John, 5th Baron Balliol
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For the King of Scots, see John of Scotland.

John de Balliol (Baliol) (died 25 October 1268) was a leading figure of Scottish and English life of his time. Balliol College, Oxford is named for him.

Life

He was born before 1208 to Hugh de Balliol, Lord of Balliol and of Barnard Castle and Gainford (c. 1177–February 2, 1229) and Cecilia de Fontaines, daughter of Aleure, lord of Fontaines and Longpré-les-Corps-Saints.

In 1233, Lord John married Dervorguilla of Galloway and Scotland, who was the daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway and Margaret of Huntingdon. By the mid-thirteenth century, he and his wife had become very wealthy, principally as a result of inheritances from Dervorguilla's family. This wealth allowed Balliol to play a prominent public role, and, on Henry III's instruction, he served as joint protector of the young king of Scots, Alexander III. He was one of Henry III's leading counsellors between 1258 and 1265.^[1]

Following a dispute with the Bishop of Durham, he agreed to provide funds for scholars studying at Oxford. Support for a house of students began in around 1263; further endowments after his death, supervised by Dervorguilla, resulted in the establishment of Balliol College.

Issue

John and Dervorguilla had issue:

• Sir Hugh de Balliol, who died without issue before April 10, 1271.^[2]
• Alan de Balliol, who died without issue.^[2]
• Sir Alexander de Balliol, who died without issue before November 13, 1278.^[2]
• King John I of Scotland, successful competitor for the Crown in 1292.^[2]
• Cecilia de Balliol, who died unmarried.^[2]
• Ada de Balliol, who married in 1266, William Lindsay, of Lambarton.^[2]
• Alianora de Balliol, who married John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch.^[2]

Sources

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700, Frederick Lewis Weis; Lines: 94-28, 95-28, 121A-29, 186-1, 252-26
• Magna Charta Sureties 1215, Frederick Lewis Weis; pages 44-1, 141-2
• Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, G.E. Cokayne; page V:474
• [1]

Notes

1. ^ ODNB
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} SCOTTISH ROYAL LINEAGE - THE HOUSE OF ATHOLL Part 2 of 6 Burkes Peerage. Retrieved on 2007-11-01

External links

• Balliol College
• History of the Baliol Family in Scotland