Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford facts for kids
Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford (1423–1453) was a late medieval Scottish nobleman, and a magnate of the north-east of that country.
Life
Alexander Lindsay was the son of David Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Crawford and Marjory Ogilvie, the daughter of Sir Alexander Ogilvie of Auchterhouse.
Known as the Tiger Earl or Earl Beardie, Crawford was one of the most powerful of the Scottish nobles. For some time he was in arms against King James II as part of the Douglas rebellion. In February 1452, William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas was personally killed at Stirling Castle by James II for refusing to dissolve his league with Alexander. The Tiger Earl was defeated at the Battle of Brechin on 18 May, and he submitted to James II in 1452.
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The king granted Lindsay clemency, but when he had been angry with the earl, he had sworn he would make the highest stone on Finavon Castle become the lowest. Therefore, to keep his oath while yet remaining true to his grant of clemency, the king climbed to the top of the castle and threw one of the loose stones on the battlements down to the ground below. J. B. Burke recorded that two hundred years later it could still be seen where it had fallen "secured to the spot with a strong chain of iron".
Legend has it that he is the infamous "Earl Beardie" featured in one of the myths of Glamis Castle.
Marriage and issue
Alexander, Earl of Crawford married Margaret Dunbar, daughter of Sir David Dunbar of Cockburn, himself a son of George I, Earl of March, and had issue:
- Lady Elizabeth Lindsay (died 1509), married to John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond
- David Lindsay, 1st Duke of Montrose (1440–1495)
- Alexander Lindsay, 7th Earl of Crawford (died 1517).
