Christina Bruce
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(March 2014) |
Christian or Christina Bruce(c. 1278 – 1356/1357), also known asChristian or Christina de Brus,was a daughter ofMarjorie, Countess of Carrick,and her husband,Robert de Brus,jure uxorisEarl of Carrick,as well as a sister ofRobert the Bruce,King of Scots.It is presumed that she and her siblings were born atTurnberry Castlein Carrick.
Life
[edit]After his army's defeat at theBattle of Methvenon 19 June 1306, Robert Bruce headed west to the mountains. He sent his second wife,Elizabeth,his daughter Marjorie, his sisters Christian (also known as Christina) and Mary Bruce, as well asIsabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchanto Kildrummy Castle in the north, with his brotherNigel (known as Neil)in an attempt to protect them.[1]
When Kildrummy was besieged, the women were forced to flee. After Kildrummy Castle was betrayed and captured, Neil de Bruce was taken to Berwick to be hanged, drawn, and beheaded.
The women escorted byJohn of Strathbogie, 9th Earl of Athollmade it as far as the sanctuary of St. Duthac at Tain in Easter Ross. There, they were captured by a Balliol supporter, Earl William of Ross, who handed them over to Edward I's men.[1]Strathbogie for daring to aid them was executed, his body burned and his head affixed onLondon Bridge.
Christian was sent intosolitary confinementat a Gilbertine nunnery atSixhillsin Lincolnshire,[1]while her sisterMaryand Bruce's supporter Isabella MacDuff were imprisoned incages.Her sister-in-law Elizabeth de Burgh was imprisoned at various locations and her nieceMarjorie,only 10 years old, was imprisoned atWattonAbbey.[2][3][4]
Christian spent eight years as an English prisoner, and returned to Scotland in October 1314 as part of the ransom for theHumphrey de Bohun,Earl of Hereford, who was taken prisoner after theBattle of Bannockburn.[5]
In 1335, during theSecond War of Scottish Independence,Christina commanded the garrison ofKildrummy Castleand successfully held out againstpro-Balliolforces led byDavid of Strathbogie,[6]prior to their defeat by her husband, Sir Andrew Murray, at theBattle of Culblean.[7]
Marriage
[edit]Christian's first marriage was prior to her capture, in 1301 she married SirChristopher Seton,who was born in 1278. The marriage ended in 1306 when he was hanged, drawn and quartered by the English. In July 1326, atCambuskenneth Abbey,when the Papal dispensation for their marriage is dated, Christian was married for a second time toSir Andrew Murray,the posthumous child (b. 1298) ofAndrew Moray,joint leader withWilliam Wallaceof the victorious Scots army at theBattle of Stirling Bridge.[8]Sir Andrew died in 1338. Sir Andrew Murray had 2 sons: Sir John Murray (d.1351), and Sir Thomas Murray (d.1361) and some commentators argue that Christian may have been their step-mother due to her estimated age at their birth.
Christian is sometimes reported in error to have also marriedGartnait,son ofDonald,Earl of Mar(died 1305). She is never described as a Countess of Mar, however, or even described as "of Mar". Moreover, there is no evidence of any familial relationship with Gartnait's son and successor,Donald II.A marriage to Gartnait would have been in direct conflict with her marriage to Seton, who she is known to have married in 1301 and which ended in 1306, well after the death of Gartnait in 1305.[9]
References
[edit]- ^abc""Elizabeth de Burgh and Marjorie Bruce", Foghlam Alba ".Archived fromthe originalon 5 April 2019.Retrieved20 May2017.
- ^Barrow, G W S (17 June 2005).Robert Bruce.Edinburgh University Press.doi:10.3366/edinburgh/9780748620227.001.0001.ISBN9780748620227.
- ^Peter., Traquair (1998).Freedom's sword.Niwot, Colo.: Roberts Rinehart Publishers.ISBN978-1570982477.OCLC40072790.
- ^Scott, Ronald McNair, Robert the Bruce, p. 87
- ^Barrow, Geoffrey W.S. (1988).Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland.Edinburgh University Press. p. 289.
- ^Morvern French, 'Christina Bruce and Her Defence of Kildrummy Castle',Royal Studies Journal,7:1 (2020), pp. 30-1.
- ^William Musham Metcalfe,A History of the County of Renfrew from the Earliest Times(Paisley, 1905), pp. 69-70
- ^Paul, Sir James Balfour (1905).The Scots Peerage.David Douglas. p. 434.
- ^Fiona Watson, "Bruce, Christian (d. 1356)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-60019
Sources
[edit]- French, Morvern,'Christina Bruce and Her Defence of Kildrummy Castle',Royal Studies Journal (RSJ),7:1 (2020), pp. 22-38
- Penman, MichaelRobert the Bruce: King of the Scots
- Traquair, PeterFreedom's Sword
- Watson, F(2004a)."Bruce, Christian (d.1356) ".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/60019.Retrieved9 April2016.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
- Watson, F(2004b)."Donald, Eighth Earl of Mar (1293–1332)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/18021.Retrieved12 December2015.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)