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Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney

January 29, 2023

Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, Lord of Roslin (c. 1345 – c. 1400) was a Scottish and a Norwegian nobleman. Sinclair held the title Earl of Orkney (which refers to Norðreyjar rather than just the islands of Orkney) and was Lord High Admiral of Scotland under the King of Scotland. He was sometimes identified by another spelling of his surname, St. Clair. He was the grandfather of William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness, the builder of Rosslyn Chapel. He is best known today because of a modern legend that he took part in explorations of Greenland and North America almost 100 years before Christopher Columbus. William Thomson, in his book The New History of Orkney,[1] wrote: "It has been Earl Henry's singular fate to enjoy an ever-expanding posthumous reputation which has very little to do with anything he achieved in his lifetime."[2]

Henry Sinclair
Earl of Orkney
Baron of Roslin
(Top) Earl of Orkney and Baron of Roslin Coats of Arms. (Bottom) Statue of Henry Sinclair at the Isle of Noss lighthouse.
PredecessorEarldom of Orkney: Vacant
Baron of Roslin: Willliam St Clair
SuccessorHenry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney
Known forThe legend of him discovering North America 100 years before Christopher Columbus.
Bornc. 1345
Diedc. 1400
NationalityScottish
OfficesLord High Admiral of Scotland
Noble familyClan Sinclair

Biography

 
Rosslyn or Roslin Castle, seat of the Sinclairs who were Barons of Roslin, reconstruction image

Henry Sinclair was the son and heir of William Sinclair, Lord of Roslin, and his wife Isabella (Isobel) of Strathearn.[3] She was a daughter of Maol Ísa, Jarl of Orkney. Henry Sinclair's maternal grandfather had been deprived of much of his lands (the earldom of Strathearn being completely lost to the King of Scots).[4]

Sometime after 13 September 1358, Henry's father died, at which point Henry Sinclair succeeded as Baron of Roslin, Pentland and Cousland, a group of minor properties in Lothian.[5]

Although the Norwegian Jarldom of Orkney was not an inheritable position, successive appointments had operated as if it had been. After a vacancy lasting 18 years, three cousins – Alexander de L'Arde, Lord of Caithness; Malise Sparre, Lord of Skaldale; and Henry Sinclair – were rivals for the succession. Initially trialling de L'Arde as Captain of Orkney, King Haakon VI of Norway was quickly disappointed in de L'Arde's behaviour, and sacked him.[5]

On 2 August 1379, at Marstrand, near Tønsberg, Norway, Haakon chose Sinclair over Sparre, investing Sinclair with the Jarldom or Earldom in the Peerage of Scotland.[3][6][7] In return Henry pledged to pay a fee of 1000 nobles before St. Martin's Day (11 November), and, when called upon, serve the king on Orkney or elsewhere with 100 fully armed men for 3 months. It is unknown if Haakon VI ever attempted to call upon the troops pledged by Henry or if any of the fee was actually paid.[5]

As security for upholding the agreement the new jarl left hostages behind when he departed Norway for Orkney. Shortly before his death in summer 1380, the king permitted the hostages to return home.[8] In 1389, Sinclair attended the hailing of King Eric in Norway, pledging his oath of fealty. Historians have speculated that in 1391 Sinclair and his troops slew Malise Sparre near Scalloway, Tingwall parish, Shetland.[5][9]

Sinclair is later described as an "admiral of the seas" in the Genealogies of the Saintclaires of Roslin by Richard Augustine Hay. This refers to his position as the Lord High Admiral of Scotland while in service to the King of Scotland.[10] It is a title he is said to have inherited from his father William Sinclair in 1358 but it's more likely he accquired it much later in life.

It is not known when Henry Sinclair died. The Sinclair Diploma, written or at least commissioned by his grandson states: "...he retirit to the parts of Orchadie and josit them to the latter tyme of his life, and deit Erile of Orchadie, and for the defence of the country was slain there cruellie by his enemiis..." We also know that sometime in 1401: "The English invaded, burnt and spoiled certain islands of Orkney." This was part of an English retaliation for a Scottish attack on an English fleet near Aberdeen. The assumption is that Henry either died opposing this invasion, or was already dead.[4][5]

Henri Santo Claro (Henry St. Clair) signed a charter from King Robert III in January 1404. It is supposed that he died shortly after that although his son did not take the title until 1412. Therefore, he died somewhere between 1404 and 1412, killed in an attack on Orkney, possibly by English seamen.[11][5] Or in an attack from the south.[6]

According to Sir Robert Douglas, 6th Baronet, Sinclair had received the honours of the Orders of the Thistle, Saint Michael (Cockle) and the Golden Fleece.[12] However all these orders were created after Sinclair's death.

