WARENNE Ada b. Aft 1123 England d. Abt 1178 Scotland: Freeman-Smith Family Tree

Aft 1123 - Abt 1178 (< 53 years)

Name	WARENNE Ada
Birth	Aft 1123	England
Gender	Female
Death	Abt 1178	Scotland
Notes	Family Ada was probably born after 1123, the youngest child of William de Warenne, earl of Surrey, and Isabel de Vermandois, a daughter of Hugue le Grand, count of Crépy, and Adèle de Vermandois.[1][2] Ada's mother was a granddaughter of Henry I, King of France.[3] Her family was incredibly influential. Among her siblings, her oldest brother William succeeded their father as earl of Surrey, and her sister Gundreda married Roger Beaumont, earl of Warwick.[1][2] She also had eight half-siblings from her mother's first marriage, who included the politically powerful Beaumont twins: Robert, earl of Leicester, and Waleran, count of Meulan and earl of Worcester.[1][2] The Treaty of Durham, signed by King Stephen and King David I (and to which David's son Henry agreed) in April 1139 gave to Henry the earldom of Northumberland, although its boundaries were strictly defined.[4] In return, Scotland pledged to join the war against the Empress Matilda.[4] Although the original text of the treaty has been lost it is very probable that it also provided for Henry to wed Ada Warenne, sister of the new earl of Surrey, half-sister of the earls of Worcester, Leicester and Bedford, and sister-in-law of the earl of Warwick, all of whom were strong supporters of King Stephen.[4][2] The wedding was held before the end of the year.[5] Marriage and Children Ada married Henry Dunkeld, earl of Northumberland, son of David I, King of Scots, and his queen consort Maud Huntingdon, in 1139.[6][7] There were at least six children from this marriage: [see research notes] Malcolm IV, King of Scots; b. 20 Mar 1141;[8][9] d. 9 Dec 1214[10][11] Ada Dunkeld; b. bef. 1143[12] m. 28 Aug 1162 Floris III, count of Holland[13][14] William I, King of Scots; b. c.1143;[15][16] m. 5 Sep 1189 Ermengarde Beaumont;[16][17] d. 4 Dec 1214[18][19] David Dunkeld, earl of Huntingdon; b. c.1144[7][15] m. 26 Aug 1190 Maud Chester;[15][7] d. 17 Jun 1219[7][15] Margaret (or Margery) Dunkeld; b. c.1145[20][21] m(1) 1160 Conan IV, duke of Brittany and earl of Richmond;[15][13][22] m(2) Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford[15][13] Maud (or Matilda) Dunkeld; b. aft. 1146;[21] died unmarried in 1152[23][24][13][25] Countess of Northumberland Ada's role as countess of Northumberland and first lady of the Scottish court (there was no queen of Scotland from 1131-1186)[2] was initially limited by five pregnancies occuring in rather rapid succession. In spite of this, however, she was not completely absent from public life.[21] Between 1139 -1142 she witnessed at least three of her husband's charters at Jedburgh, Selkirk and Huntingdon,[26] and she attended King David's court on at least some occasions between 1150-1152.[21] The countess suffered a number of personal losses during this time beginning with the death of her mother in 1147,[27] and continuing the following year with the loss of her brother William, earl of Surrey, who was killed while away on the second crusade.[28] Early in 1152 her youngest daughter, Maud, died (probably not yet six years old), and on 12 June of that same year her husband, the Earl Henry, died at the age of (about) thirty-seven.[29][30] Ada (not yet thirty years of age) found herself a widow with five young children, among them an eleven year old son who within a year was to succeed to the throne of Scotland. Her father-in-law, King David, immediately instructed Duncan, earl of Fife, to travel throughout the north with her eldest son, Malcolm, and proclaim him the heir to the throne.[31][32] David himself traveled to Northumberland with her second son, William, in order for William to receive the homage of the barons there.[33] Queen Mother of Scotland Ada received a great deal of respect during her widowhood, as the mother of two successive kings of Scotland.[2] She was most frequently styled as "Countess Ada, Queen Mother of Scotland" (Ada comitissa mater regis Scottorum), which was the title used in fifteen of her acts.[34] When her son Malcolm was crowned at the age of twelve, she helped to guide his decisions and was a valuable member of his council.[2] She was an influential property owner in her own right, although it is not known whether her lands were part of her maritagium, her dower, or received in some other way altogether. [34] Countess Ada held the burgh of Haddington in East Lothian,[35] as well as nearby Athelstandford,[36] Bearford, and land next to the Peffer Burn (also in East Lothian).[37] She also held the sea-side town of Crail in Fife,[38] Pitcorthie in Kirenny,[39] and Pitmilly in Kingsbarns.[40] After her son William's accession she aditionally held lands near Hexham although it is unclear whether she held them in her own name or as an administrator for her son.[41] She was a major patron of the church, but preferred to divide her monetary donations among a wide variety of religious houses, rather than making large donations to only one or two favored groups.