page_title: James Douglas, Lord of Douglas
section_title: Final campaign
hierarchical_section_title: James Douglas, Lord of Douglas / Final campaign
caption_attribution_description: English: Memorial stone in Plaza de España, Teba (Malaga), Spain, placed by the Douglas family in honour of James Douglas who died fighting the Moors during the siege of Teba in 1330.
context_page_description: Sir James Douglas was a Scottish knight and feudal lord. He was one of the chief commanders during the Wars of Scottish Independence.
context_section_description: Robert Bruce died in 1329. According to Jean le Bel, when Bruce was dying he asked that Sir James, as his friend and lieutenant, should carry his heart to the Holy Land and present it at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem as a mark of penance. John Barbour, alternatively, has Bruce ask that his heart should simply be carried in battle against "God's foes" as a token of his unfulfilled ambition to go on crusade. Given that Jerusalem had been in Muslim hands since 1187, this second is perhaps more likely. When Bruce was dead, his heart was cut from his body and placed in a silver and enamelled casket which Sir James placed around his neck. Early in 1330,  Douglas set sail from Berwick upon Tweed, accompanied by seven other knights with twenty six esquires and gentlemen.
  The party stopped first at Sluys in Flanders. There it may be that Douglas received confirmation that Alfonso XI of Castile was preparing a campaign against the Muslims of the kingdom of Granada. In anticipation, he had with him a letter of introduction to King Alfonso from Edward III of England, his cousin.  Accordingly, the Scots sailed on to Seville, where, according to John Barbour, Sir James and his solemn relic were received by Alfonso with great honour.
  Douglas and his company joined Alfonso's army, which then was setting out for the frontier of Granada to besiege the castle of Teba.  Uthman ibn Abi al-Ula, the Berber general in command of the Moorish forces, marched to relieve the border stronghold. At some point during the siege, Douglas was killed. Sources and commentators differ as to how. According to Jean Froissart and the Gran Cronica de Alfonso XI, Douglas was killed as a result of making a premature attack on the enemy. The Gran Cronica suggests this might have been during fighting for access to water. Citing John Barbour, some modern commentators believe he died in the decisive Battle of Teba. Barbour describes a grand battle in Spain but the setting is vague and the outcome ambiguous.
  According to the Gran Cronica de Alfonso XI, Uthman, unable to bring the Christians to battle, devised a stratagem in an attempt to force them to abandon the siege.  A body of cavalry was sent to make a diversionary attack across the Guadalteba river, luring Alfonso out to fight while Usman circled round to attack the Christian camp and destroy the besieging army's supplies. Alfonso, however, having received intelligence of Uthman's preparations, kept most of his army back in camp while he sent a contingent to meet the demonstration on the river. It is as part of this force that some commentators assume Douglas and his company joined the battle. When Uthman arrived at the enemy camp he found Alonso's men armed and ready. He abandoned his attack and rode to support the diversionary force on the river where, unable to withstand the Castilian assault, his men were already starting to fall back.
  Uthman arrived too late to prevent a general rout and the entire Granadan force was 
  driven back in confusion to their camp in the Turon valley, 10 miles to the south. It is in this phase of the battle that some modern commentators have placed Douglas' death, either caught in flank when Usman's force reached the river or in the ensuing pursuit to the Granadan camp.
  According to John Barbour's description of Douglas' last battle, when the enemy broke, Sir James and his companions followed hard behind. Having outstripped most of his men in the pursuit, Douglas suddenly found himself far out in front with only a few of his followers around him. As he rode back to rejoin the main body, he saw Sir William St. Clair of Rosslyn surrounded by a body of Moors who, seizing their opportunity, had quickly rallied and counterattacked. With the few knights who were with him, Douglas turned aside to attempt a rescue but, outnumbered twenty to one, the group was overrun.  It has become a popular legend that Douglas then took from his neck the silver casket which contained the heart of Bruce and threw it before him among the enemy, saying, "Now pass thou onward as thou wert wont, and Douglas
caption: Memorial stone at Teba
exif: {}