Northern Crusader

[William Douglas]

I came across the following in a comment made on the Wikipedia Clan Douglas entry:

Th A Fischer, in his books on Scots in Poland and Prussia, - "Scots in Eastern and Western Prussia" (1903)- http://archive.org/stream/scotsineasternwe00fisc#page/n5/mode/2up writes of the death of a Lord Douglas at the hands of English knights in Danzig/Gdansk, whilst a guest of the Teutonic Order on the Northern Crusades.

"The death of Lord William Douglas of Nithisdale in 1390 or 1391 is related to us by various Scottish, English, French and German sources, all of which have been enumerated in our previous volume. [Scots in Germany] To these may now be added the oldest Hochmeister Chronik dated about the beginning of the fifteenth century. It mentions Lord Douglas in these words: "There the English slew a very honourable earl out of Scotland on whose account there was great grief amongst all the Lords, for he was a very staunch fellow in body, possessions and honour." [The writer of the Chronicle seems to refer to Konigsberg.]"

"William Douglas was the natural son of Archibald Douglas (1). The united knights of England and Scotland, who after the battle of Otterburne in August 1388 agreed to terminate their incessant feuds by an armistice of three years duration, had, according to Scotch sources, made him commander of a fleet of 240 ships. Shortly after his arrival at Danzig he excited the jealousy of some English warriors of rank, who as friends of his mortal enemy Clifford did not scruple to assassinate him. It appears that this Clifford had in Scotland challenged Douglas to fight him in single combat... We are not told that he went to Prussia also, but his friends acted for him, hired assassins, waylaid Douglas on his way home from church and killed him and one of his servants near the end of a bridge. Most probably this was the bridge, or more correctly the quay, of the Mottlau river, called then as now the "long bridge." One of its gates, the Frauenthor, was near the High Altar of the Church of St Mary." Th A Fischer: "Scots in Germany" (1902)

Note:

1. William Douglas was an illegitimate son of Archibald the Grim, 3rd Earl of Douglas and an unknown mother.

Hohe Thor (High Gate), Danzig, at one time known as Douglas Gate, then Hochindore.