George Crichton, 1st Earl of Caithness (''ca.'' 1409 – August 1454/1455), was a Scottish peer. Succeeding his father as sheriff of

Linlithgowshire West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...

, he was knighted before 1438. In 1441 he was

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to the

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

to negotiate the marriage of James II's sister

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

. He later served as

Lord High Admiral of Scotland The Lord High Admiral of Scotland was one of the Great Officers of State of the Kingdom of Scotland before the Union with England in 1707. The office was one of considerable power, also known as ''Royal Scottish Admiralty'', including command ...

, sheriff of

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, and Keeper of

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...

Life

The elder son of Stephen Crichton of Cairns,

Edinburghshire Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh ...

, who died in 1434, Crichton built up an estate mostly in south-west Scotland and

Lothian Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...

. He was sometimes called "of Blackness", in

, which became his principal estate, and sometimes "of Cairns".Alan R. Borthwick, 'George Crichton of Cairns, earl of Caithness (d. 1454)', in 'Crichton, William, of that ilk, first Lord Crichton (d. 1453), administrator and courtier', ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press, 200
online edition
accessed 2 January 2011 (subscription needed) Crichton married firstly, about 1425, a daughter of Sir William Douglas of Strathbrock, by whom he had a son, James. About 1450, he married secondly Janet, a daughter of Sir William Borthwick of that Ilk, who was the widow of Sir James Douglas of Dalkeith and also of Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy. In 1454 their daughter Janet married

Robert Maxwell, 2nd Lord Maxwell Earl of Nithsdale was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1620 for Robert Maxwell, 9th Lord Maxwell, with remainder to heirs male. He was made Lord Maxwell, Eskdale and Carlyle at the same time. The title of Lord Maxwell had be ...

(who died ''c.'' 1485). He succeeded his father as sheriff of Linlithgowshire and was knighted before 1438. In 1441 he was sent as an

to the

Duchy of Brittany The Duchy of Brittany ( br, Dugelezh Breizh, ; french: Duché de Bretagne) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of Europe, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, to negotiate the marriage of James II's sister

. He witnessed some crown charters during his cousin William Crichton's first term of office as

Lord Chancellor of Scotland The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, formally the Lord High Chancellor, was a Great Officer of State in the Kingdom of Scotland. Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower s ...

, and was appointed as

in 1448. Following the fall of the Livingstons, Crichton was appointed as sheriff of

and as Keeper of

. By the end of 1452 he was also Justiciar south of the

Forth Forth or FORTH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine * ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008 * ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw * Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...

. In June 1452 he was created

Earl of Caithness 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 ...

. He then began to

entail In English common law, fee tail or entail is a form of trust established by deed or settlement which restricts the sale or inheritance of an estate in real property and prevents the property from being sold, devised by will, or otherwise alien ...

his property to prevent his son, James Crichton, from succeeding to his estates and title. In retaliation, James imprisoned his father in

Blackness Castle Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by Sir George Crichton in the 1440s. At this time, Blackne ...

, but he was rescued by the King. A compromise settlement was agreed, under which James would inherit the ancestral estate of Cairns and also received from the Scottish crown some land in

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

. The rest of Crichton's property, as well as his Earldom, were to go to the crown when he died, which he did in August 1454.

Sources

1
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caithness, George Crichton, 1st Earl Of 1409 births 1455 deaths

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

Lord High Admirals of Scotland 15th-century Scottish military personnel Peers created by James II of Scotland