Marriage and issue

Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, married Jean Haliburton, daughter of Sir Walter de Haliburton, 1st Lord Haliburton of Dirleton, and had issue:[13][7]

  1. Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney (c. 1375–1422), m. Egidia Douglas, daughter of Sir William Douglas of Nithsdale and his wife Egidia, daughter of King Robert II
  2. John Sinclair, said to have married Ingeborg, a natural daughter of Waldemar, King of Denmark
  3. William Sinclair
  4. Elizabeth Sinclair (b. 1363), m. Sir John Drummond of Cargill
  5. Margaret Sinclair, m. James of Cragy, Laird of Hupe in Orkney
  6. Marjory Sinclair, m. David Menzies of Menzies, and Weem
  7. Bethoc Sinclair, m. William Borthwick of Borthwick

One of his descendants is American actor-director Olivia Wilde.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]

Fringe theories

In the 1980s, modern alternative histories of Earl Henry I Sinclair and Rosslyn Chapel began to be published. Popular books (often derided as pseudo-history) such as The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln (1982) and The Temple and the Lodge by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh (1989) appeared. Books by Timothy Wallace-Murphy and Andrew Sinclair soon followed from the early 1990s onwards.

The alleged voyage to North America

 
Monument to the alleged landing site of the Sinclair Expedition, Guysborough, Nova Scotia

One of the most common theories about Sinclair is that he was one of the first Europeans to visit North America in a voyage pre-dating Columbus. In 1784, he was identified by Johann Reinhold Forster[23] as possibly being the Prince Zichmni described in letters allegedly written around the year 1400 by the Zeno brothers of Venice, in which they describe a voyage throughout the North Atlantic under the command of Zichmni.[24]

The letters and the accompanying map, allegedly rediscovered and published in the early 16th century, are regarded by most historians as a hoax by the Zenos or their publishers.[24] Moreover, the identification of Zichmni as Henry Sinclair has not been accepted by most historians, although this identification and their overall authenticity are taken for granted by the supporters of the theory.

The claim that Henry Sinclair explored North America has been popularised by several other authors, notably by Frederick J. Pohl,[25] Andrew Sinclair,[26] Michael Bradley,[27] William S. Crooker (who claimed to have discovered Henry Sinclair's castle in Nova Scotia),[28] Steven Sora,[29] and more recently by David Goudsward.[30]

The claim requires the acceptance not only that the letters and map ascribed to the Zeno brothers and published in 1558 are authentic, but that the voyage described in the letters as taken by Zichmni around the year 1398 to Greenland actually reached North America and that Zichmni is Henry Sinclair. It is also bolstered by claims that carvings in Rosslyn Chapel represent American plants.[citation needed]

The name "Zichmni" is either totally fictitious, or quite possibly a transliteration error when converting from handwritten materials to type. Forster tried to relate this to the name "Sinclair",[23] while to Pohl "Prince Zichmni" was a misread rendering of the title "Prince of Orkney", which he attributed to Sinclair.[25]

One primary criticism of this theory is that if either a Sinclair or a Templar voyage reached the Americas, they did not, unlike Columbus, return with a historical record of their findings. In fact, there is no known published documentation from that era to support the theory that such a voyage took place. The physical evidence relies on speculative reasoning to support the theory, and all of it can be interpreted in other ways. For example, according to one historian, the carvings in Rosslyn Chapel may not be of American plants at all but are nothing more than stylized carvings of wheat and strawberries.[31]

Alleged Templar connections

Intertwined with the Sinclair voyage story is the claim that Henry Sinclair was a Knight Templar and that the voyage either was sponsored by or conducted on the behalf of the Templars, though the order was suppressed almost half a century before Henry's lifetime.

Knight and Lomas speculate that the Knights Templar discovered under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem a royal archive dating from King Solomon's times that stated that Phoenicians from Tyre voyaged to a westerly continent following a star called "La Merika" named after the Nasoraean Mandaean morning star.[32]: 76–77  According to Knight and Lomas, the Templars learned that to sail to that continent, they had to follow a star by the same name. Sinclair supposedly followed this route.[33]

The theory also makes use of the supposed Templar connection to explain the name Nova Scotia ("New Scotland" in Latin). It is based on the 18th-century tale that some Templars escaped the suppression of their order by fleeing to Scotland during the reign of Robert the Bruce[34] and fought in the Battle of Bannockburn.[35]

