Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll (c. 1575–1638), also called "Gillesbuig Grumach" ("Archibald the Grim"), was a Scottish peer, politician, and military leader.
Archibald Campbell | |
|---|---|
| Earl of Argyll | |
| Tenure | 1584–1638 |
| Born | c. 1575 |
| Died | 1638 (aged 62–63) Kilmun Parish Church and Argyll Mausoleum |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Issue
9 children | |
Life
Campbell was the son of Colin Campbell, 6th Earl of Argyll and Agnes Keith.
His nickname, "Gillesbuig Grumach", is the Gaelic for "Archibald the Grim". This may originate from his first wife, Agnes Douglas, whose 14th-century ancestor, Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas was so called.
On 15 July 1594 James VI gave him a commission to wage war with "fire and sword" against the Catholic Earls of Huntly and Erroll.[1] He commanded royal troops at the Battle of Glenlivet on 3 October 1594 and was defeated by the rebel earls and their followers.
In January 1610 he argued over the precedency of seating of his wife, Anne Cornwallis, with the Earl of Pembroke, at a dinner hosted by Lady Hatton. King James commanded Argyll to yield place to Pembroke until Parliament decided their issue.[2]
By 1619, he had surrendered his estates to his son, Archibald Campbell.[3] He was made a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1624. He had announced his conversion to Catholicism from the Netherlands and as a consequence he was declared a traitor in Edinburgh on 16 February 1619 and banned from his country. He was very supportive of his new religion even after he was allowed back in 1621. He was interested in military solutions in Ireland in 1622, but he was unable to raise an army.[3] He and his wife returned to Britain and lived at Drury Lane in London having abandoned everything apart from his title to his heir.[3]
He died in 1638 and was buried at Kilmun Parish Church.
Family
On 24 July 1592, he married his first wife, Lady Agnes Douglas, youngest daughter of the Earl of Morton at Dalkeith Palace. Some "very great personages" had tried to persuade Argyll to marry Marie Stewart sister of the king's favourite, the Duke of Lennox.[4] Together they had at least five children, including a son and heir.
After the death of his first wife about 1607 or 1608, he married Anne (Cornwallis), with whom he had at least four more children. In 1618 Archibald Campbell converted to Roman Catholicism, the religion of his new wife, from Presbyterianism.[5]
References
- HMC 4th Report: Duke of Argyll (London, 1874), pp. 488-9.
- E. K. Purnell & A. B. Hinds, HMC Downshire, vol. 2 (London, 1936), pp. 216, 221.
- Callow, J. (23 September 2004). "Campbell, Archibald, seventh earl of Argyll (1575/6–1638), magnate and politician". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
- Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 10 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 687, 736.
- Marshall, R. (22 September 2005). Cornwallis, Anne, countess of Argyll (d. 1635), Roman Catholic benefactor and supposed author. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 8 Dec. 2017, from link
- Prebble, John, The Lion in the North: one thousand years of Scotland's history, London, 1971
External links
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Earl of Argyll |
Lord Justice General 1584–1628 |
Succeeded by The Earl of Airth |
| Peerage of Scotland | ||
| Preceded by Colin Campbell |
Earl of Argyll 1584–1638 |
Succeeded by Archibald Campbell |