forbes accompanied him. Such events were martial contests designed “to exhibit their strength and dexterity” and “were in high repute among the nobility of Europe.”
They succeeded in establishing their prowess in this international arena. The Scottish poet and chronicler Andrew de Wyntoun praised “Schir Alexander off Forbes” as one of four Scottish knights who bested the English competitors: "For grete pris and renown / [Thai] wan grete comendatiown." This public acclaim helped secure Forbes’s place as a noble of national importance.
This triumph abroad stood in stark contrast to the unraveling political storm brewing back home. With James in ever-tighter English captivity, Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, was inciting a clan brawl of massive proportions.
Acting as regent, Albany assumed guardianship over his granddaughter, Euphemia II, Countess of Ross, whose mother was Isabella Stewart. This gave him de facto control of the vast and strategic shire of Ross. He wanted Ross for his own son, John Stewart, and used Euphemia’s minority as a legal pretext to hold the earldom.
This claim, however, was contested by Donald of Islay, Lord of the Isles. Donald had married Euphemia’s aunt Mariota and he believed he had a stronger hereditary right.
By asserting control over Ross, Albany challenged the autonomy of the Lordship of the Isles, a semi-independent Gaelic power. Donald of Islay saw Albany’s maneuver as a direct threat to his sovereignty and raised an army to march on Aberdeen.
To secure his claim, Donald recruited the clans of Mackintosh, Maclean, Macleod, Cameron, and Chattan to join the MacDonalds. In 1411, he landed at Dingwall, defeated the Mackays, and captured Dingwall Castle. He then took Inverness and advanced toward Aberdeen.
Instead of facing Donald directly, Albany sent his nephew, Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar, to command the defense. Mar gathered troops from powerful families such as the Leslies, Lovells, Murrays, and Straitons, and called on his trusted ally, Alexander de Forbes, to lead the Forbes clan into battle. Together, they confronted Donald’s forces at Harlaw on July 24, 1411. Later ballads and tradition claim that Donald marshalled 10,000 men, but the actual number was significantly lower. Contemporary accounts suggest that Mar had rallied around 1,500–2,000 men, though “several thousand” is also cited.
Donald’s warriors launched repeated charges against Mar’s tightly packed spearmen. Mar’s cavalry counter‑attacked, but Highlanders stabbed horses and knights with dirks, creating chaos. The day-long fighting was intense, with mostly hand‑to‑hand combat. Donald withdrew overnight, leaving Mar in possession of the field. Both sides suffered heavy casualties—between 600 and 1,000 men—including the chiefs of the Mackintoshes and Macleans.
Alexander’s prowess was celebrated in the folk ballad “The Battle of Harlaw.” Clearly more fiction than fact, the lyrics immortalized him as the slayer of Donald (Macdonell):
The first blow that Forbes struck
Did make MacDonell reel;
The next blow that Forbes struck
The proud MacDonell fell.
The battle was militarily inconclusive but strategically successful for Albany. Donald’s advance was halted, and Aberdeen was saved. Within a year, Albany had recaptured Ross and forced Donald to surrender at the Treaty of Lochgilphead in 1412. The battle was not just a clash of swords but a collision of cultures: Albany enforcing Norman, centralized rule; Donald defending Gaelic autonomy. These tensions would fester for centuries.
After proving his courage in battle and his steadfast loyalty, Alexander de Forbes was rewarded with more estates. In 1411, he received an infeftment (the official bestowal of heritable land) from William Fraser of Philorth for the lands of Mickle Fintray, part of Tulymald, Blacktoun, Smythill, Miltoun of Kin-Edwart, Belcorse, and an annual reddite (rental revenue, from the Latin for “pay back”) from the "town of Edan," all within the barony of Kinedwart and shire of Aberdeen. In 1417, he received a charter from John Stewart, Earl of Buchan and son of the Earl of Mar, for the lands of Fodderbirse in the lordship of Aboyne, of which Buchan was constable. In the name of King James, Regent Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany, knighted Alexander of Forbes in 1421.
Alexander’s battle skills were tested again at the Battle of Baugé in France. Since 1337, the English rulers of the House of Plantagenet had contested the House of Valois over the right to rule France. This challenge stretched out over one hundred years with intermittent conflicts between England and France over territory and, most importantly, the right to the French throne. This “Hundred Years' War” continued when Henry V of England won the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 and regained much of England's former holdings in France. By 1419, the House of Valois had lost Normandy and was embroiled in a civil war with the supporters of the dukes of Burgundy.
