Stuart dynasty

The Stewards of Scotland. 5
of the latter — the seeds of future civil war, the fomenting of
which Edward I. made thenceforth a leading part of his policy.
James, the fifth Steward, like his father before him, served
the monarchy with courage, skill, and fidelity, for we find
him associated with Sir William Wallace in 1297, and
subsequently standing surety for Eobert Bruce's good
behaviour, when that monarch had undertaken to deliver up
Marjory, his only daughter, to the English. His recognition
of Bruce's right to the throne, doubtless strengthened his
family position in the State. His wife was Cecilia, daughter
of Patrick, Earl of Dunbar and March.
A brother of James, the fifth Steward, Sir John by name,
married Margaret, daughter of Sir Alexander Bonkyl, and
became progenitor of several noble houses, including that of
Darnley, Earls of Lennox, to which house belonged Henry,
Lord 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 lace 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 L, in England, and dying there, Walter
Stuart became the head of the family. He had a great reputa-
tion for bravery, and held a prominent command at Bannock-
burn 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. : —
" Valtir, steward of Scotland, syne,
That than wes bot ane berdlas hyne,
Com vith a rout of nobill men,
That all be contynans mycht ken." *
The Steward's contingent was evidently composed of
aristocratic elements ; while Barbour further tell us : —
" And syne the thrid battale he gaf
To valtir stewart for to leid,
And till dowglas douchty of deid." f
After Bannockburn, Walter, the sixth Steward of Scotland,
was appointed to receive Elizabeth, Queen of Bobert Bruce,
* Barbour's ' Robert Bruce,' p. 266 (Skeat).
f Ibid., p. 269 ; A. Stuart's ' Genealogical History of the Stewarts,'
pp. 17-18.