This blog had a cursory look at the death of Lady Glamis a long time ago (under a piece titled
Lady Glamis Burned as a Witch - A Summary), so it's time a more detailed article considered the circumstances around her tragic death. Born as Janet Douglas around the end of the 15th century, she was the sister of George Douglas, the Earl of Angus who married the widowed Queen Margaret after the Battle of Flodden and gained control of the young
King James V. The close control exerted over the young monarch made him fierce opponents of the Douglas kindred when he achieved his personal liberty and he went to great lengths to punish not only those Douglasses who had virtually imprisoned him, but also more distant relatives and their allies.
 |
King James V |
Janet was the second daughter of George, Master of Douglas and Elizabeth Drummond, daughter of John, first Lord Drummond, a notable Perthshire family. Her own first husband was
John Lyon, 6th Lord Glamis, who died on the 8th April 1528 (some source give a different date). Her children by this marriage were
John Lyon, 7th Lord Glamis, George Lyon, Margaret Lyon, and Elizabeth Lyon.The accusation that she killed her husband by poison was inextricably linked with charges that she was conspiring with her Douglas relatives against the royal authority. Records show that there was a surety made on 31st January 1531-2 for her appearance at the forthcoming Justice aire at Forfar
Temporarily free of legal threat she married her second husband in 1532. He was Archibald Campbell of Skipness in Kintyre, the second son of Archibald Campbell, second Earl of Angus.
John Lyon was around seven when he succeeded to the title and was still a minor when his mother and his paternal uncle, George Lyon, plus several others were arrested on charges of conspiring against the king. She had faced accusations of poisoning her first husband in January 1532, but the new accusations were of course more dangerous. Not only was she under suspicion for being a Douglas by birth, but as a Glamis she became embroiled in enmity with the powerful Leslie family, including the Earl of Rothes.
Janet and Archibald Campbell were imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle. The latter tried to escape, but fell to his death on the rocks below the ramparts while he was trying to escape. Arguably it was a better fate than that which awaited his wife. Her servants and some family members were subjected to torture. On 17th July 1537 she was convicted of attempting to poison the king and of communicating with her outlawed brother. She was led to the esplanade of the castle and burned to death, an end made all the more gruesome since she would have felt the full agonies of the flames. Others put to the stake were 'mercifully' strangled before the flames engulfed them. Her young son was obliged to watch her die. It was a season of death for the monarch himself. Ten days beforehand, the queen, Madeleine of Valois had herself died. She was not yet seventeen. A mere three days before Janet Douglas's death John, Master of Forbes was also put to death for conspiring against the crown. Forbes' wife was Elizabeth Lyon, daughter of Janet and Lord Glamis.

John Lyon was only sixteen when he was arrested and tried on 18 January 1537, accused of concealing his mother's crime. Although he was also sentenced to death the punishment was deferred because of his age and he was confined in Edinburgh Castle. Later Lyon stated that he had been forced to make a confession on the understanding that his lands would not be confiscated. However, the king confiscated the Lyon estates at the end of December 1540 and distributed the lands over the course of the next several years. James V himself visited the castle of Glamis many times.
The king of course died at a young age in Falkland Palace in Fife, distraught at the defeat of his army by the English. Two of his own young songs had died in the year 1541 and it may have been a matter of regret that his actions against the Douglases had spilled much innocent blood. But there are still several uncertainties remaining about Janet's death. The first was, of course, whether she was actually guilty of trying to kill the king by 'intoxication' or poisoning. The English ambassador doubted the evidence, but he was not a wholly impartial or informed source. The second issue is whether there was any contemporary suggestion of Lady Glamis being accused of witchcraft. While poisoning was sometimes synonymous with witchcraft, there does not seem to be this connection here. In the summary of the proceedings against Lady Glamis, Robert Pitcairn firmly blames the misinterpretation of subsequent historians for linking the conviction to witchcraft. He singles out John Pinkerton, an 18th-19th century writer, as being 'deluded by the frequent repetition of this fable'.
At this distance of time we can't expect to be privy to the exact circumstances which directly led to the death of this noblewoman. It is frequently stated that Janet had a noble character and bore her death extremely bravely, which may be so, but the repeated assertion of her beauty and bearing in the pages of many historians perhaps was exaggerated as a contrast to her horrible and supposedly undeserved fate. What was the real Janet Douglas really like? Pitcairn gives us the following information, quoting David Scott's
History of Scotland (London, 1727):
She was of middle stature, not too fat; her face of an oval form, with full eyes; her complexion extremely fair and beautiful, with a magestick mein. Besides all these perfections, she was a lady of singular chastity...Her modesty was admirable, her courage was above what could be expected in her sex; her judgement solid, her behaviour affable and engaging to her inferiors as well as her equals...(Criminal Trials in Scotland, Robert Pitcairn, Volume First, Part One (Edinburgh, 1833) p. 191.)
So far, so standard, but there is interesting material around her personal relationships following the death of her first husband, when:
several of the first Nobility of the Kingdom had courted her; but she was not so much inclined to marry for wealth and title, as for merit; so that she plac'd her affection of one Archibald Campbell of Kepneath [sic], who commanded the Third Regiment in the King's Army, to whom she was married, to their mutual satisfaction. Mean time William Lyon, a near relation of her first husband, having made violent addresses to her, and seeing that she was married to this gentleman, became almost distracted upon the disappointment: but though he had lost her in marriage, yet did not forbear his addresses to her in an unlawful way, and continued to importune her to consent to his designs; which she resented with the utmost disdain, and told him, that she had treated him with the respect due to the relation of her first husband and child, and not out of any regard to his own person or merit; but, since she found that he had such designs, she hated the sight of him, and assured him that she never would comply with such abominable crimes.
Lyon became hateful of her and accused Janet, Archibald and 'one John Lyon, an aged Priest, and his own near relation' and planning to poison the king. He had them arrested and persuaded the king of their evil intent, also drawing on his hatred of the Douglas family. Campbell's doomed escape attempt was made on the day after his wife's death. However, the king had some conscience afterwards, for old John Lyon regained his liberty. The alleged supplier of the poison, Alexander Makke, was also brought before the authorities. His punishment was to have his ears cut off and be banished to the country of Aberdeen. Other records add that another William Lyon later tried to withdraw his damning statements, he was not believed.

After the death of James V, Lord Glamis and also his brother George, who had been imprisoned with him, were freed. The land and title of Lord Glamis were not restored to the rightful owner until several months after the monarch's death. The Act of Parliament authorising the restoration was passed on 15th March 1543. Lord Glamis's health may have been largely broken by his early imprisonment and its trauma. Although he spent some time abroad, he became ill and returned to Scotland around 1548 'to get his native air'. He died some time before September 1559.