Origins In modern texts, the family's surname is thought to derive from the village of Douglas, the name of which comes from the Gaelic elements
dubh, meaning "dark, black"; and
glas, meaning "stream" (in turn from
Old Gaelic dub and
glais). However, according to the 17th century historian Frederic van Bossen, the Douglas name means "gray hairs in the old language", and it was first given to a Lord Shulton, who lived in the 8th century. Frederic van Bossen states Lord Shulton was a descendant of Adrolena of Shaultow who was a descendant of the Princes of Caledonia. In 1179
William Douglas was Lord of Douglas; he is the first certain record of the name Douglas and undoubtedly the ancestor of the family. He witnessed a charter between 1175 and 1199 by the
Bishop of Glasgow to the monks of Kelso. The true progenitor of Clan Douglas may have been "Theobaldus Flammatius" (Theobald the Fleming), who in 1147 received the lands near
Douglas Water in Lanarkshire in return for services for the
Abbot of Kelso, who held the barony and lordship of
Holydean. It seems likely that he was the father of the first William Douglas; DouglasCastle01.jpg|Ruin of
Douglas Castle, South
Lanarkshire Douglas Water Downstream of Douglasmouth Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 284159.jpg|
Douglas Water (, the
dark stream) Arms of the House of Murray.svg|
Clan Murray coat of arms Arms of the House of Douglas (Ancient).svg|Original coat of arms of Clan Douglas Arms of the House of Douglas.svg|Coat of arms of Clan Douglas from 1330, with the
Heart of King Robert the Bruce Wars of Scottish Independence During the
Wars of Scottish Independence,
Sir William Douglas "le Hardi," Lord of Douglas (1243 – c. 1298), was governor of
Berwick-upon-Tweed when the town and
Berwick Castle were besieged by the English. for what they considered his dark deeds. According to Sir Walter Scott, he became the bogeyman of a Northern English lullaby "Hush ye, hush ye, little pet ye. Hush ye, hush ye, do not fret ye. The Black Douglas shall not get ye." Unsubstantiated theories point to his colouring and complexion, but this is tenuous. Douglas appears only in English records as "The Black" – Scots chronicles almost always referred to him as "The Guid" or "The Good". Later Douglas lords took the by-name of their revered forebear in the same way that they attached the image of Bruce's heart to their
coat of arms: to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies and to exhibit the prowess of their race. While they ate, a black bull's head, a symbol of death, was brought in and placed before the Earl. Perceiving the danger, Crichton surrendered the castle to the king and was rewarded with the title Lord Crichton.
Clan conflicts In 1448,
Hugh Douglas, Earl of Ormond led a Scottish force to victory against an English army at the
Battle of Sark.
16th-century conflicts (1490–1557), husband of
Margaret Tudor, widow of
James IV, mother of
James V (whose guardian he became), and elder sister of
Henry VIII of England. In 1513, there was a strong Douglas contingent at the
Battle of Flodden, where two of
Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus's sons were killed along with 200 men of the name of Douglas. A dispute occurred in 1530, when Sir Robert Charteris, the 8th Laird and chief of
Clan Charteris fought a duel with
Sir James Douglas of Drumlanrig in what was said to have been one of the last great chivalric contests. It was fought with all the observance of a medieval tournament with heralds and the king himself watching from the castle walls. The joust was apparently fought with such fury that Charteris' sword was broken and the king had to send his men-at-arms to part the combatants.
18th century and the Jacobite risings In 1703, the
Marquisate of Douglas was elevated to a Dukedom.
Archibald Douglas, 1st Duke of Douglas married
Margaret Douglas (a distant relation) late in life and had no direct heir – the title of Duke became extinct on his death. By the late 17th century, more political power was wielded by the Douglases of Drumlanrig, in Dumfriesshire who are also descended from the Black Douglases. The Douglases of Drumlanrig had become
Earl of Queensberry in 1633,
Marquises in 1682 and
Dukes in 1684. The maneuvers of
James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry, contributed to the
Union of 1707. Count
Gustaf Douglas was an important entrepreneur. His sisters are
Rosita Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, and Princess Elisabeth, Duchess in Bavaria, the wife of
Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria.
Walburga Habsburg, Countess Douglas, the daughter of
Austria-Hungary's last crown prince, is a member of this family by her marriage to Count Archibald Douglas. Through a marriage in 1848 to Countess Louise von
Langenstein und
Gondelsheim, an illegitimate daughter of
Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden, the Swedish Count Carl Israel Wilhelm Douglas (1824–1898) came into possession of
Langenstein Castle in Baden, near Lake Constance. Their children achieved important political offices in both Sweden and Germany: their son Count Wilhelm Douglas (1848-1908) was a member of the
German Reichstag, his brother Count Ludvig Douglas (1849–1916) was the Swedish foreign minister, and their grandson count Archibald Douglas (1883–1960) was chief of staff of the Swedish army. In 1906, the grandson, Count Karl Robert (1880-1955), second husband of
Augusta Victoria of Hohenzollern, titular
Queen consort of Portugal, took up his main residence at Langenstein Castle, which his descendants still live in today. The castle and the surrounding estate is owned by Count Leopold Douglas (b. 1989), which he inherited from his father Count Christoph Douglas (1948-2016), who bought it in 2014 from his cousin, Count Axel Douglas (b. 1943). Stjarnorp view01.jpg|
Stjärnorp Castle, Östergötland (Sweden) Ekensholm Slott 1967.jpg|
Ekensholm Castle, Södermanland (Sweden) Rydboholms slott - KMB - 16000300021233.jpg|
Rydboholm Castle, Uppland (Sweden) Langenstein 120306.jpg|
Langenstein Castle, Baden (Germany) == Chief ==