t Nevill's
Cross in 1346, and only released on becoming liegeman of Edward III. for
the lands of Liddesdale and the castle of the Hermitage; Liddesdale[2]
was also accused of contriving the murder of Sir David Barclay in 1350.
Some of his lands fell to his kinsman and murderer, who was created earl
of Douglas in 1358. In 1357 his marriage with Margaret, sister and
heiress of Thomas, 13th earl of Mar, eventually brought him the estates
and the earldom of Mar. During a short truce with the warden of the
English marches he had served in France, being wounded at Poitiers in
1356. He was one of the securities for the payment of David II.'s
ransom, and in consequence of the royal misappropriation of some moneys
raised for this purpose Douglas was for a short time in rebellion in
1363. In 1364 he joined David II. in seeking a treaty with England which
should deprive Robert the Steward, formerly an ally of Douglas, of the
succession by putting an English prince on the Scottish throne. The
independence of Scotland was to be guaranteed, and a special clause
provided for the restoration of the English estates of the Douglas
family. On the accession of Robert II. he was nevertheless reconciled,
becoming justiciar of southern Scotland, and the last years of his life
were spent in making and repelling border raids. He died at Douglas in
May 1384, and was succeeded by his son James. By his wife's
sister-in-law, Margaret Stewart, countess of Angus in her own right, and
widow of the 13th earl of Mar, he had a son George, afterwards 1st earl
of Angus.

JAMES, 2ND EARL OF DOUGLAS AND MAR (c. 1358-1388), married Lady Isabel
Stewart, daughter of Robert II. In 1385 he made war on the English with
the assistance of a French contingent under John de Vienne. He allowed
the English to advance to Edinburgh, wisely refusing battle, and
contented himself with a destructive counter-raid on Carlisle. Disputes
soon arose between the allies, and the French returned home at the end
of the year. In 1388 Douglas captured Hotspur Percy's pennon in a
skirmish near Newcastle. Percy sought revenge in the battle of Otterburn
(August 1388), which ended in a victory for the Scots and the capture of
Hotspur and his brother, though Douglas fell in the fight. The struggle,
narrated by Froissart, is celebrated in the English and Scottish ballads
called "Chevy Chase" and "The Battle of Otterburn." Sir Philip Sidney
"never heard the olde song of Percy and Douglas th