History of the earldoms of Strathern, Monteith, and Airth

OF STRATHERN AND MONTEJTH. 45
proceeding on the resignation of John Earl of William
T-» 1 1 • 1 T 1 A /^ r^ SEVENTH EaRL
rertli, to nim and JLady Agnes Gray, Countess of Monteith.
of Strathern and Monteith, his wife, and the
longer liver of them, and to the heirs male pro-
created between them ; whom faiUng, to the
nearest heirs male and assigns of the said Earl
of Strathern whomsoever.*
By a Charter dated on the 14th of April, l632,
the King, proceeding on the resignation of Alex-
ander, Earl of Linlithgow and Callendar, granted
to the Earl of Strathern and Monteith the lands
and hnrony o^ Airthy in tlie shire of Stirling, to
hold to him and his Countess and the survivor
of them, and the heirs male procreated between
them ; whom failing, to the heirs male and assigns
of the said Earl whomsoever"; and on the 21st
of July following, the Earl of Strathern and Mon-
teith received another Charter of the lands and
barony of Airth, with exactly the same limita-
tions as in the preceding Charter. ^
The admission of the Earl of Monteith to the
ancient Earldom of Strathern roused the jea-
lousy of the Peers over whom he had thereby
obtained precedence; and the fears of numerous
persons were excited, lest his claim to the ter-
ritorial Earldom sliould affect their right to their
estates. A powerful confederacy was formed
1 Record of Charters in the Office of the Lord Register.
2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. Book liv. No. 50.