Uilleam, 5th Earl of Ross

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Uilleam, 5th Earl of Ross ( Anglicized William Ross, 5th Earl of Ross ) (* 1315 or 1316, † February 9, 1372 in Delny ) was a Scottish nobleman .

Origin and youth

Uilleam came from the Scottish Ross family , named after Ross in the Highlands . He was the eldest son of Aodh, 4th Earl of Ross and his first wife Maud Bruce . According to tradition, he was in exile in Norway when his father was killed in action against the English in 1333 during the Second Scottish War of Independence . On May 17, 1336, Uilleam officially assumed his heir as Earl of Ross .

Military service

In 1339 Ross played an important role in the retaking of Perth from the English. In October 1346, however, he got into the anger of King David II when he came with his army to Perth, the assembly point from where the king wanted to lead an army to attack England. Ross had Ranald MacRuaridh , the leader of the Hebridean contingent murdered in Perth , with whom he was fighting over lands in Kintail . He then left the Scottish army with his men and therefore did not take part in the Battle of Neville's Cross , in which the king was captured. There was never a conviction for the murder.

Opposition to the politics of the king

King David II was only able to obtain his release in 1357. According to an agreement dated May 8, 1358, Ross was to serve as hostage for the payment of the ransom for the king, but another hostage may have been held, as Ross participated in the Scottish parliaments on November 12, 1358 and October 26, 1359. As a powerful Northern Scottish magnate, Ross was allied with the Steward family , and together with his father-in-law John of Islay , Lord of the Isles , he was a member of the so-called Highland Party , which was in opposition to the king's policies.

Fearn Abbey in Ross-shire, newly built under Uilleam, 5th Earl of Ross

Descendants and inheritance

Ross had married Mary, a daughter of John of Islay. For this marriage he received a papal dispensation on May 25, 1342 . With Mary he had at least one son and two daughters:

Since his only son William had died childless before him, Ross put his half-brother Hugh of Balnagown as heir. In view of the opposition stance of Ross, however, King David II had arranged against his will before 1366 the marriage of his daughter Euphemia to Sir Walter Leslie, who was a reliable follower of the king. In 1370 Ross was finally forced to hand over the Ross Earldom and the reign of Skye to the Crown. He received the territories back as a fiefdom on the condition that Euphemia was his heir according to feudal law. When his brother-in-law Robert the Steward became the new Scottish King as Robert II in 1371 , Ross complained to him about this rule of succession. However, the new king retained the ruling. Ross's younger daughter, Janet, inherited the part of the Buchan inheritance that his uncle John Ross had acquired through marriage and which had passed to Uilleam Ross after his death. Ross was probably buried in the family foundation Fearn Abbey , whose monastery church was rebuilt under him.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , p. 161.
  2. ↑ Michael Penman: Robert the Bruce. King of the Scots . Yale University Press, New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-14872-5 , pp. 371 n69.
predecessor Office successor
Aodh Earl of Ross
1333-1372 		Euphemia
personal data
SURNAME Uilleam, 5th Earl of Ross
ALTERNATIVE NAMES William Ross, 5th Earl of Ross
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH 1315 or 1316
DATE OF DEATH February 9, 1372
Place of death Delny