Murdoch Stewart, Duke of Albany (Scottish Gaelic: Muireadhach Stiubhart) (1362 – 25 May 1425) was a leading Scottish nobleman, the son of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, and the grandson of King Robert II of Scotland, who founded the Stewart dynasty. In 1389, he became Justiciar North of the Forth. In 1402, he was captured at the Battle of Homildon Hill and subsequently spent 12 years in captivity in England.
After his father died in 1420, and while the uncrowned King James I of Scotland was himself held captive in England, Stewart served as Governor of Scotland until 1424, when James was finally ransomed and returned to Scotland. However, in 1425, soon after James's coronation, Stewart was arrested, found guilty of treason, and executed, along with two of his sons. His only surviving heir was James the Fat, who escaped to
Antrim, Ireland, where he died in 1429. Stewart's wife Isabella of Lennox survived the destruction of her family. She lived to see the assassination of James I and the restoration of her title and estates.
Stewart was born in 1362, the only son of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (1339–1420), and his wife Margaret Graham, Countess of Menteith. Duke Robert was a leading Scottish nobleman who was Regent of Scotland at various stages during the reigns of three kings, (Robert II, Robert III, and James I). In addition, Duke Robert held the titles of Earl of Menteith (28 February 1361), Earl of Fife (1361; resigned in 1372), Earl of Buchan (1394; resigned in 1406) and Earl of Atholl. In addition to exercising considerable power and wealth, the Albany Stewarts were potential heirs to the throne; Murdoch's grandfather was King Robert II of Scotland, who was the first member of the Stewart dynasty to rule Scotland.
Murdoch Stewart was raised in a large family, having eight sisters:
Janet Stewart (married Sir David de Moubray);
Mary Stewart (married Sir William Abernathy, 6th of Saltoun);
Margaret Stewart (married to Sir John Swinton, 14th of that Ilk);
Joan Stewart (married Sir Robert Stewart, Lord of Lorn);
Beatrice Stewart (married Sir James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas);
Isabella (Isobel) Stewart (married to Alexander Leslie, 7th Earl of Ross and later to Walter de Haliburton, 1st Lord Haliburton of Dirleton);
Lady Marjorie Stewart (married to Sir Duncan Campbell, 1st Lord Campbell);
Lady Elizabeth Stewart (married to Malcolm Fleming, ancestor of Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming).
His mother Margaret died in 1380. His father Duke Robert married a second time, to Muriella de Keith, with whom he had four children, the elder of whom was John Stewart, 2nd Earl of Buchan (1381–1424).
In 1389, at around age 27, Murdoch was appointed Justiciar North of the Forth. Father and son would now work together to expand their family interest, bringing them into violent confrontation with other members of the nobility, such as Donald McDonald, 2nd Lord of the Isles.
Stewart served in Scottish military actions against the English in the early 15th century and was captured at the Battle of Homildon Hill, which took place on 14 September 1402 in Northumberland, England. Led by Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas, the Scottish army had invaded England bent on plunder, in part to avenge the killing and capture of Scottish nobles in the Battle of Nesbit Moor on 22 June 1402. While returning to Scotland, they were intercepted by English forces led by Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland. The result was a decisive defeat of the Scottish army.
William Shakespeare later wrote, in his play Henry IV, Part 1:
Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights,