The earl of Dunbar, of the old house of the earls of Northumbria, is the great lord of the Lothian coast and the Merse: the castle of Dunbar on its rock, the lands of East Lothian and Berwickshire from the Lammermuirs to the Tweed, and Beanley across the border.
He is the king's son-in-law and the chief judge south of the Forth.
Who he is
- Name
- Patrick I
- Title
- Earl of Dunbar (called earl of Lothian or of the March); justiciar of Lothian; keeper of Berwick (dates not pinned)
- Since
- 1182, on the death of his father Waltheof
- Born
- About 1152; he is about 47
- Family
- Son of Earl Waltheof and Alina. Wife: Ada, natural daughter of King William (married 1184), who dies in 1200. Sons Patrick (the heir, born about 1185), William, Robert and Fergus; daughter Ada, wife of William of Greenlaw (later dowered with Home). His second wife, after 1200, is Christina of Galloway, widow of William de Brus.
- Confidence
- high
Justiciar of Lothian about 1195-1205 (succeeding William de Lindsay, 1189-1199). Lord of the English barony of Beanley in Northumberland, held by the service of keeping the border (inborh and utborh); that land is the eno researcher's ground. Dies 31 December 1232.
Overlord
King William; King John for Beanley
What it holds
- Dunbar castle and the earl's shire of Dunbar
- The Merse lands: Hume, Greenlaw, Earlston fee (thin), lands round Coldstream and Eccles (nunneries of his house)
- Beanley in Northumberland (England; not drawn here)
- The justiciarship of Lothian
How it was acquired
Hereditary in the line of Gospatric, earl of Northumbria, granted Dunbar by Malcolm III.
Allies and rivals
The king's son-in-law; allied to the Northumbrian barons; the priory of Coldingham (Durham's) is his neighbour.
How things stand that morning
Held by Earl Patrick, justiciar of Lothian.
Wealth
Grain lands of East Lothian, sheep of the Lammermuirs and the Merse, Dunbar's fishing and harbour. No figures.
Military
Dunbar castle; knights of the Merse; the earl's border service. No numbers.
Threats
- Divided loyalty if the Northumberland question comes to war
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1200, not pinnedCountess Ada dies.Depends on: Natural death Stopped by: Not stoppable by play unless her circumstances change
Places of note
- Dunbar castle: The earl's castle
- Eccles nunnery: Cistercian nunnery of his house, his burial place
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Charters and the lists of justiciars; the extent of his demesne in the Merse is not pinned.
On the map: The Merse lands are approximate; Beanley in Northumberland is left to the England sheet's north researcher.
Primary sources for Scotland
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Chronicle of Holyrood, Anonymous (canons of Holyrood, Edinburgh) (about 1150 to 1170, with later additions). Gives nothing for 1200: its original text ends in 1163 and the few additions stop before William the Lion's last decades. Read online
- Chronicle of Melrose, Anonymous (monks of Melrose abbey) (about 1173 to 1270, in many hands; the 1200 entries are near contemporary). The main Scottish annal for the year, kept at a Cistercian house on the Tweed. Read online
- Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
- Chronicle of the Kings of Mann and the Isles, Anonymous (monks of Rushen abbey, Mann) (about 1257, with continuations to 1316). The only native record of the kingdom of Mann and the Hebrides. Read online
- History of English Affairs, William of Newburgh (about 1196 to 1198). Ends in 1198, so it gives no 1200 entries of its own; the Stanley continuation has only a line or two for 1200. Read online
- Saga of the Earls of Orkney, Anonymous (Icelandic) (about 1200 to 1230; surviving text mainly from Flateyjarbok, about 1390). The saga's last chapters are about Earl Harald Maddadsson, who in 1200 held Orkney under King Sverre of Norway and Caithness under William the Lion: his long rule, his quarrel with the Scottish king that cost him Caithness in 1196 to 1197, his recovery of it, and the maiming of Bishop John of Caithness and the king's revenge in 1201 to 1202. Read online
- The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
- The Great Life of Saint Hugh of Lincoln, Adam of Eynsham (about 1210 to 1215). The last book is a day by day account of Hugh's final year by the chaplain who was with him: his dealings with John at the start of the reign, his journey to France and the Grande Chartreuse in 1200, his illness in London, his death at the Old Temple on 16 November 1200 and the funeral at Lincoln on 23 November attended by King John, William the Lion of Scotland, three archbishops and a crowd of bishops and earls. Read online
2 more in the sources library for The British Isles.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.