Hugh, Earl of Ross

Hugh
Mormaerdom	Ross
Successor	Uilleam III
Wives	Matilda Margaret de Graham
Family	Ross
Father	Uilleam II
Mother	Euphemia de Berkeley
Born	bef. 1297[1]
Died	19 July 1333 Halidon Hill

Hugh [probably Gaelic: Aodh], was the third successor of Ferchar mac in tSagairt as Mormaer of Ross (1323–1333). He was the eldest son and heir of William or Uilleam II, Earl of Ross by his wife Euphemia de Berkeley, or Barclay.

Hugh was a favourite of King Robert I of Scotland, who endowed him with many lands. Aodh even married Robert's sister, Matilda. Aodh's young brother, Iain, was given marriage to the Margaret Comyn, heiress of Buchan (although he died childless).

Hugh was married twice: (1) Matilda, sister of Robert I "the Bruce", King of Scots, and (2) Margaret de Graham, daughter of Sir David de Graham of Montrose. With Matilda, Hugh had several children, including his son and successor William. By Margaret, Hugh had at least one daughter Euphemia de Ross, who married (1) John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray and (2) by dispensation (due to affinity) Robert Stewart, Earl of Strathearn, subsequently Robert II, King of Scots (1371–1390) as his second wife. Euphemia is sometimes incorrectly assigned as a daughter of Matilda, but this would have involved consanguinity in the 2nd and 3rd degrees which was not stated in the dispensation for her marriage to Robert Stewart.^[2] Hugh and Margaret Graham are usually also assigned a daughter Janet, wife of Sir John de Monymusk.^[3] This has been found to be erroneous, as Janet was actually Janet de Barclay, daughter of Margaret de Graham by her 2nd husband, John de Barclay of Gartley.^[4] All received prestigious marriage partners (including to the earls of Buchan and Moray, to Maol Íosa IV, Earl of Strathearn and the future king Robert II.

He was killed along many other Scottish nobles at the Battle of Halidon Hill on 19 July 1333, and was succeeded by his son and successor, Uilleam.

Notes

1. Scots Peerage VII:234, cites a reference to a safe-conduct agreement that allowed Hugh to visit his father in prison in 1297.
2. Robert and Euphemia were related in the 3rd degree of affinity, and 4th degree of consanguinity: Andrew Stuart, Genealogical History of the Stewarts, pp. 420–421
3. Scots Peerage VII:237, cites Anderson's Dip. Scot., p. lix, and Earldom of Strathern, Nicolas
4. John P. Ravilious, The Ancestry of Euphemia, Countess of Ross: Heraldry as Genealogical Evidence, The Scottish Genealogist, Vol. LV, No. 1 (March 2008), pp. 33–38

Bibliography

• Barrow, G.W.S., Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland, (Edinburgh, 1988)
• Sir James Balfour Paul, Scots Peerage, Vol. VII:234-237
• John P. Ravilious, The Ancestry of Euphemia, Countess of Ross: Heraldry as Genealogical Evidence, The Scottish Genealogist Vol. LV, No. 1 (March 2008), pp. 33–38