Isabella MacDuff -Countess of Fife

• Preferred Name: Isabella MacDuff -Countess of Fife^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]}
  
• Gender: F
  
• http://familysearch.org/v1/TitleOfNobility: Countess of Fife1353 in Fife, Scotland at LATI: N6.25 LONG: E3.1667 with note: Data Standardization.
  
• Death: 12 AUG 1389 in Innermeath, Argyllshire, Scotland at LATI: N6.25 LONG: E5.25 with note: GEDCOM data Standard
  
• http://familysearch.org/v1/TitleOfNobility: Countess of Fife
  
• FSID: LVNV-ZVS
  
• Death:: in Perthshire, Scotland, United Kingdom at LATI: N6.5 LONG: E4 with note: Merge
  
• Birth: 1320 in Fife, Scotland at LATI: N6.25 LONG: E3.1667 with note: GEDCOM data Standard
  
• Burial: 1389 in Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland at LATI: N6.1181 LONG: E3.9378
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  The Life Summary of Elizabeth
  When Elizabeth MacDuff Countess of Fife was born in 1320, her father, Duncan Mac Duff I, was 20 and her mother, Mary de Monthermer Countess of Fife, was 19. She married Sir William Ramsay about 1358. They were the parents of at least 1 daughter. She died on 12 August 1389, in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, at the age of 69, and was buried in Cullen, Banffshire, Scotland, United Kingdom.
  
  Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Fife (c. 1320–1389) was a Scottish noblewoman who was Countess of Fife from 1363 until she resigned the title in 1371. She was the only child of Duncan, Earl of Fife, by his wife Mary de Monthermer, daughter of Ralph, Lord Monthermer and Joan of Acre.
  
  In 1332 she and her mother had been captured at Perth by supporters of Edward Balliol. She was sent as a ward to Northumberland.
  
  Her first husband was Sir William Felton of Northumberland (died c. 1358) in Fife, whom she married around 1358. He died soon afterwards, leaving aher with three children. She was next married, before June 1361, to Walter Stewart, second son of Robert Stewart, later King Robert II. He died without issue the following year, and she was married again in January 1363 to Sir Thomas Bisset of Upsetlington in Berwickshire. He had died by April 1366. She was married for a fourth and final time to John Dunbar, who died before 1371. She had three children by her first marriage.
  
  Isabel was persuaded to resign the earldom on 30 March 1371 to Robert Stewart, Earl of Menteith (later Duke of Albany), who was her brother-in-law by her second marriage. She died shortly after 12 August 1389 and was buried next to Walter Stewart.
  
  In 1310, Isabel was released from her cage and placed in the Carmelite friary in Berwick. It wasn’t until April of 1313 that the courageous Countess of Buchan was finally released into the custody of Henry de Beaumont, husband of Alice Comyn, her niece by marriage. After this she slips into the mists of history.
  
  * Buried at the Church of the Friars Preachers of St. Lawrence (also known as Blackfriars). Wife of Walter Stewart, granddaughter of Joan of Acre and Ralph Monthermer; daughter of Donnchadh 1V, Earl of Fife, by his wife Mary de Monthermer (herself the daughter of Joan of Acre and Ralph Monthermer).
  
  In 1332 she and her mother had been captured at Perth by supporters of King David 11 of Scotland. She was sent as a ward to Northumberland, where she married her guardian Sir William Felton. Wiliam Felton was styled "Lord of Fife" in right of his wife, and died on Sep 21 1358. Their children were:
  John Felton 1340-1396
  Duncan Felton, a priest, died after 1385
  Joan Felton (died before 1384), married Walter Faucomberge.
  
  Because her father had forfeited the earldom, David 11 granted Fife to Sir William Ramsay of Colluthie (near Cupar, Fife) in 1358, ignoring Isabel's own claim. She was not recognized as Countess until 1363. She had married for second time to Walter Stewart, a son of King Robert 11 of Scotland, before June 1361. He died the following year, and she married again in Jan 1263 to Thomas Byset. He died by April 1366. She is said to have married for the fourth and final time to John de Dunbar, who died before 1371, but Boardman shows that this was not the case, but that rather she was prevailed upon by King David 11 to grant him the Lordship of Fife. She had no children by her later marriages.
  
  Isabel resigned the earldom of Fife on Mar 30 1371 to Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany. She died shortly after Aug 12 1389 and was buried next to Walter Stewart.
  
