Earl of Gowrie Earl of Gowrie is a title that has been created
twice, once in the Peerage of Scotland and once in the Peerage
of the United Kingdom, both times for members of the Ruthven
family. It takes its name from Gowrie, a historical region and
ancient province of Scotland. On 23 August 1581 William Ruthven,
4th Lord Ruthven, was created Earl of Gowrie by James VI, King
of the Scots. He was executed for high treason, attainted and
his peerages forfeited on 28 May 1584. Two years later in 1586,
the attainder was reversed and his son, the second Earl, was
restored as Earl of Gowrie and Lord Ruthven, but both peerages
were forfeited after the alleged plot and subsequent death of
the second Earl's younger brother, the third Earl, in 1600. The
Ruthven family descended from Sir William Ruthven, who was
created Lord Ruthven in the Peerage of Scotland in 1488. Lord
Ruthven's son and heir, William Ruthven, Master of Ruthven, was
one of the many Scottish nobles killed at the Battle of Flodden
in 1513. Lord Ruthven