William I, Earl of Ross (Gaelic: ''Uilleam''; d. 1274) was ruler of the province of
Ross in northern Scotland.
William appears as early as 1232, witnessing a charter as the son of
Ferquhard, Earl of Ross. He succeeded his father as Earl around 1251. He played a pioneering role in the Scottish reconquest of the Hebrides, which had been under Norwegian control. Indeed, in many ways, he may be regarded as the instigator of Scottish aggression. ''
Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar'' tells us that in Norway:
"''In the previous summer''
.e. that of 1262', letters came east from the Hebrides ... and they brought forward much about the dispeace that the Earl of Ross ... and other Scots, had made in the Hebrides, when they went out to Skye, and burned towns and churches, and slew very many men and women ... They said that the Scottish king intended to lay under himself all the Hebrides''."
1
Uilleam's attacks on Norwegian possessions earned him the ire of
King Haakon, who planned an expedition against him. However, William escaped this expedition. He was probably rewarded with
Skye and
Lewis
Lewis may refer to:
Names
* Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Music
* Lewis (musician), Canadian singer
* "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...
after the Scottish reconquest of the Hebrides, a reward secured when the conquests were ratified by the
Treaty of Perth
The Treaty of Perth, signed 2 July 1266, ended military conflict between Magnus VI of Norway and Alexander III of Scotland over possession of the Hebrides and the Isle of Man. The text of the treaty.
The Hebrides and the Isle of Man had becom ...
in 1266.
William married Jean Comyn, daughter of
William, Earl of Buchan. So far as is known he had only one son, also named
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, who succeeded him as Earl. William died in May 1274 at "Earles Allane", likely the site of modern
Allanfearn or
Allangrange.
References
* 1. A.O. Anderson, ''Early Sources'', Vol. II, p. 605
* 2
Genealogy Page
Bibliography
* Paul, Sir James
''The_Scots_Peerage''.html" ;"title="The Scots Peerage">''The Scots Peerage
''">The Scots Peerage">''The Scots Peerage
'' (Edinburgh, 1909)
* Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500-1286'', 2 Vols (Edinburgh, 1922)
* Brooke, Daphne, ''Wild Men and Holy Places'', (Edinburgh, 1994)
* McDonald, R. Andrew, "Old and new in the far North: Ferchar Maccintsacairt and the early earls of Ross" in Steve Boardman and Alasdair Ross (eds.) ''The Exercise of Power in Medieval Scotland, c.1200-1500'', (Dublin/Portland, 2003)
External links
Genealogy Page: Source for Marriage InfoScran & The Breve Cronicle of the Erllis of Ross
{{DEFAULTSORT:William 01, Earl of Ross
1274 deaths
Clan Ross
Earls of Ross
People from Ross and Cromarty
Year of birth unknown
13th-century mormaers