View source for Timeline of the Earls of Ross

{{Use dmy dates|cs1-dates=s|date=May 2023}}
Descendants of {{Fearchar}} Earl of Ross came to use the surname Ross. Therefore, events pertaining to his life, and to the lives of his descendants, which can be proved from contemporary sources, are of interest to this project. Included in this page is a list of events involving or related to the Earls of Ross that are supported by documentation. 
[[File:7033.jpg|thumb|right|244px|Ross in the 12th century.]]
[[File:ScotlandEasterRossWesterRoss.png|thumb|right|244px|Ross and Cromarty after 1890 demonstrating the approximate areas of Easter and Wester Ross.]]
The Earldom of Ross was created in 1162 and [[Malcolm MacHeth]], Earl of Ross, died in 1168.<ref>{{Medieval Lands|page=Scotland Earls|section=EARL of ROSS (MALCOLM MacEth)|date=9 May 2022|anchor=_Toc100141818|today=31 May 2023}}</ref> {{Fearchar}} was the next to be Earl of Ross, but it was over 50 years before we find him mentioned as such in extant documents.

The Earldom was held by Fearchar's male line for 4 more generations. Upon the death of his 2nd-great-grandson {{William 5th Earl}} in 1372, it passed to his daughter [[Euphemia, 1st Countess of Ross (1345-1394)|Euphenia]] and could by claimed by her husband and then her son, [[Alexander Leslie, Earl of Ross ( -1402)|Alexander Leslie]]. It eventually passed again through the female line to the Macdonalds. It was forfeited to the crown by [[John Macdonald, Earl of Ross, Lord of the Isles (c1435-1498)|John Macdonald, Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles]] circa 1475.

== Ancestry ==

There is no mention of Fearchar until 1215 when an entry in the [[Chronicle of Melrose]] records his defeat of a rebellion which won him the king's favor. There are several theories about who [[Fearchar, Earl of Ross#Ancestors|Fearchar's ancestors]] may have been, but there is not direct evidence to support any of them. One of the goals of this project is to identify the [[Y-DNA]] signature of the line of Fearchar and, through this to identify his ancestral line.

Because this project is concerned only with genetic descendants that would would carry the surname Ross or a derivation, the timeline below begins with Fearchar. It is assumed that his predecessor, Malcolm MacHeth, was not the source of his [[Y-DNA]] and, therefore, not a Ross ancestor.

== Descendants ==

The title [[Earl of Ross]] was held by Fearchar and his descendants from the early 13th century until it was forfeited to the crown around 1475. During this time, the family developed a close relationship with the Stewart kings.

Euphemia, daughter of {{Hugh 4th Earl}}, married, as his 2nd wife, [[Robert II King of Scotland|Robert Stewart, King of Scotland]]. [[Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan|Alexander]], son of King Robert and his 1st wife, married a daughter of Queen Euphemia's brother, {{William 5th Earl}}. During his decade-long marriage, Alexander Stewart fashioned himself Earl of Ross.

The title was created again in 1565 and 1600 for descendants of the Stewart Kings. The last to be called Earl of Ross was [[Charles I King of England, Ireland & Scotland]] who died in 1649.

{{Earl of Ross family tree}}

== 18th century Earls ==

There has come to exist on the internet a [[Hugh Ross b. 1680 d. 1740 North Carolina|Hugh Ross of the early 1700s]] who is often labeled 3rd Earl of Ross, Earl of 3rd Ross, Lord of Ross, or Lord Hugh Ross. At this point, however, the title [[Earl of Ross]] hadn't existed for almost a century and hadn't been held by a person by the name of Ross for over 300 years. 

== Surname ==
In 1639, Sir Robert Gordon, in his ''[[Genealogical history of the Earldom of Sutherland]]'', stated, "that the laird of Balnagown his surname should not be Rosse, seing ther wes never any Earle of Rosse of that surname; bot the Earles of Rosse wer first of the surname of Builton."{{sfn|Gordon|Gordon|1813|p=[https://archive.org/details/genealogicalhist00gord/page/36/mode/1up 36]}} From this, the story has been told that Fearchar was a descendant of the Irish Ó Beólláin family of [[St. Maelrubha's monastery at Applecross|Applecross]]. 

The ''[[Source:Cronicle of the Earlis of Ross (Cronicle)|Cronicle of the Earlis of Ross]]'', written prior to the year 1615, so at least 20 years before Gordon published his genealogy, stated, "Of this Farqr discendit fyve erlis, being Ross of surname, viȝt Farqr the first, Williame the second, Williame the third, Hew the fourt, and William the fift." This contradicts what Gordon says about the family's surname.

In the list below, we see that the earls themselves, along with the countesses, were addresses only by their given name and their title. No surname was used. Others were identified as 'of Ross' instead of by a surname until [[Hugh of Rarichies, 1st of Balnagown (-1374)|Hugh Ross]], son of the last Earl of Fearchar's direct male line, and 1st [[Ross of Balnagown|laird of Balnagown]]. Gordon speculates, "that the lairds of Balnagowne, perceaveing the Earles of Rosse decayed, and that earldom fallen into the Lord of the Yles his hands, they called themselves Rosses, therby to testifie ther descent from the Earles of Rosse."{{sfn|Gordon|Gordon|1813|p=[https://archive.org/details/genealogicalhist00gord/page/36/mode/1up 36]}}

His theory is, then, that Fearchar's descendants adopted the surname Ross in order to maintain a connection with their former glory as Earls of Ross. There is no evidence here, however, of Gordon's claim that they originally went by the name 'Builton'. It's important to note that surnames had not yet become standard in this time. They had begun to be used more often by the 'titled' families such as the Earls.<ref>{{cite web | title=Surnames | website=ScotlandsPeople | url=https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/guides/research-guides/surnames | access-date=1 Jun 2023}}</ref> As we can see here, though, if a person did carry a title, they were most often just referred to by that title. And anyone related to them, was identified by their relationship to the title.

