The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Douglas, Sir James de, lord of Douglas
1286?–1330, Scottish nobleman, called the Black Douglas and Douglas the Good; eldest son of William de Douglas, lord of Douglas. In the war of independence against England he joined Robert I and made himself the terror of the border, even burning his own castle of Douglas twice to rid it of English garrisons. He led a force at Bannockburn (1314), and was knighted there. In 1327, Douglas almost captured the young Edward III and succeeding in ending the English campaign. After Robert I died, Douglas started with his king’s heart in a casket for Palestine, but he was killed fighting the Moors in Spain.