Claims persist that Rosslyn Chapel contains Templar imagery. Andrew Sinclair speculates that the grave slab now in the crypt is that of a Templar knight:[36] According to author Robert Lomas, the chapel also has an engraving depicting a knight templar holding the sword over a head of an initiate, supposedly to protect the secrets of the templars.[37] Rosslyn Chapel was built by Sir William St Clair, last St Clair Earl of Orkney, who was the grandson of Henry. According to Lomas, Sir William, the chapel builder, is also the direct ancestor of the first Grand Master of Masons of Scotland, also named William St Clair (Sinclair).[37]

According to Lomas, the Sinclairs and their French relatives, the St. Clairs, were instrumental in creating the Knights Templar. He claims that the founder of Templars Hugues de Payens was married to a sister of the Duke of Champaine (Henri de St. Clair),[38] who was a powerful broker of the first Crusade and had the political power to nominate the Pope, and to suggest the idea and empower it to the Pope.

However, a biography of Hughes de Payens by Thierry Leroy identifies his wife and the mother of his children as Elizabeth de Chappes. The book draws its information on the marriage from local church cartularies dealing chiefly with the disposition of the Grand Master's properties, the earliest alluding to Elizabeth as his wife in 1113, and others spanning de Payens’ lifetime, the period following his death and lastly her own death in 1170.[39]

Historians Mark Oxbrow, Ian Robertson,[40] Karen Ralls and Louise Yeoman[41] have each made it clear that the Sinclair family had no connection with the mediaeval Knights Templar. Karen Ralls has shown that among those testifying against the Templars at their 1309 trial were Henry and William Sinclair – an act inconsistent with any alleged support or membership.[42][43]

