William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness, 3rd Earl of Orkney

William Sinclair (1410–1484), 1st Earl of Caithness (1455–1476), 3rd Earl of Orkney (1455–1470), Baron of Roslin was a Scottish nobleman and the builder of Rosslyn Chapel, in Midlothian.

He was the grandson of the explorer Henry Sinclair, 1st Earl of Orkney and son of Henry Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Orkney, for a time protector of the young James Stuart, the later James I of Scotland. He was Lord High Admiral of Scotland, and was Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1454 to 1456. He was First Lord St. Clair in Scotland 1449.

King James III gained the Earldom of Orkney for the Scottish Crown in 1470 (see History of Orkney), and William Sinclair was thereafter Earl of Caithness alone until he resigned the Earldom in favour of his son William in 1476.

In 1471 James bestowed the castle and lands of Ravenscraig in Fife on William Sinclair, in exchange for all his rights to the earldom of Orkney, which, by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland, passed on 20 February 1472, was annexed to the Scottish crown.

Family:

He was married three times, first to Lady Elizabeth Douglas, daughter of Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas; secondly to Marjory Sutherland, daughter of Alexander Sutherland, and lastly to Janet Yeman.

He fathered two known children with Lady Elizabeth Douglas. Their son (William Sinclair, 2nd Lord St. Clair) was, in the opinion of the father, a wastrel, whereby he was disinherited consequently. His family received only the Castle of Ravenscraig. Their daughter (Elizabeth Sinclair) would marry Andrew Leslie, Master of Rothes.

He fathered four known children with Marjory Sutherland; Eleanor Sinclair, Catherine Sinclair, Sir Oliver Sinclair, and William Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Caithness.

The earl's third son (William Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Caithness), of his second marriage became the designated heir of the Earldom of Caithness, and continued that title. The Barony of Roslin went to his second son (Sir Oliver Sinclair).

All in all, the Sinclair ancestry is well represented in Scottish and British high nobility, thanks to marriages of his daughters and other descendants.

William's daughter of his second marriage, Lady Eleanor Sinclair, married John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl, a relative of the kings. Lord Henry Darnley and his son James I of England descend from Eleanor, and through them, quite a many royal house of Europe. His other daughter by this marriage, Catherine Sinclair, married Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany.

ID: I52537
Name: William Sinclair 3rd Earl Orkney Caithness
Surname: Sinclair Given Name: William Suffix: 3rd Earl Orkney Caithness Sex: M Birth: ABT 1408 in Rosslyn Castle, Roslin, Midlothian, Yr Alban Christening: Caithness, Sotland Death: BEF 28 May 1480 in Ravenscraig Castle, Kirkaldy, Fifeshire, Yr Alban 1 _UID: 8D67C2B781A67B4BA22115776C20D1DAE0B3 Death: ABT 1480 Event: Info 2 3rdEarl Orkney & 1st Earl Caithness Note: 3rd Earl of Orkney, 1st Earl of Caithness. Lord Sinclair. Admiral of Scotland & High Chancellor. Resigned Earldom of Orkney over to King James III. Created Earl of Caithness. Resigned Earldom of Caithness to his son

William [Sinclair], Earl of ORKNEY [SCT], who had succeeded his father in that honour before 1418, was one of the hostages for James I when allowed to return to Scotland in 1421 was Admiral of Scotland and, as such, conveyed the Princess Margaret of Scotland to France on her marriage, in 1436, to the Dauphin (Louis XI). He was a Lord of Parliament, as Lord SINCLAIR [SCT], as far back as 1449. HIGH CHANCELLOR [SCT], 1454-58. On 28 August 1455, he was created EARL OF CAITHNESS [SCT] "to him and his heirs." The isles of Orkney, having, on the marriage of James III, come under the Scottish dominion, he, in 1470, resigned the Earldom of Orkney [SCT] to the King, receiving the Castle of Ravenscraig, &c., co. Fife, in exchange, by charter 17 September 1470. He was Ambassador to England 1471-73. On 2 December 1476 he resigned his Earldom to his son and successor, William.

