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Ada of Huntingdon, see Margaret of Huntingdon

Anna of Denmark, Queen of Scotland and England

1574-1619

Anna was the daughter of Sophia of Mecklenburg and King Frederick II of Denmark and Norway. She married King James VI of Scotland in 1589. Anna loved music, theatre and poetry, and encouraged these at court. In 1603, James became king of England as well as of Scotland and the royal family moved to London.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.15)

Balliol, Eleanor

c.1268

Eleanor Balliol was the daughter of Dervorgilla of Galloway and John Balliol. Her elder brother, John Balliol, became King of Scotland in 1292. Eleanor Balliol married John Comyn. This marriage united the Balliol and Comyn families. Their son, John Comyn, known as 'Red Comyn', was stabbed to death by Robert Bruce.

Berwick Witches, see Sampson, Agnes and MacCalzean, Euphame

Bruce, Christian

fl.1306-1357

Christian Bruce was the sister of Robert Bruce, King Robert I of Scotland. Edward I of England was at war with Bruce, and Christian was captured at Tain in 1306, along with Isobel of Fife. She was sent to live in a nunnery in England and her husband, Sir Christopher Seton, was executed. In 1314, Christian was freed. She married Andrew Moray of Bothwell, who was a strong supporter of Bruce. In 1333, she held the castle of Kildrummy for Moray against English forces.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.47)

Bruce, Marjory

1294-c.1317

Marjory Bruce was the daughter of Robert Bruce, King Robert I of Scotland. In 1306, she was captured at Tain with Isobel of Fife. Marjory was imprisoned in the Tower of London and then in a nunnery. After the battle of Bannockburn, she was freed in exchange for English prisoners. She married Walter Stewart, and it was through this marriage that the Stewarts became the royal family. Marjory's son became Robert II.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.48)

Campbell, Sarah

died 1692

Sarah Campbell was the granddaughter of Jean Campbell and Donald MacGregor of Glengyle. She was a close relative of Robert ‘Rob Roy’ MacGregor. Sarah used her mother’s surname of Campbell, as the MacGregors were declared outlaws. Sarah married Alexander (or Alasdair in Gaelic) MacDonald, the younger son of Alexander MacDonald, the chief of the MacDonalds of Glencoe. Sarah was the niece of Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon. Campbell was chosen to lead the soldiers who carried out the massacre at Glencoe, This was probably because the MacDonalds would trust him as Sarah’s uncle.

Der-Ilei

fl.685

Der-Ilei was a Pictish queen who lived around 685. She had two known husbands, Dagart, who died in 685, and Drostan. Two of Der-Ilei's sons became kings. Bridei reigned from 697 to 706 and Naiton reigned from 706 to 724.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.94)

Fife, Isobel of Countess of Buchan

c.1285-c.1314

Isobel of Fife was the daughter of Anna, who may have been the daughter of Sir Alan Durward, and Colban, Earl of Fife. Isobel of Fife’s family had the right to crown the kings of Scotland. In 1306, she crowned Robert the Bruce, King Robert I, at Scone, although her husband, John Comyn, Earl of Buchan, did not support Bruce. Isobel then fled north to escape from Edward I of England, who was at war with Bruce. She was captured at Tain with Bruce’s wife, Elizabeth de Burgh, and his daughter, Marjory Bruce. Isobel was imprisoned in a cage that hung over the walls of Berwick Castle. In 1310, she was allowed to live in the Carmelite convent in Berwick. The English king, now Edward II, thought Isobel was too dangerous to be free, so she spent the rest of her life under the guard, or custody, of an English relative of her husband.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.118)

Galloway, Dervorgilla of, (Dervorgilla Balliol)

c.1213-1290

Dervorgilla's mother, Margaret of Huntingdon, was the daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon, grandson of King David I of Scotland. Her father was Alan, Lord of Galloway. Dervorgilla and her sisters inherited great wealth when their father died. She married John Balliol, Lord of Barnard Castle in Teesdale, and their son, another John Balliol, became King of Scotland. He reigned from 1292 to 1296. Dervorgilla was a religious woman. She used some of her wealth to found Sweetheart Abbey, Dumfries, and Balliol College, Oxford.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.130)

