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Helen of Galloway

13th-century Scottish person

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionNov 16, 2025
Entity authorityQ5703455
Source-derived summary

Helen of Galloway (fl. thirteenth century) was a daughter and co-heiress of Alan, Lord of Galloway (died 1234) and his first wife, a daughter of Roger de Lacy, Constable of Chester. Helen was the first wife of Roger de Quincy, Earl of Winchester (died 1264). Although Helen was the first of Roger's three wives, his only descendants were his three daughters by Helen. The eldest daughter, Margaret (or Margery), married William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby (died 1254); the second daughter, Elizabeth (or Isabel or Isabella), married Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan (died 1289); the third daughter, Helen, married Alan de la Zouche (died 1270).

Sources differ as to where exactly she was born, with likely locations being either Carrick in Ayrshire or in nearby Wigtownshire.

Editorial summary

“Helen of Galloway” enters the record as 13th-century Scottish person. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Helen, Galloway and 13th-century can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1234, 1264, 1254, 1289—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Helen, Galloway and 13th-century.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Helen of Galloway” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Helen, Galloway and 13th-century provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 16, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q5703455. The first chronological checks are 1234, 1264, 1254 and 1289.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Helen of Galloway”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Helen of Galloway primary sources, Helen of Galloway archive and Helen research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Helen of Galloway”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Helen of Galloway” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.