See also

References

  1. ^ William P.L. Thomson,The New History of Orkney (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2008).
  2. ^ "Orkneyjar – Earl Henry Sinclair". Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  3. ^ a b Crawford, Barbara E. "William Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, and His Family: A Study in the Politics of Survival" in Stringer, K. J. Essays on the Nobility of Medieval Scotland Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers, 2004. ISBN 1904607454. p. 234.
  4. ^ a b "Orkneyjar – Earl Henry Sinclair – The Documented History". Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d e f 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. Shortland Street, Auckland, New Zealand: H. Brett. pp. 96–102. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  6. ^ a b Paul, James Balfour (1909). The Scots Peerage. Vol. VI. Edinburgh: David Douglas. pp. 568–69. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  7. ^ a b Burke, Bernard (1869). Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. 59 Pall Mall, London: Harrison. p. 1016. Retrieved 14 June 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  8. ^ Authén Blom, Grethe (1992). Norge I Union på 1300-tallet Del II. Tapir Forlag. pp. 480, 533. ISBN 8251911176.
  9. ^ Paul, James Balfour (1909). The Scots Peerage : Founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom. Vol. VI. Edinburgh: David Douglas. p. 568–70. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  10. ^ Hay, Richard Augustine; Maidment, James (1835). Genealogie of the Sainteclaires of Rosslyn. Harvard University. Edinburgh, T. G. Stevenson.
  11. ^ Charter of King Robert III January 1404.
  12. ^ Douglas, Sir Robert (1764). The Peerage of Scotland. Edinburgh: R. Fleming. p. 531. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  13. ^ Paul, James Balfour (1904–1919). The Scots Peerage: Founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland. Edinburgh: Douglas. pp. 569–70. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  14. ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 120
  15. ^ Burke's Landed Gentry 19th edition, vol 1- The Kingdom of Scotland, ed. Peter Beauclerk Dewar, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2001, p. 884
  16. ^ Cockburn: Thomas H. Cockburn-Hood, The House of Cockburn of That Ilk and the Cadets Thereof… (Edinburgh, 1888), p. 151 and 152
  17. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cockburn, Henry Thomas" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 624–625.
  18. ^ Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 2, page 2342
  19. ^ "Leslie, Andrew" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  20. ^ The Complete Peerage by G. E. Cockayne, edited by Geoffrey H. White, FSA., FRHist.S., vol.xi, London, 1949, pp. 190–193 & notes.
  21. ^ https://books.google.com/books?id=ryANAAAAYAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s Leslie, Charles Joseph, Historical records of the family of Leslie from 1067 to 1868–9, vol.2, Edinburgh (1869), pp. 41–46]
  22. ^ Paul, James Balfour (1909). The Scots Peerage : Founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom. Vol. VI. Edinburgh: David Douglas. p. 568-571. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  23. ^ a b Johann Reinhold Forster, History of the Voyages and Discoveries Made in the North, Printed for G.G.J. and J. Robinson, London, 1786
  24. ^ a b T. J. Oleson, "ZENO, NICOLÒ," in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed 1 October 2014
  25. ^ a b Frederick J. Pohl, Prince Henry Sinclair: His Expedition to the New World in 1398 (London: Davis-Poynter, 1974; and published in America by Clarkson Potter, 1974).
  26. ^ Andrew Sinclair, The Sword and the Grail – The Story of the Grail, the Templars and the True Discovery of America (New York: Crown Publishers, 1992).
  27. ^ Michael Bradley Grail Knights of North America: On The Trail of the Grail Legacy in Canada and the United States (Hounslow Press: Toronto, 1998) and his earlier Holy Grail Across the Atlantic: The Secret History of Canadian Discovery and Exploration (Hounslow: 1988)
  28. ^ William S. Crooker Tracking Treasure – In Search of East Coast Bounty (Halifax, N.S., Nimbus, 1998).
  29. ^ Steven Sora, The Lost Colony of The Templars: Verrazano's Secret Mission To America (Destiny Books, 2004).
  30. ^ David Goudsward, The Westford Knight and Henry Sinclair: Evidence of a 14th Century Scottish Voyage To North America (McFarland & Company, 2010).
  31. ^ Historian Mark Oxbrow, quoted in "The ship of dreams" by Diane MaClean, Scotsman.com, 13 May 2005
  32. ^ Lomas, Robert; Knight, Christopher (1998). The Hiram Key: Pharaohs, Freemasonry, and the Discovery of the Secret Scrolls of Jesus. New York: Barnes & Noble.
  33. ^ Simon Jenkins, The Guardian, Friday 20 January 2006
  34. ^ Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas, The Second Messiah: Templars, the Turin Shroud and the Great Secret of Freemasonry, Fair Winds Press, 2001. ISBN 1931412766
  35. ^ Scotsman.com Heritage & Culture – Myths & Mysteries, 10 November 2005.
  36. ^ "Rosslyn, Templars, Gypsies and the Battle of Bannockburn". Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  37. ^ a b "Origins of Freemasonry". Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  38. ^ The claim that Hugues de Payens married Catherine St. Clair was made in Les Dossiers Secrets d'Henri Lobineau (1967), "Tableau Généalogique de Gisors, Guitry, Mareuil et Saint-Clair par Henri Lobineau" in Pierre Jarnac, Les Mystères de Rennes-le-Château, Mélanges Sulfureux (CERT, 1995).
  39. ^ Thierry Leroy, Hugues de Payns, chevalier champenois, fondateur de l'ordre des templiers (Troyes: edition de la Maison Boulanger, 1997).
  40. ^ "The Da Vinci Connection", Sunday Herald, 14 November 2004 6 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  41. ^ "Historian attacks Rosslyn Chapel for". Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  42. ^ Karen Ralls, The Templars and the Grail, Quest Books; 1st Quest edition (2003), p. 110. ISBN 0835608077; The Knights Templar in England, pp. 200f.
  43. ^ Processus factus contra Templarios in Scotia 17 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine, 1309, being the testimony against the Templars by Henry and William St Clair, translation available in Mark Oxbrow, Ian Robertson, Rosslyn and the Grail, p. 245–256.

Further reading

  • Earl Henry Sinclair's fictitious trip to America by Brian Smith, First published in New Orkney Antiquarian Journal, vol. 2, 2002
  • The Sinclair Saga, by Mark Finnan, 1999, Formac Press, ISBN 0887804667
  • Rosslyn: Guardian of the Secrets of the Holy Grail, by Tim Wallace-Murphy and Marilyn Hopkins, 1999, Harper–Collins Canada, ISBN 1862044937
  • Second Messiah: Templars, the Turin Shroud and the Great Secret of Freemasonry, by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, Fair Winds Press, 2001, ISBN 1931412766
  • "Of course the Chinese didn't discover America. But then nor did Columbus" by Simon Jenkins, 20 January 2006 article in The Guardian mentioning the La Merika theory among others
  • "The ship of dreams" by Diane MacLean, 13 May 2005, Scotsman.com
  • Renaissance Magazine #12, 1999
  • Brief biography in support of theory
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Jarl of Orkney
1379–1401 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Barony of Roslin
1358–1400 		Succeeded by
Military offices
Preceded by
Unknown
 Lord High Admiral of Scotland
?–1404 		Succeeded by

