Clan Sinclair Part I
The St. Clair/Sinclair were
Vikings. They were decendants of Earl Rognavald of Norway. Earl Rognavald
fought alongside king Haarald Fine-Hair of Norway, For the Earls service King
Haarald Fine-Hair awarded the Earl the Earldom of North More, South More and
Romesdale all of which are in the vicinity of Modern Trondheim, Norway.
Earl Rognavald's son Ivor was in
the service of King Haarald Fine-Hair in the conquest of the Shetlands, Orkney
and Herbicide Islands. Ivor was killed while invading the Isle of man.
For Ivor's services the King
awarded his father Earl Rognalvd the Earldom of the Shetlands and Orkney.
The Earl passed his rule to his
brother Sigard. Sigard and Thorstein the Red and Aud the deep minded
conquered all of Cathiness, Moray Ross and a large part of Argyle in scotland.
After Sigard death his son ruled
for one year and died childless.
Earl Rognvald younger son Einer
became the Earl of Orkney and ruled it well. He became known to history
as Turf Eisner for discovering that turf or peat was able to be used as a
fuel. It was able to be burnt instead of wood.
Earl Rongvald son Hroff, went to
France in search of new Lands. He went up the Sein River and settled in the
Sein Valley. After much conflict King Charles the Simple made his peace
with him, in the hope that it would prevent future raids by the Vikings.
The treaty of 912AD, awarded
Hroff the dukedom of the territories now called Normandy. The treaty was
signed in the Castle Saint Clair-Sur-Epte.
Hroff change his name to the
Latin name Rollo. Duke Rollo was then baptised in the waters of the
Spring Saint Clair. Saint Clair was martyered at the spring in 884AD.
The Duke and his entire entourage
were at that point all converted to Christenanity. The Duke then was married to
the kings daughter Princess Gidele, and the lands of Normandy were then his.
The use of the Family name of
Saint Clair can be traced to Richard II the fourth Duke of Normandy. In
this time it was common to name the Lord after the name of the land he owned.
Duke Rollo was childless with
Princess Gidle and he remarried to the daughter of the Count of Bayeaux, Poppe.
They had a son known to history as William Longsword. William was succeeded by
his son, Richard I.
Clan Sinclair Part II
Duke Rollo's famiily married into
the aristocratic families of Chaumont, Gisors, d' Evereaux and Blois.
The family of the Count of Champagne. They were also related to the Dukes house
of Burgundy, the Royal House of France and the House of Flanders.
Godfrey de Boulion, the first
ruler of Jerusalem and an ancestor of the Hapsburg's, was of the House of
Flanders before he gave up his Fife's when leaving for the first Crusade.
The Vikings married into the
Rex Deus and the Royal Bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdelene!
Richard III, the 5th Duke of
Normandy, Robert the Devil, Mauger the Young, were sons of Richard II, 4th Duke
of Normandy. Richard II also had two daughters who married right. Alix married
the Count of Burgundy and Eleanor the wife of Boulion the Count of Flanders.
Most of the Norman Barons would have preferred that the succession pass to the
Dukes younger brother Mauger.
An organization was formed by
the Constable of Normandy that supported the claims of William, the bastard son
of Robert the Devil; this person became known as “William the Conqueror”.
Mauger had three sons;
Hamon, Walderene and Hubert. Hamon and Walderen were both killed at the battle
of Val-des-Diones, where the succession of William the bastard was ensured.
Two of Walderen's children,
Richard and Briel became recounciled with William the Conqueror who was now
King of England. Richard and Briel became part of Williams Army and were
involved in the conquest of England, they were awarded estates for their
service.
The two remaining children,
Agnes and William were very young at the time of their father’s death (Mauger).
Agnes married Phillip the Bruce who was of Norman roots, and was an Ancestor of
Robert the Bruce.
William became known as
William the Seemly Saint Clair who escorted Princess Margaret to Scotland in
1068AD. Princess Margaret was to marry Malcome Canmore King of Scots.
William was awarded the
Barony of Roslyn. He later commanded the Scots when they fought William the
Conqueror. William the Seemly Saint Clair was killed in a battle with England
in Northumberland.
The Clan St.
Clair/Sinclair was a Scottish Clan of Norman Origins.
