Alexander Elphinstone, 1st Lord Elphinstone (died 9 September 1513) was a Scottish peer. He was the son of Sir John Elphinstone of that ilk and of Pittendreich.

Courtier and administrator He was first known as "Alexander Elphinstone of Innernochty". As a courtier, in 1508 Elphinstone was recorded as a "squire of attendance". He was made Baillie or Chamberlain of Stirlingshire in January 1508, in succession to Andrew Aytoun.Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1908), p. 232 no. 1589. He also became keeper of Stirling Castle, a position held jointly with his wife, Elizabeth Barlay. They supervised some repairs and building work.William Hepburn, The Household and Court of James IV of Scotland (Boydell, 2023), p. 133-4: Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1908), p. 232 no. 1590.

Elphinstone was made a Lord of Parliament at the baptism of Prince Arthur, a son of James IV and Margaret Tudor in 1509.HMC 9th Report: Lord Elphinstone (London, 1884), p. 190 no. 34: William Hepburn, The Household and Court of James IV of Scotland (Boydell, 2023), p. 133. He was raised to the Peerage of Scotland as Lord Elphinstone, of Elphinstone in the County of Stirling, in 1510. This was a new creation. On the lands of the new barony of Elphinstone a new tower was erected called the tower of Elphinstone, which became the principal messuage of the new barony. It formed the chief residence of the Lords Elphinstone for eight generations of the family down to, and including Charles the ninth Lord.William Fraser, The Elphinstone family book of the lords Elphinstone, Balmerino and Coupar (Edinburgh, 1897).

Squire of the Black Lady Alexander Elphinstone played a "Squire of the Black Lady" at the royal tournament in Edinburgh in 1507. The role was to escort the "Black Lady" in her triumphal chair from Edinburgh Castle to the tournament ground. Elphinstone and his companion William Ogilvy were dressed in outfits of white damask.James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1901), pp. xlix, 258-259: Michelle Beer, Queenship at the Renaissance Courts of Britain (Woodbridge, 2018), p. 83.

Marriage

Elphinstone married Elizabeth Barlay or Barlow, an English lady of the household of Margaret Tudor.William Fraser, Elphinstone Family Book, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1897), pp. 2, 38-9: Michelle Beer, Queenship at the Renaissance Courts of Britain (Woodbridge, 2018), pp. 118-120. The royal accounts for 1503 and 1506 include her fee of 50 English shillings for six months.James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 337. She injured her arm in August 1505 and was attended by the royal apothecary, John Mossman.James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1901), pp. 158, 325. As a New Year's Day gift in 1507 she was given rosary beads.James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 3 (Edinburgh, 1901), p. 360. Her two maidens, her attendants, were given 5 French gold crowns each in January 1512, and the same gift was given to an African servant of the queen, Ellen More.James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer, vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1902), p. 324.

Elphinstone and Elizabeth Barlay were made keepers of Stirling Castle in January 1508.Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1908), p. 232 no. 1590. James IV also made them keepers of Kildrummy Castle.HMC 9th Report: Lord Elphinstone (London, 1884), p. 190 no. 34. In 1508 they transferred their rights over lands at the Wester town of Tillicoultry known as Colinstoun to James Schaw of Sauchie and his wife Alison Home.Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1908), p. 260 no. 1729. In 1513 Kildrummy was regranted to him and his wife and united with Innernochty into the Lordship of Elphinstone.

Flodden In 1512 Elphinstone was able to help Robert Bruce of Airth to recover his lands at the Pool of Airth, where James IV had built a dockyard.HMC 9th Report: Lord Elphinstone (London, 1884), p. 190 no. 35.

Lord Elphinstone was killed at the Battle of Flodden in September 1513,A general & heraldic dictionary of the Peerage & Baronetage of the British Empire Vol.I, 4th edit. along with many other Scottish noblemen, and was succeeded in the lordship by his son Alexander.

According to George Buchanan, Elphinstone was clothed in royal insignia at the battle. Because he was not unlike James IV in stature, there was a rumour that Elphinstone had been mistaken for the king, who had been able to escape the battlefield incognito. Buchanan also reported that there was doubt if the body recovered by the English at Flodden was Elphinstone's or James IV.William Hepburn, The Household and Court of James IV of Scotland (Boydell, 2023), p. 64.

Children The children of Alexander Elphinstone and Elizabeth Barlay included: Alexander Elphinstone, 2nd Lord Elphinstone Euphemia Elphinstone, who was a mistress of King James V of Scotland and mother of the royal bastard Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney. She married John Bruce of Cultmalindie and was the mother of Laurence Bruce, builder of Muness Castle.Peter D. Anderson, 'James V, mistresses and children of (act. c.1529–1592)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004

Elizabeth Barlow or Barlay, Lady Elphinstone, later married John Forbes, 6th Lord Forbes.HMC 9th Report: Lord Elphinstone (London, 1884), pp. 190-1 no. 36.

References

Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.

www.thepeerage.com