John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox

John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox (before 1430 – 8 July/11 September 1495) was a Scottish earl. He was known as Lord Darnley and later as the Earl of Lennox.

Family
Stewart was the son of Catherine Seton and Alan Stewart of Darnley, a direct descendant of Alexander Stewart, 4th High Steward of Scotland. His paternal grandmother was the daughter and co-heiress of Donnchadh, Earl of Lennox. Through his mother he was also a descendant of Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, nephew of King Robert I of Scotland. Through his son Matthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of Lennox, Stewart was the great-great-great-grandfather of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, husband of his first cousin Mary, Queen of Scots and father of James VI, King of Scotland, who became James I, King of England. Stewart's descendants have held the English throne ever since James I, as well as the royal houses of several European monarchies.

Political career
As head of the powerful family of Stewart of Darnley he was created Governor of Rothesay Castle in 1465 and appointed Warden of the West Marches of Scotland. When the male line of the Earldom of Lennox became extinct he was heir to half of the lands and made a deal with the co-heir in which he was made Earl of Lennox in 1473. The succession was disputed by John of Haldane, who claimed succession through descent from Duncan, 8th earl. Darnley, however, prevailed and his right to the earldom was not disputed for the last seven years of his life.

He was a loyal ally of James III during his war against the rebel lords led by Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus. After the death of the King at the Battle of Sauchieburn and the coronation of his underage son James IV he raised an army to fight against the rebel lords who now controlled the government. The rebels had seized control of Edinburgh Castle and now had possession of the important royal artillery. Included in the arsenal of Edinburgh Castle was the cannon Mons Meg which had been a wedding gift from Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy to the King of Scots a generation earlier. Using this weapon they laid siege to Crookston Castle, seat of the Stewarts of Darnley, forcing the Earl of Lennox to surrender.

After his surrender he was allowed to keep his lands and they passed to his eldest son Matthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of Lennox who was one of the leaders of the Scottish army killed at the Battle of Flodden.

Marriage
John Stewart married Margaret Montgomerie, the daughter of Alexander Montgomerie, 1st Lord Montgomerie and Margaret Boyd, by indenture on 15 May 1438, as both parties were under age. Margaret's maternal grandfather was Thomas Boyd of Kilmarnock, 5th of Kilmarnock, a descendant of Thomas Boyd of Kilmarnock, and the killer of Stewart's father. The following year, the blood feud was resolved at the Battle of Craignaught Hill, Renfrewshire, Scotland on 9 July 1439 when her grandfather Thomas Boyd was killed in revenge by Sir Alan Stewart's youngest brother Alexander Stewart, rather than being ransomed.

John had by Margaret Montgomerie eight recorded children:

Sons

 * Matthew Stewart, 2nd Earl of Lennox (1460 – 9 September 1513), eldest son and heir, killed at the Battle of Flodden;
 * Sir Robert Stewart, 5th Seigneur d'Aubigny (1470–1544)
 * Sir John Stewart, Seigneur d'Oison (before 1474 – c. 1512)
 * Sir William Stewart, Seigneur d'Oison (before 1495 – before 1504)
 * Alexander Stewart (before 1495 – before 1509)

Daughters

 * Lady Marion Stewart
 * Lady Elizabeth Stuart (born 1464), married Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll.
 * Lady Elizabeth Stewart (born before 1476), married Sir John Colquhoun of Luss, Dumbartonshire.