Inglis, Elsie Maude

1864-1917

Elsie Inglis was the daughter of Harriet Thompson and John Forbes Inglis. She was brought up in India until her family moved to Edinburgh in 1876. She began her study of medicine in 1886. She gained the Triple Qualification of the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 1892. She held various medical posts including directing the Bruntsfield Hospital for Women and Children in Edinburgh. She also worked for the women’s suffrage campaign. In 1915, she created the Scottish Women’s Hospitals for Home and Foreign Service. Hospitals were set up in France, Greece and Serbia to nurse wounded soldiers. The work was difficult and dangerous, and Elsie Inglis became ill in 1917. She died in 1917 in Newcastle upon Tyne, on her way back to Edinburgh.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.177)

Isabella of Huntingdon, see Margaret of Huntingdon

Isabella of Scotland, Countess of Norfolk, see Margaret of Scotland, Countess of Kent

c.1209-1253

Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland

c.1404-1445

Joan was the daughter of Margaret Holland and John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset. She married King James I of Scotland in 1424. One of their eight children became King James II of Scotland. King James I died in 1437 and Joan later married James Stewart of Lorne.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.184)

Joan of England, Queen of Scotland

1210-1238

Joan was the daughter of Isabella of Angoulême (now part of France) and King John I of England. She married King Alexander II of Scotland in 1221. They had no children.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.185)

Joan 'of the Tower', Queen of Scotland

1322-1362

Joan was the daughter of Isabella of France and King Edward II of England. She married King David II of Scotland in 1328 as part of a peace treaty between Scotland and England. They had no children.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.248)

MacCalzean, Euphame

born before 1558, died 1591

Euphame was the daughter of Thomas MacCalzean, Lord Cliftonhall, who was a lawyer. She married Patrick MoscroIt and it appears that the couple used Euphame's surname of MacCalzean after their marriage. She was named as a witch by Agnes Sampson, tried and found guilty of witchcraft. She was burned to death in Edinburgh in 1591.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.216)

MacDonnell, NicGilleasbuig

died 1692

NicGilleasbuig was a member of the family of the MacDonnells of Keppoch. She married Alexander (Alasdair in Gaelic) MacDonald, 12th chief of the MacDonalds of Glencoe. They had two sons and a daughter. During the massacre of Glencoe her husband was shot in front of her, and she was left to die in the snow outside their home.

MacKay, Betsy

1796-1896

Betsy MacKay was the daughter of Catherine MacKay and Angus MacKay, crofters. She married John MacDonald in 1849. She was widowed before 1871. She gave evidence to the Napier Commission in 1884, when she was 86. She was described at that time as a 'drover'. A drover was someone who took cattle to market, sometimes over a long distance. It is unlikely that she was still working as a drover at the age of 86! She died in 1896, aged 99, at Kirtomy. Her death certificate described her as a pauper (a poor person), formerly a crofter.

Madeleine of France

1520-1537

Madeleine of France was the daughter of Claude of France and King Francis I of France. She married King James V of Scotland in January 1537. However, Madeleine was not strong, and she died a few months later in July, aged 16, after only six weeks in Scotland.

Margaret (c.1180-1212), Isabella (1199-1251) and Ada of Huntingdon

Margaret, Isabella and Ada were the daughters of David of Huntingdon and Maude of Chester. Their father was the grandson of King David I of Scotland. After the death of Margaret, 'Maid of Norway', several men claimed the throne of Scotland. Each was descended from one of the daughters of David of Huntingdon. John Balliol, who became King of Scotland in 1292, was the grandson of Margaret of Huntingdon. Robert Bruce, who became King of Scotland in 1306, was the grandson of Isabella of Huntingdon.

Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland

c.1457-1486

Margaret was the daughter of Dorothea of Brandenburg and King Christian I of Denmark. She married King James III of Scotland in 1469. The Orkney and Shetland Isles belonged to Denmark, and were given to Scotland as Margaret's dowry. (A dowry is money or property given by a bride's family on her marriage.)

(Learn more from BDSW, p.249)

Margaret of England, Queen of Scotland

1240-1275

Margaret was the daughter of Eleanor of Provence (an area of France) and King Henry III of England. She married King Alexander III of Scotland in 1251. They had one daughter and two sons. Both sons died young. Their daughter, Margaret, married the King of Norway and had a daughter, Margaret, 'Maid of Norway'.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.185)

Margaret of Scotland Queen of Norway

1261-1283

Margaret was the daughter of King Alexander III and Margaret of England. She married King Erik II of Norway in 1281. She had one daughter, Margaret, 'Maid of Norway'. She died when she was 22 years old.

