STEWART, WILLIAM [SSNE 1597]
Text source
Perhaps a son of Thomas Stewart of Galston and consort Isobel Henderson, William Stewart married Erika von Manderscheid, daughter of Count Dietrich V von Manderscheid and the widow of the Prince of Orange’s Lieutenant-General, Willem von Bronkhorst. By August 1575, Stewart was in the payroll of the States General. In 1577, he offered his services to Frederik II of Denmark-Norway with a group of gentlemen and good soldiers collected in the Low Countries. He was granted a yearly pension from Denmark on 6 July 1577. By the summer of 1578, William returned to Holland from Gda?sk where he served the city in its siege against the Polish king Stephen Báthory. In 1579, he again went to the Low Countries with Frederik's permission with one John Gordon. There Stewart recruited an unnamed Scottish captain with his men to garrison Kronborg, but Frederik II disbanded them on 22 June 1580 fearing their loyalty. Thereafter Stewart became a captain of James VI's personal guard between 1582-5, and in June 1585, Stewart offered his service once more to Frederik II, mentioning that he had studied military science since his youth. He was granted the priory of Pittenweem 1583, the same year in which he became a Privy Councillor. He was dismissed from his office, but re-admitted to the Privy Council c.1590. He was apparently king James' secret agent to Denmark and France in 1586. Further diplomatic endeavours saw Stewart visit Denmark in autumn 1588 when he called on Tycho Brahe recommending to him one Dr John Craig of Edinburgh. Stewart took Brahe's letter and a copy of his book 'De Mundi Aetherrei recentioribus Phaenomenis' back to Craig. The following year, 1589, he sailed from Scotland to Norway in search of Queen Anna and travelled with Rev. Patrick Galloway to Denmark the following year in order to bring home the royal couple. He also served as an envoy with John Skene to England, Denmark and the German princes in the summer of 1590. In Denmark in 1592, Stewart informed Chancellor Niels Kaas of Queen Anna's case regarding Dunfermline church lands. He conspired with her in 1592 in order to estrange Councillor Maitland from James VI which led to Stewart being in ward at Edinburgh Castle. Nonetheless, Stewart was knighted at Prince Henry Frederick's baptism in 1594. Stewart travelled to the Low Countries at the end of 1592 in order to collect his remaining stipend there. In Holland on James VI's behalf, he sent political news to Christian Barnekow in Denmark (10 February 1595). He accompanied Duke Ulrik back to Denmark in 1598 where Stewart had a secret mission regarding 1) the English succession and 2) which German princes would possibly lend James VI their support as to the English succession. Stewart's mission preceded the official embassy led by David Cunningham and Peter Young later in the year. Thereafter, c.1599, Stewart obtained three years' leave from James VI in order to travel abroad. During his time away he served as a colonel in Danish service as of 6 June 1601 after an approach to him by Christian IV. He notified Christian IV and Chancellor Christian Friis of the birth of a prince on 17 January 1602 and Christian IV of James VI's succession to the throne of England by 29 March 1603. He also took the opportunity to recommended his unnamed cousin to Ionas Charisius on 13 February 1603. This is probably the same Colonel Stewart who is noted in the Antwerp archives as being in the Low Countries in the 1590s
Norske Rigsregistranter, vol.3 (1865), p.94; Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, 1st Series IV, pp.164-8, 712-3, V, pp.457-8, VI, pp.499-500; Acts of The Parliament of Scotland, vol.IV, 1593-1625, pp.457-8; J D Mackie, Calendar of Scottish Papers, parts 1 and 2, passim; DNB ; J.C.W. Hirsch and K. Hirsch (eds.), Fortegnelse over Dansk og Norske officerer med flere fra 1648 til 1814 (12 vols. compiled 1888-1907), XI, vol.2; T. Riis, Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot (Odense, 1988), II, pp.78-79; Antwerp archives, Inventaris documenten van Jan Gillis pensionaris van Antwerpen in 1556-1581, PK 480, 56; Samlinger til det Norske Folks Sprog og Historie, I, (Christiania, 1833),p.235; James Ferguson ed., Papers Illustrating the History of the Scots Brigade in the Service of the United Netherlands, 1572-1782, 3 vols. (Edinburgh: Scottish History Society, 1899-1901), i, pp. 16-17, 21, 38-41, 46, 115-6; and for the genealogy Detlev Schwennicke ed., Europäische Stammtafeln, Neue Folge (Marburg: J. A. Stargardt, 1978- ), xviii, table 42. Thanks to Dr. Thomas Brochard for these last two references.
Service record
- SCOTLAND, DENMARK
- Departed 1579-12-31, as OFFICER
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SCOTLAND, THE DUTCH REPUBLIC
- Departed 1580-12-31, as COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY
- SCOTLAND, KING'S GUARD
- Departed 1585-12-31, as CAPTAIN
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose ROYAL SERVANT
- SCOTLAND, ENGLAND
- Departed 1583-12-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- SCOTLAND, DENMARK-NORWAY
- Departed 1586-12-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- SCOTLAND, FRANCE
- Departed 1586-12-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- SCOTLAND, DENMARK-NORWAY
- Departed 1588-12-31
- Capacity AGENT, purpose DIPLOMACY
- SCOTLAND, GERMANY
- Departed 1590-12-31
- Capacity ENVOY, purpose DIPLOMACY
- SCOTLAND, DENMARK-NORWAY
- Departed 1590-12-31
- Capacity DIPLOMAT, purpose DIPLOMACY
- SCOTLAND, ENGLAND
- Departed 1592-12-31
- Capacity ENVOY, purpose DIPLOMACY
- SCOTLAND, THE DUTCH REPUBLIC
- Departed 1593-12-31
- Capacity ENVOY, purpose DIPLOMACY
- Departed 1595-12-31
- Capacity ENVOY, purpose DIPLOMACY
- SCOTLAND, DENMARK-NORWAY
- Departed 1598-12-31
- Capacity DIPLOMAT, purpose DIPLOMACY
- DENMARK-NORWAY, DANISH ARMY
- Departed 1603-12-31, as COLONEL
- Capacity OFFICER, purpose MILITARY