Todd Nesnick
Since 1066, when William the Conqueror divided the territory into manors and awarded titles to his faithful barons, the term ‘Lord’ has been used in Scotland and UK in general. Today, we identify the word Lord with someone who has inherited or been bestowed a position of Peerage or honorary title.
To have a lord title in modern times, you must follow conditions. You either marry a person that currently has the title and family inheritance of Lord, get an appointment to the house of Lords or Purchase the Lord’s title, which is very expensive. Here are the most prominent Lords in the history of Scotland;
Alexander Forbes, 1st Lord Forbes
Alexander Forbes was born in 1380 at Aberdeenshire, Scotland. His parents were John Forbes and Elizabeth Kennedy. In 1423 he married Lady Elizabeth Douglas, daughter of George Douglas, 1st Earl of Angus, and Lady Mary Stewart. They were blessed with five children, namely Annabella, James, William, Margaret, and Elizabeth Forbes.
1st Lord Forbes fought in the war of Beauge under the Scots contingent of the French Army in 1421. He received a grant of the Forbes land in 1423. He traveled with Alexander Stuart, Earl of Mar, and Sir Walter Lindsay to England, where they tilted with Beaumont. Andrew de Wyntoun hailed him among the four Scottish knights who successfully imitated the battle with English knights, garnering tremendous acclaim from the incident.
Alexander Forbes fought so well in the Harlaw battle, which happened in 1411, which made general Alexander Stuart, Earl of Mar, befriend him after a huge victory. He accompanied Earl to Flanders, where they fought under the Duke of Burgandy.
1st Lord Forbes was granted safe conduct at Dover in 1421 for admission into and out of England. Additionally, the same year he was awarded another access which allowed him to travel with forty men at arm and hundred people to visit king James of France under the supervision of king Henry V. Alexander Forbes died in 1448.
Andrew Gray, 1ST Lord Gray
1st Lord Gray was a Scottish politician, diplomat, and nobleman. He was the son of Sir Andrew Gray of Fowlis, Perthshire, and Janet, daughter of Sir Roger de Mortimer.
In 1424, he was recognized as one of the captives by the English government in exchange for the payment of James I of Scotland’s ransom, presumably in place of his father, whose property was valued at the time at 600 merks per year.
In 1449, he was named to a committee of the Estates tasked with reviewing earlier actions of Parliament and general councils and reporting to Parliament on their legality. Between 1449 and 1460, he was hired as one of the Scottish diplomats to make peace treaties with England. He was nominated as a general conservator of these agreements in several circumstances.
He married Elizabeth Wemyss, the eldest daughter of Sir John Wemyss of Wemyss and Reres, on August 31, 1418. They were the parents of two sons and two daughters. Sir Patrick Gray of Kineff, the oldest son, predeceased his father. After marrying Anabella Forbes, daughter of Alexander Forbes, he had one son, Andrew Gray, 2nd Lord Gray, and 1st Lord Forbes. Andrew, the younger son, and Margaret and Christian, the two daughters, were three other children.
John Sempill, 1st Lord Sempill
Castle Semple Collegiate Church, in Lochwinnoch, was founded by John Sempill. In 1489, he was named Lord Sempill in the Scottish Peerage. Sir Thomas Sempill, Lord Sempill’s father, was killed in the war of Sauchieburn while fighting for James III of Scotland. In the parish of West Kilbride, John constructed another chapel at Southannan.
He was among the ambassadors sent to England, where he was given a €20 from king Henry VII in 1492. John Sempill married Margaret Colville, the daughter of Sir Robert Colville of Ochiltree, in 1504. He later married his second wife in Margaret Crichton, daughter of Crichton of Ruthvendenny
Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Fairfax was born in Bilbrough, near York, as Sir Thomas Fairfax of Denton, Yorkshire, and Dorothy Gale. He served in the military in the Low Countries as a young man, commanding a company of foot under Sir Francis Vere. Elizabeth used him on various diplomatic contacts with James VI of Scotland before and after Mary, Queen of Scots’ death.
In 1591, he was knighted in Rouen by Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, for France. In addition, he served in the House of Commons for Lincoln in 1586, Aldborough in 1588, and Yorkshire in 1601 and 1625.
He married Ellen, the daughter of Robert Aske of Aughton in Yorkshire, in 1582. Dorothy, who married Sir William Constable, and Anne, Sir George Wentworth of Woolley, were Fairfax’s daughters.
In Conclusion
The address “Lord” is appropriate not only for bishops and members of the aristocracy to whom the title of Lord applies, but also for all judges of the high court in England, when acting in their judicial capacity, and for Lord Provosts (in office) and Lords of Session in Scotland (for life).