John de Menteith
Sir John Menteith of Ruskie (c. 1275 – c. 1323) was a Scottish nobleman.
Life
He was born to Mary, Countess of Menteith and her husband Walter "Bailloch" Stewart, Earl of Menteith jure uxoris. He and his older brother, Alexander, Earl of Menteith, used the name of the earldom as their surname de Menteith. John possessed the land of Ruskie in Stirlingshire,
He was Governor of Dumbarton Castle, an appointment made by Edward I who was keen to secure the fortification as a major access route into Scotland by sea. Tradition has it that Menteith betrayed Sir William Wallace to English soldiers, which led to Wallace's capture and torturous execution and his later nickname Fause Menteith ("Menteith the treacherous, false").
Wyntoun, whose "Metrical Chronicle" was written in 1418, says:
Tuk in Glasgow William Walays;
And sent hym until Ingland sune,
The English chronicler Piers Langtoft states that Menteith discovered the retreat of Wallace through the treacherous information of Jack Short, his servant, and that he came under cover of night and seized him in bed. A passage in the Scalachronica, quoted by John Leland, notes, "William Walleys was taken of the Counte of Menteith, about Glasgow, and sent to King Edward, and after was hanged, drawn, and quartered at London."
Issue
Menteith, by an unknown spouse, had issue:[1]
- Sir John de Menteith the younger, married Helen daughter of Gartnait, Earl of Mar
- Walter Menteith
- Johanna Menteith, married (1) Malise, 7th Earl of Strathearn, (2) John Campbell, Earl of Atholl, (3) Maurice de Moravia, Earl of Strathearn, (4) William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland
See also
References
- ↑ Balfour Paul vol vi, pp 132-133
Sources
- Paul, James Balfour, The Scots Peerage, Vol. VI, (Edinburgh, 1909)
External links