Henry Sinclair (nobleman)
Sir Henry Sinclair of Roslin (also Henry St Clair , † around 1330) was a Scottish nobleman.
origin
Henry Sinclair came from the originally Anglo-Norman family Sinclair . He was the eldest son of William Sinclair , his mother probably being an amice , although his father was reportedly married to Agnes, a daughter of the Earl of Dunbar .
Role in the Scottish War of Independence
Like his father, young Henry swore allegiance to King Edward I of England as overlord of Scotland in 1292 . However, when the war with England broke out in 1296 , Henry, like his father, took part in the Battle of Dunbar on the Scottish side and was also taken prisoner by the English. He was imprisoned in St Briavels Castle and was released in 1299 as part of an exchange of prisoners against the English nobleman Sir William Fitzwarin . His father was apparently able to escape from captivity before 1302, but remained missing, so that Henry inherited his possessions, especially the feudal Barony Roslin around Roslin Castle in Midlothian . He now supported the English in Scotland and became Sheriff of Lanark in September 1305 as the successor to the rebellious Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick . On June 22, 1306, Sinclair, along with Sir Robert Keith and Sir Adam Gordon, vouched for the loyalty of William Lamberton , Bishop of St Andrews to the King of England. Between 1308 and 1309, Sinclair received money from the English crown so that he could keep the armistice with Robert Bruce, who in the meantime had declared himself King of Scotland as Robert I. Apparently Sinclair also served the English as a messenger. By October 1313 at the latest, however, he had changed sides and was now supporting Robert I. It is possible that he took part in the Battle of Bannockburn on the Scottish side in 1314 . In 1320 he sealed the Arbroath Declaration . In 1321 Sinclair became royal steward in Caithness, Northern Scotland . Since Sinclair had estates in central and southern Scotland, it is surprising that he was given this post in the far north of Scotland. Sinclair presumably received this office because his wife Alicia Fenton had inherited estates in Ross-shire , Northern Scotland . In 1328 the king granted him and his heirs an annual pension of 40 marks , which was perhaps the repayment of a loan by the king. The exact year of his death is unknown.
Marriage and offspring
From his marriage to Alicia Fenton, Sinclair had several children, including a daughter and at least one, probably two sons:
- William Sinclair († 1330)
- John Sinclair († 1330)
- Margaret Sinclair ⚭ (1) Thomas Stewart, 2nd Earl of Angus , ⚭ (2) John St. Clair of Herdmanston
His two sons probably both died in Spain in 1330 while accompanying Sir James Douglas , who was to transfer the heart of Robert I to the Holy Land . Sinclair's grandson William , the underage son of his eldest son William, then became his heir.
Web links
- Fiona Watson: Sir Henry Sinclair (dc 1330). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
- Sir Henry Sinclair of Roslin on thepeerage.com , accessed February 14, 2019.
Individual evidence
- ^ Barbara E. Crawford: Sinclair family (per. 1280 – c. 1500). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sinclair, Henry |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | St Clair, Henry |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Scottish nobleman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 13th Century |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 1330 |