January 29, 2023
henry, sinclair, earl, orkney, lord, roslin, 1345, 1400, scottish, norwegian, nobleman, sinclair, held, title, earl, orkney, which, refers, norðreyjar, rather, than, just, islands, orkney, lord, high, admiral, scotland, under, king, scotland, sometimes, identi. Henry I Sinclair Earl of Orkney Lord of Roslin c 1345 c 1400 was a Scottish and a Norwegian nobleman Sinclair held the title Earl of Orkney which refers to Nordreyjar rather than just the islands of Orkney and was Lord High Admiral of Scotland under the King of Scotland He was sometimes identified by another spelling of his surname St Clair He was the grandfather of William Sinclair 1st Earl of Caithness the builder of Rosslyn Chapel He is best known today because of a modern legend that he took part in explorations of Greenland and North America almost 100 years before Christopher Columbus William Thomson in his book The New History of Orkney 1 wrote It has been Earl Henry s singular fate to enjoy an ever expanding posthumous reputation which has very little to do with anything he achieved in his lifetime 2 Henry SinclairEarl of OrkneyBaron of Roslin Top Earl of Orkney and Baron of Roslin Coats of Arms Bottom Statue of Henry Sinclair at the Isle of Noss lighthouse PredecessorEarldom of Orkney VacantBaron of Roslin Willliam St ClairSuccessorHenry II Sinclair Earl of OrkneyKnown forThe legend of him discovering North America 100 years before Christopher Columbus Bornc 1345Diedc 1400NationalityScottishOfficesLord High Admiral of ScotlandNoble familyClan Sinclair Contents 1 Biography 2 Marriage and issue 3 Fringe theories 3 1 The alleged voyage to North America 3 2 Alleged Templar connections 4 See also 5 References 6 Further readingBiography Edit Rosslyn or Roslin Castle seat of the Sinclairs who were Barons of Roslin reconstruction image Henry Sinclair was the son and heir of William Sinclair Lord of Roslin and his wife Isabella Isobel of Strathearn 3 She was a daughter of Maol Isa Jarl of Orkney Henry Sinclair s maternal grandfather had been deprived of much of his lands the earldom of Strathearn being completely lost to the King of Scots 4 Sometime after 13 September 1358 Henry s father died at which point Henry Sinclair succeeded as Baron of Roslin Pentland and Cousland a group of minor properties in Lothian 5 Although the Norwegian Jarldom of Orkney was not an inheritable position successive appointments had operated as if it had been After a vacancy lasting 18 years three cousins Alexander de L Arde Lord of Caithness Malise Sparre Lord of Skaldale and Henry Sinclair were rivals for the succession Initially trialling de L Arde as Captain of Orkney King Haakon VI of Norway was quickly disappointed in de L Arde s behaviour and sacked him 5 On 2 August 1379 at Marstrand near Tonsberg Norway Haakon chose Sinclair over Sparre investing Sinclair with the Jarldom or Earldom in the Peerage of Scotland 3 6 7 In return Henry pledged to pay a fee of 1000 nobles before St Martin s Day 11 November and when called upon serve the king on Orkney or elsewhere with 100 fully armed men for 3 months It is unknown if Haakon VI ever attempted to call upon the troops pledged by Henry or if any of the fee was actually paid 5 As security for upholding the agreement the new jarl left hostages behind when he departed Norway for Orkney Shortly before his death in summer 1380 the king permitted the hostages to return home 8 In 1389 Sinclair attended the hailing of King Eric in Norway pledging his oath of fealty Historians have speculated that in 1391 Sinclair and his troops slew Malise Sparre near Scalloway Tingwall parish Shetland 5 9 Sinclair is later described as an admiral of the seas in the Genealogies of the Saintclaires of Roslin by Richard Augustine Hay This refers to his position as the Lord High Admiral of Scotland while in service to the King of Scotland 10 It is a title he is said to have inherited from his father William Sinclair in 1358 but it s more likely he accquired it much later in life It is not known when Henry Sinclair died The Sinclair Diploma written or at least commissioned by his grandson states he retirit to the parts of Orchadie and josit them to the latter tyme of his life and deit Erile of Orchadie and for the defence of the country was slain there cruellie by his enemiis We also know that sometime in 1401 The English invaded burnt and spoiled certain islands of Orkney This was part of an English retaliation for a Scottish attack on an English fleet near Aberdeen The assumption is that Henry either died opposing this invasion or was already dead 4 5 Henri Santo Claro Henry St Clair signed a charter from King Robert III in January 1404 It is supposed that he died shortly after that although his son did not take the title until 1412 Therefore he died