Alan fitz Flaad
| Alan fitz Flaad | |
|---|---|
| Born | Unknown Probably Dol-de-Bretagne |
| Died | Unknown |
| Nationality | Breton |
| Occupation | Medieval soldier and landowner. Sheriff of Shropshire |
| Years active | c.1090–c.1120 |
| Known for | Progenitor of Stewart Kings of Scotland and FitzAlan Earls of Arundel. |
Alan fitz Flaad (c.1078 – after 1121) was a Breton knight, probably recruited as a mercenary by Henry I, son of William the Conqueror, in his conflicts with his brothers. After Henry became King of England, Alan became an assiduous courtier and obtained large estates in Norfolk, Sussex, Shropshire, and elsewhere in the Midlands, including the feudal barony and castle of Oswestry in Shropshire. His duties included supervision of the Welsh border. He is now noted as the progenitor of the FitzAlan family, the Earls of Arundel (1267–1580), and the House of Stuart, although his family connections were long a matter of conjecture and controversy.
Alan's role was formerly obscure because of the political implications of examining the origins of the Stewart dynasty. Holinshed, deriving his information from the work of Hector Boece, asserted that Banquo, Thane of Lochaber, was the ancestor of the Stewarts. Distorting the role of Banquo, who is presented by Holinshed as Macbeth's chief accomplice in regicide,William Shakespeare presented him flatteringly in Macbeth as a martyred ancestor of James VI of Scotland and I of England. These legends, accepted as history, became part of the foundation narrative of the Stewarts and forced later writers to trace the Stewart ancestry through Fleance, Banquo's son. David Symson, the Historiographer Royal of Scotland, in a work dedicated to Queen Anne, followed the chroniclers in having Fleance marry a daughter of the Welsh ruler Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, and then introduced Walter as his son and Alan fitz Walter, 2nd High Steward of Scotland as his grandson. However, this greatly distorted the chronology, forcing Sym to transpose Alan fitz Walter, actually born around 1140, to about 1073. This created a gap in the record, which was filled by multiplying the Alans and Walters in the Stewart line.
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