Surname: Douglass This noble and distinguished surname is of Scottish territorial origin from the lands of Douglas, south of Glasgow, in Lanarkshire, situated on the Douglas Water. These waters were so named from the Old Gaelic "dubh", dark or black, plus "glas", a rivulet or stream. The original stronghold of the Douglas family and their retainers lay in this area, and the Douglases were described by the historian Lang as "the great, turbulent, daring, and too often treacherous house". The fair principal stems of the family are: the old Douglas of Douglasdale (the Black Douglas), illustrious in the War of Independence: the line of Morton who were closely connected with Mary Queen of Scots: the house of Drumlanrig and Queensberry, and the House of Angus, the Red Douglas. The family also hold the titles, Earl of Douglas, Earl of Angus and Earl of Forfar. Among the one hundred notable namebearers mentioned in "The Dictionary of National Biography" is Sir James Douglas, "the good" (1286 1330), who set out on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, carrying the heart of the dead Robert Bruce. A Coat of Arms granted to Sir James' nephew, William, is a silver shield with a red man's heart, on a blue chief three silver stars. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Duglas, charter witness in Kelso, which was dated 1175, in the "Records of Kelso Abbey", Roxburghshire, during the reign of King William, known as "The Lion of Scotland", 1165 1214. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Threave Castle: The castle is on an island in the middle of the River Dee; even getting to it is an exciting and romantic experience in itself. From Kelton Mains farm there is a ten minute walk through fields and past woods until you arrive at the shore of the River Dee. There you will find a small jetty and a brass bell with a rope pull. Ring this bell loudly and the boatman will come across from the island to take you to the castle.

A stronghold of the Black Douglases, Threave Island may have been the home of the ancient rules of Galloway, but today’s castle was built at the end of the 1300’s by the powerful Archibald Douglas, known as “Archibald the Grim.” Archibald’s father, Sir James Douglas, “The Good,” had been entrusted with taking Robert the Bruce’s heart to Jerusalem, but had been killed in Spain fighting the Moors (and Bruce’s heart was brought back to Scotland and buried at Melrose Abbey). He also put down the rebellious Gallovidian chiefs when they had sided with the English. His cusin, William Douglas did the same in 1553.

Because of these services to Scotland, Robert the Bruce’s son, King David II, bestowed an Earldom on the Douglas family and the heart became the principal emblem of the Black Douglas. Threave became Archibald’s stronghold in his new position as Third Earl of Douglas, Lord of Galloway and Warden of the West March (i.e., West Border).

King James II was only 6 when he was crowned in 1437. Archibald, 5th Earl of Douglas, was appointed Regent. When he died two years later, two men, Sir Alexander Livingstone and Sir William Crichton fought to take the place of the Douglases. They invited the new Earl of Douglas, then only 16 years old, to dine with his brother and a friend at Edinburgh Castle. At the end of the meal the head of a black bull was brought to the table, and at this sign all three were murdered.

James resented the power of the Douglases. In 1452 he invited William, the 8th Earl, to Stirling under safe-conduct to negotiate their relationship. During the meeting, the 21-year old James drew his dagger and stabbed him. His courtiers joined in and William was dead. Immediately, the 9th Earl sprang to arms proclaiming the King a murderer and outlaw. James’ Parliament replied with, “the Earl was guilty of his own death by resisting the King’s gentle persuasion.”

The Douglases were defeated at Arkinholm near Langholm and the 9th Earl was exiled. James began the systematic destruction of all the Douglas strongholds, culminating in a two-month siege of Threave Castle in the summer of 1455. James attended the siege in person. Although his main residence was at nearby Tongland Abbey, he had a field-tent erected at Threave. But in spite of heavy bombardment, including shots from a great “Bombard,” a massive siege gun, the castle held out and only surrendered after the garrison commanders had been promised various payments and promises of safe conduct.

Sir Alexander Boyd of Drumcoll was put in charge, and the castle remained annexed to the crown until it was granted to Lord Maxwell of Caerlaverock Castle until it was abondoned in 1640. At this time an earth bank was put up as an outer gun emplacement probably in readiness for the siege by the Covenanters. Again the siege failed to take Threave by force, but nonetheless eventually the castle surrendered and was subsequently “slighted,” i.e., made uninhabitable.

Today the castle is very evocative of those turbulent times four or five hundred years ago. The surrounding landscape of boggy marsh, water, and woodlands has probably not changed much, although the height of the river is slightly lower so that the island is now bigger. In winter it is almost inaccessible. Threave Castle is under the care of Historic Scotland and is open to the public during the summer. It is about 1 mile west of Castle Douglas, Kirkudbrightshire, Southwest Scotland.