Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester ( – 25 April 1264), and the hereditary Constable of Scotland, was a nobleman of Anglo-Norman and Scottish descent who was prominent in both England and Scotland, at his death having one of the largest baronial landholdings in the two kingdoms.
Early life
The de Quincy family, originating from the village of Cuinchy in Artois, had been prominent in England and Scotland from about 1130. Roger, second son and eventual heir of Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester, and his wife Margaret, younger daughter of Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester. Roger was likely the son that Saer handed over to King John in 1213 as a Scottish hostage to ensure the Anglo-Scottish treaty of 1212. He first became involved in politics in 1215, when he, along with Saer and the leaders of the baronial rebellion against John, was excommunicated by Innocent III. However, he did not play a major role in the civil war that erupted after the king's death. Roger probably joined his father on the Fifth Crusade, during which the elder de Quincy fell sick in Egypt and died. Since Roger's older brother Robert had died a few years earlier, he inherited his father's estates on his return, but was not recognised as earl until his mother died in 1235.
In 1235 the Galwegians rebelled under Gille Ruadh, not wanting their land divided, but the rebellion was suppressed by King Alexander II of Scotland. The Galwegians revolted again in 1246, following the death without children of Helen's sister Christina, first wife of William de Forz, 4th Earl of Aumale. Further unrest in 1247, possibly due to his strict rule, found de Quincy trapped in a castle, from which he escaped to obtain help from King Alexander in suppressing the rebellion. Although actively managing his lands in Scotland, despite being Constable after this time he seems to have had little further involvement in Scotland's politics and wars.