He married, 1stly, Elizabeth, widow of Sir Thomas STEWART [illegitimate son of Alexander [Stewart 11th Earl of Mar [SCT], and before that of John (STEWART), 3rd EARL OF BUCHAN [SCT], daughter of Archibald (DOUGLAS), 4th EARL OF DOUGLAS [SCT], by Lady Margaret STEWART, daughter of ROBERT III. She died about 1451. He married, 2ndly, before 15 November 1456, Marjory, daughter of Alexander SUTHERLAND, of Dunbeath. He married, 3rdly, Janet YEMAN. He died apparently between Martinmass and Whit-Sunday1480, when his pension ceased to be paid, leaving by his 1st wife a son and heir, William Sinclair (e), who succeeded. him in such honours and lands as he had not otherwise disposed of, and a younger son, by the 2nd wife, also named William,, who succeeded to the Earldom of Caithness. His widow was living 5 July 1483. [Complete Peerage II:477-78, XIV:133, (transcribed by Dave Utzinger)]

(e) This William Sinclair, who was reputed to be more or less imbecile, was ancestor of the Lords Sinclair. He received from his father, in 1359, the Barony of Newburgh, co. Aberdeen, but seems, in consequence of his prodigal habits, to have been almost disinherited by him, the Earldom of Caithness being left to William, 2nd son by the 2nd wife, and the estate of Rosslyn, etc. to Oliver, 1st son by the 2nd wife.

William Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, Lord High Chancellor of Scotland, obtained from King James II a grant of the earldom of Caithness, to himself and his heirs, 28 August 1455, in compensation, as the charter bears, of a claim of right which he and his heirs had to the lordship of Nithsdale, and he was afterwards designed Earl of Orkney and Caithness. In this Earl's time, and in that of his father and grandfather, there had been serious differences between the Kings of Norway and Denmark and their vassals with regard to the former's suzerainty and other rights in the islands of Orkney and Shetland, and such strained relations between superior and vassal may have made it more easy for the King of Denmark to cede these islands to Scotland on the marriage of his daughter Margaret to King James III in 1469. In the following year the Scottish King having set his heart on obtaining entire possesion of the islands, 'awakened and set on Foot a dormant Claim against [Earl] Wiliam, for the Profits of the Orknays during his Non-age; and under Pretence of that sent him to Prison till he should renunce his Title, which the King accordingly extorted from him, and that too, at his own Rate, which William was forced to accept, or lose all. An Annuity of forty Merks for the Term of Life, the Castle of Ravenscraig, and certain other Lands in the County of Fife, of very inconsiderable Income, were all the Equivalent.'

It is worth noting that the King by his own hand gave sasine of the castle and lands to the Earl. The original instrument under the hand of John Tailliefere bears that on the 16 September 1470, in the royal chamber in Edinburgh Castle, King James III gave sasine to William, Earl of Caithness, and his heirs, of the King's castle of Ravenscraig, and other lands adgacent in the sheriffdom of Fife, by delivery out of his own royal hand of a staff into the hand of the Earl, in the presence of the Bishops of Aberdeen, Ross, and Orkney, the Earl of Crauford, and other great nobles and ministers of State.

This Earl founded the Collegiate Church of Rossyln in Midlothian for a provost, six prebends, and two singing boys in the year 1446.

On 7 December 1476 he resigned his lands of the earldom of Caithness,and offices pertaining thereto, in favour of William Sinclair, his son of the marriage between him and his second Countess Marjory, but under reservation of his liferent; and King James III, the same day, granted charter in favour of said William, the son, of the said lands and offices. Earl William died sometime between the date of the charter and 29 march 1482. He was three times married; first, to Elizabeth Douglas, daughter of Archibald, fourth Earl of Douglas, by Lady Margaret Stewart, daughter of King Robert III. She was already widow of John, Earl of Buchan, Constable of France, and of Sir Thomas Stewart, son of Alexander, Earl of Mar.

William, Earl of Caithness, married, secondly, before 15 November 1456, Marjory Sutherland, daughter of Alexander Sutherland of Dunbeath, sometimes, but wrongly, called Master of Sutherland. [The Scots Peerage II:332-334]

Sir William Sinclair, third Earl of Orkney and first Earl of Caithness (1404?-1480), chancellor of Scotland, born about 1404, was the only son of Henry Sinclair, second earl of Orkney, by his wife Egidia or Giles Douglas, daughter of Sir William Douglas of Nithsdale, and of the Princess Egidia, a daughter of Robert II.

