Family records of the Bruces and the Cumyns

168 KING DAVID II.— SIR ANDREW MORAY, REGENT.
After this, Baliol appeared before Edward at Newcastle, and did homage to
him for the kingdom of Scotland and the adjacent isles ! acknowledging him
as his liege lord. Edward hastened to send governors to his newly-acquired
dominions, and the friends of the young King David retreated to their moun-
tain fastnesses. But soon dissensions arose amongst the. English barons. A
knight of the Mowbray name, died, leaving daughters, his co-heirs ; but his
brother, Sir Alexander Mowbray, claimed his lands, and Edward Baliol decided
in his favour. The wives of Henry de Beaumont and Richard de Talbot were
similarly situated, and they warmly espoused the cause of the disinherited
daughters ; whilst David Earl of Athol was the son of Joane Cumyn, co-heiress
with Elizabeth the wife of Richard de Talbot. He was left at nineteen years
of age, when his father died, in the ward and tutelage of Henry de Beaumont,
Earl of Buchan, in right of his wife, Alice Cumyn, niece of the late earl, and
married Henry's daughter Katharine.
Thus united by blood and interest, they retired to their strongholds ; Beau-
mont, taking the law into his own hand, seized a portion of the disputed land
which lay within his earldom of Buchan, and intrenched himself within his
sea-girt castle of Dundarg; whilst Richard Talbot collected his vassals and pre-
pared for war.
At this time Sir Andrew Moray of Bothwell was released from captivity,
and returned to Scotland ; and the friends of Bruce, encouraged by the disunion
of their enemies, began to reappear from their retreats. Edward Baliol, irreso-
lute and alarmed, retired to Berwick, and reversed his decision in favour of
Mowbray ; but this step came too late to conciliate Beaumont, whilst it entirely
alienated Sir Alexander Mowbray, who went over with his friends and vassals
to the side of David Bruce, and cordially co-operated with Sir Andrew Moray.
Again the country was up in arms. Talbot, in attempting to pass into
England, was taken prisoner and shut up in Dumbarton, and Sir Andrew
Moray and Mowbray hastened to besiege Beaumont in Dundarg.
By cutting off the supply of water he was obliged to capitulate, and upon
payment of a high ransom was permitted to retire into England.
Edward Baliol had conferred the large possessions of the Stewards upon
Athol, against whom the national party now turned their arms, assisted by
Robert the Steward and his vassals. Sir Andrew, by a rapid march, drove
Athol into the wilds of Lochaber before he had time to collect any consider-
able force, and obliged him to surrender. Thus the confederacy of the Disin-
herites was broken up, and Baliol became once more a fugitive in England.
Geffrey or Godfrey de Mowbray, who had from Edward III. the charge of
the Roxburgh district, married Isabel, widow of the young Regent, Earl of
Marr, killed at Dupplin in 1332. In her right he claimed the offices of sheriff