View source for Elizabeth de Burgh

{{Short description|Queen of Scots from 1306 to 1327}}
{{Hatnote group|
{{Redirect|Queen Elizabeth of Scotland|the British queen regnant from 1952 to 2022|Elizabeth II}}
{{Other people}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}
{{Infobox royalty
| consort      = yes
| name         = Elizabeth de Burgh
| succession   = [[Queen consort of Scots]]
| image        = Robert the Bruce and Elizabeth de Burgh.jpg
| caption      = Robert the Bruce and Elizabeth de Burgh, from the Seton Armorial.
| reign        = 1306–1327
| coronation   = 27 March 1306
| spouse       = [[Robert I of Scotland]] (m. 1302)
| issue        = Matilda<br>Margaret<br>[[David II of Scotland]]<br>John of Scotland
| full name    = 
| house        = [[House of Burgh]]
| father       = [[Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster|Richard Óg de Burgh, Earl of Ulster]]
| mother       = Margarite de Burgh
| birth_date   = c. 1289
| birth_place  = [[County Down]] or [[County Antrim]]
| death_date   = 27 October 1327 (aged approx. 38)
| death_place  = Cullen, Banffshire
| place of burial = [[Dunfermline Abbey]]
}}

'''Elizabeth de Burgh''' ({{IPAc-en|lang|d|ə|'|b|ɜːr}} {{respell|də|BUR}}; {{c.|1289}} – 27 October 1327) was the second wife and only [[List of Scottish royal consorts|queen consort]] of [[Robert the Bruce]], [[King of Scots]]. Elizabeth was born sometime around 1289, probably in what is now [[County Down]] or [[County Antrim]] in [[Ulster]], the northern [[Provinces of Ireland|province]] in [[Ireland]].<ref name="oxforddnb.com">{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/54180|title=Elizabeth [née Elizabeth de Burgh]|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/54180}}</ref>
She was the daughter of one of the most powerful [[Normans in Ireland|Norman]] nobles in the [[Lordship of Ireland]] at that time, [[Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster|Richard Óg de Burgh, the 2nd Earl of Ulster]], a member of the noble dynasty, the [[House of Burgh]] and a close friend and ally to [[King Edward I of England]].

Not much is known about Elizabeth, despite her husband's status as one of the most famous Scottish kings and warriors. As is the case with most medieval women, records of Elizabeth are scarce; however, it is clear that she was caught up in the political turmoil that unfolded between the Scottish and the English during the reign of her husband [[Robert the Bruce|King Robert]], had to move several times to keep safe and was eventually seized as a prisoner.

== Life ==

She was born in [[Ulster]] in the north of Ireland (c. 1289), the daughter of the powerful [[Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster|Richard Óg de Burgh, the lord of Ulster]], and his wife, Margarite de Burgh (died 1304). Her father, Lord Ulster, was a close friend of [[King Edward I of England]].

Elizabeth probably met [[Robert the Bruce]], then [[Earl of Carrick]], at the [[Kingdom of England|English]] [[Court (royal)|court]]. They married in 1302 at [[Writtle]], near [[Chelmsford]] in [[Essex]], [[England]], at which time Robert was a widower with a young daughter from his first marriage. Elizabeth would have been about 13 years old, and Robert 28.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Penman |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0LgBBAAAQBAJ&q=Elizabeth+de+Burgh |title=Robert the Bruce: King of the Scots |date=2014 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-24031-3 |location=New Haven and London |page=72}}</ref>

On 27 March 1306, Robert and Elizabeth were crowned as King and Queen of Scots at [[Scone, Perthshire|Scone]]. The coronation took place in defiance of the English claims of [[suzerainty]] after [[Edward I]] stripped [[John de Baliol]] of the crown of Scotland.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=Ronald McNair |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RvsNAQAAMAAJ&q=editions:ufkZZRTp6wQC |title=Robert the Bruce, King of Scots |date=1988 |publisher=Peter Bedrick Books |location=New York |page=126|isbn=978-0-87226-320-8 }}</ref> After his coronation, she is quoted as having said, {{cquote| Alas, we are but king and [[May Queen|queen of the May]]!}}as though fearing a defeat by Edward I.<ref>Lang, Andrew. "A history of Scotland from the Roman Occupation", 4 volumes.</ref>

