George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly: Difference between revisions

| name = George Gordon

| title = 2nd Marquess of Huntly

| image = George gordon ob 1649.jpg

| caption = An engraved portrait of George Gordon from a painting by [[Anthony van Dyck]]

| tenure = 1636–1649

| parentsbirth_place = [[George Gordon, 1st Marquess of= [[Huntly]]<br/>, [[HenriettaKingdom of StewartScotland]]

| successorissue = 10, including [[James Gordon, 2nd Viscount Aboyne|James]], [[Lewis Gordon, 3rd Marquess of Huntly|Lewis]], and [[Charles Gordon, 1st Earl of Aboyne|Charles]]

'''George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly''' (1592{{snd}}March 1649), styled '''Earl of Enzie''' from 1599 to 1636, eldest son of [[George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly]] by Lady [[Henrietta Stewart]], daughter of [[Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox]], born at [[Huntly Castle]], Huntly, Aberdeenshire, in Scotland<ref>{{cite web |title=George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly |url=https://www.geni.com/people/George-Gordon-2nd-Marquess-of-Huntly/6000000005255726296 |website=Genealogy.com |accessdateaccess-date=14 October 2018}}</ref> was brought up in [[England]] as a [[Protestant]], and later created [[Viscount Aboyne]] by [[Charles I of England|Charles I]].<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Huntly, Earls and Marquesses of|volume=13|page=955}}</ref>

George, Lord Gordon was brought to royal court in Edinburgh February 1596 and in November 1596 at the time of the baptism of [[Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia|Princess Elizabeth]] as a pledge or hostage for his father's good behaviour, and to be brought up in the Protestant religion and taught by [[Robert Rollock]].<ref>M. S. Giuseppi, ed., ''Calendar of State Papers Scotland'', vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1952), p. 162, 167, 359.</ref> In July 1602 [[Anne of Denmark]] suggested he should marry a sister of the next[[James Stewart, 2nd Earl of Moray|Earl of Moray]], one of her ladies-in-waiting, possibly [[Margaret Howard, Countess of Nottingham|Margaret Stewart]]. A committee of arbitrators in the feud between Huntly and Moray, called the "4 Stewarts" advised he marry a daughter of the [[Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll|Earl of Argyll]], which he later did.<ref>''Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1597-1603'', vol. 13 (Edinburgh, 1969), pp. deacade1048, some1111.</ref>

Some of his earlier years, when he was still Lord Gordon, were spent in England at the court of James I, who took care to educate him in the Protestant faith and created him Earl of Enzie. In 1609 he received a commission of justiciary under the great seal against the members of a rebellious society in the north called the "Society of Boys". In 1613, he was employed by his father in connection with a dispute regarding his superiority over a portion of Lochaber, held by Lochiel and the Camerons. A treaty was at last signed between Lochiel and Enzie on 24 March 1618, by which Lochiel, on certain terms, agreed to renounce his rights to several estates under dispute, one of the stipulations being that he should obtain assistance against his old enemies the Mackintoshes.{{sfn|Henderson|1890}}

Notwithstanding his father's differences with the government, the second Marquess found himself in the enjoyment of the royal favour. He had been educated at court along with [[Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales|Prince Henry]] and Prince Charles; and as a Protestant episcopalian he was naturally relied on to render the utmost assistance to the government in their policy towards the covenanters. His supreme influence in the north served to balance that of [[Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll]] in the west.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} In 1638 he caused the royal proclamation to be read at the cross of [[New Aberdeen]]'s [[Aberdeen's Mercat Cross|mercat cross]]. At the beginning of the dispute with the king the covenanters sent to him Colonel Robert Munro as their ambassador, offering, if he would cast in his lot with them, not only to make him their leader, but to pay all his debts, which were said to amount to £100,000 sterling. But "to this proposition," says Gordon, "Huntly pave a short and resolute repartee, that his family had risen and stood by the kings of Scotland, and for his part, if the event proved the ruin of the king, he was resolved to lay his life, honours, and estate under the rubbish of the king his ruins". He therefore not only refused to subscribe the covenant, but in September, alone of the other noblemen appointed in the north, accepted the commission of the king to cause the people to subscribe the king's covenant and band.{{sfn|Henderson|1890}}

After evading pursuit for several months by constantly changing his hiding-place, he was at last, in December, captured by Lieutenant-colonel Menzies at midnight, as he was retiring to bed, at DalnaboDelnabo in StrathdonStrathavon. The capture was effected after a severe struggle with the ten gentlemen and servants who were in attendance on him, six of whom were slain in their efforts to defend him. On the news of his capture becoming known, about five hundred men under Grant of Carron assembled to effect his rescue, but Menzies, for greater security, carried him to the [[Blairfindy Castle|castle of Blairfindie]] in Glenlivet. Huntly, on learning their intentions, also sent them a message, dissuading them from the enterprise. When news of his capture reached the committee of estates, it was debated whether he should be immediately executed or reprieved till the meeting of parliament, and the latter motion was carried by one vote. After remaining two days at Leith, he was delivered up to the magistrates of Edinburgh, and sent to the Tolbooth. There he remained till 22 March 1649, when by order of the Scots parliament he was beheaded on the block at the crossMarket Cross of Edinburgh on the [[Royal Mile]].

On being asked by one of the presbyterian ministers who attended him whether he wished to be absolved from the sentence of excommunication that had been passed against him, he answered "that as he was not accustomed to give ear to false prophets, he did not wish to be troubled by him." Although he refused to admit that he had acted contrary to the laws, or had done anything to deserve death, he declared that he freely forgave those who had voted for his death. His body was brought to Seton, and was interred in the burial-place of that family. {{sfn|Henderson|1890}}

By his wife, Lady Anna Campbell, eldest daughter of [[Archibald Campbell, seventh7th earlEarl of Argyll]], he had five sons and five daughters., including:

[[Category:Marquesses of Huntly|2]]