[42] Significantly, almost all of her donations went to Scottish churches rather than the large churches which were heavily funded by her own family, which suggests she had come to think of herself less as a Warenne and more as a member of the Scottish royal house.[42] Five of the nine Scottish houses she endowed were founded either by herself, Earl Henry, or King David.[43] She founded, before 1159, a priory for Cistercian nuns at Haddington which eventually became one of the largest convents in the country.[2][44] Countess Ada's court was a gathering place for members of Anglo-Norman society seeking to become established in Scotland.[42] Ela, the wife of Duncan, earl of Fife, was likely one of her nieces; her great nephew Roger became chancellor of Scotland and bishop of St Andrews;[2] two of her sons became King of Scots and her third son was the earl of Huntingdon. Both of her daughters made prestigious marriages: Ada to Florence, count of Holland; and Margaret first to Conan IV, duke of Brittany, and second to Humphrey de Bohun. Death Countess Ada, Queen Mother of Scotland, outlived Earl Henry by twenty-six years. She died in 1178, from an unknown illness.[45] The place of her death is also not known. The numerous donations subsequently made to religious houses in her honor by her children, vassals, and subvassals are all testimony to the great respect in which she was held by the people of Scotland.[46] Research Notes Posssible fourth daughter of Henry and Ada Douglas Richardson discusses briefly the possiblity of a fourth daughter whose name is unknown, who in 1168 was offered in marriage to an unnamed son of Guglielmo V, marquis of Monferrato, and whose history is unknown.[47] As evidence of this daughter's existence, Richardson cites Giles, Joannis Saresberiensis postea episcopi Carnotensis Opera Omnia, vol. 2 (1848), p. 131; and Millor, Letters of John of Salisbury, vol. 2 (1979), p. 555. Unfortunately neither of these sources appear to be available online. Because virtually nothing is known about this possible daughter (even the suggested marriage cannot be confirmed) and no other historians include any mention of her, she has not been included in the list of children on this profile. Stevens-17832 22:16, 5 October 2021 (UTC) Sources ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 5, p. 274 VERMANDOIS 5.iv.iii. Ada de Warenne. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Stringer, Keith. Ada (née Ada de Warenne), Countess of Northumberland. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition (23 Sep 2004), available here by subscription. ↑ Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 120, available at jstor. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 121, available at jstor. ↑ Raine, J. (ed) The Priory of Hexham, its Chroniclers, Endowments, and Annals. Durham: Surtees Society (1864), vol. 1, pp. 123-124. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, pp. 580-583 SCOTLAND 3. Henry of Scotland. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), pp. 64-65. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 582 SCOTLAND 3.i. Malcolm IV. ↑ Stevenson, J. (ed). Chronica de Mailros. Edinburgh: the Societatis Edinburgensis (1835), [Anno m.c.xlj.Eclipfis facta eft xxij. kalendas Aprilis [Mar 20] et atus eft rex Melcolmus.], p. 72. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 73. ↑ Stevenson, J. (ed). Chronica de Mailros. Edinburgh: the Societatis Edinburgensis (1835),[A.D. 1165: ...Obit pie memorie Malcolmus rex Scotorum apud Gedewurt, v. idus Decembris [Dec 9] quod evenit v.o feria, anno etatis fuae xxovo, regnique ejus anno xij.k. cujus corpus honorifice ab omnibus perfonis ufque ad Dunfermelin delatum fepelitur; cui fucceffit Willelmus frater ejus, in virgilia natalis Domini [Dec 24] , more regio elevatus in regnum.], p. 80. ↑ Ritchie, R.L.G. The Normans in Scotland. Edinburgh (1954), cited in Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 123, available at jstor. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 68. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 3, p. 299 HOLLAND 4. Ada of Scotland. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scotts Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 1, pp. 4-5. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 583 SCOTLAND 4. William the Lion. ↑ Scott, W.W. Ermengarde (Ermengarde de Beaumont). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Online, 23 Sep 2004, available here by subscription. ↑ Skene, William F. John of Fordun's Chronicle of the Scottish Nation. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas (1862), Annals, XXVIII, pp 274-275. ↑ Skene, William F. Chronicles of the Picts and Scots. Edinburgh: H.M. General Register House (1867), p. 175. ↑ Reported to be (approximately) forty years old in 1185 in Rotuli de Dominabus et Pueris et Puellis de Donatione Regis in XII Comitatibus'[1185], Stacey Grimaldi (ed). London (1830). pp. 4, 62. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 123, available at jstor. