MacDonald, John, 4th lord of the Isles
MacDonald, John, 4th lord of the Isles (1434–1503). According to a MacDonald chronicler of the 17th cent., John, 4th lord, was ‘a meek, modest man … and a scholar, more fit to be a churchman than to command so many irregular tribes of people’. He succeeded his father Alexander, 3rd lord, in 1449, aged 15, and was almost immediately involved in efforts to defend his huge inheritance—which included not only the Hebrides and western coastline from Lewis to Kintyre, but also the earldom of Ross—from predatory neighbours (especially the earl of Huntly), discontented lordship families, and a hostile crown.
MacDonald's rebellion of 1451, and his bond with Crawford and Douglas (1451/2), put him on the wrong side in the James II–Black Douglas civil wars of the 1450s. In 1462 he made the treaty of Westminster-Ardtornish with Edward IV of England, an abortive pact which envisaged the tripartite division of Scotland between MacDonald, his cousin Donald Balloch, and the forfeited 9th earl of Douglas. Summoned for treason, MacDonald finally forfeited his earldom of Ross in 1476, and lost his credibility in the Isles at the same time, with his illegitimate son Angus and—much later—his grandson Donald Dubh seeking to provide the focus for a reunited MacDonald lordship. The forfeiture of the lordship (1493) left John MacDonald a pathetic pensioner of the crown until his death at Dundee in January 1503. The Achilles heel of the lordship had always been Ross, control of which fell to Alexander Gordon, earl of Huntly.
MacDonald's rebellion of 1451, and his bond with Crawford and Douglas (1451/2), put him on the wrong side in the James II–Black Douglas civil wars of the 1450s. In 1462 he made the treaty of Westminster-Ardtornish with Edward IV of England, an abortive pact which envisaged the tripartite division of Scotland between MacDonald, his cousin Donald Balloch, and the forfeited 9th earl of Douglas. Summoned for treason, MacDonald finally forfeited his earldom of Ross in 1476, and lost his credibility in the Isles at the same time, with his illegitimate son Angus and—much later—his grandson Donald Dubh seeking to provide the focus for a reunited MacDonald lordship. The forfeiture of the lordship (1493) left John MacDonald a pathetic pensioner of the crown until his death at Dundee in January 1503. The Achilles heel of the lordship had always been Ross, control of which fell to Alexander Gordon, earl of Huntly.
Norman Macdougall
More From encyclopedia.com
Lord , lord / lôrd/ • n. someone or something having power, authority, or influence: lord of the sea | lords of the jungle. ∎ (in the UK) a man of noble ran… Feudalism , A series of contractual relationships between the upper classes, designed to maintain control over land.
Feudalism flourished between the tenth and t… Lord Chancellor , lord chancellor
lord chancellor. Edward the Confessor first created the post of chancellor, which has always remained one of the leading offices of s… Villein , villein (vĬl´ən) [O.Fr.,=village dweller], peasant under the manorial system of medieval Western Europe. The term applies especially to serfs in Engl… House Of Lords , Lords, House of
Lords, House of. The upper chamber of the British Parliament. Originally part of the great council or the king's council of the Norma… Galey & Lord, Inc. , Galey & Lord, Inc.
980 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10018
U.S.A.
(212) 465-3000
Fax: (212) 465-3025
Public Company
Incorporated: 1988
Em…
About this article
MacDonald, John, 4th lord of the Isles
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
MacDonald, John, 4th lord of the Isles