Agnes Randolph, 4th Countess of Moray (c. 1312 – 1369), was also known as Black Agnes because of her olive skin complexion, was the spouse of Patrick, 9th Earl of Dunbar & March. Patrick de Dunbar 9th Earl of March, ( c1285 - 1369 was a Scottish magnate prominent during the reigns of the Bruce kings Robert I and David II. She is buried in the vault near Mordington House. Mordington is an agricultural parish in the extreme south-east of Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders region
The daughter of Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, kinsman and companion-in-arms of Robert the Bruce, and Thomas's spouse Isabel née Stewart, Agnes became renowned for her heroic defence of Dunbar Castle against an English attack by the William Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury which began on 13 January 1338. Thomas Randolph 1st Earl of Moray (died 20 July 1332) was Regent of Scotland an important figure in the Scottish Wars of Independence Robert I King of Scots ( 11 July, 1274 &ndash 7 June, 1329) usually known in modern English as Robert the Bruce ( Dunbar Castle is the remnants of one of the most mighty fortresses in Scotland, situated over the harbour of the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian. William Montacute (alias Montagu) King of the Isle of Man, 1st Earl of Salisbury and 3rd Baron Montagu (1301 &ndash January 30 Events 532 - Nika riots in Constantinople. 888 - Odo Count of Paris becomes King of the Franks
This attack took place during the conflict when Edward Balliol, with English backing, attempted to seize the Scottish crown from David II. Edward de Balliol (c 1282&ndash1364 was the short-lived King of Scotland during the simultaneous reign of King David II. Daibhidh a Briuis ( Modern Gaelic: Dàibhidh Bruis) anglicised as David II ( 5 March 1324 &ndash 22 February Patrick Dunbar was, it is claimed, fighting with the Scottish army far away when his home, the great castle of Dunbar in East Lothian, was subject to a siege by English forces. East Lothian ( Lodainn an Ear in Gaelic) is one of 32 Unitary council areas in Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. His wife the Lady Agnes was left alone with only a retinue of servants and a few guards to meet English aggression, but refused to surrender the fortress, claiming:
- "Of Scotland's King I haud my house, He pays me meat and fee, And I will keep my gude auld house, while my house will keep me. "
There were actually a number of cases in the Middle Ages where women commanded garrisons during sieges, since if the lord was away his lady might be left in charge, but Agnes is one of the few cases which became significantly remembered. Considered one of the ablest commanders of his day, Salisbury was forced to abandon the attempt after a curious siege that lasted for a little under four months.
Salisbury began his engagement with a bombardment by catapults, which sent huge rocks and lead shot against the castle ramparts. A catapult is any one of a number of non-handheld mechanical devices used to throw a Projectile a great distance without the aid of an explosive substance—particularly various Lady Agnes responded by having her maids dress in their Sunday best. Maid is also a shortened form of " Maiden " an archaic word for an unmarried woman or a Virgin. She led them to the outer walls and instructed them to dust the battle damage away with their handkerchiefs. This nonchalance was intended to insult the English. Upon the next assault by Montague with his battering ram, she dropped over the walls of her castle a huge boulder captured from an earlier English attack, so that the assault machinery of the earl was smashed to pieces. At one point the English captured her brother John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray and paraded him in front of the castle with a rope round his neck, and threatened to hang him if she did not surrender. John Randolph 3rd Earl of Moray (killed October 17, 1346) was an important figure in the reign of David II of Scotland, and was for a time joint Regent She told them to go ahead, since this would make her the proprietor of the Earldom of Moray. title Earl of Moray (pronounced "Murry" has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland. John survived this piece of brinkmanship. On 10 June 1338, William Montague ordered his army to withdraw, leaving the Lady Agnes in sole possession of her castle. Events 1190 - Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Sally River while leading an army to Jerusalem She is remembered in a ballad which attributes these words to Montague:
- "Cam I early, cam I late, there was Agnes at the gate. "
Agnes and her husband the Earl had no surviving children. Their inheritances were left to children of the marriage between the earl's younger brother John de Dunbar of Derchester & Birkynside and his wife Isobel Randolph, Agnes's younger sister.
The nephew brood of three boys included:
- George, 10th Earl of Dunbar and March and March and
- John de Dunbar, Earl of Moray, d. George de Dunbar 10th Earl of Dunbar and March (1338 &ndash 1420 12th Lord of Annandale and Lord of the Isle of Man, was "one of the most powerful nobles 1390 at York from wounds received in a Tournament. York ( is an historic Walled city sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England.
- Sir Patrick de Dunbar, Knt. , of Beil. Stenton is a parish and village in East Lothian, Scotland. It is bounded on the north by parts of the parishes of Prestonkirk and Dunbar, on
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