Ancient and Modern

This scarce book is one of the main documents in one of the most important cases which make up the bulk of English (and Scottish) Peerage Law - the dispute over the Earldom of Mar, which is the oldest extant title in Great Britain, and probably in Europe. The initial dispute concerned a man named Alexander Stewart who apparently forced the suo jure Countess, Isable Douglas, to sign a charter conveying the peerage to him and his heirs. Later, the Countess married this same Alexander Stewart and revoked the old charter. She then agreed to convey the earldom to Stewart for his life, following which it would pass to her own heirs. Stewart complicated matters by renouncing this forced charter, in order that the King of Scotland would grant him his Earldom under more proper and usual circumstances. Upon his death in 1435, his heir, Robert, Lord Erskine, claimed the earldom under the Countess' original charter, but the King claimed it under his own patent. The Earldom of Mar and substantial properties were frequently claimed for the crown, following the deaths of various grantees. Eventually, in 1565, the Queen of Scots, Mary, finally appears to have done justice by restoring the earldom to John Erskine, the heir of the dispossessed Robert Erskine. This complicated history led to the nineteenth century dispute over the Earldom of Mar.Ancient and Modern, was published 2006 under ISBN 9781561699070 and ISBN 1561699071.