Earl William succeeded about 1418, his father being then dead. In 1421 the earl was named as a hostage for James I (then a prisoner in England), who desired to visit Scotland, and on the king's release in 1424 Sinclair met him at Berwick. He was one of the assize who condemned Murdac Stewart, second duke of Albany, and his sons to death in 1425, when he was doubtless of age. He appears also about this time to have made claim to the earldom of ORkney, a Norwegian fief which was held by his father. In 1420 Eric, king of Norway, had committed the earldom after the death of Earl William's father, during the young earl's minority, to Thomas Tulloch, bishop of Orkney, as a trust to be delivered up to the king when required. Later, the trust was conferred on David Meyner or Menzies of Weem, who between 1423 and 1426 was charged with many acts of oppression, among others his detention of the Earl William's rents, and his refusal to set the public seal to a testimony of the earl's right. The earl apparently visited Eric's court, but did not receive formal investiture of the earldom of Orknay until 1434. The terms of his tenure were similar to those required of his grandfather, Henry Sinclair, first earl of Orkney, and he acknowledged the jurisdiction of the Norwegian king, promising to hold for him the castle of Kirkwall.

The earl was high admiral of Scotland in 1436, and commanded the fleet which bore the Princess Margaret of Scotland to France to be married to the Dauphin. According to Father Hay, the earl was gloriously apparelled and magnificently attended, and received the order of St Michael form the French king. He was summoned to Bergen on 24 June 1446 to take the oath of allegiance for the Orkneys to Christopher, king of Norway, and it seems probable that to this date belongs the well-known diploma, attested by Thomas Tulloch, bishop of Orkney, setting forth the earl's pedigree. The instrument was drawn up by the bishop and his canons, with the lawman, nobles, and people of Orkney, assembled in the churhc of St Magnus, in presence of the earl, in May or on 1 June of a year hitherto uncertain, but held by some to be 1446, a date corroborated by the summons referred to. In this year also he began the foundation of the collegiate church of Roslin, for the residence of a provost, six prebendaries, and two singing boys. The chapel of this church still remains to attest the wealth and taste of the founder, and, though not completed as originally designed, it forms one of the most beautiful examples of church architecture in Scotland.

In 1448 the earl joined with the earls of Douglas, Ormonde, and others, in repelling an English invasion, and was created Lord Sinclair apparently the following year. In 1454 he was appointed chancellor of Scotland in succession to William, lord Crichton. When the king in 1455 resolved to put down the power of the Douglases, the chancellor took an active part, and personally superintended the transportation of a 'great bombard' from Edinbrugh to Threave Castle in Galloway. In the same year he received the earldom of Caithness in exchange for his lordship of Nithsdale, and in 1465 his town of Roslin, probably formed by the masons who worked on the college and chapel, was erected into a burgh of barony with the usual privileges.

In the latter part of 1456 Sinclair ceased to be chancellor, and thenceforth seems to have taken little part in public affairs, though his is opccasionally referred to in safe-conducts to England and documents relating to truces between the realms. He was in 1460 summoned to tender his allegiance to the new king of Norway, Christiern I, but his presence was required in Orkney, where John, earl of Ross, lord of the Isles, was committing violent deparedations; and he was still unable to leave Scotland in the following year, as he had been appointed one of the regents after the death of James II. He was also in that year named as an ambassador to England. But he was opposed to the party of the Boyds, then rising into power, and he chiefly figures in connection with his earldom of Orkney, where in 1467 one of his sons, perhaps William 'the waster,' had seized and imprisoned William Tulloch, bishop of Orkney (cousin of the former bishop, Thomas), as to which, and the oppressive conduct of the earl himself, King Christiern I made a special appeal to the Scottish king.

In 1468 and 1469 the earl again appeared in the Scottish parliament, and in 1471, after the Orkneys were ceded to Scotland, he resigned all his rights in them to the crown, in exchage for the castle and lands of Ravensbeugh and Dysart in Fife and a pensions of four hundred merks yearly. During the next two years he is named as an envoy to England, and in 1476 he made a diposition of his great estates. He resigned his earldom of Caithness in favour of William, apparently the elder son of his second marriage, and granted to Sir Oliver, apparently the younger son of the same marriage, the lands of Roslin and others, forming a considerable territory.