With the old alliance of 1295 still binding the two nations, the Dauphin (Charles, son and heir of Charles VI) appealed to the Scots for assistance. Scotland sent 7,000 troops commanded by Sir John Stewart of Darnley; Archibald Douglas, Earl of Wigtoun and later 5th Earl of Douglas; and John Stewart, Earl of Buchan. As a knight of the realm, Sir Alexander of Forbes was given command of a regiment under their leadership.
In March 1421, Henry V’s brother, Thomas, Duke of Clarence, led 4,000 English troops on raids in Anjou and Maine. He commanded a total of about 4,000 men, but only about 1,500 were deployed near Baugé, east of Angers. The French and Scottish forces numbered about 5,000 men.
On March 22, 1421, the overconfident Clarence attacked prematurely with a mounted force, leaving many archers behind. The Scots, under Buchan and La Fayette, held firm. They unhorsed and killed Clarence, leaving the English leaderless. The Franco-Scottish victory shifted momentum in the Hundred Years’ War. Alexander de Forbes fought with distinction, and his reputation from the battle elevated his stature.
In 1421, Forbes married Elizabeth, the only daughter of George Douglas, Earl of Angus, and granddaughter of Robert III. In 1423, his friend, the Earl of Mar, granted the lands of Alford, the estates surrounding what is now Castle Forbes, to "dilecto consanguineo sui Alexandrae Forbes, milite, et carissimo consanguinee Elizabeth de Douglas," translated from Latin as "his beloved cousin Alexander Forbes, soldier, and dear cousin Elizabeth of Douglas." This grant was significant in that it was the first designation of “Alexander Forbes” rather than “Alexander de Forbes.” This marks the first official use of Forbes as a hereditary surname.
At that time, James, son of Robert III, was still in English hands. He was educated at the English court and learned English methods of governance. James even joined Henry V in military campaigns in France during 1420 and 1421. In 1423, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester and uncle of the young King Henry VI, negotiated for James’s release. Gloucester proposed that several Scottish knights serve as hostages at Durham, among them: “Alexander of Seton Lord of Gordon, Walter of Ogilvy and Alexander Forbas, Knight—20 attendants.” Henry released the royal Scottish heir in April 1424, and James was crowned in May.
Soon after his coronation, James I arrested Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany and governor of Scotland, son of the former regent, Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany, who had died in 1420. His first cousin, Sir Alexander Forbes, was selected for the jury of twenty-one knights and peers at Murdoch’s trial. The jury found that the Duke of Albany and two of his sons were guilty of treason, leading to their execution and the virtual annihilation of the Stewarts of Albany.
In 1426, James appointed Sir Alexander to the lifetime position of baillie of the Diocese of Moray, a civic officer similar to that of provost or magistrate. In 1430, Sir Alexander was also appointed sheriff of Aberdeen for life and baillie of Strathnairn.
Sir Alexander joined the King’s Council and, in 1429, James granted him a royal charter consolidating most of his estates into the Lordship of Forbes. This was probably when the king elevated him to the peerage, as a Lord of Parliament, though no patent accompanied the grant. Forbes is first specifically mentioned as sitting in Parliament in 1445.
As this is the earliest title remaining hereditary and unmerged in any higher title, the present Lord Forbes is recognized as the Premier Lord of Parliament in Scotland.
In the turbulent year 1431, Scotland again erupted in rebellion. In a bid to break the power of the Highland chiefs, King James imprisoned Alexander of Islay, Lord of the Isles and Earl of Ross. The Lord of the Isles’s fierce cousin, Donald Balloch, assembled a Highland army to demand Alexander’s release. He was accompanied by his uncle, Alasdair Carrach MacDonald, first chief of the MacDonalds of Keppoch.
The Crown responded swiftly. Sir Alexander Forbes joined the Royalist forces under the Earls of Mar and Caithness. The armies clashed at Inverlochy, near the head of Loch Linnhe. Balloch’s forces attacked from the south, while Carrach struck from the north. MacDonald's bowmen fired down on the royal camp, pinning them between river and hill. The royal army was overwhelmed and routed. Around 900 royal troops were killed, including the Earl of Caithness. The Earl of Mar barely escaped with his life.
Although the rebels triumphed in the battle, King James personally led a later campaign into the Highlands, forcing the insurgents to scatter. Alexander of Islay was released later that year.
As sheriff of Aberdeen, Lord Forbes was the King’s hand of justice. That role was sorely tested in 1435 when his ally, Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar, died without a legitimate male heir. The Earldom of Mar reverted to the Crown, but Sir Robert Erskine of Erskine contested the claim, citing descent through his mother, Janet Keith. Forbes, unwilling to defy the King, delayed judgment. After James’s death, he ruled in Erskine’s favor, recognizing him as the 13th Earl of Mar and Garioch. In gratitude, Erskine granted Forbes the lordship of Auchindoir, the Cabrach, and part of Strathdee.