  History of Elizabeth (Isabella) MacDuff (1320-1389)
  Isabella (Eklizabeth) MacDuff, Countess of Fife (c. 1320–1389) was a Scottish noblewoman who was Countess of Fife from 1363 until she resigned the title in 1371. She was the only child of Duncan, Earl
  
  History of Isabella MacDuff (1320-1389)
  Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Fife (c. 1320–1389) was a Scottish noblewoman who was Countess of Fife from 1363 until she resigned the title in 1371. She was the only child of Duncan, Earl of Fife, by
  
  === Name Suffix: Countess of Fife REFN: HWS4 ===
  Name Suffix: Countess of Fife REFN: HWS43203 Ancestral File Number:GQX2-05 OBJE: C:\LEGACY\PICTURES\C_Comte.gif OBJE:C:\LEGACY\PICTURES\macduffie.jpg (Research):See attached sources.
  
  === AFN: 9FVB-J1 ===
  AFN: 9FVB-J1
  
  === All details for this living person have ===
  All details for this living person have been suppressed.
  
  === Name Suffix: Countess of Fife Ance ===
  Name Suffix: Countess of Fife Ancestral File Number: 9FVB-J1
  
  === Countess of Fife ===
  Countess of Fife
  
  === From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 J ===
  From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
  
  === 1 William/Ramsey; 3 Thomas/Hyset abt 10J ===
  1 William/Ramsey; 3 Thomas/Hyset abt 10Jan1362-3; John/Dunbar
  
  === Name Suffix: [Countess Of Fife] An ===
  Name Suffix: [Countess Of Fife] Ancestral File Number: 9FVB-J1
  
  === From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 J ===
  From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996. From Ancestral File (TM), data as of 2 January 1996.
  
  === TITLE: Countess of Fife ===
  TITLE: Countess of Fife
  
  === [kkgedcomcam6.FTW] TITL World Family Tr ===
  [kkgedcomcam6.FTW] TITL World Family Tree Vol. 16, Ed. 1 AUTH Brderbund Software, Inc. PUBL Release date: December 15, 1997 REPO CALN MEDI Family Archive CD PAGE Tree #1609 DATA TEXT Date of Import: Jun 25, 1999 TITL phelps1609.FTW REPO CALN MEDI Other DATA TEXT Date of Import: Jun 26, 1999 TITL World Family Tree Vol. 16, Ed. 1 AUTH Brderbund Software, Inc. PUBL Release date: December 15, 1997 REPO CALN MEDI Family Archive CD PAGE Tree #1609 DATA TEXT Date of Import: Jun 25, 1999 TITL phelps1609.FTW REPO CALN MEDI Other DATA TEXT Date of Import: Jun 26, 1999 TITL World Family Tree Vol. 16, Ed. 1 AUTH Brderbund Software, Inc. PUBL Release date: December 15, 1997 REPO CALN MEDI Family Archive CD PAGE Tree #1609 DATA TEXT Date of Import: Jun 25, 1999 TITL phelps1609.FTW REPO CALN MEDI Other DATA TEXT Date of Import: Jun 26, 1999
  
  === Still Living. ===
  Still Living.
  
  === ISABEL, or ELIZABETH, suojure COUNTESS O ===
  ISABEL, or ELIZABETH, suojure COUNTESS OF FIFE [SCT], only daughter and heir. She married, 1stly, William RAMSAY, of Colluthie, who, in her right, was EARL OF FIFE [SCT], and as such was witness to a charter 12 April 1357. He was alive March 1359/60, though hc probably died soon aftcrwards. She married, 2ndly, Walter STEWART, 2nd son of Robert, afterwards [1371] Robert II. He was living as "Dominus de Fyff," 14 August 1362, but died s.p., very soon after wards. She married, 3rdly (settlement before marriage, 10 January 1362/3), Sir Thomas Byset of Upsetlington, who in her right was EARL OF FIFE [SCT], having had a charter, April 1363, of that Earldom to himself and his issue by the said Countess. He died s.p., before 17 April 1365. She married, 4thly, and lastly, John DE DUNBAR, in her right EARL OF FIFE [SCT], having a charter to him and his said wife of that Earldom. He died s.p., before 1371. Finally she, on 30 March 1371, resigned the Earldom of Fife to Robert [STEWART), EARL OF MENTEITH [SCT], next brother to her 2nd husband, retaining for her life the free tenement thereof save as to the third part then held in dower by Mary, Countess of Fife, her mother. She was living 12 August 1389, but died s.p., apparently not long afterwards. [Complete Peerage V:311]
  
