Patrick II, Earl of Dunbar

Who was Patrick II, Earl of Dunbar?

Patrick II, called "5th Earl of Dunbar", lord of Beanley, was a 13th-century Anglo-Scottish noble, and one of the leading figures during the reign of King Alexander II of Scotland.

Said to be aged forty-six at the time of his father's death, this Patrick was the eldest son of Patrick I, Earl of Dunbar and Ada, daughter of King William of Scotland. He probably succeeded to his father's lands some time before the latter's death on 31 December 1232, as his father was elderly and had been ill for some time.

He renounced his claim to some disputed Marches in lower Lauderdale to the monks of Melrose, and in 1235 he, with Adam, Abbot of Melrose, and Gilbert, Bishop of Galloway, led an expedition against an uprising in Galloway. He accompanied King Alexander II of Scotland to York and was a witness and guarantor to the treaty with King Henry III of England, in 1237.

Shortly after 1242 the Earl of Dunbar was sent to subdue the rebellious Thane of Argyll. The Earl held first rank among the twenty-four barons who guaranteed the Treaty of Peace with England in 1244.