Meanwhile, King James’s grip on power was slipping. His heavy taxation to fund the war with England and his favoritism toward certain nobles bred resentment. On February 4, 1437, a council of nobles met in Perth, led by Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, the King’s uncle. Just weeks later, on February 20, a conspiracy unfolded. Thirty men, led by Robert Graham and aided by Robert Stewart, Atholl’s grandson and the King’s chamberlain, infiltrated the royal bedchamber. James I was assassinated. His six-year-old son, now James II, fell under Atholl’s influence, plunging the realm into uncertainty.
Lord Forbes pledged his allegiance to the new government and remained the sheriff of Aberdeen. However, once again, Lord Forbes was caught between devotion to kin and loyalty to the Crown. Sometime between 1438 and 1445, his bastard half-brother John “Out with the Sword” Forbes was accused of extortion. As sheriff, Lord Forbes was ordered to “put remedie” to John. Lord Forbes confronted him at the Kirk of Forbes and struck off his head. As a warning to others, Sir Alexander buried him behind the church, away from consecrated ground.
In 1440, Sir Alexander began construction of a permanent stronghold. Built around an older tower, it replaced the nearby fortifications of Druminnor, a Gaelic term for “ridge of the confluence,” referring to its location between the Kearn Burn and Bogie Water. He commissioned architects John Kamloke and Wilyhame of Ennerkype. Once completed, Castle Forbes remained the seat of the Lords Forbes for more than three centuries.
Sir Alexander’s influence continued to grow. In 1444, Alexander Seton, son of Alexander Seton, Lord Gordon (later 1st Earl of Huntly), granted him the bulk of Cluny, Midmar, and Tough, rent-free. In exchange, Sir Alexander’s son James, the Master of Forbes, agreed to offer Lord Gordon his bond of manrent, pledging military aid when requested. Lord Forbes also received the sasine, or deed, to Kynaldy in 1447.
By the time of his death in 1448, Alexander, 1st Lord Forbes, had transformed his family’s standing. Through personal valor, strategic alliances, and accumulation of land, he built a legacy that endured. With his wife Elizabeth, he fathered five children: James, who succeeded him as 2nd Lord Forbes; William, Provost of St. Giles in Edinburgh; Annabella, who married Patrick, Master of Gray; Margaret, who wed Alexander Meldrum of Fyvie; and Elizabeth, who married Alexander Irvine of Drum.
Brothers in Arms
Alexander was not the only son of John of the Black Lip to leave a mark on history or to establish a family line that would endure for generations. Each became a knight in his own right: William acquired land through marriage and service but died tragically at the hands of the Lindsays; John gained half the thanage of Fermartyn through marriage; and Alastair was immortalized in verse through his single combat for love and honor.
The second son, William, was born around 1385 and was as bold and ambitious as his elder brother. In 1423, he married Agnes, only daughter of William Fraser of Philorth. That same year, James Douglas, Lord of Balveny, granted him a charter to lands in the barony of Aberdour formerly owned by William Fraser. William wasted no time building his legacy in stone. In 1424, construction began on Pitsligo Castle, with its tower and courtyard rising as a symbol of Forbes’s growing influence. He also secured a charter for the lands of Achmacludy and Petslegach (Pitsligo), confirmed by King James I on July 18, 1426.
By 1429, William had acquired enough additional land to be considered a “free barony,” and he was styled Sir William Forbes, 1st laird of Pitsligo. In 1432, he received additional lands by charter from Alexander Seton, Lord of Gordon, securing for him a territorial title as head of a junior branch of the family. Sir William began work on the tower and courtyard wall of Pitsligo Castle in 1424.
As the Baron of Pitsligo, Sir William developed several important alliances. One was with young Alexander Ogilvy, 2nd Baron of Inverquharity, which drew him into a deadly entanglement with the Lindsays. The trouble began when the monks of the Abbey of Abroath appointed Alexander Lindsay, Master of Crawford and Chief of the Lindsays, as the “Bailie of the Regality,” tasked with dispensing justice. Allied with the powerful Douglases, the Lindsays used this position to quarter a large number of their men at the abbey; “[with] his huge train of followers he became chargeable to the monastery.” Chafing under this burden, the monks conferred the bailie’s office on Alexander Ogilvy of Inverquharity, who not only enjoyed their favor but also had a hereditary claim to the post.
