Agnes, Countess of Dunbar

On 13 January 1338, when Patrick Dunbar was away, the English laid siege to Dunbar Castle, where the Countess was in residence with her servants and guards. However, she was determined not to surrender the fortress and is said to have declared: During the Middle Ages, it was the norm for a wife to take charge of a castle and manor business in her husband's absence and defend it if need be, but the stand of the Countess of Dunbar is one of the best remembered instances. Salisbury's first attempt at taking the castle centred on catapulting huge rocks and lead shot against the ramparts, but this was proved ineffective, and the Countess had one of her ladies-in-waiting dust off the ramparts with her kerchief to taunt the besiegers. When a Scottish archer fired an arrow at an English soldier standing next to Salisbury, the earl cried out, "There comes one of my lady's tire pins; Agnes's love shafts go straight to the heart." At one point, the English having taken her brother John prisoner, he was brought to Dunbar and Montague threatened to hang him if the Countess did not surrender the castle. However, she merely responded that his death would only benefit her, as she was his heir. She was not in line for the earldom but was the heir to his lands along with her sister. When supplies for her garrison began to run low after several months being cut off, Scottish commander Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie moved from Edinburgh to the coast with 40 men. Appropriating some boats, Ramsay and his company approached the castle by the sea and entered the postern next to the sea. Charging out of the castle, the Scotsmen surprised Salisbury's advance guard and pushed them all the way back to their camp. For centuries afterwards, Agnes Randolph's defence of Dunbar Castle was recorded in the works of contemporary chroniclers and Scottish historians. == Family ==

Some accounts describe her as Countess of Moray, on the assumption that she inherited the earldom when her brother John was killed at the Battle of Neville's Cross in 1346. However, the earldom actually reverted to the crown. But in 1371/2, Agnes' nephew, John Dunbar, was created Earl of Moray by Robert II, his father-in-law. Many of Agnes's family members also fought in the Scottish Wars of Independence. Her father, Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, was appointed regent from 1329 to 1332. Agnes's brother became joint regent in 1335, but was captured by the English shortly afterwards. It seems that there were no surviving children of the marriage between Agnes and the earl. Their estates were left to children of the marriage between the earl's cousin John de Dunbar of Derchester and Birkynside, and his wife, Isobel Randolph, Agnes' younger sister. The three nephews were: • George, Earl of Dunbar and March • John Dunbar, Earl of Moray • Sir Patrick de Dunbar, of Beil She also had a ward, Agnes Dunbar, who became mistress of King David II. == References ==