Albany, Murdac Stewart, 2nd duke of

views updated

Albany, Murdac Stewart, 2nd duke of [S] (c.1362–1425). Son and heir of Robert, 1st duke of Albany (d. 1420), Murdac served as royal justiciar north of Forth. Captured by the English at Homildon Hill (1402), he spent more than thirteen years in captivity. Between 1413 and 1415 Murdac and his cousin James I were fellow-captives in the Tower of London and at Windsor.

Murdac returned to Scotland in 1416 and succeeded his father as governor in 1420. Less effective than Duke Robert, possibly because of his inability to control his surviving sons, yet a major political figure as heir presumptive to the throne, Murdac neither initiated nor firmly opposed James I's release in 1424. He officiated at James's coronation at Scone (21 May 1424), but was arrested in Parliament the following March, and beheaded with other members of his family at Stirling on 25 May 1425, victim of the political ambitions of James I.

Norman Macdougall

More From encyclopedia.com

About this article

Albany, Murdac Stewart, 2nd duke of

Updated About encyclopedia.com content Print Article

You Might Also Like