== Capture ==

After the defeat of the Scots at the [[Battle of Methven]] on 19 June 1306, Robert sent Queen Elizabeth, his daughter [[Marjorie Bruce|Marjorie]] by his first marriage, and his sisters [[Mary Bruce|Mary]] and [[Christina Bruce|Christina]] to [[Kildrummy Castle]], under the protection of his brother [[Niall Bruce|Niall]] (also known as Nigel).<ref>{{cite book |last=Marshall |first=Rosalind K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tUCAAAAAIAAJ&q=scottish+queens |title=Scottish Queens, 1034–1714 |publisher=Tuckwell Press |year=2003 |isbn=9781862322714 |page=34}}</ref> [[File:Kildrummy Castle.JPG|thumb|The ruins of [[Kildrummy Castle]] in [[Aberdeenshire]]]]The English laid siege to the castle containing the royal party. The siege finally succeeded when the English bribed a blacksmith with "all the gold he could carry" to set fire to the grain store. The victors hanged, drew and quartered Niall Bruce,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory/warsofindependence/elizabethdeburgh/index.asp |publisher= [[Education Scotland]] |date= n.d. |title= Elizabeth de Burgh and Marjorie Bruce |access-date=2015-07-11 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150711203416/http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory/warsofindependence/elizabethdeburgh/index.asp |archive-date=11 July 2015}}</ref> along with all the men from the castle. However, the royal ladies under the escort of [[John of Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl|The 9th Earl of Atholl]] had already fled.

They were taken from the sanctuary of [[St. Duthac]] at Tain by [[Uilleam II, Earl of Ross|The Earl of Ross]], a supporter of the Comyns, and dispatched to King Edward. He imprisoned Bruce's sister Mary and [[Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan|Isabella, Countess of Buchan]], in wooden cages erected on the walls of [[Roxburgh]] and [[Berwick-upon-Tweed|Berwick]] castles respectively, and then sent Bruce's nine-year-old daughter Marjorie to [[Watton Priory|the nunnery]] at [[Watton, East Riding of Yorkshire|Watton]].

Elizabeth was held under severe conditions of house arrest in England while Edward still needed aid from her father. The Earl of Atholl was hanged and his head displayed on [[London Bridge]].<ref>Scott, Ronald McNair, Robert the Bruce, King of the Scots, p. 87</ref>

She was imprisoned for eight years by the English.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Sue Sheridan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pN-GTGzOngAC&dq=Elizabeth+de+Burgh&pg=PA123 |title=Wife and Widow in Medieval England |date=1993 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-10415-4 |pages=123–124 |language=en}}</ref> From October 1306 to July 1308 she was held at [[Burstwick]]-in-[[Holderness]], [[Yorkshire]], where she, only served by two elder women, wrote a letter complaining about her condition (she had only 3 clothes and no headgear or linen bed clothing), before being transferred to [[Bisham Abbey|Bisham Manor]], [[Berkshire]], until March 1312. From there, she was moved to [[Windsor Castle]] with six attendants and an allowance, where she was held until October 1312, [[Shaftesbury Abbey]], [[Dorset]], until March 1313, [[Barking Abbey]], [[Essex]], until March 1314, and [[Rochester Castle]], [[Kent]], until June 1314. After the [[Battle of Bannockburn]], she was moved to [[York]] while prisoner exchange talks took place. At York, she had an audience with [[King Edward II of England]]. She was released in 1315<ref>{{Cite web |last=Solly |first=Meilan |title=The True Story of Robert the Bruce, Scotland's 'Outlaw King' |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-robert-bruce-scotlands-outlaw-king-180970756/ |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> as part of the ransom for the Earl of Hereford who had been captured after the Battle of Bannockburn on 29 September 1314.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Barrow |first1=Geoffrey W.S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xGx8zwEACAAJ&q=Robert+Bruce+and+the+Community+of+the+Realm+of+Scotland |title=Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland |date=1988 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |page=231}}</ref>

Queen Elizabeth had three children who reached adulthood: Matilda, Margaret, and David (the future [[David II of Scotland|King David II of Scotland]]).<ref>Bingham, Caroline ''Robert the Bruce''</ref><ref>Boardman, Stephen ''The Early Stewart Kings''</ref><ref>{{Cite ODNB|last=Barrow|first=G. W. S.|author-link=G. W. S. Barrow|title=Elizabeth [née Elizabeth de Burgh] (d. 1327), queen of Scots|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-54180|access-date=2021-12-21|year=2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/54180|isbn=978-0-19-861412-8}}</ref>

== Death ==

Elizabeth died aged approximately 38 years old, on 27 October 1327, after falling from her horse during a visit to the royal residence at [[Cullen, Moray|Cullen]], [[Banffshire]].<ref name="oxforddnb.com"/><ref name= Scotsman>{{cite web |title= Scots church enjoys Robert the Bruce funds - 700 years on |work= The Scotsman|date= 30 October 2016 |url= https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle-2-15039/scots-church-enjoys-robert-the-bruce-funds-700-years-on-1-4273069 |access-date= 3 May 2019}}</ref>