somewhere between 1404 and 1412 killed in an attack on Orkney possibly by English seamen 11 5 Or in an attack from the south 6 According to Sir Robert Douglas 6th Baronet Sinclair had received the honours of the Orders of the Thistle Saint Michael Cockle and the Golden Fleece 12 However all these orders were created after Sinclair s death Marriage and issue EditHenry I Sinclair Earl of Orkney married Jean Haliburton daughter of Sir Walter de Haliburton 1st Lord Haliburton of Dirleton and had issue 13 7 Henry II Sinclair Earl of Orkney c 1375 1422 m Egidia Douglas daughter of Sir William Douglas of Nithsdale and his wife Egidia daughter of King Robert II John Sinclair said to have married Ingeborg a natural daughter of Waldemar King of Denmark William Sinclair Elizabeth Sinclair b 1363 m Sir John Drummond of Cargill Margaret Sinclair m James of Cragy Laird of Hupe in Orkney Marjory Sinclair m David Menzies of Menzies and Weem Bethoc Sinclair m William Borthwick of BorthwickOne of his descendants is American actor director Olivia Wilde 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Fringe theories EditIn the 1980s modern alternative histories of Earl Henry I Sinclair and Rosslyn Chapel began to be published Popular books often derided as pseudo history such as The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Michael Baigent Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln 1982 and The Temple and the Lodge by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh 1989 appeared Books by Timothy Wallace Murphy and Andrew Sinclair soon followed from the early 1990s onwards The alleged voyage to North America Edit Monument to the alleged landing site of the Sinclair Expedition Guysborough Nova Scotia One of the most common theories about Sinclair is that he was one of the first Europeans to visit North America in a voyage pre dating Columbus In 1784 he was identified by Johann Reinhold Forster 23 as possibly being the Prince Zichmni described in letters allegedly written around the year 1400 by the Zeno brothers of Venice in which they describe a voyage throughout the North Atlantic under the command of Zichmni 24 The letters and the accompanying map allegedly rediscovered and published in the early 16th century are regarded by most historians as a hoax by the Zenos or their publishers 24 Moreover the identification of Zichmni as Henry Sinclair has not been accepted by most historians although this identification and their overall authenticity are taken for granted by the supporters of the theory The claim that Henry Sinclair explored North America has been popularised by several other authors notably by Frederick J Pohl 25 Andrew Sinclair 26 Michael Bradley 27 William S Crooker who claimed to have discovered Henry Sinclair s castle in Nova Scotia 28 Steven Sora 29 and more recently by David Goudsward 30 The claim requires the acceptance not only that the letters and map ascribed to the Zeno brothers and published in 1558 are authentic but that the voyage described in the letters as taken by Zichmni around the year 1398 to Greenland actually reached North America and that Zichmni is Henry Sinclair It is also bolstered by claims that carvings in Rosslyn Chapel represent American plants citation needed The name Zichmni is either totally fictitious or quite possibly a transliteration error when converting from handwritten materials to type Forster tried to relate this to the name Sinclair 23 while to Pohl Prince Zichmni was a misread rendering of the title Prince of Orkney which he attributed to Sinclair 25 One primary criticism of this theory is that if either a Sinclair or a Templar voyage reached the Americas they did not unlike Columbus return with a historical record of their findings In fact there is no known published documentation from that era to support the theory that such a voyage took place The physical evidence relies on speculative reasoning to support the theory and all of it can be interpreted in other ways For example according to one historian the carvings in Rosslyn Chapel may not be of American plants at all but are nothing more than stylized carvings of wheat and strawberries 31 Alleged Templar connections Edit Intertwined with the Sinclair voyage story is the claim that Henry Sinclair was a Knight Templar and that the voyage either was sponsored by or conducted on the behalf of the Templars though the order was suppressed almost half a century before Henry s lifetime Knight and Lomas speculate that the Knights Templar discovered under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem a royal archive dating from King Solomon s times that stated that Phoenicians from Tyre voyaged to a westerly continent following a star called La Merika named after the Nasoraean Mandaean morning star 32 76 