William I, Earl of Ross (Gaelic: ''Uilleam''; died 1274) was ruler of the province of Ross in northern Scotland.

Biography

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 ''Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar'' ("The Saga of Haakon Haakonarson") or ''Hákonar saga gamla'' ("The Saga of Old Haakon") is an Old Norse Kings' Saga, telling the story of the life and reign of King Haakon Haakonarson of Norway. Content and styl ...

'' 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 The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

and Lewis 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 the Lawmender of Norway and Alexander III of Scotland over possession of the Hebrides and the Isle of Man. The Hebrides and the Isle of Man had become Norwegian t ...

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 masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, 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 ''The Scots Peerage'' is a nine-volume book series of the Scottish nobility compiled and edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, published in Edinburgh from 1904 to 1914. The full title is ''The Scots Peerage: Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Rober ...

'', (Edinburgh, 1909) �
Internet Archive
* 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

Scran & The Breve Cronicle of the Erllis of Ross
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, William 1, Earl of 1274 deaths Nobility from Highland (council area) Clan Ross Earls of Ross People from Ross and Cromarty Year of birth unknown 13th-century mormaers