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| Henry (Sinclair) Sinclair First Earl of Orkney was descended from a signer of the Declaration of Arbroath. Join: Scotland Project Discuss: Scotland |
| Preceded by William Sinclair |
4th of Roslin 1358-1404 |
Succeeded by Henry Sinlair |
| Preceded by Malise |
Earl of Orkney 1379-1404 |
Succeeded by Henry Sinclair |
Contents |
Biography
Family
Henry Sinclair was the eldest son and heir of William Sinclair of Roslin and Isabel Strathearn, the second daughter of Malise, earl of Strathearn, Orkney, and Caithness. [1][2] His exact date of birth is unknown, but likely to have been late in 1345 as his parents did not marry until after 28 May 1344.[3]
Lands and Titles held
On the death of Malise, earl of Stratherne, Orkney, and Caithness, sometime before 1358, Henry became (through his mother Isabel, who was one of Malise's daughters from his second marriage) a competitor for the earldom of Orkney.[4] Two of his cousins, Alexander del Ard and Malise Sperra, lord of Skaldale, were also competitors.[4] Rights to the earldom (but not the title) were first given to Alexander del Ard, whose mother was Malise's eldest daughter from his first marriage, although Henry did receive a small portion of the lands.[5] Alexander's governance over Orkney did not meet with King Haakon VI's approval, however, and on 2 August 1379 the king formally created Henry as Earl of Orkney and Lord of Zetland with rights to all of the royal lands, to enjoy all of the revenues from those lands with the condition that he never build any castles there, or alienate or pledge any of the lands of Orkney to other parties.[4][5][6] If he died without legitimate heirs the earldom was to revert to the crown of Norway.[4] Nine "friends and kinsmen" co-signed the document along with Henry, pledging to ensure that all of King Haakon's stipulations were kept; additional 'sureties' had to be provided who gave their personal letters of surety (these included the bishops of St Andrews and Glasgow, the earls of Douglas and March, Walter and Alexander of Halyburton, Sir Patrick of Hepburn, Sir John of Edmondstone, Sir George of Abernethy, and Sir William Ramsay); and four hostages remained in Norway until all of Henry's feudal obligations to the king had been fulfilled.[7][8]
Henry ignored the terms of his charter and built the castle of Kirkwall.[4] From the Scottish king, Robert III, he also received a charter of the castlewards of Pentland and Roslin, and greatly expanded the dungeons and walls surrounding the latter.[4]
In 1389 he attended the coronation of King Eric of Norway.[4]
By 1391 he had gained dominion over the Faroe Isles, and appointed Nicolo Zeno, a Venetian explorer who had been shipwrecked there, to be captain of his fleet.[4][9] That same year he also took control of Shetland by killing his cousin, Malise Sperra, who had been granted authority over Shetland by Haakon VI.[4][5] He also granted Newburgh and Auchdale in Aberdeenshire to his brother David in return for any rights which David might have had to lands in Orkney or Shetland through his mother Isabella Sinclair.[10][11]
From Shetland, Henry set out on an exploratory expedition to discover new lands, ending up in Greenland where he took time to explore the entire coast.[4][9]
Although Henry Sinclair did not take a very active role in Scotland's politics, he was known as "one of the most enlightened patrons of the arts in Scotland in the late fifteenth century," possessing an extensive library of manuscripts.[12]
Marriage and Children
He married Jane Halyburton, daughter of Sir Walter Halyburton of Dirletoun.[13][14] There were at least ten children from this marriage:[5]
- Henry Sinclair, 2nd earl of Orkney; born c.1375;[15] married c.1407 Egidia Douglas;[15][16] died before 29 April 1418[17]
- John Sinclair; married Ingeborg, natural daughter of Waldemar, King of Denmark, by Jova Little;[13] died after 1418;[13]
- William Sinclair; had safe-conduct to England 19 September 1405;[13][18]
- Elizabeth Sinclair; married John Drummond of Cargill.[13]
- Margaret Sinclair; married James of Cragy, laird of Hupe in Orkney.[13]
- Jean Sinclair, married John Forrester of Corstorphine[15]
- (Unknown) Sinclair; a daughter who married Cockburn of Skirling[15]
- (Unknown) Sinclair; a daughter who married Heron of Marieton[15]
- Mary Sinclair; married Thomas Somerville of Carnwath[15]
- Marjory Sinclair; married David Menzies of Weem[15]
Death
The exact date of the first earl of Sinclair's death is unknown. He is said to have retired to Orkney, where he was killed in 1400 defending the islands when an English fleet which had been fishing off Aberdeen, landed in the Orkneys and "spoiled certain of the islands."[19][20] The Scots Peerage erroneously gives this date as 1404.[13]
Research Notes
- An unsourced profile for Elizabeth Unknown was previously attached as Henry's wife, and has been removed until evidence can be found that Henry married twice. Stevens-17832 19:50, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
Sources
- ↑ Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol.6,p.567.
