View source for Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly

{{Short description|15th/16th-century Scottish earl}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox noble
| name = Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly
| image =
| caption =
| noble family = [[Clan Gordon]]
| father = [[George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly]]
| mother = [[Annabella of Scotland]]
| spouse = Lady Jean Stewart<br>Elizabeth Gray
| issue = Hon. [[John Gordon, Lord Gordon]]<br/>Hon. Alexander Gordon of Strathavon<br/>Hon. [[William Gordon (Bishop of Aberdeen)|William Gordon, Bishop of Aberdeen]]<br/>Jean Gordon, Countess of Argyll<br/>Christian Gordon, Lady de Menzies<br/>Marjory Gordon-Lumsden
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date = 21 January 1524
| death_place = [[Perth, Scotland]]
}}
'''Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly''' (died 1524) was a Scottish nobleman. He was a member of Parliament, a member of the [[Privy Council of Scotland|Privy Council]], a regent and Lieutenant of the kingdom.
==Biography==
He was the son of [[George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly]] and his second wife, Princess [[Annabella of Scotland]], the youngest daughter of King [[James I of Scotland]].<ref group=lower-alpha>There has been some uncertainty regarding Alexander's mother, whether she was Annabella Stewart (m. to Geo. Gordon {{circa|1460}}–1471) or Elizabeth Hay (m. 1471–1501). The fact that his father married Elizabeth Hay after 18 Aug 1471 [CP, vi, 677 & n. b.] and that Alexander himself was a member of parliament as well as being one of the [[Lords of the Articles]] in 1485 makes it chronologically implausible he could have been Elizabeth's son. Logic dictates he could not have held these positions of authority at age 13 or less. See: SP, IV, 529, 532; CP, VI, 677 n. f.</ref><ref name="CPVI677">George Edward Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage; or, a History of the House of Lords and all its members from the earliest times'', Vol. VI, eds. H. A. Doubleday: Howard de Walden (London: The St. Catherine Press, Ltd., 1926), p. 677</ref>
As a favorite of King [[James IV of Scotland]],<ref name="SPIV532">''[[The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland]]'', ed. James Balfour Paul, Vol. IV (Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1907), p. 532</ref> he acquired considerable grants of land throughout his career. In 1500, he was made hereditary [[sheriff of Inverness]], giving him considerable powers throughout the north of Scotland,<ref>A. D. M. Barrell, ''Medieval Scotland'' (Cambridge; New York, Cambridge University Press, 2000), p. 220</ref> and a year later, in June 1501 succeeded his father as the 3rd Earl of Huntly.<ref name="CPVI677"/> He witnessed the marriage contract of James IV in 1503 and was engaged in quelling disturbances in the Isles in 1505.<ref name="SPIV532"/> In 1509, he was awarded the [[regality|comital]] ''Lordship of [[Lochaber]]''.
Alexander fought in the [[Battle of Flodden]] on 9 September 1513, where he commanded the Scots left wing and was one of the fortunate few Scottish noblemen who escaped with his life.<ref name="CPVI677"/> He was a member of the [[council of Regency]] in 1517 during the [[Minor (law)|minor]]ity of King [[James V of Scotland]] and was appointed King's Lieutenant over all of Scotland excepting Argyle in 1517–18.<ref name="CPVI677"/> He was a supporter of the [[John Stewart, Duke of Albany|Duke of Albany]] in his dispute with the [[Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus|Earl of Angus]].<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Huntly, Earls and Marquesses of|volume=13|page=954}}</ref>
Alexander died on 21 January 1524 at [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]],<ref name="SPIV532"/> and was buried in the choir of the church of the [[Blackfriars, Perth|Blackfriars monastery]].<ref name=Cowan>[https://www.electricscotland.com/history/perth/ ''Perth, the Ancient Capital of Scotland: The Story of Perth from the Invasion of Agricola to the Passing of the Reform Bill in 2 volumes''] – Samuel Cowan J.P. (1904), chapter 3</ref> The same year he was succeeded by his grandson, [[George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly]].<ref>''[[The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland]]'', ed. James Balfour Paul, Vol. IV (Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1907), p. 534</ref>
==Family==
Alexander Gordon married by contract on 20 October 1474, Lady Jean Stewart, daughter of [[John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl]] and [[Margaret Douglas, Fair Lady of Galloway|Lady Margaret Douglas]], daughter of [[Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas]]. Alexander and Jean had the following children:
* Hon. [[John Gordon, Lord Gordon]] (died 1517),<ref name="SPIV532"/> was the father of [[George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly]].
* Hon. Alexander Gordon of Strathavon, married Janet Grant and had issue.<ref name="SPIV533">''[[The Scots Peerage, Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland]]'', ed. James Balfour Paul, Vol. IV (Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1907), p. 533</ref>
* Hon. [[William Gordon (Bishop of Aberdeen)|William Gordon, Bishop of Aberdeen]]<ref name="SPIV533"/>
* Lady Jean (or Janet) Gordon, married [[Colin Campbell, 3rd Earl of Argyll]]<ref name="SPIV533"/> and Duncan Stewart, heir apparent to Allan Stewart of Appin
* Lady Christian Gordon, married Sir Robert de [[Clan Menzies|Menzies]].<ref name="SPIV533"/>
* Lady Marjory Gordon, married Thomas Lumsden, the Younger of Cushnie, who was killed at the [[Battle of Flodden]].
After the death of his first wife, Alexander Gordon married Elizabeth Gray, daughter of [[Lord Gray#Lords Gray (1445)|Andrew Gray, 2nd Lord Gray]] and Janet Keith, some time after 27 July 1511. She built a house for herself in Perth, which passed into the ownership of the Ruthven family, and was known as [[Gowrie House (Perth, Scotland)|Gowrie House]]. It was demolished in 1807.<ref>James Scott, ''A History of the Life and Death of John, Earl of Gowrie'' (Edinburgh, 1818), pp. 168–172.</ref>
==Notes==
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==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
*{{DNB Cite|wstitle=Gordon, Alexander (died 1524) }}
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{{Succession box| title=[[Marquess of Huntly|Earl of Huntly]]|years=1501–1524|
before=[[George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly|George Gordon]]|
after=[[George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly|George Gordon]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntly, Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of}}
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:1524 deaths]]
[[Category:Nobility from Aberdeenshire]]
[[Category:Earls of Huntly|3]]
[[Category:15th-century births]]
[[Category:16th-century Scottish peers]]