  === !#21> Complete Peerage-v1-p77,-v5-p374/5 ===
  !#21> Complete Peerage-v1-p77,-v5-p374/5*,-v8-p667, (FHL 942 D22cok); #189> Scots Peerage-v1-p15, (FHL 941 D22p); !AF: SS> AFN:9FVBJ1; !KIN> only dau & h;

• m. BEF 1359

• m. ABT 1340

• m. AFT 10 JAN 1363 in Scotland

1. Mary Bisset, b. 1289 in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, Scotland     d. 1370
2. Christina Bissett, b. AFT 1360 in Macduff, Banffshire, Scotland     d. 1455 in Scotland

1. Title: Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 2nd Edition
   Author: Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 2nd Edition page 124-125
   Publication: Name: https://books.google.com/books?id=8JcbV309c5UC&pg=PA472&lpg=PA472&dq=Sir+William+Felton+of+Northumberland+(died+c.+1358)&source=bl&ots=kxmHJXGW96&sig=ACfU3U0R_3uFCuju15-iSWlp5F80hlMluQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZxIONrLH4AhXWIUQIHaq8C4oQ6AF6BAgREAM#v=onepage&q=Sir%20William%20Felton%20of%20Northumberland%20(died%20c.%201358)&f=false;
   Note: Describes marraiges, births deaths of Magna Carta signers and their families
   Page: Describes marraiges, births deaths of Magna Carta signers and their families
   
2. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Isabella Mac Duff Countess of Fife - birth: about 1328; Fife, Scotland
   Author: "FamilySearch® Ancestral File™ v4.19", The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 3 Feb 2001, SLC - Family History Library, 25 N. West Temple Street~Salt Lake City, UT 84150 U.S.A.~SLC - Family History Library~25 N. West Temple Street~~Salt Lake City~~UT~~84150~~U.S.A.
   Note: birth: about 1328; Fife, Scotland
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:3248163158
   
3. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Isabella Mac Duff Countess of Fife - birth: about 1328; Fife, Scotland
   Author: "Genealogical Research of Kirk Larson", Larson, Kirk, Personal Research Works including Bethune & Hohenlohe Descendants,1981-2001, Kirk Larson, Private Library, Kirk Larson, 23512 Belmar Dr.~Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 U.S.A.~Kirk Larson~23512 Belmar Dr.~~Laguna Niguel~~CA~~92677~~U.S.A., (253) 390-9307 (fax)
   Note: birth: about 1328; Fife, Scotland Unknown:
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:3248163157
   
4. Title: Isabella, Countess of Fife - Wikipedia
   Author: “Isabella, Countess of Fife - Wikipedia.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella,_Countess_of_Fife. Accessed 29 Sep. 2019.
   Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella,_Countess_of_Fife;
   Page: Created by http://RecordSeek.com
   
5. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Isabella Macduff -
   Author: Ancestral File (TM), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, July 1996 (c), data as of 2 January 1996 Repository: Family History Library 35 N West Temple Street Salt Lake City, UT 84150 USA Ancestral File is a collection of genealogical information taken from Pedigree Charts and Family Group Records submitted to the Family History Department since 1978. The information has not been verified against any official records. Since the information in Ancestral file is contributed, it is the responsibility of those who use the file to verify its accuracy.
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2824422834
   
6. Title: Isabella of Fife Stewart, "Find A Grave Index"
   Author: "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVG9-KZX5 : 6 March 2021), Isabella of Fife Stewart, ; Burial, Stirling, , Stirling, Scotland, Church of the Friars Preachers of St. Laurence; citing record ID 112012946, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
   Publication: Name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVG9-KZX5;
   