The Master of Crawford disputed Ogilvy’s appointment and, on January 24, 1445, marched to the abbey with a thousand Hamiltons and Lindsays. He found a formidable force opposing him. The night before the battle, the Ogilvies had hosted Sir Alexander Seton, Lord of Gordon and later Earl of Huntly. He was “obliged, by a rude law of ancient Scottish hospitality, to own his host's quarrel, and take the field with him.”
Sir Alexander was not alone: “Others of Ogilvy's guests were Sir John Oliphant of Aberdagie, Maxwell of Tealing, Brucklay of Gartley, Forbes of Pitsligo, and Gordon of Borrowfield.”
The Ogilvy allies could not match the force arrayed against them: “They appeared to have been outnumbered by their opponents, but they did not shrink from the strife, and the two armies drew up in line of battle.”
When he heard of the conflict, David Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Crawford and the father of the Master of Crawford, hastened from Dundee to Arbroath. He was “desirous to make a last attempt to prevent those hostilities the prospect of which his ‘Tiger' son probably enjoyed.” The Earl of Crawford rode between the lines to confer with Ogilvy when “one of the latter's men threw a spear, which struck the Earl in the mouth, so that he instantly fell dead.” The earl’s death “put an end to all hope of an amicable solution of the difficulty.”
According to one account, one of the combatants cried out, “Why do you bring these goads [spears] as if you meant to engage with oxen, let us throw them aside, and sword in hand, with true bravery, decide our quarrel as becomes men.” Both armies cast away their spears—except about one hundred men of Clydesdale, sent by Douglas to assist the Lindsays. When within reach of the Ogilvy forces, they unexpectedly brought up their spears. The Ogilvy side, “terrified by the unexpected appearance of the weapons, broke their ranks, and fled in disorder.”
The Ogilvys and their allies were driven from the field but rallied about three miles away, near what is now the village of Leysmill. That battle resulted in the death of Alexander Ogilvy, Earl of Crawford; Brucklay of Gartley; Gordon of Borrowfield; Sir John Oliphant of Aberdalgie; and Sir William Forbes, 1st laird of Pitsligo.
Upon his father’s death, Alexander Lindsay became the 4th Earl of Crawford and was known as the “Tiger Earl” for his ferocity and as “Earl Beardie” for his long, bushy beard. Not long after this battle, Earl Beardie clashed with another Forbes—Sir William’s nephew James, 2nd Lord Forbes. That time, the Earl would not be so fortunate.
The third son of Sir John Forbes of the Black Lip was John, born about 1390. He, too, was knighted. In 1420, Sir John married Mariota (Marjory), daughter of Sir Henry Preston of Tolquhon, Thane of Fermartyn. As part of her dowry, Forbes received a charter for "Preston's Tower" on the Tolquhon estate. Witnesses to this charter included his brothers, Sir Alexander (later Lord Forbes) and Sir William, then laird of Kynaldy.
Upon Sir Henry’s death in 1433, Sir John inherited the lands of Tolquhon, comprising half the thanage of Fermartyn (now Formartine). Sir Henry left nearby Fyvie Castle to his other son-in-law, Alexander Meldrum, grandson of Alexander Seton, 1st Lord Gordon.
Sir John Forbes and Mariota Preston had three sons, John, 2nd of Tolquhon; Duncan of Ardgeithen; and David of Foddan. Sir John died between August 6, 1453, and July 15, 1454. The Forbes of Tolquhon prospered and expanded Tolquhon Castle to become grand showcase. Yet less than three hundred years later, bad investments would leave the family destitute.
Alastair is generally considered the fourth and youngest son of Sir John of the Black Lip, but mystery surrounds his true relationship due to his given name. “Alastair” (also Alasdair, Alistair, and Alister) is the Gaelic form of “Alexander,” the same as his older “brother.” While Gaelic families sometimes gave the same name to another child if the first had died, naming two living children identically was rare. He is likely one of Sir John’s natural, or illegitimate, sons. He was described in later accounts as “Alester Came Forbes Or Glyed [squint-eyed] Alester.”
Another puzzle surrounds his birth date, given variously in genealogies as 1383, 1384, 1388, and perhaps others. Since Alexander was born in 1380, William in 1385, and John in 1390, Alastair would be either second or third oldest, not fourth and youngest. The mystery deepens because Alastair is not mentioned in any documents where Sir Alexander refers to his other brothers. Therefore, Alastair was either a natural son or a kinsman fostered by Sir John, a common practice at the time.
