George Sinclair | |
|---|---|
| Earl of Caithness | |
 Earl of Caithness Coat of Arms | |
| Predecessor | John Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Caithness |
| Successor | George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness |
| Died | 9 September 1582 |
| Noble family | Clan Sinclair |
| Father | John Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Caithness |
| Mother | Elizabeth Sutherland |
George Sinclair (died 1582) was a Scottish nobleman, the 4th Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.
He was the son of John Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Caithness and Elizabeth, daughter of William Sutherland, 5th of Duffus. [1]
George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness resigned his earldom into the hands of Mary, Queen of Scots who in turn granted a charter to the earl's son and heir, John Sinclair, on 2 October 1545, under the reservation of life-rent and terce. He appears as a member of the Privy Council of Scotland and records of the Council show that for many years prior to 1553, there had been feuding between the Earl of Caithness and the Clan Mackay. The Council had ordered the Earl of Caithness on 18 September 1553 to meet with the Earl of Huntly who was Her Majesty's Lieutenant-General in the North, and the Bishop of Ross, at Inverness "under pain of rebellion". [1] He met with Mary, Queen of Scots in 1555 at Inverness in order to settle disorders in that part of the country. According to Roland Saint-Clair, the earl was required to bring his countrymen with him to the court which he either neglected or declined to do and as a result he was imprisoned at Inverness, Aberdeen and Edinburgh successively, and was not released until he had paid a considerable sum of money. [2] On 18 December 1556 George, Earl of Caithness received a remission under the Great Seal of Scotland for oppression of the lieges. He also received two charters for the office of Justicar from Portinculter to the Pentland Firth, which his predecessors had held, on 22 December 1561. [1]
On the night of the murder of David Rizzio on 9 March 1566, the Earl of Caithness was with the party who tried to rescue the Queen, but being outnumbered retired from the contest. Two days later the Queen escaped to Dunbar Castle with Lord Darnely where they were joined by their friends including the Earl of Caithness. [2] The Earl of Caithness's commission as Justiciary was extended on 14 May 1566. He was foreman of the trial of James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell for the murder of Lord Darnley, on 12 April 1567. [1] [3]
In 1570, the Battle of Torran-Roy took place between the forces of George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness and Alexander Gordon, 12th Earl of Sutherland. Caithness was initially defeated by Sutherland's vassals the Murrays of Aberscross, but he returned to besiege the Murrays at Dornoch after which several of them were beheaded. [4] The Earl of Caithness later imprisoned his son, the Master of Caithnes, for making peace with the Murrays. [5] The Master of Caithness died at Castle Sinclair Girnigoe in 1576. [3] [2] George, 4th Earl of Caithness also obtained a remission to imprison his younger brother David Sinclair in Castle Sinclair Girnigoe. [3]
George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness died at Edinburgh on 9 September 1582 and was buried in Rosslyn Chapel. [1] The grave lies at the west end of the north aisle. [6]
At his own request, his heart was extracted and encased in a leaden casket that was sent to Caithness and deposited at the church in Wick. On Barrogill Castle (Castle of Mey) there is an ancient carving of the arms of George Sincalir, 4th Earl of Caithness. [2]
George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness married Lady Elizabeth Graham, daughter of William Graham, 2nd Earl of Montrose, and had the following children: [3]
Clan Mackay is an ancient and once-powerful Highland Scottish clan from the far North of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old Kingdom of Moray.
Clan Sutherland also known as House of Sutherland is a Highland Scottish clan whose traditional territory is the shire of Sutherland in the far north of Scotland. The chief of the clan was also the powerful Earl of Sutherland, however in the early 16th century this title passed through marriage to a younger son of the chief of Clan Gordon. The current chief is Alistair Sutherland who holds the title Earl of Sutherland.
Clan Sinclair is a Highland Scottish clan which holds the lands of Caithness, the Orkney Islands, and the Lothians. The chiefs of the clan were the Barons of Roslin and later the Earls of Orkney and Earls of Caithness.
