Stuart dynasty

8 THE STUART DYNASTY.
Darnley, Queen Mary's husband. Sir John Stuart
was also ancestor of the Earls of Galloway.
Walter, the second son of James, the fifth Steward,
became the sixth of his race who served the royal
line of William the Lion, and was destined himself
to be the means of founding a dynasty, although
the purple never descended on to his shoulders.
Andrew, his elder brother, being sent as a hostage
to Edward I., in England, and dying there, Walter
Stuart became the head of the family. He had a
great reputation for bravery, and held a prominent
command at Bannockburn in 1314, when, under the
shadow of Stirling's fortressed height, the nationality
of Scotland was saved. His prowess on this great
occasion is thus celebrated by the poet Barbour, once
chaplain to David II. : —
" Walter Stewart of Scotland fyne,
That then was but a beardless hyne,
Came with a rout of noble men
That might by countenance be ken." *
The Steward's contingent was evidently composed
of aristocratic elements ; while Barbour further tells
us : —
" And syne the third battle they gave
To Walter Stewart for to lead,
And to Douglas doughty of deed." t
After Bannockburn, Walter, the sixth Steward of
Scotland, was appointed to receive Elizabeth, Queen
of Robert Bruce, Marjory his daughter, and other
* Barbour's ' Robert Bruce,' p. 228.
t Ibid., p. 232 ; Stuart's ' Genealogical History of the Stuarts,'
pp. 17-18.