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Sir Alexander Ramsay of Dalhousie was a great military leader and for his exemplary services was granted by King David of Scotland the post of governor or Roxburgh Castle and Sheriff of Teviotdale. Sir William Douglas, Knight of Liddesdale, had distinguished himself for his bravery and military skills during many a siege and engagement with the enemy. Both men had been brothers in arms in numerous campaigns, and had both shared many victories and accolades. They were, in fact, outstanding in a brilliant array of valiant knights which thronged the court of King David. But Douglas was outraged when Ramsay was appointed by the young king, David, as Sheriff of Teviotdale, a post he had held himself and directed his wrath, not on the king who made the appointment, but on Ramsay himself. Ramsay, in carrying out his official duties, was holding court in the church at Hawick when Douglas burst in. Ramsay rose to greet his old friend and comrade, but he was seized by Douglas's men, who bound him and bore him off to Hermitage Castle in Liddesdale. There he was hurled into the castle's dungeon and left to starve to death. This brave knight, it is said, prolonged his life by eating particles of corn which had fallen through the roof from the grain store above.
King David was appalled when he was told
of the dreadful crime but his authority was so weak that he was unable
to take any action against Douglas. Many years later, a quantity of bones and clothing and a sword were found in the dungeon.
Situated near the junction of the Tweed and the Ettrick. It was in this church that Ramsay was captured.
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