Joan Stewart, Countess of Morton
Joan Stewart, Countess of Morton (c. 1428 – 22 June 1493) was a Scottish noblewoman, the daughter of King James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort. She was deaf and mute, earning the nickname muta domina, or “the mute lady.” She is said to have used sign language to communicate in public.
She was first promised to marry her cousin James Douglas, 3rd Earl of Angus, when she was 13, but he died in 1446 before the wedding. In 1445 she went to France and a marriage to the Dauphin was planned, but it did not happen. Later she married James Douglas, 4th Baron Dalkeith, who became the first Earl of Morton, before 15 May 1459. They were granted a dispensation in 1463/4 for being related in the second and third degrees.
Joan and James knew they were closely related, but they were persuaded to marry with the king’s support from her brother, James II. They had four children. Joan died on 22 June 1493, four months before her husband. They were buried together in the choir of Dalkeith Collegiate Church in Dalkeith, near Edinburgh.
Their tombs, known as the Morton Monument, show their stone effigies with heraldic symbols. This is said to be the world’s oldest known image of a deaf person. The church choir is now ruined, and the hands and faces on the effigies have worn away over time. In 2005, volunteers and preservationists added a protective canopy to shield the figures.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 08:54 (CET).