The community of the realm in Scotland, 1249–1424
History, law and charters in a recreated kingdom
Robert I's relationships
By Matthew Hammond
CITE THIS PAGE: Matthew Hammond, 'Robert I's relationships', The community of the realm in Scotland, 1249 -1424: History, law and charters in a recreated kingdom, 21 Nov. 2019, https://cotr.ac.uk/social-network-analysis-political-communities-and-social-networks/networks-robert-i-king-scots-1306-29/robert-is-relationships/
The People of Medieval Scotland database includes information about three categories of relationships - familial, tenurial & lordship, and employment. The visualizations below are based on explicit statements about these relationships made in the charters and other sources found in PoMS. They do not offer an exhaustive reflection of all known family members, for example, of King Robert. Below you will find images of each relationship dataset and a link to an interactive version you can explore on the PoMS website. The visualizations are only capable of showing a single relationship type for each relationship. Consult the accompanying tables to see if there was more than one relationship type between the king and the other individuals.
Robert I's family relationships
View the interactive family relationships visualization on the People of Medieval Scotland database.
| Person ID | Person Name | Gender | Count | Relationship type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21677 | Christiana, sister of Robert Bruce, wife of Christopher Seton | F | 3 | Sister |
| 16528 | Christopher Seton, brother-in-law of King Robert (d. 1306) | M | 2 | Brother-in-law (gener) |
| 22794 | David II, king of Scots (d. 1371) | M | 3 | Heir |
| 22794 | David II, king of Scots (d. 1371) | M | 4 | Son |
| 17574 | Donald, earl of Mar (d.1332) | M | 3 | Nepos (nephew/grandson) |
| 17148 | Duncan (IV), earl of Fife (d.1353) | M | 1 | Cognatus/consanguineus (kinsman/male cousin) |
| 16473 | Edward Bruce, lord of Galloway, earl of Carrick, king of Ireland (d. 1318) | M | 29 | Brother |
| 22893 | Hugh of Cunningham | M | 1 | Cognatus/consanguineus (kinsman/male cousin) |
| 22988 | John, son of Alexander Fraser (14C) | M | 1 | Nepos (nephew/grandson) |
| 17955 | Margaret, wife of William of Carlisle | F | 2 | Sister |
| 18054 | Margery Bruce, daughter of Robert Bruce | F | 2 | Daughter |
| 5865 | Margery, countess of Carrick | F | 1 | Mother |
| 21358 | Mary Bruce, sister of Robert I | F | 1 | Sister |
| 23447 | Matilda, sister of Robert I, king of Scots (d. 1323) | F | 1 | Sister |
| 20420 | Nigellus (Níall) Bruce (d.1306) | M | 1 | Brother |
| 22903 | Patrick Murray | M | 1 | Cognatus/consanguineus (kinsman/male cousin) |
| 23029 | Robert [Stewart] II, king of Scots (d. 1390) | M | 1 | Cognatus/consanguineus (kinsman/male cousin) |
| 1938 | Robert Bruce V, lord of Annandale (d.1295) | M | 1 | Father |
| 22935 | Robert Bruce, son of King Robert I (illeg.) | M | 7 | Son |
| 13771 | Thomas Randolph (d.1332), earl of Moray | M | 103 | Nepos (nephew/grandson) |
| 22930 | William Avenel (14C) | M | 1 | Cognatus/consanguineus (kinsman/male cousin) |
| 22902 | William Murray (1322) | M | 1 | Cognatus/consanguineus (kinsman/male cousin) |
Robert I's lordship relationships
In this Gephi sociogram of Robert's tenurial and lordship relationships, the nature of the relationship is illustrated in the colour of the lines connected the individuals (see the key below the picture). The most noteworthy feature are the light green lines, indicating the declared enemies of the king, in a clear sign of the times.