What is certain is that he married Catherine, daughter and heiress of Sir Ewen Cameron of Brux and Drumallachie, in 1409. This may explain his epithet “Cam,” a contraction of Cameron, distinguishing him from Alexander, who was to become the first Lord Forbes. Also certain is that Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar and Garioch, granted “to his kinsman Alexander Forbes, lord of Brux, of the lands of Glencarwie, Glenconre and the Orde, in the lordship of Strathdon” on December 24, 1409. This grant was confirmed by King James I in 1426. As simple as this grant seems, the story behind Alastair’s acquisition of wife and estate involves treachery, massacre, and heroic single combat.
Around 1365, Thomas, Earl of Mar, granted Ewen (the Gaelic form of John) Cameron the estate of Brux and Wester Drumallochy (Drumallachie.) This infuriated the Mouats (also Muats or Mowats) of Abergeldie: “The Muats in days of yore possessed the Castle of Abergeldie, and that of Badenyon in Glen Bucket; and you would have thought that there was room enough in the world for them and the Cameron of Brux” but “it was not so.”
They agreed to settle their ongoing feud in 1409 by conducting a battle between “twelve horse” on either side in a glen behind Drumgowdrum Hill, in the parish of Kildrummy. “But the treacherous Mowat appeared on the field with two men mounted on each steed. Pride forbade the Donside men to decline the unequal strife, which resulted in the death of the laird of Brux and all his sons.”
Cameron’s daughter, Catherine Cameron, fled to Kildrummy Castle and sought the protection of Alexander Stewart, then the Earl of Mar. One legend relates that “Catherine, sole heiress of Brux, under the guardianship of Mar, grew up ‘fair to the eye’ like other sweet flowers or fruits, and was sought after by all the Donean youth.” One such youth who lived near the River Don was Alastair of Forbes, although one story inexplicably calls him “Robert” and identifies him as the “second son” of “Lord Forbes.”
As heiress to Brux, Catherine issued a challenge that she would marry the man who avenged her father's and brothers' deaths. Smitten with “fair Kate,” Alastair accepted the challenge and agreed to fight the Mouat chief at Badenyon (Badaneoin), where the Water of Buchat flows into the River Don, an area known as Glenbuchat. “After a long struggle Forbes prevailed, and brought his rival's head in triumph to Kildrummy, where, in the beautiful chapel of this celebrated castle, he was married to Kate Cameron, and so became the founder of the family of Forbes of Brux.”
A monument called “Clachmuat,” or Mouat's Stone, was raised on the site, and the hill across the water is still called Ladylea, where Catherine Cameron was said to have watched the battle. By 1960, the Mouats’ Stone was no longer visible; according to the gamekeeper at Glenbuchatt Lodge, it disappeared in a landslide in 1953.
Another relic of the battle was unearthed by a gardener at Castle Newe, near Clochmuat. He discovered a dirk that “can be dated with confidence to the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century,” and that “corresponds well with that of the Homeric contest, and there does not seem any reason against its being a genuine relic of the affray.” The dagger is now displayed at the Banff Museum.
The story of how Alastair gained a wife and an estate has echoed through the centuries in an epic poem first published in the mid-seventeenth century and republished a hundred years later, and in a swashbuckling romance novel in 1900.
“Don: A Poem” was initially penned by Arthur Forbes, half-brother to William, 11th Lord Forbes. The 1,500-line poem was first published in London in 1655 and republished in 1742 with “several beautiful seats on the Don, which were omitted in the former edition.” The poet Forbes recounts that Katherine Cameron was “of father and of brothers all bereft / By the base Muat.” She issues her challenge and “Drimminor's son, with warlike heat inspir'd / To serve the nymph by whom his heart was fir'd.” During their single combat, Forbes “pierc'd his steel jacket, till he reach'd his heart.” With his victory, “Forbes' clan receiv'd the warlike boy / With songs of praises, and with shouts of joy.”
“Don: A Poem” was republished in Bards of Bon-Accord in 1887 and may have caught the eye of James Edward (J. E.) Preston Muddock. That same year, this prolific British journalist and author of mystery and detective stories began serializing “Kate Cameron of Brux: Or, True Love Tested—A Legend of Donside” in the Dundee Weekly News. It was later published in 1900 as Kate Cameron of Brux or The Feud, with the subtitle “A story of wild doings and strange people based upon legends and traditions current in the locality in which the scenes are laid.”
