Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney

Henry Sinclair
Henry Sinclair
Earl of Orkney; Lord Sinclair; Baron of Roslin
	Earl of Orkney, Lord Sinclair and Baron of Roslin coats of arms
Predecessor	Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney
Successor	William Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Orkney, 1st Earl of Caithness, 11th Baron of Roslin and 2nd Lord Sinclair
Born	c. 1375
Died	c. 1420
Noble family	Clan Sinclair

Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney (c. 1375 – 1420) was the Jarl (Earl) of Orkney, Baron of Roslin and Pantler of Scotland.[1][2] According to Roland Saint-Clair writing in the late 19th century, Henry Sinclair was also the first of his family to hold the title of Lord Sinclair.[3]

Early life

Rosslyn or Roslin Castle, seat of the Sinclairs who were Barons of Roslin, reconstruction image

He was son of Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, by his wife Jean, daughter of John Halyburton of Dirleton. He married Egida Douglas, daughter of Sir William Douglas of Nithsdale and maternal granddaughter of King Robert II of Scotland. Sir William Douglas was murdered by a group of assassins who had been employed by Lord Clifford and as a result Sinclair inherited through his wife the whole of the Lordship of Nithsdale.[2]

Earl of Orkney

Sinclair was one of those captured following the Battle of Homildon Hill in 1402, but released on ransom.[2][4] He had succeeded his father, de facto, as Jarl by 1404; there is no record that he was ever officially installed as Jarl, and no certain record that he ever visited his jarldom.[5]

He was one of those who accompanied the young King James, then the uncrowned James I of Scotland on his journey to France aboard the Maryenknyght. That ship was captured by English pirates off Flamborough Head in 1406. He followed the prince into captivity, but was soon released. Subsequently he was often in England on business connected with the king's imprisonment.[2]

Henry Sinclair died of influenza on 1 February 1420.[4]

Marriage and issue

In about 1407 he married Egidia Douglas, daughter of Sir William Douglas of Nithsdale and maternal granddaughter of King Robert II of Scotland.[2][6]

William Sinclair, last Jarl of Orkney, and first Earl of Caithness
Beatrix Sinclair, who married James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas.

References

Fraser vol I, p.358
Saint-Clair, Roland William (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. pp. 103-111. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
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 31 May 2021.
Paul, James Balfour (1909). The Scots Peerage. Vol. VI. Edinburgh: David Douglas. pp. 570-571. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
Thomson, William P.L (2008). The New History of Orkney. Edinburgh. pp. 172–175.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Burke, Bernard (1869). Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. 59 Pall Mall, London: Harrison. p. 1016. Retrieved 14 June 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

Sources

Fraser, Sir William. The Douglas Book 4 vols, Edinburgh, 1885.

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[1] Fraser vol I, p.358

[Saint-Clair-2] Saint-Clair, Roland William (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. pp. 103-111. Retrieved 8 February 2021.

[3] 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 31 May 2021.

[Peerage-4] Paul, James Balfour (1909). The Scots Peerage. Vol. VI. Edinburgh: David Douglas. pp. 570-571. Retrieved 8 February 2021.

[5] Thomson, William P.L (2008). The New History of Orkney. Edinburgh. pp. 172–175.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[Burke-6] Burke, Bernard (1869). Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. 59 Pall Mall, London: Harrison. p. 1016. Retrieved 14 June 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)