Douglas, Archibald, 3d earl of Douglas

Douglas, Archibald, 3d earl of Douglas, 1328?–1400?, Scottish nobleman; illegitimate son of Sir James de Douglas, lord of Douglas. In 1361 he became constable of Edinburgh and in 1364 and 1368 he was warden of the Western Marches. He served as ambassador to France in 1369 and 1371. From 1380 until his death he both arranged truces with the English and engaged them in battle. In 1388, at the death of James Douglas, 2d earl of Douglas and Mar, he succeeded to the earldom and the Douglas estates. He had already acquired—by grant, purchase, and inheritance—Galloway and the Bothwell estates. At his death the Douglas family was the most powerful in Scotland.