Volume 6

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Alan the son of Walter seems to have emulated his father in the muni-
ficence of his grants, and appears to have enjoyed full as much property,
which enabled him to act thus munificently and wisely. He was also a
witness to the charters of William the Lion, under whom he flourished. He
seems to have married a daughter of Swan, the son of Thor, by whom he left
two sons, Walter and David ; and dying in 1204, he was buried in the abbey
of Paisley (x).
His son Walter is the first who called himself, and was called by others,
Seneschallus Scotice (y). He was appointed by Alexander II. the justiciary
of Scotland in 1231, while Walter Cliford was justiciary of Lothian (z). He
was sent in 1238 as an ambassador to negotiate a marriage with Mary, the
daughter of Ingleram Count de Coucy. He imitated his progenitors in
founding a monastery at Dalmulin upon the Ayr (a). This eminent man
died in 1246, and was buried in the abbey of Paisley (6). Walter the
Stewart, by whatever wife, left four sons ; 1. Alexander, who succeeded him;
2.  John, who is said to have been slain at Damietta in 1249, without issue ;
3.   Walter, who was designated in charters senescallus, and became Comes de
Menteith by marriage ; 4. William,  who is mentioned in charters, but who
died without issue (c).
Alexander succeeded his father Walter as Stewart of Scotland. He was
one of the counsellors to Alexander III., and was appointed one of the
regents in 1255 (d). Alexander the Stewart of Scotland commanded the
Scottish army, which on the 2nd of October, 1263, defeated the Norwegians
under Haco their king, at the battle of Largs (e). We may easily suppose
that the hardy men of Strathgryfe partook of the glory of that victory. This
Stewart was not only a brave, but a beneficent man. He confirmed the
(x) Cravwf. Hist, of the Stewarts, 5, 6; Stuart's Gen. Hist, of the Stewart's, 8, 9.
(y) See the charter in Crawf. Hist., 7.
(z) He continued Justiciary of Scotland till 1240.    Caledonia, i, 706.
(a)  An account of this establishment has been given in the Ecclesiastical History of Ayrshire.
(b)  Crawf.   Hist,   of  the   Stewarts.   7,   who   quotes    the   Chart,   of  Paisley  for   the   fact;   yet
Fordun,  1.   ix.   c.   56,  and  also  the  chronicle   of  Melrose, state  his  decease  in  1241.     Walter
the  Stewart  gave up to the monks of Paisley an  annual payment of two cbalders of meal from
the mill of Paisley,  for the support of a monk to  perform  divine  service for the soul of Robert
de Brus.    [Chart. Paisley, No. 182.]     Robert de Bruce, the Lord of Annandale, died in 1245.    We
thus  perceive an early connection between the   Stewarts and the Bruces, which continued without
interruption.
(c) Stuart's Gen. Hist, of the Stewarts, 11.
(d) Another of the regents was Robert de Bruce, who acted in conjunction with the Stewart during
the minority of Alexander III.                          (e) Fordun, ii. 98.