77 According to Knight and Lomas the Templars learned that to sail to that continent they had to follow a star by the same name Sinclair supposedly followed this route 33 The theory also makes use of the supposed Templar connection to explain the name Nova Scotia New Scotland in Latin It is based on the 18th century tale that some Templars escaped the suppression of their order by fleeing to Scotland during the reign of Robert the Bruce 34 and fought in the Battle of Bannockburn 35 Claims persist that Rosslyn Chapel contains Templar imagery Andrew Sinclair speculates that the grave slab now in the crypt is that of a Templar knight 36 According to author Robert Lomas the chapel also has an engraving depicting a knight templar holding the sword over a head of an initiate supposedly to protect the secrets of the templars 37 Rosslyn Chapel was built by Sir William St Clair last St Clair Earl of Orkney who was the grandson of Henry According to Lomas Sir William the chapel builder is also the direct ancestor of the first Grand Master of Masons of Scotland also named William St Clair Sinclair 37 According to Lomas the Sinclairs and their French relatives the St Clairs were instrumental in creating the Knights Templar He claims that the founder of Templars Hugues de Payens was married to a sister of the Duke of Champaine Henri de St Clair 38 who was a powerful broker of the first Crusade and had the political power to nominate the Pope and to suggest the idea and empower it to the Pope However a biography of Hughes de Payens by Thierry Leroy identifies his wife and the mother of his children as Elizabeth de Chappes The book draws its information on the marriage from local church cartularies dealing chiefly with the disposition of the Grand Master s properties the earliest alluding to Elizabeth as his wife in 1113 and others spanning de Payens lifetime the period following his death and lastly her own death in 1170 39 Historians Mark Oxbrow Ian Robertson 40 Karen Ralls and Louise Yeoman 41 have each made it clear that the Sinclair family had no connection with the mediaeval Knights Templar Karen Ralls has shown that among those testifying against the Templars at their 1309 trial were Henry and William Sinclair an act inconsistent with any alleged support or membership 42 43 See also EditZeno map Zeno brothers Westford Knight Knights Templar legends Discoverers of the New World Barony of Roslin Lord Sinclair Earl of Caithness Lord HerdmanstonReferences Edit William P L Thomson The New History of Orkney Edinburgh Birlinn 2008 Orkneyjar Earl Henry Sinclair Retrieved 13 December 2015 a b Crawford Barbara E William Sinclair Earl of Orkney and His Family A Study in the Politics of Survival in Stringer K J Essays on the Nobility of Medieval Scotland Edinburgh John Donald Publishers 2004 ISBN 1904607454 p 234 a b Orkneyjar Earl Henry Sinclair The Documented History Retrieved 13 December 2015 a b c d e f 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 Shortland Street Auckland New Zealand H Brett pp 96 102 Retrieved 8 February 2021 a b Paul James Balfour 1909 The Scots Peerage Vol VI Edinburgh David Douglas pp 568 69 Retrieved 8 February 2021 a b Burke Bernard 1869 Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire 59 Pall Mall London Harrison p 1016 Retrieved 14 June 2021 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location link Authen Blom Grethe 1992 Norge I Union pa 1300 tallet Del II Tapir Forlag pp 480 533 ISBN 8251911176 Paul James Balfour 1909 The Scots Peerage Founded on Wood s ed of Sir Robert Douglas s Peerage of Scotland containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom Vol VI Edinburgh David Douglas p 568 70 Retrieved 12 June 2021 Hay Richard Augustine Maidment James 1835 Genealogie of the Sainteclaires of Rosslyn Harvard University Edinburgh T G Stevenson Charter of King Robert III January 1404 Douglas Sir Robert 1764 The Peerage of Scotland Edinburgh R Fleming p 531 Retrieved 7 February 2021 Paul James Balfour 1904 1919 The Scots Peerage Founded on Wood s ed of Sir Robert Douglas s Peerage of Scotland Edinburgh Douglas pp 569 70 Retrieved 19 January 2019 Burke s Peerage Baronetage and Knightage 107th edition vol 1 ed Charles Mosley Burke s Peerage Ltd 2003 p 120 Burke s Landed Gentry 19th edition vol 1 The Kingdom of Scotland ed Peter Beauclerk Dewar Burke s Peerage Ltd 2001 p 884 Cockburn Thomas H Cockburn Hood The House of Cockburn of That Ilk and the Cadets Thereof Edinburgh 1888 p 151 and 152 Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Cockburn Henry Thomas Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 6 11th ed Cambridge University Press pp 624 625 Charles Mosley editor Burke s Peerage Baronetage amp Knightage 107th edition 3 volumes Wilmington Delaware U S A Burke s Peerage