The following descendant table of the Rosslyn St. Clairs is based on the assumption that the first of their name arrived in Scotland in 1174 with William the Lion, king of Scotland, after his release by the English king, Henry II. The following is recorded in Scalacronica by Sir Thomas Gray of Heton, kt. (1272-1363), a chronicle of England and Scotland from 1066 to 1362:
Pur quoi il enprist od ly en Escoce plusours dez fitz pusnes dez seygnours Dengleterre qi ly estoient beinuoillauntz, et lour dona lez terres dez autres qy ly estoient rebelis. Si estoint ceaux dez Baillolse, de Bruys, de Soulis, et de Mowbray, et les Saynclers; lez Hayes, lez Giffardis, lez Ramesays, et Laundels; lez Bifeys, lez Berkleys, lez Walenges, lez Boysis, lez Mountgomeris; lez Vaus, lez Coleuyles, lez Frysers, lez Grames, lez Gourlays, et plusours autres;
The only St. Clairs in England who would have had foreknowledge of William the Lion attending Henry II’s court on his way back to Scotland would have been the sons and grandsons of Hugh de St. Cler. Henry de St. Clair, who founded the Herdmanston St. Clair line, may well have been one of his grandsons.

Three main lines of descent originated with William, Earl of Orkney, Earl of Caithness, Lord St. Clair and Lord of Rosslyn, who died in 1480. The Lords Sinclair descended from William (the Waster), his only son from his first marriage, the Earls of Caithness descended from William, his first son from his second marriage and the Barons of Roslin descended from Sir Oliver, the latter William’s brother. Using Roland Saint-Clair’s ‘Saint-Clairs of the Isles’ as a template, archive documents and charters have been checked where available, to ensure the following tree is as up to date and accurate as possible. Where they cannot be confirmed, they have been marked (?).

Nina Cawthorne

Descendant table