The earl died apparently in the early part of 1480, when his pension ceased to be paid. He was twice married first: before 1437, to Margaret, eldest daughter of Archibald, fourth earl of Douglas, and widow of John Stewart, earl of Buchan, and also of Thomas, master of Mar. By her he had a daughter Catherine, who married Alexander Stewart, duke of Albany, and one son, William Sinclair of Newburgh, styled 'William the Waster' from his spendthrift habits, and who on that account was passed over by the earl in disposing of his estates, though he and his half-brother, Sir Oliver Sinclair, afterwards entered into a compromise as to their lands. The title of Baron Sinclair was first conferred, 26 Jan 1488-9, on Henry, son of William Sinclair of Newburgh. This Lord Sinclair, at whose request Gavin Douglas translated the Æneid into Scots, was slain at Flodden on 9 Sept 1513. His grandson Henry, third lord Sinclair, was a strenuous supporter of Mary Queen of Scots, signed the bond for her against Moray on 12 Sept 1535, and joined the association in her support at Hamilton after her escape for Lochleven in 1568.

The second wife of Earl William was Marjorie Sutherland, daughter of Alexander Sutherland of Dunbeath, and by her he had, with four daughters, four sons - William, Oliver, David, and John.

The eldest son, William, second earl of Caithness, was killed at Flodden in 1513, leaving two sons, of whom the eldest, John, succeeded as third Earl of Caithness; along with Lord Sinclair, the third earl in 1529 invaded Orkney to endeavour to make good his professed claims to the earldom of Orkney, but was defeated and slain by the Orcadians under James Sinclair, governor of Kirkwall Castle, at Bigswell in Stennes on 18 May. His son George, fourth earl, is noticed seperately.

The second son, Sir Oliver Sinclair of Roslin, was father of Oliver Sinclair, of Henry Sinclair, bishop of Ross, and of John Sinclair, bishop of Brechin.

The third son, Sir David Sinclair of Svenburgh or Sumburgh, was sometime captain of the castle of Bergen and governor of Shetland; and the fourth son, John, was bishop of Caithness. [Dictionary of National Biography XVIII:309-310] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Change Date: 10 Mar 2009 at 00:00:00

Father: Henry Sinclair 2nd Earl of Orkney b: ABT 1375 in Rosslyn Castle, Roslin, Midlothian, Yr Alban Mother: Egida Douglas b: ABT 1387 in Nithsdale, Dumfriesshire, Yr Alban

Marriage 1 Elizabeth Douglas b: ABT 1405 in Douglas Castle, Douglas, Lanarkshire, Yr Alban Children

William "the Waster" Sinclair 2nd Lord Sinclair b: 1430 in Caithnesshire, Yr Alban

Catherine Sinclair Duchess of Albany b: ABT 1458

Marriage 2 Marjory Sutherland b: ABT 1441 in Dunbeath Castle, Caithness, Yr Alban Married: BEF 15 Nov 1456 9 Children

Elizabeth Sinclair Of Orkney b: 1440

Eleanor Sinclair b: ABT 1457 in Ravenscraig Castle, Kirkaldy, Fifeshire, Yr Alban

William Sinclair 2nd Earl of Caithness b: 1458 in Girnigoe Castle, Wick, Caithness, Yr Alban

Oliver Sinclair b: ABT 1460 in Ravenscraig Castle, Kirkaldy, Fifeshire, Yr Alban

Marriage 3 Janet Yeman

Sources: Title: Magna Charta Sureties, 1215 Author: Frederick Lewis Weis Publication: 4th ed, Genealogical Publishing, Baltimore Page: line 41C pp 45-46, line 165 p 166 Repository:

Title: Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Author: GE Cokayne Publication: Sutton Publishing Ltd Note: Source Media Type: Book Page: II:477-478 Repository:

Title: The Scots Peerage Author: Sir James Balfour Paul LORD LYON KING OF ARMS Publication: EDINBURGH : DAVID .DOUGLAS, 1914 Page: II:332-334, VI:571 Repository:

Title: Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 106th Edition Author: Charles Mosley Publication: {1999} Note: Source Media Type: Book Page: 469 Repository:

Title: Dictionary of National Biography Author: Ed by Sir Leslie S Publication: George Smith, Oxford Press, Vols 1-21 (Orignially published 1885-90), Page: XVIII:309-310 Repository:

