William Sinclair (nobleman, † before 1303)
Sir William Sinclair (also de St Clair , † between 1299 and 1303) was a Scottish nobleman .
origin
William Sinclair came from the originally Anglo-Norman family Sinclair . He was a descendant of William de Sancto Claro , who during the reign of David I , the Barony of Roslin as a fief had received. William Sinclair's father of the same name William Sinclair died around 1270. Either his father or the younger William Sinclair had served in 1264 as sheriff of Haddington and in 1266 as sheriff of Linlithgow and Edinburgh .
Close confidante of Alexander III.
In 1279 and 1281 the younger William Sinclair is mentioned as the overseer of the education of the heir to the throne Alexander . After the death of the heir to the throne, the only son of the Scottish King Alexander III. In 1284 Sinclair took part in the meeting of the Scottish magnates, while Margaret , the king's granddaughter living in Norway, was recognized as the heir to the throne. Sinclair was probably one of the king's closest confidants. Shortly after the meeting of the magnates ended, he and two other envoys traveled to France to find a new wife for the widowed king. You chose Yolande de Dreux , the Alexander III. married a little later. After returning from the marriage mission, the King handed over the management of the important castles Edinburgh and Dumfries Castle to Sinclair .
Support of John Balliol in the succession dispute
After Alexander III. Sinclar had died in 1286 with no male heirs to the Guardians of Scotland as Sheriff of Dumfries and Justiciar of Galloway . He took part in the Parliament of Birgham in 1290, during which the marriage of the heir to the throne Margaret to the English heir to the throne Edward was decided. However, after Margaret died in October 1290 while crossing from Norway to Scotland, the Scottish throne was vacant and controversial among several aspirants to the throne . Sinclair supported John Balliol's claim to the throne . He was named by Balliol as a member of the court assembly which, under the chairmanship of the English King Edward I, was to decide on the claims of the aspirants to the throne. Together with numerous other Scottish nobles, Sinclair swore allegiance to the English king on June 13, 1291. He took part in all important meetings of the court assembly, the so-called Great Cause , and checked documents from the other candidates for Balliol. When the throne was finally awarded to Balliol, Sinclair testified to the oath of allegiance that the new Scottish king made to the English king as overlord on November 20, 1292. Balliol thanked him for his support by handing over land from which Sinclair had an annual income of 100 marks . Still, Sinclair was one of the barons who effectively took power in place of the king during a parliament in Stirling in 1295. Presumably he was also a member of the twelve-member government council appointed by parliament.
Role in war with England
When the war with England broke out in 1296 , Sinclair and numerous other Scottish magnates were captured by the English at the Battle of Dunbar . He was imprisoned at Gloucester Castle . Apparently Sinclair refused to swear allegiance to the English king as overlord of Scotland, so he remained in captivity. Apparently he was able to escape before 1302, because Walter Beauchamp , who died in 1302, was pardoned posthumously because he had not prevented Sinclair from escaping. However, Sinclair's further fate is unknown, so he likely died between 1300 and 1303.
Marriage and offspring
Sinclair is said to have married Agnes , a daughter of Patrick Dunbar, 6th Earl of Dunbar . But this is considered unlikely because an amice is mentioned as his widow. Probably with her, Sinclair had at least three sons and a daughter:
- Henry Sinclair († around 1330);
- William Sinclair († 1337);
- Gregory Sinclair;
- Annabel Sinclair.
Web links
- Fiona Watson: Sinclair, Sir William (d.1299X1303). 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
Individual evidence
- ^ AAM Duncan: Scotland: the making of the kingdom . In: The Edinburgh history of Scotland . tape 1 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 1975, ISBN 978-0-7486-2504-8 , pp. 588 .
- ^ Geoffrey WS Barrow: Robert Bruce and the Community of the Realm of Scotland . Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1965, p. 49.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sinclair, William |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Sinclair, Sir William; De St Clair, William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Scottish nobleman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 13th Century |
| DATE OF DEATH | between 1299 and 1303 |