THE 1491 CHARTER
This is the grant of “the barony of Tractware” to James Stewart signed on the 18th May 1491 by the Earl of Buchan and marks the beginning of the history of the Stewarts at Traquair. James was the second son of James, Earl of Buchan, who had been gifted Traquair in 1479 by James III. James Stewart became the 1st Laird of Traquair but sadly for him, he was one of the many thousands of young Scotsmen who died on the battlefield of Flodden fighting for James IV against the English Army.
The spelling of the name “Stewart” was used by the Lairds until the seventeenth century when the spelling changed to “Stuart” a French influence that was adopted at first inconsistently but was then settled upon by the Earls of Traquair in the early eighteenth century.