Title: Magna Charta Sureties 1215 Author: Frederick Lewis Weis, additions by Walter Lee Sheppard Jr, 5th Ed Publication: 1999 Note: Source Media Type: Book Page: 41c-10, 41f-10 Title: Magna Charta Sureties, 1215 Author: Frederick Lewis Weis Publication: 4th ed, Genealogical Publishing, Baltimore Page: line 41C pp 45-46 Title: A General And Heraldic Dictionary of The Peerages of England, Ireland, And Scotland, Exitinct, Dormant, and in Abeyance Author: John Burke, Esq., Publication: London: Henry Colburn And Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street. 1831 Title: Magna Charta Sureties, 1215 Author: Frederick Lewis Weis Publication: 4th ed, Genealogical Publishing, Baltimore Page: line 41C pp 45-46, line 41F p 48, line 91A p 101 Text: his 2nd m

This person and their pedigree are currently documented from "The Royal Lineage of Our Noble and Gentle Families together with Their Paternal Ancestry" Compiled by Joseph Foster, 1885 [Source: http://www.archive.org/details/royallineageofou02fost ]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Sinclair,_1st_Earl_of_Caithness

William Sinclair (1410–1484), 1st Earl of Caithness (1455–1476), 3rd Earl of Orkney (1455–1470), Baron of Roslin was a Scottish nobleman and the builder of Rosslyn Chapel, in Midlothian.

He was the grandson of the explorer Henry Sinclair, 1st Earl of Orkney and son of Henry Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Orkney, for a time protector of the young James Stuart, the later James I of Scotland. He was Lord High Admiral of Scotland, and was Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1454 to 1456. He was First Lord St. Clair in Scotland 1449.

King James III gained the Earldom of Orkney for the Scottish Crown in 1470 (see History of Orkney), and William Sinclair was thereafter Earl of Caithness alone until he resigned the Earldom in favour of his son William in 1476.

In 1471 James bestowed the castle and lands of Ravenscraig in Fife on William Sinclair[1], in exchange for all his rights to the earldom of Orkney, which, by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland, passed on 20 February 1472, was annexed to the Scottish crown.

William Sinclair (1410–1484), 1st Earl of Caithness (1455–1476), 3rd Earl of Orkney (1455–1470), Baron of Roslin was a Scottish nobleman and the builder of Rosslyn Chapel, in Midlothian.

He was the grandson of the explorer Henry Sinclair, 1st Earl of Orkney and son of Henry Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Orkney, for a time protector of the young James Stuart, the later James I of Scotland. He was Lord High Admiral of Scotland, and was Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1454 to 1456. He was First Lord St. Clair in Scotland 1449.

He was married three times, first to Lady Elizabeth Douglas, daughter of Archibald, 4th Earl of Douglas; secondly to Marjory Sutherland, daughter of Alexander Sutherland, and lastly to Janet Yeman.

He fathered two known children with Lady Elizabeth Douglas. Their son (William Sinclair, 2nd Lord St. Clair) was, in the opinion of the father, a wastrel, whereby he was disinherited consequently. His family received only the Castle of Ravenscraig. Their daughter (Elizabeth Sinclair) would marry Andrew Leslie, Master of Rothes.

He fathered four known children with Marjory Sutherland; Eleanor Sinclair, Catherine Sinclair, Sir Oliver Sinclair, and William Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Caithness.

The earl's third son (William Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Caithness), of his second marriage became the designated heir of the Earldom of Caithness, and continued that title. The Barony of Roslin went to his second son (Sir Oliver Sinclair).

All in all, the Sinclair ancestry is well represented in Scottish and British high nobility, thanks to marriages of his daughters and other descendants.

William's daughter of his second marriage, Lady Eleanor Sinclair, married John Stewart, 1st Earl of Atholl, a relative of the kings. Lord Henry Darnley and his son James I of England descend from Eleanor, and through them, quite a many royal house of Europe. His other daughter by this marriage, Catherine Sinclair, married Alexander Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany.

Rosslyn Chapel was built in 1446 by William St.Clair (the family name was later changed to Sinclair during the Scottish reformation), Baron of Rosslyn and the last Prince of Orkney from Scotland.

William Sinclair (b.1415 - d.1482), 11th Baron of Rosslyn and the third (and last) Sinclair Prince of Orkney, was also named Grand Master Mason by King James II of Scotland and the First Hereditary Protector of the Freemasons in Scotland.

1st Earl of Caithness, 3rd Earl of Orkney, Baron of Roslin, Lord High Admiral of Scotland, Lord Chancellor of Scotland, built Rosslyn Chapel, one of the wealthiest persons in Europe.