Castle Sinclair Girnigoe is located about 3 miles north of Wick on the east coast of Caithness, Scotland. It is considered to be one of the earliest seats of Clan Sinclair. It comprises the ruins of two castles: the 15th-century Castle Girnigoe; and the early 17th-century Castle Sinclair. They are designated as a scheduled monument. Lady Amanda Carruthers currently holds the sole title deeds to Castle Sinclair Girnigoe registration no #120439
Colonel Robert Munro of Foulis, also known as the Black Baron, was traditionally the 18th Baron of Foulis in Scotland. He was a soldier of fortune, who served in Germany under the banners of Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden. It is not certain how he got his epithet of the 'Black Baron', but quite possibly it was from the colour of his hair rather than any perceived martial ferocity. Although this Robert Munro is traditionally 18th Baron and 21st overall chief of the Clan Munro, he is only the 11th Munro chief that can be proved by contemporary evidence.
William Sinclair was a Scottish nobleman, the 2nd Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.
Jean Hepburn, Lady Darnley, Mistress of Caithness, Lady Morham was a Scottish noblewoman and a member of the Border clan of Hepburn. Her brother was James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. Jean's first husband was John Stewart, 1st Lord Darnley, an illegitimate half-brother of Queen Mary, which made Jean a double sister-in-law of the queen. Jean married three times. She was also Lady of Morham, having received in 1573 the barony of Morham and lands which had belonged to her mother, Lady Agnes Sinclair and was forfeited to the Crown subsequent to her brother, the Earl of Bothwell's attainder for treason.
John Sinclair was a Scottish nobleman, 3rd Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.
John Sutherland, was the 7th Earl of Sutherland and chief of the Clan Sutherland, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.
John Gordon, 11th Earl of Sutherland (1525–1567) was a Scottish magnate. John Gordon supported the chief of his family, his cousin the Earl of Huntly against the Earl of Moray. After Huntly's defeat at Corrichie, he went into exile, and shortly after his return to Scotland he was murdered by a kinswoman.
The Murrays of Aberscross were a minor noble Scottish family who were seated at Aberscross Castle, in the county of Sutherland, Scotland. The Murrays in Sutherland are recorded specifically as a clan in two Acts of the Scottish Parliament of the 16th century.
Donald Mackay, 11th of Strathnaver, was the eleventh chief of the ancient Clan Mackay, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.
The Battle of Torran-Roy was a Scottish clan battle that took place in the year 1570 in the county of Sutherland, Scotland. It was fought between the forces of Alexander Gordon, 12th Earl of Sutherland and the forces of George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness. The Earl of Sutherland's force consisted primarily of the Murrays of Aberscross who despite their name were not part of the Clan Murray in Atholl, but who were a sept of the Clan Sutherland, and who as the principal vassals of the Earl of Sutherland, were charged with the defense of the shire. The Earl of Caithness's forces consisted primarily of followers of Alexander Sutherland, 8th of Duffus who was a descendant of the old Sutherland Earls of Sutherland who had been ousted and replaced by the Gordons as earls in the early 16th-century.
John Sinclair, Master of Caithness was a Scottish nobleman.
George Sinclair was a Scottish nobleman, the 5th Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Scottish clan based in northern Scotland.
Elizabeth Sutherland, was the 10th Countess of Sutherland having succeeded to the Earldom of Sutherland after her brother John Sutherland, 9th Earl of Sutherland died in 1514.
Alexander Gordon, 12th Earl of Sutherland was a Scottish landowner.
Alexander Sutherland, 8th of Duffus was a member of the Scottish nobility and a cadet of the Clan Sutherland.
William Sutherland, 9th of Duffus was a member of the Scottish nobility and a cadet of the Clan Sutherland.
Eric Sutherland was the 4th Lord Duffus, member of the Scottish nobility and a cadet of the Clan Sutherland.
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