There was a French contingent descended through Duke Rollo, that name
was the Saint Clairs. The Norman contingent was descended from Turf Eisner,
both sides of this family were descended from Earl Rognavald.
Clan Sinclair part III
The Sinclairs held five hundred
estates throughout the Herbicide, Shetland and Orkley Islands in addition to
the Scotish Highlands, the area of Argyle, to Roslyn.
William Seemly Saint Clair was
the 1st Baron of Roslyn. Henry Sinclair was the 2nd Baron of Roslyn, in 1093 he
led a successful attack on England at the battle of Annwick.
Henry's son also named Henry was the 3rd Baron of Roslyn who obtained a charter for the lands of Haddingtonshire in 1160. William Sinclair was the 4th Baron of Roslyn and witnessed a charter from King Stephen of England .
Earl Henry Sinclair 5th Baron
of Roslyn (1190-1270) Led the Army of King Alexander III of Scotland against a
Norwegian invasion at the Battle of Largs in 1263.
A Civil War over throwing King
Henry III of Scotland was led by Earl Henry Sinclair, 5th Baron of Roslyn, his
kingdom was turned over to his son, Edward The “Hammer of the Scots”.
Baron William Sinclair was
captured at the Battle of Dunbar and died at the Tower of London in 1296. His
son Henry was also captured and was detained at the Briavels Castle.
In three separate engagements,
at the battle of Roslyn in 1303, Earl Henry Sinclair again defeated King
Edwards “the Hammer of the Scots” forces. Again in 1307 Earl Henry defeated the
“Hammer of the Scots” at the Battle of Loudon Hill.
In 1314 at the Battle of
Bannockburn, Earl Henry was too old to lead his men in battle. He had given
refuge to the Lost Templar Fleet, and they were now part of his Templar forces
in addition to two contingents of Irish Templars.
Earl Henry Sinclair was Grand
Master of all Scottish Templar's, his son William, a general in the Army of the
Bruce, commanded the Templar's at the battle of Bannockburn, his brother John,
served as his squire. After the battle Robert the Bruce awarded Sir William his
sword.
At the battle of Donnibristle
in 1317, William Sinclair the Bishop of Dunkeld, rallies the Templar's to
defeat the English at Fife. Sir William and John Sinclair are killed at the
Battle of Teba in 1330.
At the Battle of Nevilles
Cross in 1346 Sir John Sinclair of Heidmanston was taken prisoner. In
1379, Sir Prince Henry Sinclair, claimed the Earldom of Orkney, through his
mother, and received the Earldom through King Haakton II of Norway.
Prince Henry I;
Please see my section in Part three
of this book, For a complete history on this very interesting Nobelman, who has
been very under reported in history, and historians are still searching for his
death certificate in both Norway and Scotland. Should they perhaps be checking
in America in the area of Newport Tower?
Prince Henry's son, Henry II,
was taken prisoner at the Battle of Homidon Hill and was held in London Tower
between 1402 and 1407.
The English would let him return to
Scotland to handle family business as long as a distinguished family member
stayed at the prison until his return.
He never received the Earlship
of Orkney because his father the Prince was never certified as dead. Some
believe he returned to America and was exploring the New Land for Queen Margrette
of Scotland, and also that he assimilated in with the Mirmac Indians whom he
established a very strong relationship with as documented in the Zeno
narratives and Indian legends.
The Aztec Indians were
confused when Cortez arrived as whether to associate him with the feathered Serpent god Quetzalcoatl or
the brown haired blue eyed fair skinned god who visited them a
hundred years earlier and treated them so well !
When Verrazano visited the
east coast of the United States in between 1524 and 1545 he commented on the
variation of skin tones amongst various nations of the Native American's.
He commented on a white
skinned Indian Tribe in Rhode Island. There were also reports of a distinctly
white Indian tribe in Nova Scotia, reported by Jacques Cartier in 1536.
Clan Sinclair is traced right
up to present day politics’ and business in Scotland. The present Sinclair Clan
Cheif is Earl Malcom Sinclair, 20th Earl of Caithness, a direct descendant of
Prince Henry Sinclair. Earl Sinclair is a member of the House of Lords, he
is CEO of Clan Sinclair Trust.