- ↑ The Bannatyne Miscellany. Edinburgh (1855), vol. 3, p. 63.
- ↑ Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 2, p. 320.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol.6, p.568.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Crawford, Barbara E. Sinclair Family. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition (23 Sep 2004, rv. 8 Jan 2009), available here by subscription.
- ↑ Lange, Chr. C.A. (ed.). Diplomatarium Norvegicum. P.T. Stevenson (1835), pp. 353-358 (formal investure as earl of Orkney).
- ↑ Crawford, Barbara E. The Earls of Orkney-Caithness and their relations with Norway and Scotland, 1158-1470. Ph.D. dissertation, St. Andrews University (1971), p. 225, pdf available here.
- ↑ Records of the Earldom of Orkney (SHS, 1914), no. 11, cited in Stringer, K.J. (ed.). Essays on the Nobility of Medieval Scotland. Edinburgh: John Donald (1985), William Sinclair, earl of Orkney, and his Family: A Study in the Politics of Survival, p. 2250, fn.4.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Henderson, Thomas Finlayson. Sinclair, Henry. Dictionary of National Biography archive edition, vol. 52.
- ↑ Crawford, Barbara E. The Earls of Orkney-Caithness and their relations with Norway and Scotland, 1158-1470. Ph.D. dissertation, St. Andrews University (1971), p. 237, pdf available here.
- ↑ Clouston, J. Storer (ed.). Records of the earldom of Orkney, 1299-1614. Edinburgh: T. And A. Constable for the Scottish History Society (1914), 2nd ser, vol. 7, pp. 21-28 (Charter to David).
- ↑ Stringer, K.J. (ed.). Essays on the Nobility of Medieval Scotland. Edinburgh: John Donald (1985), William Sinclair, earl of Orkney, and his Family: A Study in the Politics of Survival, p. 233.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol.6,p.569.
- ↑ Crawford, Barbara E. The Earls of Orkney-Caithness and their relations with Norway and Scotland, 1158-1470. Ph.D. dissertation, St. Andrews University (1971), p. 224, pdf available here.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol.6,p.570.
- ↑ Hay, Richard Augustine. Genealogie of the Sainteclaires of Rosslyn. Edinburgh: T.G. Stevenson (1835), p. 18.
- ↑ Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol.6,p.571.
- ↑ Bain, Joseph (ed.). Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland. vol. 4, p. 145, no. 700.
- ↑ The Bannatyne Miscellany. Edinburgh (1855), vol. 3, p. 81.
- ↑ Holinshed, R. Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland.' London: J. Johnson (1807), vol. 3, p. 16.
- See Also:
- Torfæus, Thormodus. Ancient History of Orkney, Caithness, and the North. Wick: Peter Reid (1866), p. 214.
- "Selected Families" Rootsweb Freepages (Link via Wayback Machine at Archive.org, capture date 24 Jan 2022.)
