SP Addition: Sinclair ancestry of the Borthwicks
John P. Ravilious
Hello All,
The early [pre-1500] ancestry of the Lords Borthwick is fairly
obscure. Further, the parentage of many members of these early
Borthwicks is difficult to resolve, due in part to problems in
differentiating between the many William Borthwicks living ca.
1350-1475 [1]. However, certain relationships have been noted of
late that will assist in resolving some of these uncertainties.
The first evidence I noted was a dispensation for the marriage
of Beatrix Sinclair to marry Sir William Borthwick, dated at
Alcamcii (near Saragossa), 1 May 1411:
' Reg Aven 337, 170
To the bishop of St. Andrews. Mandate to dispense William
de Borthwic to marry Beatrice de Sanctaclara, St. Andrews
diocese, notwithstanding their being related in the third
degree of consanguinity.
Alcamcii, Saragossa diocese, Kal. Maii, anno 17; expedited
7 Kal. Jun., anno 17 [26 May, 1411].
SRO, Vat. Trans., iv, no. 91. ' [2]
This at first, while interesting, appeared to offer little
assistance given the above mentioned problems with the Borthwick
pedigree. However, I also found the dispensations for marriages in
1412 of William Douglas, Earl of Angus to Margaret Hay, and of the
Earl's sister Elizabeth Douglas to Sir William Hay of Locherworth,
Margaret's brother [3]. This raised the possibility of some
assistance in resolving part of the Borthwick problem, in that the
Douglas ancestry is quite well known, and that of the Hays involved
the Borthwicks (through Alicia Borthwick, mother of Sir William Hay
and his sister Margaret).
The one common element in the ancestry of William Douglas, Earl
of Angus, and his sister Elizabeth, and Beatrix Sinclair, is their
ancestor Sir William Sinclair, son of Sir Henry Sinclair of Roslin,
who followed Sir James 'the Good' Douglas to Spain where they were
both slain in 1330. The Douglas siblings are known to have been
great-great grandchildren, and by Andrew MacEwen's reconstruction
of the Sinclair pedigree, Beatrix Sinclair was a
great-granddaughter. No matching ancestry was readily found in the
Hay ancestry (involving Hay, Gifford and Douglas), pointing to
their Borthwick ancestry as a good possibility - now especially in
light of the 3rd degree kinship between Sir William Borthwick and
Beatrix Sinclair.
There are in fact two possibilities: that Sir William
Borthwick (d. ca. 1414) was the son of a daughter of Sir William
Sinclair (d. 1330), or was the husband of an otherwise unknown
granddaughter of Sinclair. The following chart reflects the first
supposition:
[ NOTE: the Sinclair-Borthwick relationship is conjectured,
and denoted thus: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . Additional direct
evidence is lacking as of this date. The names of individuals
identified in the dispensations are CAPITALIZED. ]
Sir Henry de = Alicia de
Sinclair I Fenton
I
I
Sir William Sinclair = NN
k. 25 Aug 1330 (dvp) I
_______________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _I_____
I I I
Margaret NN Sinclair William
Sinclair = (2) = Thomas de Sinclair
Thomas Stewart Borthwick d. aft 17 Sept 1358
Earl of Angus I = Isabella
I I of Strathearn
I I I
I I I
Margaret Sir William Henry Sinclair
C of Angus Borthwick Jarl of Orkney
~ William Douglas d. 1414 d. 1404 = Jean
E of Douglas = NN Haliburton
(d. 1384) I I__________
: _________I_____________________ I
: I I I
: I _________ I I
: I I I I I
George Alicia = Sir NN = WILLIAM * BEATRIX
Douglas (als I William Hay I BORTHWICK SINCLAIR
E of Angus ELIZABETH I Hay I (d. 1429) = James
= Mary (d. 1421) I I Douglas
Stewart I V ' the
I I Gross '
I I
__I_______________________________________________
I : I
I ______I_____________ I
I I I I
WILLIAM = MARGARET SIR WILLIAM = ELIZABETH
DOUGLAS I HAY HAY I DOUGLAS
E of I (1412) (1412) I (1412)
Angus I I
d. 1437 V V
(1412)
This chart reflects both the 3rd and 3rd degree relationship of
Beatrix Sinclair and Sir William Borthwick, as well as the 4th and
4th degrees consanguinity between the Douglas and Hay siblings.