7. Title: The Life and Times of Isabella, countess of Fife
   Author: https://anerrantacademic.com/2021/03/24/the-life-and-times-of-isabella-countess-of-fife-d-1389/#_ftn4
   Publication: Name: https://anerrantacademic.com/2021/03/24/the-life-and-times-of-isabella-countess-of-fife-d-1389/#_ftn4;
   Note: The Life and Times of Isabella, countess of Fife (d.1389) NB: The historical research presented here is the intellectual copyright of Dr Rachel Meredith Davis. Any images used are done so with permission and the copyright is noted accordingly. Isabella, countess of Fife, was female heir to the premier earldom of Scotland in the mid-fourteenth century. The daughter of Duncan, earl of Fife, and Mary de Monthermer, her life provides us with fascinating insight into the agency of an elite woman in late medieval Scotland. She had a tumultuous relationship with David II, which has often led to historical interpretations of her as a ‘pawn’ between the Scottish king and his powerful uncle, Robert Stewart, who was her father-in-law. I recently spoke about her political career with Kate Buchanan on Scotichronicast, but I would like to use this blog to explore her life in greater detail, offering a micro-history of the countess and the broader implications a re-appraisal of her life has on political histories of late medieval Scotland. The early years, c.1320/9-1358 As the daughter of Duncan, earl of Fife, and Mary de Monthermer, and granddaughter of Ralph de Monterhmer, earl of Glouchester, and Joan of Acre [daughter of Edward I], the young Isabella had family ties on either side of the Anglo-Scottish border. What little evidence we have of her early life suggests she spent periods of time in both Scotland and England. Her exact date of birth is not known, but it was sometime after 1315, since her father and Robert Bruce agreed a male entail that year. The entail was to ensure that the earldom of Fife passed to the earls of Menteith if the earl of Fife failed to sire a child, as his wife, Mary, was detained in England at the time.[1] The entailing of the earldom was important, because the earl of Fife had the privilege and obligation of crowning the king of Scotland.[2] Thus, it was important to keep this duty and rights to Fife separate from the royal dynastic line. This entail would affect the countess’s later political career, as David II used the entail as a means to create a new earl of Fife after the death of her father in 1353. There is evidence that her mother spent time between England and Scotland in the 1320s and 1330s, however, it is difficult to tell whether or not Isabella accompanied her in this travel.[3] The family was captured in Perth in 1332 by supporters of Edward Balliol, and held in custody.[4] Isabella and Mary de Monthermer were separated. Her mother does not seem to have had a difficult captivity, as she continued to receive weekly payments, and later an annuity, from Edward III, as well as a residence and summer and winter clothing.[5] She later returned to Scotland in 1345, with safe conduct granted by Edward III.[6] While it is not entirely clear why Mary returned to Scotland, it may have been due to the shifting political situation, as David II’s return to Scotland in 1341 had seen a gradual improvement of the Scottish cause and she may not have been able to maintain her lifestyle in England as a Scottish countess. The earl of Fife was, in fact, captured at the Battle of Neville’s Cross a year later in 1346, and he was granted clemency from execution for treason due to his wife’s ‘blood-relationship’ with the English king, and we might assume that she intervened on his behalf.[7]
   
8. Title: Roots Web World Connect Project
   Author: Roots Web World Connect Project, database: :3258829.
   
9. Title: Isabel McDuff Married Walter Stewart, about 1360, Wikipedia
   Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella,_Countess_of_Fife;
   
10. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Isabella Macduff - birth:
    Author: 160010.GED, Not Given
    Note: birth: Source Media Type: Other death: Source Media Type: Other Source Media Type: Other
    Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:2737222791
    
11. Title: Isabel McDuff Married John Dunbar, about 1369, Wikipedia
    Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella,_Countess_of_Fife;
    
12. Title: Legacy NFS Source: Isabella Mac Duff Countess of Fife - Unknown:
    Author: "Héraldique européenne", Arnaud Bunel , Coats of Arms for European Royalty and Nobility(http://www.heraldique-europeenne.org, Arnaud Bunel, 1998) , Internet, Arnaud Bunel, France~Arnaud Bunel~France
    Note: Unknown: "Armigerous" (ahr-MIJ-ehr-us) adjective Bearing or entitled to bear heraldicarms. The reason the notion of a family crest was brought into the languagewasthat those who were armigerous (entitled to bear arms) used to put theircrest or achieveme
    Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:3248163161
    
13. Title: Isabel McDuff Countess of Fife, Wikipedia
    Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella,_Countess_of_Fife;
    
14. Title: Isabel McDuff Married Thomas Bisset, about 1361, Wikipedia
    Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella,_Countess_of_Fife;