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Earl of Caithness

August 28, 2023

Earl of Caithness is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland, and it has a very complex history. Its first grant, in the modern sense as to have been counted in strict lists of peerages, is now generally held to have taken place in favor of Maol Íosa V, Earl of Strathearn, in 1334, although in the true circumstances of 14th century, this presumably was just a recognition of his hereditary right to the ancient earldom/mormaership of Caithness. The next year, however, all of his titles were declared forfeit for treason.

Earldom of Caithness
Creation datec. 1334
PeeragePeerage of Scotland
First holderMaol Íosa V, Earl of Strathearn
Present holderMalcolm Sinclair, 20th Earl of Caithness
Heir apparentJames Richard Sinclair, Lord Berriedale
Remainder toheirs general of the body of the grantee
Subsidiary titlesLord Berriedale
Seat(s)London
Former seat(s)Castle Sinclair Girnigoe

History Edit

Earlier, Caithness had been intermittently held, presumably always as fief of Scotland, by the Norse earls of Orkney, at least since the days of the childhood of Thorfinn Sigurdsson in c.1020, but possibly already several decades before. The modern reconstruction of holders of peerage earldoms do not usually include those of Mormaerdom of Caithness, although there is no essential difference between them and, for example, those of mormaers of Lennox, mormaers of Strathearn and mormaers of Angus.

The next grant after Maol Íosa was to David Stewart, a younger son of Robert II of Scotland. His heiress, Euphemia, resigned the title in 1390 in favour of her uncle Walter, 1st Earl of Atholl. Walter himself resigned the title in 1428, in favour of his son Allan, but he retained the earldom of Atholl for himself. Upon Allan's death, Walter again came to hold both earldoms. However, both were lost when he was executed for high treason in 1437, his titles being forfeit.

The third creation of the title was for Sir George Crichton in 1452, but he surrendered the title in the same year.[1] The final creation of the earldom was made in 1455 for William Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Orkney.[2] He surrendered the Orkney title and all associated lands to James III in 1470, in return for the Castle of Ravenscraig, in Fife. James III had in 1469 received the rights of the king of Norway to Orkney territories as pledge of dowry of his wife Margaret of Denmark. In this way, the Scottish crown tightened its grip on Orkney and Shetland, a former Norwegian territory, by moving all other important holders away. Six years later, Earl William wished to disinherit his eldest son, who was known as "the Waster". Therefore, so that his earldom would not pass to him, he resigned the title in favour of his second son from his second marriage, another William.[3] General Arthur St. Clair was reportedly descended from George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness.[4]

George Sinclair, 6th Earl of Caithness, was the last earl to cause a disturbance in the normal succession of the title. In 1672, he agreed that, at his death, all of his lands and titles would pass to Sir John Campbell, who was his creditor. In 1677, the sixth earl died, and King Charles II granted him a patent creating him Earl of Caithness. Later, however, the sixth earl's heir, also named George, was confirmed in his titles by the law. Therefore, in order to compensate for the loss of the earldom, Charles II created Campbell Earl of Breadalbane and Holland.[5][6][7] Thereafter, the earldom of Caithness has passed solely within the Sinclair family, without any further resignations or other irregularities.

The Earl of Caithness also holds the title of Lord Berriedale, which was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1455. That title is used as a courtesy title for the earl's eldest son and heir.

Earls of Caithness, First Creation (c. 1334) Edit

Earls of Caithness, Second Creation (c. 1375) Edit

Earls of Caithness, Third Creation (1452) Edit

Earls of Caithness, Fourth Creation (1455) Edit

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Alexander James Richard Sinclair, Lord Berriedale (born 1981)