Plans were immediately made to transport her body to [[Dunfermline Abbey]] in [[Fife]], the resting place of Scottish kings and queens since 1093.  As parishioners in Cullen were worried that her remains would not arrive intact, they took the step of having her internal organs removed during the embalming process. While some sources claim that her [[entrails]] were transported separately to Fife,<ref name= Scotsman/> others state that they were buried in the [[Cullen Old Church|parish church of Cullen]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.berkshirehistory.com/bios/edeburgh.html |title= RBH Biography: Elizabeth De Burgh, Queen of Scots (d. 1327)|website= berkshirehistory.com}}</ref> The parishioners also had Masses said to pray for her soul.<ref name="Herald">{{cite web |title= Bruce prayers cash reinstated |work= The Herald|date= 2 July 2014 |url= https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12190297.bruce-prayers-cash-reinstated/ |access-date= 3 May 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Dunfermline Abbey Geograph.jpg|alt=|thumb|[[Dunfermline Abbey]] ]]

Robert, in gratitude for the treatment of Elizabeth's body and its return south for burial, decreed that a chaplaincy be established at the Auld Kirk of Cullen (parish church of Cullen) and paid in perpetuity the sum of five [[Pound Scots]] to have Masses said for the soul of Elizabeth.<ref name="oxforddnb.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.cullen-deskford-church.org.uk/cullen-auld-kirk-history.php |title= History of Cullen and Deskford Church of Scotland |website= cullen-deskford-church.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last= Mackay |first= David |title= Robert the Bruce died 700 years ago… But he's still paying £5 to this church every year |publisher= The Press and Journal |date= 29 October 2016|url= https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/moray/1068815/moray-church-still-receiving-money-from-robert-the-bruce-700-years-later/ |access-date= 7 May 2019}}</ref> Robert's original bequest was augmented by [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], in 1543 and continued to be paid by different bodies throughout the centuries until changes and loss of records due to local government reform in 1975, which led to the stopping of payments.<ref name= Herald/>
In 2011, the church's minister, the Rev Melvyn Wood, applied to the Moray Council to have the tradition re-instated and, after a lengthy investigation, the Council agreed to reinstate the annual payment of £2.10<ref name= Scotsman/> and even agreed to pay for the missed installments.<ref name= Herald/> A prayer is now said in the Queen's honour at a Sunday service which also remembers parishioners who have died in the last year.<ref name= Herald/>

When King Robert died 18 months later, his body was laid to rest next to Elizabeth, who had been interred in the very centre of the abbey beneath the high altar, in an alabaster tomb decorated with gold leaf.<ref>Macnamee, Colm (2006), ''[https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Robert_Bruce.html?id=dry8BQAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y Robert Bruce: Our Most Valiant Prince, King and Lord],'' Edinburgh: Birlinn, {{ISBN|978-1-84158-475-1}}. p. 271.</ref> Fragments of the tomb still remain and can be seen in the [[National Museum of Scotland]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://nms.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-100-000-354-C|title= National Museums of Scotland - Fragment of the tomb of Robert the Bruce|first= Ian Brooks; Sven Edge; Xabier Garcia; Jamie Wheeler; Andy|last= Main|website= nms.scran.ac.uk|access-date= 28 January 2015|archive-date= 29 January 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150129002835/http://nms.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-100-000-354-C|url-status= dead}}</ref> The abbey was sacked in 1560 by [[Calvinism|Calvinists]] during the [[Scottish Reformation]] and the tomb was lost. However, King Robert's coffin was rediscovered in 1819 during construction work on the new abbey and Elizabeth's coffin was rediscovered in 1917. Both were re-interred in the new abbey.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

[[File:Dunfermline Abbey 20080504 Robert the Bruce.jpg|thumb|Victorian brass plate covering the tomb of Robert Bruce and Elizabeth de Burgh]]