As in the Legends of the Braes o’ Mar, Alastair is called “Robert,” but here he is described as the third and youngest son of “Lord Forbes,” rather than Sir John, 5th laird of Forbes. In this “historical novel,” the young Forbes appears as the champion of the Camerons, and “he is pledged to win Kate Cameron as his bride.” The final chapter relates the climactic battle in heroic terms. Locked in a “deadly grip,” with Abergeldy beneath him, Forbes “managed to raise himself, and the next moment his dirk was buried to the hilt in Muat's heart.” The novel concludes happily: “the house of Cameron was merged into that of Forbes,” and the Muats “faithfully respected their vow, and from that day forth there was peace between the two houses.”
The real Alastair “Cam” of Brux and his Catherine had three sons: Arthur, who died young; John, 2nd of Brux, who was nicknamed “with the slick hair” and the “White Laird”; and Duncan of Drumallachie. Alastair also had a natural son, John, who married Katherine Coutts and acquired the lands of Cults. Later cadets, or younger sons, of this line established the branches of Forbes of Skellaer, Inverernan, Ledmacoy, Belnabodach, Kildrummy, Towie, and Echt—with many descendants honored for their skill in battle as their progenitor, Alastair “Cam” of Brux.
Red Douglas and Black Douglas
The examples set by his father and uncles greatly influenced James, later the second Lord Forbes. This would serve him well in an age of complex politics, tangled by blood ties among many of the key players. As trained warriors, the first lairds of Forbes embodied their values: courage without recklessness, loyalty to the Crown without servility, and a sober sense of duty to kin and land. James also learned that service to the Crown could guarantee stability and advancement for his growing clan.
This was not James’s only heritage. He also inherited a double‑edged sword in the legacy from his mother, Elizabeth Douglas, daughter of George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus, and granddaughter of King Robert III. With this royal connection, James’s life was further complicated by his friendship with his third cousin, William Douglas, later 8th Earl of Douglas, son of James Douglas, 1st Earl of Avondale. James’s mother was from the junior “Red” Douglas line, while his close friend William descended from the senior “Black” Douglases.
James’s grandfather, the Earl of Angus, was descended from George Douglas, the illegitimate son of the 1st Earl of Douglas. The "Red" designation may have been used to distinguish them from the senior line, especially as they increasingly aligned with the Stewart monarchy.
William’s family had held the title of Earls of Douglas and were known for the “black” deeds of Sir James, 1st Lord Douglas, against the English in the Wars of Scottish Independence. James Douglas was popularly called ‘the Gross,’ from his “uncommon corpulence.” The Black Douglases were in open conflict with the Crown—including murder, rebellion, and open war.
After the assassination of James I in 1437, his cousin Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas, governed Scotland as Regent until his death in 1439, when his son William became the 6th Earl. With the young James II still a minor, real power fell to a tense trio—Chancellor William Crichton, Sir Alexander Livingston of Callendar, and James Douglas, Earl of Avondale. In 1440, Crichton and Livingston lured the teenage 6th Earl and his younger brother David to Edinburgh Castle.
According to a Douglas family chronicler, “The young Earl was accused of regarding himself as a foreign and independent prince, and of meditating evil against his country.” He and his brother were beheaded in the castle on November 24, 1440. Their great-uncle James Douglas, Earl of Avondale, became the 7th Earl of Douglas and inherited all their lands.
When the 7th Earl died in 1443, his titles and lands passed to his son William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas and 2nd Earl of Avondale—a good friend to his cousin James, then Master of Forbes. The Earl gained more land by marrying his cousin Margaret, daughter of the deceased 5th Earl of Douglas.
When William, 8th Earl of Douglas, attended the King in July 1443, “his pleasing manners produced such a favourable impression on the young monarch that he was appointed lieutenant-general of the kingdom.” The Earl quickly turned the King against his Chancellor, whom the Earl blamed for his young nephews’ deaths. On August 20, 1443, Douglas used his new position as lieutenant-general to lead a small army, together with John Forrester, Baron of Corstorphine, to attack and destroy the Chancellor's stronghold of Barnton Castle. In retaliation, Crichton later destroyed Forrester’s Corstorphine Castle.
The Earl used his influence to sway the young King further against Crichton. At age thirteen, James II was determined to take a stronger role in government. He called a Parliament at Stirling Castle on November 4 that year and called Chancellor Crichton to appear. When he did not, James deposed him from office, declared him an outlaw, and confiscated his estates.
The Earl reveled in royal favor, cultivating adherents by obtaining honors for relatives and friends: “His brothers Archibald, Hugh, and John were respectively created Earls of Moray and Ormond, and Lord of Balvany. Sir James Hamilton was made a Lord of Parliament, and other adherents of the Douglases also received that rank.” One of the nobles elevated to the rank of Lord of Parliament was the Earl’s good friend, James, Master of Forbes.