Margaret of Scotland, Countess of Kent (c.1195-1259) Isabella of Scotland, Countess of Norfolk (fl. 1209-1253) Margaret of Scotland, the younger (Marjory), Countess of Pembroke (c.1214-1244)

Margaret, Isabella and Marjory were the daughters of Ermengarde de Beaumont and King William ‘the Lion’ of Scotland. Their father hoped that they would marry English princes, but they all married English earls. Their mother was buried at Balmerino Abbey, Fife.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.250)

Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France

1424-1445

Margaret was the eldest daughter of King James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort. She married the Dauphin, Louis of France, in 1436, before her twelfth birthday. (The Dauphin was the eldest son of the French king.) She died before her husband became King of France.

Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scotland

1489-1541

Margaret was the daughter of Elizabeth of York and King Henry VII of England. She married King James IV of Scotland in 1503. The marriage was intended to maintain peace between Scotland and England. In 1509, Margaret's brother became King Henry VIII of England. He attacked France, which was Scotland's ally. Scotland went to France's aid by attacking England. As a result, James IV was killed at the battle of Flodden in 1513. After James's death, Margaret ruled Scotland as regent for her baby son, King James V. She stopped being regent when she remarried in 1514.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.252)

Margaret, Saint, Queen of Scotland

c.1046-1093

Margaret was probably born in Hungary. She married King Malcolm III of Scotland in 1070 or 1071. They had at least eight children. Three of her sons became kings of Scotland and one of her daughters, Matilda (Edith), married Henry I and became queen of England. Queen Margaret was a very religious woman. She paid for a free ferry across the Firth of Forth for pilgrims going to St Andrews. Margaret died soon after hearing that her husband and eldest son had been killed in an ambush. She was later made a saint and her remains lie in Dunfermline Abbey, Fife.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.250)

Margaret, 'Maid of Norway', Queen-designate of Scots

c.1282-1290

Margaret was the granddaughter of Alexander III, King of Scotland. She was the only direct heir to the Scottish throne. Her mother, also named Margaret, was Alexander's daughter. Her mother married King Eric II of Norway, so Margaret grew up in Norway. Margaret was to marry Edward, the son of King Edward I of England, but she died in Orkney on the journey to Scotland from Norway.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.249)

Marie de Coucy

c.1218-1285

Marie de Coucy was born in Picardy (a part of France). She married King Alexander II of Scotland in 1239. She was his second wife. Their son became King Alexander III of Scotland. After Alexander II died in 1249, Marie returned to Picardy, though she did visit Scotland from time to time.

Marjory, Countess of Buchan

c.1212

Marjory was the daughter of Fergus, Earl of Buchan. She married William Comyn. When her father died, she inherited the title Countess of Buchan and her husband became Earl of Buchan.

Martin, Catherine Edith MacAuley

1847-1937

Catherine Martin was the daughter of Janet Mackinnon and Samuel Nicholson Mackay, crofters. The Mackay family emigrated from Skye to South Australia in 1855. When she grew up, Catherine ran a school with her sisters and published verse and short stories. She moved to Adelaide, where she worked as a clerk and then as a writer. She married Frederick Martin in 1882. Her most famous book is An Australian Girl, which was published in 1890.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.255)

Mary of Guelders, Queen of Scotland

c.1433-1463

Mary was the eldest daughter of Catherine of Cleves and Arnold, Duke of Guelders (an area now mostly in The Netherlands). She married King James II of Scotland in 1449. They had eight children. After James II died in 1460, Mary helped to rule Scotland, as her son, King James III, was still a boy when he became king. Mary died in 1463. Mary was responsible for several building projects - a castle at Ravenscraig, a hospital and church at Fail, Ayrshire, and Holy Trinity church and hospital in Edinburgh.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.255)

Mary of Guise, Queen of Scotland

1515-1560

Mary was the daughter of Antoinette de Bourbon and Claude, Duc de Guise. (Guise is in northern France.) She married King James V of Scotland in 1538. They had two sons and a daughter, but both sons died young. James V died in 1542. Mary helped to rule Scotland while her daughter, Mary, who later became Queen of Scots, was a child.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.256)

