James Lindsay, Provost of Lincluden. 297 



nominal heads of the movement, to the arrogant Doiighis, to the 

 truculent Crawford, or to the vain and feeble Ross? Neither 

 Crawford nor Ross possessed the needful qualifications, and it 

 mav be doubted if Douglas had them. So to the many specula- 

 tions that have to serve us as the history of the period, I would 

 ■venture to add this one, that James Lindsay, Provost of Lin- 

 cluden, had a hand, and an effective one, in shaping the jJolicy 

 of the Douglas party. 



The Earl of Douglas was slain in P'ebruary, 1452, killed by 

 the King because, as it is believed, he had refused to break up 

 the treasonable alliance referred to. Crawford immediately took 

 up arms, and notwithstanding his defeat at Brechin, continued in 

 rebellion. The brothers of the murdered earl were also actively 

 [engaged in hostilities when in August of that year there was 



3rought about a reconciliation between them and the King. The 



strength of the Government apparently was not such that it could 



Lcompel the unconditional surrender of the rebels. Doubtless 



leir treasonable plotting was not generally known to the people, 



>r was forgotten, and only the provocation that they had received 

 'was remembered and served to secure for them much sympathy 



md support. With this in mind, perhaps, and desirous of aton- 

 ing for his own act of violence and treachery, the King received 



ito his peace the members of the party. The decrees of for- 

 feiture which had been pronounced were rescinded, and King 

 Ijames undertook to promote the appeal for a dispensation 

 [whereby the new Earl of Douglas might marry the widow of his 



lead brother, that same Fair Maid of Galloway. To be reckoned 

 [also among these measures of conciliation — and the point is 



significant for our understanding of the factors at work in the 



ievelopment of events — the Provost of Lincluden, who at the 

 Ftime of the slaughter of his patron filled the office of Clerk 



Register, was now given the custody of the Privy Seal.^ Thus 

 I to dispose of a troublesome adversary by loading him with the 

 : responsibilities of office is a manoeuvre which has been not in- 

 [frequently resorted to in politics even to the present day. 



During the years of peace which followed this reconciliation 

 Ithe name of the Provost of Lincluden is one of those most often 



Excheq. Rolls, Vol. V., pp. 491, 606 ; Rerj. May. Si(j., IV., 118, 119 (12th 

 Jan., 1452-3. 