Having survived many brutal battles, his father Alexander, 1st Lord Forbes, died peacefully at home at the age of sixty-eight. According to the family manuscript, he died “full of years and honour” and he left behind him “a fair and pleasing offspring.” James, the “pleasing offspring,” would face a less-than-pleasing dilemma with his friend, the Earl of Douglas.
In 1450, the Earl traveled to Rome for the Jubilee, a time of special remission of sins in the Catholic Church. While he had special permission from the King for this travel, some considered his time abroad a diplomatic banishment. However, James, “remained for long friendly with the banished Douglas” and “Douglas entirely loved him, not only as his near relation in blood, but also for those many excellent vertues and attractive qualities decerned in him."
James II seized this opportunity to attack Black Douglas lands in reprisal for offenses against neighboring lords. When the Earl returned in August 1451, he began intriguing against King James II alongside John Macdonald, 11th Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles, and Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford and Chief of the Lindsays. He also “sent to Lord Forbes asking for his subscription to the bond he had already made with Earls Crawford, Ross, and others.” Lord Forbes was startled by this “dangerous overture” and “thanked him for the trust he reposed in him.” Lord Forbes informed the Earl he would not “embark in the present enterpryse” explaining that “the most honest and loyal engagements are commonly the safest at the Long run, and that it would be but coarse politiques to abandon the fortune of his family, which was so well and peaceably settled.”
In February 1452, James II summoned the Earl to Stirling Castle. The King demanded that the Earl dissolve the powerful alliance he had forged with the Earl of Crawford and the Lord of the Isles. Douglas replied, “he mycht not, nor wald nocht”—he might not and would not. The King called him a “fals tratour” (false traitor) and struck him with a knife. An attendant, Patrick Gray, then “straik him nixt the king, with ane poll ax on the hed, and strak out his harnes”—struck out his brains with a pole-axe.
With William dead, his brother James Douglas became the 9th Earl of Douglas and 3rd Earl of Avondale. He raised a large army to avenge his brother’s death, joined by his ally “Earl Beardie,” now 4th Earl of Crawford and Chief of the Lindsays. King James II appointed Alexander Seton, Earl of Huntly, lieutenant-general to oppose the Lindsays and Black Douglases. On May 18, 1452, the two armies met on a moor northeast of the parish of Brechin.
Among Huntly’s forces were James Forbes, 2nd Lord Forbes, and his son William (“Grey Willie”) Forbes, the Master of Forbes. William, born around 1440, when his father was still Master of Forbes, was the son of Gille Egidia Keith, daughter of Sir William Keith, 1st Earl Marischal. He was named after his uncle William Forbes, provost of St. Giles of Edinburgh, and his great-uncle Sir William Forbes, 1st laird of Pitsligo. His nickname “Grey Willie” came from his prematurely gray hair and fair complexion.
While both sides were roughly equal in numbers, Huntly’s disciplined force gained the upper hand early. Crawford’s men were routed, and many fled the field. Among the slain were Huntly’s brother, two of his sons, and five barons. Defeated, Crawford submitted to the King.
Both James, Lord Forbes, and twelve-year-old Grey Willie were lauded: “the honour of the Action cannot but be acknowledged to be due to the high courage and bravery of the fforbesses and their friends and associates the Ogilvies, Leslies, Grants and lrvines.” Father and son thus avenged the death of Sir William Forbes, 1st laird of Pitsligo.
Under the leadership of “Red Douglas” George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus, the King’s forces decisively defeated the Black Douglases at the Battle of Arkinholm in 1455. Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray, was killed in the battle; Hugh Douglas, Earl of Ormond, was captured and executed; and John Douglas, Lord of Balvenie, escaped to England. James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, also fled to England and continued to intrigue against James II and his son James III. All were attainted and their estates seized by the Crown. As a reward, King James II granted the earldom of Douglas and many of the original Douglas possessions to the Earl of Angus.
After the defeat of the Black Dougases and Earl Beardie, Lord Forbes turned to domestic issues. In 1456, the King licensed him to repair the walls and towers of Castle Forbes (then Druminnor) and to fortify it with gates and ditches.
Grey Willie
Though he was barely a teenager at Brechin, Grey Willie was known as “a hardy and mettlesome gentleman.” Like his father, he gave “uncontested proofs of his resolution and bravery,” and that the victory “in a great measure was ascribed to his fortitude and the undauntedness of his followers, so that all spake liberally to his advantage and praise.”
His conduct did not escape the Earl of Huntly, who later approved William’s marriage to his daughter Christian Gordon, “by which honourable match the family of Forbes did first contract Allyance with the Earle of Huntley and the illustrious sirname of Gordone.”