Robert I's interactive lordship visualization here.
| Person ID | Person Name | Gender | Count | Relationship type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23111 | Alexander Brown, Scottish traitor | 3 | 1 | Enemy |
| 58 | Alexander II, king of Scots (d.1249) | 3 | 3 | Predecessor |
| 360 | Alexander III, king of Scots (d.1286) | 3 | 50 | Predecessor |
| 41 | Arbroath Abbey (fd.1178) | 5 | 1 | Patron |
| 5550 | David de Bethune (Beaton), knight | 3 | 1 | Enemy |
| 130 | David I, king of Scots (d.1153) | 3 | 1 | Predecessor |
| 7 | Dunfermline Abbey (fd.1128) | 5 | 1 | Monastery |
| 12057 | Gilbert Hay (II), lord of Errol, constable (son of Nicholas) (d.1333) | 3 | 1 | Knight (miles) |
| 90 | Henry, earl of Northumberland and Huntingdon (d.1152) | 3 | 1 | Predecessor |
| 720 | Kings of Scots | 3 | 7 | Predecessor |
| 74 | Malcolm IV, king of Scots (d.1165) | 3 | 1 | Predecessor |
| 1980 | Marie de Coucy, queen of Scots (d.1284) | 4 | 1 | Predecessor |
| 23418 | Nicholas of the Dispenser | 3 | 1 | Enemy |
| 20044 | Simon of Dirleton | 3 | 1 | Enemy |
| 1 | William I, king of Scots (d.1214) | 3 | 3 | Predecessor |
Robert I's employment relationships
In this sociogram, the types of employment relationship is colour-coded and labelled. The thickness of the lines reflects the number of times an assertion was made about that relationship. The most common such statement was that Bernard, abbot of Arbroath, was the king's chancellor. The pink lines reveal that the king had a number of different chamberlains over the course of his reign.
View interactive visualization of Robert's employment relationships on the PoMS database.
| Person ID | Person Name | Gender | Count | Relationship Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12152 | Adam, marischal (late13C) | 3 | 1 | Servant/valet (valettus) |
| 16344 | Alexander Fraser (II), chamberlain (d.1332) | 3 | 24 | Chamberlain |
| 19619 | Andrew Murray, pantler of Scotland (d.1338) | 3 | 4 | Pantler |
| 41 | Arbroath Abbey (fd.1178) | 5 | 1 | Chaplain (king's) |
| 16113 | Bernard, abbot of Arbroath, chancellor | 3 | 183 | Chancellor |
| 22792 | Chamberlain of Scotland (unknown) | 3 | 2 | Chamberlain |
| 16109 | David of Strathbogie, earl of Atholl (d.1326) | 3 | 9 | Constable |
| 12057 | Gilbert Hay (II), lord of Errol, constable (son of Nicholas) (d.1333) | 3 | 81 | Constable |
| 16408 | Gilbert, chancellor | 3 | 1 | Chancellor |
| 16175 | Henry Sinclair (d.c.1330) | 3 | 1 | Baillie |
| 23430 | Hugh Scissors (14C) | 3 | 1 | Serviens (servant/sergeant) |
| 21679 | John of the Glen, king's sergeand | 3 | 1 | Serviens (servant/sergeant) |
| 16410 | Laurence of Wormiston, constable of Crail | 3 | 1 | Constable |
| 22877 | Nicholas Hay (III), son of Gilbert Hay (II) | 3 | 1 | Constable |
| 23455 | Osbert, son of Forsyth | 3 | 1 | Serviens (servant/sergeant) |
| 16138 | Robert Keith, marischal (d.1343) | 3 | 95 | Marischal |
| 22813 | Robert of Lauder, justiciar of Lothian | 3 | 2 | Justiciar |
| 22992 | Robert of Peebles, chamberlain of Scotland | 3 | 3 | Chamberlain |
| 16400 | Stephen of Dunnideer, master, rector, chamberlain of Scotland | 3 | 1 | Chamberlain |
| 13771 | Thomas Randolph (d.1332), earl of Moray | 3 | 1 | Justiciar |
| 16531 | Unknown, baillie of King Robert | 3 | 1 | Baillie |
| 16470 | Unknown, king's chamberlain (Scotland) | 3 | 1 | Chamberlain |
| 20462 | Unknown, lieutenant of Scotland | 3 | 1 | Lieutenant |
| 16589 | Unknown, sheriff of Inverness | 3 | 1 | Sheriff |
| 23009 | Walter of Twynham, chancellor | 3 | 15 | Chancellor |
| 16584 | Walter Stewart (III) (d.1327) | 3 | 1 | Steward |
| 15860 | William Cissor (ANG) | 3 | 1 | Serviens (servant/sergeant) |
| 16466 | William Lindsay, chamberlain | 3 | 15 | Chamberlain |
| 22814 | William Mowat, sheriff of Cromarty (14C) | 3 | 1 | Sheriff |
| 22996 | William, marischal, king's serjeant | 3 | 1 | Serviens (servant/sergeant) |