== Issue ==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name!!Birth!!Death!!Notes
|-
| Margaret||rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;" |between 1315 and 1323||30 March 1346<br>''in childbirth''||Married [[William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland]] and had one son, John (1346–1361), who died aged twenty of the [[Black Death]].<ref name=Weir>{{cite book |last= Weir |first= Alison |title= Britain's Royal Families, the Complete Genealogy |location= London |publisher= Random House |date = 2008 |pages =211 |isbn= 978-0099539735}}</ref>
|-
| Matilda (Maud) ||30 July 1353||Married ''Thomas Isak/Isaac'' and had two daughters, Joanna (wife of [[John Gallda MacDougall]]) and Catherine.<ref name=Weir/> Buried at [[Dunfermline Abbey]]
|-
| [[David II of Scotland|David]]||5 March 1324||22 February 1371||[[List of Scottish monarchs|King of Scots]] (1329{{spaced ndash}}1371). Married (1) in 1328 [[Joan of The Tower|Joan of England]]; no issue; married (2) in 1364 [[Margaret Drummond, Queen of Scotland|Margaret Drummond]]; no issue.
|-
|John||5 March 1324||October 1327<br>[[Dunfermline Palace]], [[Fife]]|| Younger twin brother of David II. Heir to the [[Kingdom of Scotland|Crown of Scotland]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Webster |first= Bruce |title= David II (1324–1371) |encyclopedia= Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |publisher= Oxford University Press |location= Oxford |year= 2004 |doi= 10.1093/ref:odnb/3726}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last= Penman |first= Michael |title= Diffinicione successionis ad regnum Scottorum: royal succession in Scotland in the later middle ages., p. 20. In: Making and breaking the rules: succession in medieval Europe, c. 1000- c.1600 |publisher= Brepols |location= Turnhout |year= 2008}}</ref>
|-
|[[Elizabeth Bruce]]||Unknown||After 1364||Married [[William Oliphant, Lord of Aberdalgie|Sir Walter Oliphant of Aberdalgie and Dupplin]].
|}
{{clear}}

== Ancestry ==

{{unreferenced section|date=April 2019}}
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''Elizabeth de Burgh'''
|2= 2. [[Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster]]
|3= 3. Margarite de Burgh
|4= 4. [[Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster]]
|5= 5. Isabel FitzJohn
|6= 6. John de Burgh
|7= 7. Hawise de Lanvaley
|8= 8. [[Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Baron of Connaught]]
|9= 9. [[Egidia de Lacy, Lady of Connacht]]
|10= 10. [[John Fitzgeoffrey]]
|11= 11. Isabel Bigod
|12= 12. [[Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent]]
|13= 13. Beatrice de Warrenne
|14= 14. William III de Lanvaley
|15= 15. Maud Peche
}}

== In popular culture ==

Elizabeth de Burgh was portrayed by English actress [[Florence Pugh]] in the 2018 [[historical drama]] film ''[[Outlaw King]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-11-15 |title=How Florence Pugh Became Hollywood's Favorite New Star |url=https://www.wmagazine.com/story/florence-pugh-outlaw-king-the-little-drummer-girl |access-date=2024-03-27 |website=W Magazine |language=en}}</ref> 

She features prominently in [[Nigel Tranter]]'s trilogy regarding the life of Robert de Bruce, featuring the couple's match-making (by Edward I of England), marriage, separation and the eventual birth of their children.

== See also ==

* [[House of Burgh]], an [[Anglo-Normans|Anglo-Norman]] and [[Hiberno-Norman]] dynasty founded in 1193
* [[Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster]]
* [[Robert the Bruce]]
* [[David II of Scotland]]
* [[Wars of Scottish Independence]]

== References ==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

== External links ==

{{commons category}}
* [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/54180 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry]
* [http://www.berkshirehistory.com/bios/edeburgh.html Biography]

{{s-start}}
{{s-roy|sc}}
{{succession box | before = [[Yolande de Dreux (Scotland)|Yolande de Dreux]] | title =[[List of Queens of Scotland|Queen consort of Scotland]] | years = 1306–1327| after = [[Joan of The Tower]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Scottish consort}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgh, Elizabeth De}}
[[Category:1280s births]]
[[Category:1327 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Bisham]]
[[Category:People from Dunfermline]]
[[Category:Scottish royal consorts|Elizabeth de Burgh]]
[[Category:House of Bruce|Elizabeth de Burgh]]
[[Category:Burials at Dunfermline Abbey]]
[[Category:Scottish people of the Wars of Scottish Independence]]
[[Category:House of Burgh|Elizabeth]]
[[Category:Normans in Ireland]]
[[Category:Anglo-Norman women]]
[[Category:Daughters of Irish earls]]
[[Category:13th-century Scottish women]]
[[Category:13th-century Irish women]]
[[Category:14th-century Scottish women]]
[[Category:14th-century Irish women]]
[[Category:Deaths by horse-riding accident in Scotland]]
[[Category:Mothers of Scottish monarchs]]