Clan Sinclair

Clan Sinclair
Clann na Ceàrda or Clan na Ceàrdaich[1]
Crest: A cock rampant
MottoCommit thy work to God[2]
SloganGirnigoe! Girnigoe![3]
Profile
RegionHighlands
DistrictCaithness
Plant badgeWhin[2]
Pipe music"The Sinclair's March" (a.k.a. The Red Ribbon)
Chief
The Rt. Hon. Malcolm Ian Sinclair
The 20th Earl of Caithness[2]
Historic seatCastle Sinclair Girnigoe[4]
Septs of Clan Sinclair
Budge,[5] Caird, Clouston, Clyne,[5] Groat,[5] Laird, Linklater, Lyall,[5] Mason, Purdie, Snoddy, Peace, Wares.[5]
Clan branches
Earls of Caithness (chiefs)
Lords Sinclair
Sinclair of Roslin
Sinclair of Thurso
Sinclair of Keiss
Sinclair of Stemster and Dunbeath[6]
Sinclair of Murkle[6]
Sinclair of Assery[6]
Sinclair of Lybster[6]
Sinclair of Scotscalder[6]
Sinclair of Geise[6]
Sinclair of Greenland and Rattar[6]
Sinclair of Freswick[6]
Sinclair of Mey[6]
Sinclair of Ulbster[6]
Sinclair of Durran[6]
Sinclair of Olrig[6]
Sinclair of Dunbeath and Latheron[6]
Sinclair Sutherland of Brabster[6]
Sinclair of Barrock[6]
Sinclair of Stirkoke[6]
Sinclair of Dun[6]
Sinclair of Southdun[6]
Sinclair of Brabsterdorran[6]
Sinclair of Forss[6]
Sinclair of Achingale and Newton[6]
Sinclairs of Lybster, Reay[6]
Sinclairs of Hoy and Oldfield[6]
See also:
Sinclair of Herdmanston
Sinclair baronets
Allied clans
Clan Sutherland (18th century)
Rival clans

Clan Sinclair (Scottish Gaelic: Clann na Ceàrda [ˈkʰl̪ˠãũn̪ˠ ˈkʲaːrˠt̪ə]) is a Highland Scottish clan which holds the lands of Caithness, the Orkney Islands, and the Lothians. The chiefs of the clan were the Barons of Roslin and later the Earls of Orkney and Earls of Caithness.

The Sinclairs are believed to have come from Normandy to England during the Norman conquest of England, before arriving in Scotland in the 11th century. The Sinclairs supported the Scottish Crown during the Scottish–Norwegian War and the Wars of Scottish Independence.

The chiefs were originally Barons of Roslin, Midlothian and William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness and Baron of Roslin founded the famous Rosslyn Chapel in the 15th century. He split the family lands, disinheriting his eldest son from his first marriage, William ("the Waster"), who inherited the title of Lord Sinclair,[note 1] instead giving the lands of Caithness to the second son from his second marriage, William Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Caithness, in 1476, and the lands at Roslin to his eldest son from his second marriage, Sir Oliver Sinclair.

In the 16th century the Sinclairs fought against England during the Anglo-Scottish Wars and also feuded with their neighbors the Clan Sutherland. During the Jacobite rising of 1715 the Sinclairs supported the Jacobite cause, but during the Jacobite rising of 1745, while the clan largely had Jacobite sympathies, their chief, the Earl of Caithness, supported the British-Hanoverian Government.

The current chief is Malcolm Sinclair, 20th Earl of Caithness.

  1. ^ Mac an Tàilleir, Iain. "Ainmean Pearsanta" (docx). Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  2. ^ a b c "Clan Sinclair Profile". scotclans.com. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Clan Sinclair Hallmarks". clansinclairusa.org. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  4. ^ Coventry, Martin (2008). Castles of the Clans: The Strongholds and Seats of 750 Scottish Families and Clans. Musselburgh: Goblinshead. pp. 529–533. ISBN 978-1-899874-36-1.
  5. ^ a b c d e Scots Kith & Kin. HarperCollins. 2014. p. 83. ISBN 9780007551798.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Henderson, John. W.S (1884). Caithness Family History. Edinburgh: David Douglas.
  7. ^ Paul, James Balfour (1910). The Scots Peerage; Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; Containing an Historical and Genealogical Account of the Nobility of that Kingdom. Vol. VII. Edinburgh: David Douglas. p. 569. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Clan Sinclair (timeline 1420-1476)". clansinclair.org. Retrieved 12 June 2021. Scots Peerage (Paul)
  9. ^ Saint-Clair, Roland (1898). The Saint-Clairs of the Isles; being a history of the Sea-kings of Orkney and their Scottish successors of the sirname of Sinclair. Shortland Street, Auckland, New Zealand: H. Brett. p. 297. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  10. ^ Burke, Bernard (1869). Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. 59 Pall Mall, London: Harrison. p. 1016. Retrieved 15 June 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)


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