Medieval History of Clan Sinclair

Medieval History:

Origins
B. Poitiers 732
Norway c. 872
Normandy 911
B. Val- es-Dunes 1047
Scotland c. 1050
Hastings 1066
England 1066
Parliament of 1286
B. Stirling 1297
B. Roslin 1303
Bannockburn 1314
Declaration of Arbroath 1320
B. Teba 1330

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Medieval History of Clan Sinclair

We define this period to be from the remotest origins to the Battle of Teba, i.e., roughly through middle of the the fourteenth century.

Antiquity

From: Niven Sinclair <niven@niven.co.uk>
Date: Sun, 16 May 1999 23:35:14 +0100

It must be remembered that ``there is no family in Europe, below the rank of Royalty, which can boast a higher antiquity, a nobler lineage or more romantic interest'' than ``the lordly line of high St Clair''.

Although a Scottish Clan, the Sinclairs have always had a European dimension in as much as they were to be found in every Province of France, in Alsace, in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Within three generations of the Norman Conquest, the Sinclairs were to be found in 43 English counties and in Wales. Let me give you one quotation:

"In leaden coffins at the Chapel at Danbury, five miles from Chelmsford, were buried several knightly St Clairs who had followed the standard of the cross in Crusades to the Holy Land.

"The hill of Danbury in Essex, by the Thames, beneath London is a landmark and a tower to this lineage, as it has been to the World's greatest city, and its chapel will always stand fixed to memory as something notable that has been.

"All that was highest in marriage, lands or office they had in England for nearly a Century after the Conquest and the glow of their fame and their physical and intellectual powers kept them high for centuries afterwards in a way which was rare to any one particular lineage".

As I have detailed elsewhere there were 9 St Clair Knights at the Battle of Hastings - the largest single contingent in William's army.

If Poland had a Royal Family today, it would be of the St. Clair line. A professor of the Moscow State University stated; "The Sinclairs were one of the two most important families in European history". The other? The Hapsburgs.

—Niven Sinclair

Last changed: 00/05/28 15:46:18