John Sinclair, Master of Caithness (died 1576) was a Scottish nobleman.

Early life

John Sinclair, Master of Caithness was the eldest son of

George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness George Sinclair (died 1582) was a Scottish nobleman, the 4th Earl of Caithness and chief of the Clan Sinclair, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands. Early life He was the son of John Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Caithness and Elizabeth, daughter ...

and his wife Lady Elizabeth Graham, daughter of

William Graham, 2nd Earl of Montrose William Graham, 2nd Earl of Montrose (1492 – 24 May 1571) was a Scottish nobleman and statesman, who successfully steered a moderate course through the treacherous waters of mid-16th century Scottish politics. Origins Graham was the eldes ...

Master of Caithness

John Sinclair, Master of Caithness received a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

for the earldom of Caithness and to his male heirs dated 2 October 1545. In July 1569 the Master of Caithness besieged

Lord Oliphant Lord Oliphant was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created twice and de facto under Peerage Law a third time. The first creation is in abeyance of the law, the second extinct and the third creation is dormant. The title was certainly ...

and his servants for 8 days in Old Wick or "Auldwick" castle near

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...

. His father, George, Earl of Caithness had feuded with the

Earl of Sutherland Earl of Sutherland is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created circa 1230 for William de Moravia, 1st Earl of Sutherland, William de Moravia and is the premier earldom in the Peerage of Scotland. The earl or countess of Sutherland is al ...

and the Murrays of Aberscross which had resulted in the Battle of Torran-Roy in 1570 where Caithness was initially defeated, but returned to besiege the Murrays at

Dornoch Dornoch (; ; ) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray Firth to the east. ...

where several of them were subsequently beheaded. John Sinclair, Master of Caithness was later imprisoned by his father for making peace with the Murrays. The Master of Caithness died at Castle Sinclair Girnigoe in 1576, and this was apparently by famine and vermine. A man named Murdoch Roy was accused by the Earl of Caithness of planning the escape of the Master of Caithness, and Roy was subsequently

hanged Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

. According to Roland Saint-Clair, food was withheld from the Master of Caithness for a few days, he was then supplied with abundantly salted beef. This brought on a raging thirst, but he was denied water and left to die in agony. His remains were interred in the "Sinclair Aisle" in the churchyard of

which his father had built some years before. The inscription over his grave read: "Here lies the entombed ane noble and worthie man, John, Master of Caithness, who departed this life in the 15th day of March, 1576".

Family

In 1543, John Sinclair, Master of Caithness had obtained a

from

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

by which the Earldom of Caithness became a ''male fee'', to him and his male heirs. He married

Jean Hepburn Jean Hepburn, Lady Darnley, Mistress of Caithness, Lady Morham (died 1599) was a Scottish noblewoman and a member of the Border clan of Hepburn. Her brother was James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. Jean's ...

, daughter of

Patrick Hepburn, 3rd Earl of Bothwell Patrick Hepburn, 3rd Earl of Bothwell (1512 – September 1556) was the son of Adam Hepburn, Lord Hailes, who died at the Battle of Flodden the year after Patrick's birth. Hepburn was known as the ''Fair Earl''. He owed this more to his look ...

and had the following children: # George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness. #James Sinclair, 1st of Murkle, who married Elizabeth Stewart, third daughter of

Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney and Lord of Zetland (Shetland) (spring of 1533 – 4 February 1593) was a recognised illegitimate son of James V, King of Scotland, and his mistress Eupheme Elphinstone. Robert Stewart was half-brother to M ...

. He received a charter for the lands of Halcro, Orkney and was styled as ''Master of Caithness''. #John Sinclair, 1st of Greenland and Rattar. #Agnes Sinclair. #Henry Sinclair, a ''natural'' (illegitimate) son, who married Janet Sutherland and had a son, John, who is probably the ancestor of the Sinclairs of Lybster. Henry Sinclair accompanied George, Earl of Caithness in an expedition to

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

, where, whilst besieging Kirkwall Castle, he died in bad health. #According to Henderson, a historian named Douglas gives the Master of Caithness another legitimate son named David, but that this is an error. However, Henderson does confirm that this David Sinclair was the laird of Stirkoke who descended from an illegitimate son of George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness, and who was the father of George Sinclair who was killed in an expedition to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in 1612.Henderson, W.S (1884). pp. 5-6 and 103. According to Roland Saint-Clair, David Sinclair, was a ''natural'' (illegitimate) son of the Master of Caithness, who acquired Stirkoke in 1587 and who was legitimated in 1588. He left a son, John, who was slain at

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; , ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great Britain. From a latitudinal s ...

in 1612. He also left a natural son, Colonel George Sinclair, ambushed in Norway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caithness, John Sinclair, Master of 1576 deaths Nobility from Highland (council area)

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Heirs apparent who never acceded

Early life

Master of Caithness

Family

See also

References