Lord Sinclair

Article summary

Lord Sinclair is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. According to James Balfour Paul's The Scots Peerage, volume VII published in 1910, the first person to be styled Lord Sinclair was William Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Orkney and 1st Earl of Caithness (died 1480). However, according to Roland Saint-Clair writing in the late 19th century, William Sinclair's father, Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, who died in 1420, is the first person recorded as Lord Sinclair by public records. In 1470, William Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Orkney, 2nd Lord Sinclair and 11th Baron of Roslin surrendered the earldom of Orkney in return for the earldom of Caithness. He divided his estates: his eldest son from his first marriage, William Sinclair, 3rd Lord Sinclair, inherited the title of Lord Sinclair, while he left the Barony of Roslin to his eldest son from his second marriage, Oliver, and the earldom of Caithness to his second son from his second marriage, another William, from whom descend the chiefs of the Clan Sinclair. William Sinclair, 3rd Lord Sinclair's son, Henry Sinclair, 4th Lord Sinclair (died 1513), was confirmed in the title in 1488 by an Act of Parliament. However, according to historian Roland Saint-Clair, this Act was only a recognition of the Barony of St. Clair existing in the person of his ancestor, Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney and did not constitute a new creation.…

Key claims

1. date of death: 1480 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of death: 1420 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of death: 1513 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. date of death: 1513 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. date of death: 1750 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of death is "1480". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of death is "1420". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of death is "1513". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the date of death is "1513". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the date of death is "1750". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
8. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1347745130