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 583 SCOTLAND 3.v. Margaret of Scotland. ↑ Riley, Henry T. (ed). The Annals of Roger de Hoveden. London: H.G. Bohn (1853), "In the same year [1152], Henry, earl of Northumberia, son of David, king of the Scots, and Matilda, his daughter, departed this life", vol. 1, p. 252. ↑ Stevenson, J. (ed). Chronica de Mailros. Edinburgh: the Societatis Edinburgensis (1835), sub A.D. 1152: "Obiit Henricus comes Norhimbrorum, filius regis David Scottorum, et Matildis filia ejus." p. 74. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 582 SCOTLAND 3.iv. Maud of Scotland. ↑ Lawrie, A.C. (ed). Early Scottish Charters, prior to A.D. 1153. Glasgow (1905), no. cxxxlii; FFS, i, 11, 21, cited in Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 123, available at jstor. ↑ Houth, Emile (ed). Recueil des chartes de St. Nicaise de Meulan. Paris: Champion (1924), p. 192 and fn. ↑ Watson, G.W. William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey. THe Genealogist, new series, vol. 11 (1895), p. 132. ↑ Riley, Henry T. (ed). The Annals of Roger de Hoveden. London: H.G. Bohn (1853), "In the same year [1152], Henry, earl of Northumberia, son of David, king of the Scots, and Matilda, his daughter, departed this life", vol. 1, p. 252. ↑ Stevenson, J. (ed). Chronica de Mailros. Edinburgh: the Societatis Edinburgensis (1835), sub A.D. 1152: "Obiit Henricus comes Norhimbrorum, filius regis David Scottorum, et Matildis filia ejus." p. 74. ↑ Mackay, Aeneas James George. Malcolm IV. Dictionary of National Biography Online Edition, available here. ↑ Barrow, G.W.S. Kingship and Unity. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (1961), rv 2003, p. 46 ↑ Lawrie. Annals. 1-2, cited in Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 124, available at jstor. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 124, fn 5,available at jstor. ↑ ESC,no. cclx; Registrum de Dunfermelyn. Edinburgh (1842), no. 152; Liber Cartarum Prioratus Sancti Andree in Scotia. Edinburgh (1841), 207, cited in Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 125, available at jstor. ↑ Anderson, J. (ed). Calendar of the Laing Charters, A.D. 854-1837. Edinburgh (1899), no. 2 and ESC, 405, cited in Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 125, available at jstor. ↑ Registrum S. Maie de Neubotle. Edinburgh (1849), no. 69, cited in Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 125, available at jstor. ↑ Dunfermline Registrum, no. 151; Registrum Monasterii S. Marie de Cambuskenneth, A.D. 1147-1535. Edinburgh (1872), no. 192, cited in Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 125, available at jstor. ↑ Liber S. Marie de Dryburgh. Edinburgh (1847), no. 16; Cambuskenneth Registrum, no. 192, cited in Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 125, available at jstor. ↑ St Andrews Liber, charters on 208-209, cited in Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 125, available at jstor. ↑ Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 125, available at jstor. ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 130, available at jstor. ↑ Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 132, available at jstor. ↑ Easson, D.E. (ed). Medieval Religious Houses, Scotland. New York (1976), p. 147. ↑ Stevenson, J. (ed). Chronica de Mailros. Edinburgh: the Societatis Edinburgensis (1835), A.D. 1178["Obiit Ada Comitiffa, mater Malcolmi et Willelmi regum Scottorum, comitis Dauid."] p. 89. ↑ Chandler, Victoria. “Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland (c. 1123-1178).” The Scottish Historical Review 60, no. 170 (1981), p. 134, fn 8,available at jstor. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 583 SCOTLAND 3.vii. __________ of Scotland. See Also: Cawley, Charles. Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Medieval Lands database. Chapter 3,Ada de Warenne. Chandler, Victoria. Family Histories: An Aid in the Study of the Anglo-Norman Aristocracy. Medieval Prosopography, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 5-8, available at jstor. Cokayne, G.E. The Complete Peerage. London: St Catherine Press (1953), vol. 12, pt 1, p. 496 (fn(g). Connolly, Sharon Bennett. Ada de Warenne, Queen Mother of Scotland. History....the Interesting Bits (online blog), 15 Sep 2020. Countess Ada de Warenne. John Gray Centre, East Lothian. Lloyd, L.C. The Origin of the Family of Warenne. Yorkshire Architectural Journal (1933), vol. 31, pp. 97-113. Wikipedia: Ada de Warenne.
Person ID	I59060	Freeman-Smith
Last Modified	27 Jan 2026

Father	WARENNE William, b. Abt 1071, Sussex, England d. 11 May 1138, Lewes, Sussex, England (Age 67 years)
Relationship	natural
Mother	VERMANDOIS Isabel, b. Vermandois, France d. Abt Feb 1147
Relationship	natural
Marriage	Jun 1118
Family ID	F26272	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family DUNKELD Henry, b. Abt 1114, Scotland d. 12 Jun 1152, Kelso, Roxburghshire, Scotland (Age 38 years)

Marriage 1139 England

Children

1. DUNKELD Ada, b. Bef 1143, Scotland

d. Aft 11 Jan 1207 (Age > 65 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]

Family ID F26271 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 27 Jan 2026