page_title: Alan of Galloway
section_title: Early career
hierarchical_section_title: Alan of Galloway / Early career
caption_attribution_description: English: Seal of David, Earl of Huntingdon. The seal dates to about 1160. It shows an armed knight on horseback, with sword drawn in his right hand, and a shield in his left hand. Only one or two letters of the inscription are visible.
context_page_description: Alan of Galloway, also known as Alan fitz Roland, was a leading thirteenth-century Scottish magnate. As the hereditary Lord of Galloway and Constable of Scotland, he was one of the most influential men in the Kingdom of Scotland and Irish Sea zone.
  Alan first appears in courtly circles in about 1200, about the time he inherited his father's possessions and offices. After he secured his mother's inheritance almost two decades later, Alan became one of the most powerful magnates in the Scottish realm. Alan also held lands in the Kingdom of England, and was an advisor of John, King of England concerning Magna Carta. Alan later played a considerable part in Alexander II, King of Scotland's northern English ambitions during the violent aftermath of John's repudiation of Magna Carta. Alan participated in the English colonisation of Ulster, receiving a massive grant in the region from the English king, and simultaneously aided the Scottish crown against rebel claimants in the western and northern peripheries of the Scottish realm. Alan entered into a vicious inter-dynastic struggle for control of the Kingdom of the Isles, supporting one of his kinsmen against another.
context_section_description: Roland died in December 1200, after which Alan succeeded to the lordship of Galloway. Alan also inherited the constableship of Scotland, a pre-eminent position which had passed to Roland from the Morvilles by right of Roland's wife, the only surviving heir of Richard de Morville. As constable, Alan, like the earls of the realm, was responsible for leading the king's royal forces. It is uncertain whether the constable of this period took precedence over the earls in command of the king's army, or if the constable had charge of the realm's numerous marischals. His attachment to the importance of his position as constable is evidenced by the fact that this title tends to have taken priority over his hereditary title as ruler of Galloway.
  Even before Roland's death, Alan was active in courtly circles, perhaps serving as his father's deputy. Alan's first known important attestation occurs late in December 1199, when he witnessed a royal charter at Forfar. From this point in his career until 1209, Alan appears to have been most often in the attendance of the Scottish king, witnessing several of the latter's royal charters. Alan's eminent standing in society is partly evidenced by the fact that, within these sources, his name tends to appear amongst the top four recorded names, and is usually the first name of non-comital rank. His second marriage, in about 1209, to the king's niece, Margaret, eldest daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon also reveals Alan's significant social standing. From about 1210 to 1215, his activity in Scottish affairs dwindles dramatically, whilst his activity in English affairs increases steadily.
caption: Seal of Alan's second father-in-law, David, Earl of Huntingdon. The seal depicts the armament of a twelfth-century knight.[23]
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