William succeeded as 3rd Lord Forbes upon his father’s death in 1462. Sometime between then and 1468, he married Christian Gordon and received from his father-in-law a charter of the lands of Abergardine, Tilliefour, Tillykerrie, Cluny, and Suthnahunny. William and Christian had three sons: his eldest, Alexander, who succeeded as the 4th Lord Forbes; Arthur, who succeeded his brother as the 5th Lord Forbes; and John, who succeeded his brother as the 6th Lord Forbes.
William appeared as proxy for the Earl of Huntly in Parliament on October 9, 1464. Three years later, in 1467, he and his clansmen entered into a bond of manrent with the heads of Clan Chattan for mutual defense and protection. The bond named “Honourable Lord William Lord Forbes, Sir Alexander Forbes of Pitsligo, Alexander Forbes of Toquhan, Arthur of Forbes and John of Forbes of Brouchous” on the one side, and “Honourable Men Duncan Makintosh Chief and Captain of Clanchattan, Hutcheon Ros Baron of Kilravock, Lauchlan and Allan Makintosh Brothers to the said Duncan” on the other.
The agreement obliged the Forbes family to take on the “Causes and Quarrels” of these clans and sternly warned that whoever broke the bond would be held “unfamous,” “renounce their Faith of Christ,” and would never “Ly in Kirk nor Christin Burial.”
In 1468, William entered into another bond of manrent for himself and his heirs with Alexander, Earl of Huntly, and George, Lord Gordon’s son, similar to that made with the Clan Chattan. William swore to serve Huntly and his son loyally and truly, both in peace and war, and against all those that “lyve or dye.”
On the same day, Huntly signed a reciprocal bond obliging himself to assist and defend William, Lord Forbes, against all enemies. Witnesses included the bishops of Moray and Aberdeen, the abbot of Aberbrothoc, Alexander, Lord Glamis, William Lord Abernethy, Walter Lindsay, William Knoll, Walter Stewart of Strathoun, knight, Malcolm Fleming, and Sir James Ogilvy, knight.
King James III confirmed Lord Forbes as a Lord of Parliament in a charter dated August 19, 1474. On July 9, 1477, the King also confirmed King James I’s charter of the barony of Forbes, granted to Sir Alexander Forbes, 1st Lord Forbes. This land was held directly from the King, without any intermediary such as the Earl of Huntly.
Tied by blood to the Crown and intertwined with both the “Red” and “Black” Douglases, William, 3rd Lord Forbes navigated the treacherous web of Scottish politics with steadfast loyalty and strategic prudence. He cultivated alliances and influence within the Court of the king and the halls of Parliament.
Though William’s charters, alliances, and royal confirmations secured his standing among Scotland’s nobility, they could not completely protect him or his family. The clan rivalries of the northeast were not so easily tamed.
Forbes: A Story of Scotland covers the history of Clan Forbes and their role in many pivotal events in Scottish history. While the clan’s legends and myths predate written records, the book begins in earnest with the Scottish struggle for independence from English control and follows the clan through the decline of the Scottish clan system in the 18th century following the Battle of Culloden. Throughout this period, Clan Forbes is deeply intertwined with Scotland’s leading figures and movements.
I really enjoyed how the book opens with the legendary founding of the clan before moving into recorded history. It doesn’t aggrandize the Forbes family or rely on fanciful claims from family historians. The author did extensive research for this book and grounds the narrative in reality, citing many historical documents or contemporary accounts. The integration of Forbes history with broader Scottish history is especially well done, keeping the narrative focused and adding clarity and humanity to the larger events described. As I read, I felt like I was moving steadily through Scottish history with Clan Forbes as the guide. I particularly appreciated how each generation is placed in context, and how past events, present circumstances, and the personalities of the clan’s leaders shaped the fortunes of its various branches. It becomes a tragic inevitability rooted in history, family ties, religion, honor, loyalty, and personal conviction, that the clan becomes divided, with even close relatives fighting on opposing sides of major conflicts.
If I have a few critiques, one is that referring to multiple people with the same given name by that name alone occasionally tripped me up and slowed my reading. Another is that some major historical events could be explained in more depth. I have some background in medieval and early modern Scottish and English history, and even I found myself wanting more context. Readers without that prior knowledge may feel a bit lost in places.
Overall, I think this is a great book for anyone interested in Scottish history, especially the powerful clans. The fortunes of Clan Forbes serve as a microcosm of the broader experiences of Scottish clans, giving readers a strong sense of how the clans shaped Scotland, and how and why their dominance eventually declined.