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Person Info

• Name: Fergus Lord Of Galloway
• Sex: M
• Death: 1161 in Holyrood Abbey ^d


Parents:

Family:
Marriage:

• Sibyl/Elizabeth .^m1
  
• Sibyl/Elizabeth Death: Abt 12 Jul 1122 in Loch Tay

Children:

1. Aufrica Of Galloway
2. Uchtred Of Galloway Birth: 1 Death: 22 Sep 1174 in Loch Fergus
3. Gilbert Of Galloway Birth: 2 Death: 1 Jan 1185

Bibliography

Sources for death Information

date:

[Ref: CP III p55, SP II p421, SP IV p136, Stringer AlanGalloway p49, Watney WALLOP #430]

1161 or 1166 [Ref: Weis AR7 #121B],

place:

[Ref: SP IV p136, Watney WALLOP #430, Weis AR7 #121B]

Sources with Inaccurate death Information

date:

12 May 1166 [Ref: Weis AR7 #38]

Sources with Information about marriage to Sibyl/Elizabeth

names:

Fergus of Galloway & illeg dau of Henry I [Ref: Barrow Bruce p331(26), Stringer AlanGalloway p49],

child:

[Ref: Roberts USPres p206, SP IV p136, Stringer AlanGalloway p49, Turton Plantagenet p101, Weis AR7 #121B, Weis AR7 #121C, Weis AR7 #38],

note:

debunked, and unfounded claim [Ref: Richardson RoyalAnc v1p8(22)]

Research Notes:
Celtic Lod of Galloway [Ref: CP III p55]
Lord of Galloway [Ref: Weis AR7 #38]

became a monk and died in the Abbey of Holyrood [Ref: Watney WALLOP #430]

said to have married Elizabeth, the youngest natural daughter of King Henry I of England, but the authorities quoted by Chalmers who makes the statement, do not bear out his assertion. On the other hand, Hoveden and Benedict Abbas both refer to Uchtred, eldest son of Fergus, as a cousin or relative of King Henry II [Ref: SP IV p136]

Roger Howden calls Uhtred son of Fergus of Galloway a cousin of King Henry II (Gesta Henrici Secundi Benedicti Abbatis, ed. Stubbs, Roll Ser i, 80), a relationship which is best explained on the supposition that Fergus married a bastard daughter of Henry I. The suggestion in Scots Peerage (Galloway) that Gilbert, Uhtred's brother, had a different mother is contradicted by Cal. Docs. Scot., i, no 480, where King John calls Duncan of Carrick his cousin [Ref: Barrow Bruce p331(26)]

The claimed marriage of Fergus of Galloway to an illegitimate daughter of Henry I of England has been discussed here on numerous occasions before. To give a brief (but vastly oversimplified) synopsis of what has been discussed before, there are a couple of independent (and evidently reliable) sources which refer to certain members of Fergus's family as relatives of certain English kings, and the most probable explanation of this relationship would appear to be the marriage of Fergus to an otherwise unknown illegitimate daughter of Henry I, although there are other less likely possibilities (such as Fergus's wife being a member of the Scottish royal family) that can't actually be ruled out based on the evidence that has been presented in these discussions so far.
However, in addition the the problem of interpreting the evidence mentioned above, there is one additional loose end for which I do not recall the evidence ever having been discussed, i.e., the name of the wife of Fergus. Her name is consistently given as Elizabeth in the secondary sources (if they provide a name at all), but I do not recall her name being mentioned in any of the primary sources mentioned in these discussions. [Ref: Stewart Baldwin SGM 6/15/2003-141417]

There are several good independent sources referring to various descendants of Fergus as relatives of Henry II or other English kings (one of which specifies the relationship as coming through Henry's mother), leaving no reasonable doubt that either Fergus or his wife was related to Henry II. Given the general unlikelihood of a relationship between Fergus and Henry, a kinship between Fergus's unknown wife and Henry II can be regarded as pretty solid. It is the exact nature of that kinship where the "theorizing" comes in. The simplest and most probable theory is that "NN" was an illegitimate daughter of Henry I, but other alternatives, although somewhat unlikely, are not ruled out by the known evidence. [Ref: Stewart Baldwin SGM 11/28/2005-195623]

As I've indicated in an earlier post, I believe that the wife of Fergus of Galloway was likely the sister of William Fitz Duncan, grandson of Malcolm Canmore, King of Scotland. I'm basing this on an association that I've noted in the records between Fergus of Galloway and William Fitz Duncan. As you're well aware, William Fitz Duncan was near related to all of the English kings from King Henry II forward. As such, this theory can also be considered a "simple" explanation as to how the Galloway family was related to the English royal family. [Ref: Douglas Richardson SGM 11/28/2005-185736]



Pedigree of Fergus Lord Of Galloway
Fergus Lord Of Galloway



Descendants of Fergus Lord Of Galloway

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