References Edit

  1. ^ Crichton, Sir William, Lord Crichton (d 1454). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. 28 November 2017. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780192683120.013.6701.
  2. ^ Sinclair, Sir William, third Earl of Orkney and first Earl of Caithness (1404?–1480). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. 28 November 2017. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780192683120.013.25635.
  3. ^ Saint-Clair, Roland William (1898). The Saint-Clairs of the Isles; being a history of the sea-kings of Orkney and their Scottish successors of the sirname of Sinclair. Auckland, New Zealand: H. Brett. pp. 112-126 and 186. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  4. ^ Morrison, Allison Leonard (1896). "Chapter III". The History of the Sinclair Family in Europe and America for Eleven Hundred Years. Boston: Damrell & Upham. p. 40. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  5. ^ Henderson, John W.S (1884). Caithness Family History. Edinburgh: David Douglas. pp. 7-9. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  6. ^ Anderson, William (1862), The Scottish nation: or, The surnames, families, literature, honours, and biographical history of the people of Scotland, vol. 1, Fullarton, pp. 524–525, retrieved 21 February 2021
  7. ^ Way, George of Plean; Squire, Romilly of Rubislaw (1994). Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 322–323. ISBN 0004705475.

External links Edit

  • Hesilrige, Arthur G. M. (1921). Debrett's Peerage and Titles of courtesy. London: London: Dean & son, limited. p. 162.

