Sir Robert Boyd of Noddsdale

Sir Robert distinguished himself at the Battle of Largs in 1263. For his bravery he was awarded lands in Cunningham by Alexander III, King of Scots.

http://home.austarnet.com.au/dfgoonan/BOYDpg.htm

Notes from Sally Walmsley

first appeared in a charter to Halkhillin 1262, but was to spring into prominence in the following year in the battle of Largs. At that time Norway claimed dominion over all the Scottish islands and much of the wester Highlands, the area which was later to become the Lordship of the Isles . The Scots did not accept their claim. In 1263, King Haco of Norway decided to enforce his claim to sovereignty, and set out from Norway with the largest fleet ever seen off Scotland, some one hundred and fifty ships, he in his own gilded galley. He sailed first to the Orkneys which he subdued: but whilst anchored there, there was a total eclipse of the sun, a terrifying omen for the Norsemen. Haco sailed on to the Hebrides which he reduced, and then south to capture Bute and Arran. He sent marauding parties ashore at the head of Loch Long, and to attack Ayr castle. Meanwhile , King Alexander III of Scotland had drawn up his arm in Ayrshire, and entered into skilful and lengthy negotiations with Haco, whose fleet was achored in the lee of the Cumbraes, off the Bay of Largs. He kept him talking until the October storms, which in 1263 seem to have been exceptionally violent, driving the Norse fleet into Largs Bay, where several of the ships were wrecked. Haco put a force ashore, which was soon despatched by the Scots. After three days of storm, Haco decided to put his whole army ashore. By that time, the whole Scottish army was drawn up at Largs, and the Norse were massacred. Burial mounds reputed to be of those killed in the Battle of Largs still stand, close to the Hunterston atomic power station. Haco never returned to Norway. In the battle, Robert Boyd saved the King's life when his horse bolted, and for this and his part in the battle , he was awarded his knighthood and the lands of Noddsdale in Cunninghame, the northern part of Ayrshire. His citation said that 'he possessed a spirit imbued with patriotic ardour which quailed not at the danger of war'.

Sources

1. Ancestral File Number: FWDW-1F