Mary, Queen of Scots

1542-1587

Mary was the daughter of Mary of Guise and King James V of Scotland. She became Queen of Scotland when she was only a week old. She went to France to live when she was six, and married the Dauphin (the heir to the throne) of France in 1558. She became queen of France in 1559. Her husband died in 1560, and Mary returned to Scotland in 1561. In 1565, she married her cousin, Henry, Lord Darnley, and they had a son, James. Lord Darnley was murdered in 1567.Mary's third husband was the Earl of Bothwell. This marriage was not popular in Scotland and there was an uprising. Mary was deposed as queen and imprisoned in Lochleven castle. She escaped and gathered supporters, but was defeated at the Battle of Langside. She then went to England in the hope that Queen Elizabeth I (her second cousin) would support her. However, Elizabeth saw Mary as a rival for the throne of England, and kept her under house arrest for many years. Eventually, Elizabeth suspected Mary of plotting against her and ordered her execution. Mary was beheaded in 1587.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.257)

McGregor, Jessie McLaren

1863-1906

Jessie M. McGregor started her medical studies with Sophia Jex-Blake in 1888. She gained the Triple Qualification of the Royal College of Physicians in 1892. She graduated MBChB from the University of Edinburgh in 1896 and returned to Edinburgh to gain her MD in 1899. She was the first woman to gain the degree of MD from the University of Edinburgh. She worked as a doctor in hospitals in Edinburgh and went into private practice with Elsie Inglis. She was elected a Fellow of the Edinburgh Obstetrical Society in 1901 and published a book on the pathology of the endometrium in 1905. In 1906, while visiting her sister in America, she contracted Rocky Mountain spotted fever and died.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.178)

Munro, Anna Gillies Macdonald

1881-1962

Anna Munro was the daughter of Margaret Ann MacVean and Evan Munro. She was born in Glasgow and grew up in Edinburgh, where the poverty she saw in the Cowgate made her a life-long socialist. She joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1906, but then moved to the Women's Freedom League (WFL). In 1908, she was imprisoned for six weeks for demonstrating outside the house of the Secretary of State for War. In 1913, she married Sydney Ashman. They had two children. She continued to campaign for women's rights, and remained a member of the WFL until it disbanded in 1961.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.275)

Sampson, Agnes

died 1591

Agnes Sampson was a widow who was well known as a healer. In 1590, she was suspected of witchcraft and arrested. She was tortured and confessed to various actions, including raising storms to prevent the voyage of Anna of Denmark to Scotland. Agnes was tried and found guilty of witchcraft. She was strangled and burned in Edinburgh in 1591.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.311)

Stewart, Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, Electress Palatine

1596-1662

Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of Anna of Denmark and King James VI of Scotland. She was born in Scotland, but moved with her parents to England when James became King of England in 1603. In 1613, she married Frederick V, the Elector of the Palatinate (part of what is now Germany). In 1619, she and Frederick became Queen and King of Bohemia. However, their reign lasted only one year before they were overthrown. The Palatinate was invaded, and Elizabeth and Frederick spent the rest of their lives in exile in The Hague. Elizabeth was the grandmother of George I of Great Britain.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.338)

Sutherland, Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland

1765-1839

Elizabeth was the daughter of Mary Maxwell and William, Earl of Sutherland. She married George Granville Leveson-Gower in 1785. They had eight children. To increase the profits from her large estate in Sutherland, the Countess replaced her tenants with sheep farmers. This involved large-scale clearance of families from Sutherland. Many of the families were evicted in a cruel manner, including burning their houses to prevent them from returning.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.348)

Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria), Queen and Empress

1819-1901

Victoria was the daughter of Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent, the fourth son of George III. She inherited the throne when her uncle, William IV, died in 1837. In 1840, she married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. They had nine children. In 1848, they bought the Balmoral estate and rebuilt Balmoral Castle. Prince Albert died in 1861. Queen Victoria spent part of every year at Balmoral until her death in 1901.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.360)

Wright, Frances

1795-1852

Frances (Fanny) Wright was the daughter of Camilla Campbell and James Wright. Born in Dundee, her parents died when she was aged three and she and her sister, Camilla, were raised by their great-aunt Agnes Millar and her husband, James Mylne, Professor of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow University. Fanny Wright educated herself and wrote plays and articles. She travelled widely, to America, France and Haiti. She opposed slavery and campaigned for the abolition of slavery and the rights of women. She died in Cincinnati, USA.

(Learn more from BDSW, p.381)

Yolanda de Dreux

c.1263-1330

Yolanda was the daughter of Robert IV, Count of Dreux (in France), and Beatrix of Montfort. She inherited the title of Countess of Montfort from her mother. Yolanda became the second wife of King Alexander III of Scotland. They married in 1285, but he died the following year. In 1292, she married her second husband, Arthur II de Bretagne. They had at least six children.

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