Several uncertainties are resolved. In addition, the
identification of Beatrix Sinclair as daughter of Henry Sinclair,
Jarl of Orkney (d. 1404) and not of his son Henry (d. bef 29 Apr
1418) was put forward by Andrew MacEwen based largely on other
known relationships [4]. The dispensations for her marriage in
1411, and those of her Hay and Douglas cousins in 1412, make it
certain that Andrew was correct: she was a great-granddaughter of
the crusader Sir William Sinclair (d. 1330), and not a great-great
granddaughter.
The Borthwick family had some other interesting connections
worth resolving, including the source of their relationship to
Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (d. 1420). This may have been
through the marriage of Sir William Borthwick (d. 1414), whose
sons George and John, both clerks, were acknowledged as 'kinsman
of Robert, duke of Albany and governor of Scotland' [5].
A note to those list members with particular interests [Neil,
Leo, Ian] that this will impact the ancestries of Charles II, as
well as Prince William and a goodly number of list members, to say
the least, through the Hay, Douglas, Hepburn, Montgomery,
Cunningham and other descendants of the Borthwicks. I will
forward the Borthwick pedigree (such as I now have it) to the
list in short order, for your review.
Should anyone have additional relevant documentation, comment
or criticism, that would be most welcome.
Cheers,
John *
NOTES
[1] See CP II:221 (Borthwick), and SP [Borthwick, Lord Borthwick]
[2] McGurk, ed., Calendar of Papal Letters 1394-1419, p. 234.
[3] The record of a mandate to marry William Hay of Locherworth
and Elizabeth Douglas, dated at Tortosa, 11 Dec 1412:
' Reg Aven 341, 469
To the bishop of Glasgow. Mandate to dispense the nobleman
William de Hay, doncel, lord of Lochorwart, to marry Elizabeth de
Douglas, St. Andrews diocese, notwithstanding their being related
in the fourth degree of consanguinity, and that they also have a
spiritual relationship in that a certain Elizabeth, mother of
William, is Elizabeth de Douglas' godmother.
Tortosa, 3 Id. Dec., anno 19; expedited, 16 Kal. Jan., anno 19
[17 Dec., 1412].
SRO, Vat. Trans., iv, no. 103. ' [CPL 1394-1419, pp. 263-4]
The record of the mandate for the marriage of Elizabeth's
brother William Douglas, Earl of Angus to William's sister
Margaret, likewise dated at Tortosa on 11 Dec 1412:
' Reg Aven 341, 469-469v
To the bishop of Glasgow. Mandate to dispense the nobleman
William de Douglas, earl of Angus, to marry Margaret, daughter of
Sir William de Hay, the elder, St. Andrews diocese, notwithstanding
their being related in the fourth degree of consanguinity and that
the bishop of St. Andrews should also have been written to.
Tortosa, 3 Id. Dec., anno 19; expedited, 16 Kal. Jan., anno
19 [17 Dec., 1412].
SRO, Vat. Trans., iv, no. 194. ' [CPL 1394-1419, p. 264]
[4] Andrew B. W. MacEwen,' SOME CORRECTIONS TO THE SINCLAIR
PEDIGREE , The Genealogist (The Assn for the Promotion of
Scholarship in Genealogy), Volume 2, Number 1 (Spring, 1981).
[5] There is record of an indult for George Borthwick, evidently
a son of Sir William Borthwick (d. 1429):
indult dated at Marseilles, 11 Dec 1406:
' Reg Aven 328, 497v
To George de Boethwyk, canon of Aberdeen. Indult for George,
kinsman of Robert, duke of Albany and governor of Scotland, to
hold a parish church or a dignity even if with cure, provided it
is not a major or principal one in a cathedral or collegiate
church, notwithstanding his defect of age as he is about 20 years
old.
St. Victors, Marseilles, 3 Id. Dec., anno 13. '
[CPL 1394-1419, p. 158]
His younger brother John likewise was acknowledged, in record
of an indult dated at Pensicola, 20 Dec 1411:
' Reg Aven 339, 606v-607
To John de Borthwyke, clerk, St. Andrews diocese. Indult for
John, student in arts, son of Sir William de Borthwyke, kinsman of
Robert, duke of Albany and governor of Scotland, to hold a
benefice with cure even if it is an elective dignity or parish
church provided it is not a major or principal dignity in a
cathedral or collegiate church, notwithstanding his defect of
age, being only 18 years old.
Peniscola, Tortosa diocese, 13 Kal. Jan., anno 18; expedited,
12 Kal. Mar., anno 18 [18 Feb., 1412]. ' [CPL 1394-1419, p. 246]
* John P. Ravilious