John Sinclair, Master of Caithness
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John Sinclair, Master of Caithness (died 1576) was a Scottish nobleman.
George Sinclair | |
|---|---|
| Master of Caithness | |
| Predecessor | George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness |
| Successor | George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness |
| Died | 15 March 1576 |
| Noble family | Clan Sinclair |
| Father | George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness |
| Mother | Elizabeth Graham |
John Sinclair, Master of Caithness was the eldest son of George Sinclair, 4th Earl of Caithness and his wife Lady Elizabeth Graham, daughter of William Graham, 2nd Earl of Montrose.[1]
Master of Caithness
John Sinclair, Master of Caithness received a charter for the earldom of Caithness and to his male heirs dated 2 October 1545.[2]
In July 1569 the Master of Caithness besieged Lord Oliphant and his servants for 8 days in Old Wick or "Auldwick" castle near Wick.[3]
His father, George, Earl of Caithness had feuded with the Earl of Sutherland and the Murrays of Aberscross which had resulted in the Battle of Torran-Roy in 1570 where Caithness was initially defeated, but returned to besiege the Murrays at Dornoch where several of them were subsequently beheaded.[4] John Sinclair, Master of Caithness was later imprisoned by his father for making peace with the Murrays.[5]
The Master of Caithness died at Castle Sinclair Girnigoe in 1576,[1] and this was apparently by famine and vermine.[2] A man named Murdoch Roy was accused by the Earl of Caithness of planning the escape of the Master of Caithness, and Roy was subsequently hanged. According to Roland Saint-Clair, food was withheld from the Master of Caithness for a few days, he was then supplied with abundantly salted beef. This brought on a raging thirst, but he was denied water and left to die in agony. His remains were interred in the "Sinclair Aisle" in the churchyard of Wick which his father had built some years before. The inscription over his grave read: "Here lies the entombed ane noble and worthie man, John, Master of Caithness, who departed this life in the 15th day of March, 1576".[6]