Genealogical Books Ltd 2003 volume 2 page 2342 Leslie Andrew Dictionary of National Biography London Smith Elder amp Co 1885 1900 The Complete Peerage by G E Cockayne edited by Geoffrey H White FSA FRHist S vol xi London 1949 pp 190 193 amp notes https books google com books id ryANAAAAYAAJ amp source gbs navlinks s Leslie Charles Joseph Historical records of the family of Leslie from 1067 to 1868 9 vol 2 Edinburgh 1869 pp 41 46 Paul James Balfour 1909 The Scots Peerage Founded on Wood s ed of Sir Robert Douglas s Peerage of Scotland containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom Vol VI Edinburgh David Douglas p 568 571 Retrieved 12 June 2021 a b Johann Reinhold Forster History of the Voyages and Discoveries Made in the North Printed for G G J and J Robinson London 1786 a b T J Oleson ZENO NICOLO in Dictionary of Canadian Biography vol 1 University of Toronto Universite Laval 2003 accessed 1 October 2014 a b Frederick J Pohl Prince Henry Sinclair His Expedition to the New World in 1398 London Davis Poynter 1974 and published in America by Clarkson Potter 1974 Andrew Sinclair The Sword and the Grail The Story of the Grail the Templars and the True Discovery of America New York Crown Publishers 1992 Michael Bradley Grail Knights of North America On The Trail of the Grail Legacy in Canada and the United States Hounslow Press Toronto 1998 and his earlier Holy Grail Across the Atlantic The Secret History of Canadian Discovery and Exploration Hounslow 1988 William S Crooker Tracking Treasure In Search of East Coast Bounty Halifax N S Nimbus 1998 Steven Sora The Lost Colony of The Templars Verrazano s Secret Mission To America Destiny Books 2004 David Goudsward The Westford Knight and Henry Sinclair Evidence of a 14th Century Scottish Voyage To North America McFarland amp Company 2010 Historian Mark Oxbrow quoted in The ship of dreams by Diane MaClean Scotsman com 13 May 2005 Lomas Robert Knight Christopher 1998 The Hiram Key Pharaohs Freemasonry and the Discovery of the Secret Scrolls of Jesus New York Barnes amp Noble Simon Jenkins The Guardian Friday 20 January 2006 Christopher Knight amp Robert Lomas The Second Messiah Templars the Turin Shroud and the Great Secret of Freemasonry Fair Winds Press 2001 ISBN 1931412766 Scotsman com Heritage amp Culture Myths amp Mysteries 10 November 2005 Rosslyn Templars Gypsies and the Battle of Bannockburn Retrieved 13 December 2015 a b Origins of Freemasonry Retrieved 13 December 2015 The claim that Hugues de Payens married Catherine St Clair was made in Les Dossiers Secrets d Henri Lobineau 1967 Tableau Genealogique de Gisors Guitry Mareuil et Saint Clair par Henri Lobineau in Pierre Jarnac Les Mysteres de Rennes le Chateau Melanges Sulfureux CERT 1995 Thierry Leroy Hugues de Payns chevalier champenois fondateur de l ordre des templiers Troyes edition de la Maison Boulanger 1997 The Da Vinci Connection Sunday Herald 14 November 2004 Archived 6 April 2006 at the Wayback Machine Historian attacks Rosslyn Chapel for Retrieved 13 December 2015 Karen Ralls The Templars and the Grail Quest Books 1st Quest edition 2003 p 110 ISBN 0835608077 The Knights Templar in England pp 200f Processus factus contra Templarios in Scotia Archived 17 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine 1309 being the testimony against the Templars by Henry and William St Clair translation available in Mark Oxbrow Ian Robertson Rosslyn and the Grail p 245 256 Further reading EditEarl Henry Sinclair s fictitious trip to America by Brian Smith First published in New Orkney Antiquarian Journal vol 2 2002 The Sinclair Saga by Mark Finnan 1999 Formac Press ISBN 0887804667 Rosslyn Guardian of the Secrets of the Holy Grail by Tim Wallace Murphy and Marilyn Hopkins 1999 Harper Collins Canada ISBN 1862044937 Second Messiah Templars the Turin Shroud and the Great Secret of Freemasonry by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas Fair Winds Press 2001 ISBN 1931412766 Of course the Chinese didn t discover America But then nor did Columbus by Simon Jenkins 20 January 2006 article in The Guardian mentioning the La Merika theory among others The ship of dreams by Diane MacLean 13 May 2005 Scotsman com The Sinclair Voyage to America Renaissance Magazine 12 1999 Brief biography in support of theoryPeerage of ScotlandPreceded byErengisle Suneson Jarl of Orkney1379 1401 Succeeded byHenry SinclairPreceded byWilliam St Clair Barony of Roslin1358 1400 Succeeded byHenry SinclairMilitary officesPreceded byUnknown Lord High Admiral of Scotland 1404 Succeeded byGeorge Crichton 1st Earl of Caithness Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Henry I Sinclair Earl of Orkney amp oldid 1134215198, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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