Sir Reginald le Chen or Cheyne (c.1235-1312) was a 13th-14th century Scottish noble. He was a

sheriff of Nairn The Sheriff of Nairn was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order and bringing criminals to justice in Nairn, Scotland . In 1747 the office was merged with that of the Sheriff of Elgin to create the office of Sheriff of El ...

, sheriff of Inverness and Baron of Inverugie. Reginald was the son of Sir

Reginald le Chen (d.1293) Reginald le Chen or Cheyne (died 1293) was the Chamberlain of Scotland from 1267 to 1269. He was the Baron of Inverugie. Reginald was the son of Bernard le Chen of Inverugie and succeeded his father upon his father's death. His brother was Henr ...

and an unknown daughter of John Comyn of Buchan. He was the Sheriff of Inverness in 1297. In 1305, it was recorded that Reginald received a grant from King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

of 200 oaks from the royal forests of Longmorn and Darnaway "to build his manor of Dufhous" ( Duffus Castle).Bain, J (ed) 1888 ''Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, Vol IV. Edinburgh.'' Sir Reginald Le Chen died before November 1312.

Family

He married Mary in c.1269, daughter of

Freskin de Moray Freskin de Moray (died c. 1268), Lord of Duffus and Strathbrock, was a Scottish noble. He was the only son of Walter de Moravia and Euphemia de Ross. Freskin was a signatory to an agreement between Scotland and Wales in 1258 by which the king ...

of Duffus and of Strabok and lady Johanna de Strathnaver. Almost nothing is recorded about Johanna except in a single charter, which makes clear that she had come to control those lands in the far northwest which

Harald Eiriksson Harald Eiríksson ( fl. 1190s), also known as Harald the Young, was joint Earl of Orkney with Harald Maddadsson. He was the son of Orkney chief Eirik Stagbrell and Ingerid Ragnvaldsdotter, the daughter of Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, the former Earl o ...

's family had wrested from the jarldom of Orkney. The charter is clear that Joanna had control of this territory - strathnaver - independently of the Jarl, and of Sutherland. Peculiarly, Joanna donated the territory, in some sense, to Elgin Cathedral, only for the cathedral to rent it back to Reginald for a bi-annual fee; mysteriously, the charter does not explain why this transaction arose. As Reginald's descendants eventually became Earls of Sutherland, this ultimately led to an intimate connection between Strathnaver and Sutherland, with which it is now merged. Reginald had the following known issue: * Reginald of Inverugie and Duffus, married Helen, daughter of Malise, Earl of Strathearn and Joan de Mentieth. * Francis of Straloch, married Isabel, daughter of

John Comyn, Earl of Buchan John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan (circa 1260 – 1308) was a chief opponent of Robert the Bruce in the civil war that paralleled the War of Scottish Independence. He should not be confused with the better known John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch ...

and

Isabella MacDuff Isabella MacDuff, Countess of Buchan (probably died c. 1314), was a significant figure in the Wars of Scottish Independence. She was the daughter of Donnchadh III, Earl of Fife, and Johanna de Clare, daughter of The 6th Earl of Hertford. She ...

. *Elena, married William de Moubray. *Unknown daughter, probably Beatrix (b.c.1266), married Andrew Fraser of Touch Fraser and Cowie.

Citations

References

*Cheyne, Archibald: The Cheyne Family in Scotland *Godsman, James: A History of the Burgh and Parish of Ellon, Aberdeenshire {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Reginald le 1312 deaths 13th-century Scottish people 14th-century Scottish people Medieval Scottish knights Scottish people of the Wars of Scottish Independence R Year of birth uncertain