August 28, 2023
earl, caithness, title, that, been, created, several, times, peerage, scotland, very, complex, history, first, grant, modern, sense, have, been, counted, strict, lists, peerages, generally, held, have, taken, place, favor, maol, Íosa, earl, strathearn, 1334, a. Earl of Caithness is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland and it has a very complex history Its first grant in the modern sense as to have been counted in strict lists of peerages is now generally held to have taken place in favor of Maol Iosa V Earl of Strathearn in 1334 although in the true circumstances of 14th century this presumably was just a recognition of his hereditary right to the ancient earldom mormaership of Caithness The next year however all of his titles were declared forfeit for treason Earldom of CaithnessCreation datec 1334PeeragePeerage of ScotlandFirst holderMaol Iosa V Earl of StrathearnPresent holderMalcolm Sinclair 20th Earl of CaithnessHeir apparentJames Richard Sinclair Lord BerriedaleRemainder toheirs general of the body of the granteeSubsidiary titlesLord BerriedaleSeat s LondonFormer seat s Castle Sinclair Girnigoe Contents 1 History 2 Earls of Caithness First Creation c 1334 3 Earls of Caithness Second Creation c 1375 4 Earls of Caithness Third Creation 1452 5 Earls of Caithness Fourth Creation 1455 6 References 6 1 External linksHistory EditEarlier Caithness had been intermittently held presumably always as fief of Scotland by the Norse earls of Orkney at least since the days of the childhood of Thorfinn Sigurdsson in c 1020 but possibly already several decades before The modern reconstruction of holders of peerage earldoms do not usually include those of Mormaerdom of Caithness although there is no essential difference between them and for example those of mormaers of Lennox mormaers of Strathearn and mormaers of Angus The next grant after Maol Iosa was to David Stewart a younger son of Robert II of Scotland His heiress Euphemia resigned the title in 1390 in favour of her uncle Walter 1st Earl of Atholl Walter himself resigned the title in 1428 in favour of his son Allan but he retained the earldom of Atholl for himself Upon Allan s death Walter again came to hold both earldoms However both were lost when he was executed for high treason in 1437 his titles being forfeit The third creation of the title was for Sir George Crichton in 1452 but he surrendered the title in the same year 1 The final creation of the earldom was made in 1455 for William Sinclair 3rd Earl of Orkney 2 He surrendered the Orkney title and all associated lands to James III in 1470 in return for the Castle of Ravenscraig in Fife James III had in 1469 received the rights of the king of Norway to Orkney territories as pledge of dowry of his wife Margaret of Denmark In this way the Scottish crown tightened its grip on Orkney and Shetland a former Norwegian territory by moving all other important holders away Six years later Earl William wished to disinherit his eldest son who was known as the Waster Therefore so that his earldom would not pass to him he resigned the title in favour of his second son from his second marriage another William 3 General Arthur St Clair was reportedly descended from George Sinclair 4th Earl of Caithness 4 George Sinclair 6th Earl of Caithness was the last earl to cause a disturbance in the normal succession of the title In 1672 he agreed that at his death all of his lands and titles would pass to Sir John Campbell who was his creditor In 1677 the sixth earl died and King Charles II granted him a patent creating him Earl of Caithness Later however the sixth earl s heir also named George was confirmed in his titles by the law Therefore in order to compensate for the loss of the earldom Charles II created Campbell Earl of Breadalbane and Holland 5 6 7 Thereafter the earldom of Caithness has passed solely within the Sinclair family without any further resignations or other irregularities The Earl of Caithness also holds the title of Lord Berriedale which was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1455 That title is used as a courtesy title for the earl s eldest son and heir Earls of Caithness First Creation c 1334 EditMaol Iosa V Earl of Strathearn died before 1353 forfeit 1335 Earls of Caithness Second Creation c 1375 EditDavid Stewart 1st Earl of Caithness died before 1389 Euphemia Stewart 2nd Countess of Caithness died 1434 resigned 1390 Walter Stewart 3rd Earl of Caithness 1st Earl of Atholl died 1437 resigned c 1428 Allan Stewart 4th Earl of Caithness died 1431 Walter Stewart 3rd Earl of Caithness 1st Earl of Atholl died 1437 forfeit 1437 Earls of Caithness Third Creation 1452 EditGeorge Crichton 1st Earl of Caithness died 1455 resigned 1452 Earls of Caithness Fourth Creation 1455 EditWilliam Sinclair 1st Earl of Caithness died 1484 resigned 1476 William Sinclair 2nd Earl of Caithness died 1513 John Sinclair 3rd Earl of Caithness died 1529 George Sinclair 4th Earl of Caithness died 1582 resigned 1545 John Sinclair Master of Caithness c 1543 Sep 1575 George Sinclair 5th Earl of Caithness 1566 1643 George Sinclair 6th Earl of Caithness died 1677 resigned 1672 John Campbell 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland 1633 1717 resigned 1681 George Sinclair 7th Earl of Caithness died 1698 John Sinclair 8th Earl of Caithness died 1705 Alexander Sinclair 9th Earl of Caithness 1685 1765 William Sinclair 10th Earl of Caithness 1727 1779 John Sinclair 11th Earl of Caithness 1757 1789 James Sinclair 12th Earl of Caithness 1766 1823 Alexander Campbell Sinclair 13th Earl of Caithness 1790 1855 James Sinclair 14th Earl of Caithness 1821 1881 George Philips Alexander Sinclair 15th Earl of Caithness 1858 1889 James Augustus Sinclair 16th Earl of Caithness 1827 1891 John Sutherland Sinclair 17th Earl of Caithness 1857 1914 Norman Macleod Sinclair Buchan 18th Earl of Caithness 1862 1947 James Roderick Sinclair 19th Earl of Caithness 1906 1965 Malcolm Ian Sinclair 20th Earl of Caithness born 1948 elected to remain in the House of Lords in 1999 The heir apparent is the present holder s son Alexander James Richard Sinclair Lord Berriedale born 1981 References Edit Crichton Sir William Lord Crichton d 1454 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press 28 November 2017 doi 10 1093 odnb 9780192683120 013 6701 Sinclair Sir William third Earl of Orkney and first Earl of Caithness 1404 1480 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press 28 November 2017 doi 10 1093 odnb 9780192683120 013 25635 Saint Clair Roland William 1898 The Saint Clairs of the Isles being a history of the sea kings of Orkney and their Scottish successors of the sirname of Sinclair Auckland New Zealand H Brett pp 112 126 and 186 Retrieved 21 February 2021 Morrison Allison Leonard 1896 Chapter III The History of the Sinclair Family in Europe and America for Eleven Hundred Years Boston Damrell amp Upham p 40 Retrieved 21 February 2021 Henderson John W S 1884 Caithness Family History Edinburgh David Douglas pp 7 9 Retrieved 21 February 2021 Anderson William 1862 The Scottish nation or The surnames families literature honours and biographical history of the people of Scotland vol 1 Fullarton pp 524 525 retrieved 21 February 2021 Way George of Plean Squire Romilly of Rubislaw 1994 Collins Scottish Clan amp Family Encyclopedia HarperCollins Publishers pp 322 323 ISBN 0004705475 External links Edit Hesilrige Arthur G M 1921 Debrett s Peerage and Titles of courtesy London London Dean amp son limited p 162 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Earl of Caithness amp oldid 1172146500, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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