Where, then, did Gordon get this idea that their surname was Builton? And how did the story arise that the name somehow connected them to Applecross? This is discussed further in the [[Timeline of Earl of Ross references]].

== Timeline ==
=== 12th century ===
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=== 13th century ===
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=== 14th century ===
[[File:Celticscotlandh01sken page-496.jpg|thumb|right|244px|Northern Britain circa late 13th century, Skene's ''[[Celtic Scotland]]''.]]
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=== 15th century ===
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=== 16th century ===
[[File:Pont's map of Wester Ross.png|thumb|right|244px|Pont's map of Wester Ross ca. 1583-1614, [[National Library of Scotland#Maps|NLS]]]]
[[File:Pont's-map-of-Tarbet-Ness,-Easter-Ross.png|thumb|right|244px|Pont's map of Tarbet Ness, Easter Ross 1590, [[National Library of Scotland#Maps|NLS]]]]
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=== 17th century ===
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=== 18th century ===
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== Sources ==
<references />

* {{Fearn calendar full}}
* {{Early sources full|volume=2}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last1= Anderson |editor-first1= Marjorie Ogilvie |editor-last2= Anderson |editor-first2= Alan Orr |date= 1938 |title= A Scottish Chronicle known as the Chronicle of Holyrood |title-link= Chronicle of Holyrood |series=Publications of the Scottish History Society Third Series |publication-place= Edinburgh |publisher= Scottish History Society |lccn= 38010478 |oclc= 4997449 |ol= OL6368878M}}{{#set: Has source=Chronicle of Holyrood}}
* {{Ane Breve full}}
* {{Calendar of Documents full|volume=1}}
* {{Calendar of Documents full|volume=2}}
* {{Calendar of Documents full|volume=3}}
* {{Calendar of Documents full|volume=4}}
* {{Poms full}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last1= Bliss |editor-first1= W. H. |date= 1895 |title= Calendar of entries in the Papal registers relating to Great Britain and Ireland. Papal letters |title-link= Calendar of Papal Registers (vol. 2) |volume= Volume II, 1305-1342 |publication-place= London |publisher= H.M. Stationery Office |oclc= 22325320 |ol= OL20624765M |ol-access= free }}{{#set: Has source=Calendar of Papal Registers (vol. 2)}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last1= Bliss |editor-first1= W.H. |editor-last2= Johnson |editor-first2= C. |date= 1897 |title= Calendar of Papal Registers Relating To Great Britain and Ireland |title-link= Calendar of Papal Registers (vol. 3) |volume= Volume 3, 1342-1362 |publication-place= London |publisher= H.M. Stationery Office |via= British History Online}}{{#set: Has source=Calendar of Papal Registers (vol. 3)}}
* {{Goodall full|volume=2}}
* {{RPS full}}
* {{Chron of Scot Nat full}}
* {{Sutherland book full|volume=3}}
* {{Antiquarian notes full}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last1= Freeman |editor-first1= A. Martin |date= 1944 |orig-date= 1224–1554 |title= Annála Connacht: The Annals of Connacht |title-link= Annála Connacht |edition= 1st |publication-place= Dublin |publisher= School of Celtic Studies (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies) |via= [[Corpus of Electronic Texts]]}}{{#set: Has source=Annála Connacht}}
* {{Sutherland full}}
* {{Foedera Syllabus full|volume=1}}
* {{Cite book |last1= Hemingburgh |first1= Walteri de |editor-last1= Hamilton |editor-first1= Hans Claude |date= 1849 |orig-date= active 1300 |title= Chronicon domini Walteri de Hemingburgh, vulgo Hemingford nuncupati, ordinis Sancti Augustini Canonici regularis, in coenobio beatae Mariae de Gisburn, de gestis regum Angliae, ad fidem codicum manuscriptorum recensuit Hans Claude Hamilton |trans-title= Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, commonly called Hemingford... of the history of England |title-link= Chronicon domini Walteri de Hemingburgh (vol. 2) |language= la |volume= 2 |publication-place= London |publisher= English Historical Society |oclc= 971575213 |id={{ARK|ark:/13960/t0ms3p410}} }}{{#set: Has source=Chronicon domini Walteri de Hemingburgh (vol. 2)}}
* {{Cite book |last1= Inchaffray Abbey |editor-last1= Innes |editor-first1= Cosmo Nelson |editor-link1= Cosmo Innes |date= 1847 |title= Liber Insule Missarum: Abbacie Canonicorum Regularium B. Virginis Et S. Johannis De Inchaffery Registrum Vetus ... |title-link= Liber Insule Missarum |language= la |publication-place= Edinburgh |publisher= [[Bannatyne Club]] |oclc= 848443758 |ol= OL14019970M |ol-access= free}}{{#set:Has source=Liber Insule Missarum}}
* {{Orig paroch full|volume=2}}
* {{Highland papers full|volume=1}}
* {{Moray reg full}}
* {{Acts of lords full}}
* {{Reg mag sig full|volume=2}}
* {{Cite book |last1= Þórðarson |first1= Sturla |translator-last1= Johnstone |translator-first1= James |date= 1782 |orig-date= c. 1263 |title= The Norwegian Account of Haco's Expedition against Scotland; A.D. MCCLXIII. now first published, in the oringinal Islandic, from the Flateyan and Frisian MSS. with a literal English version and notes. |title-link= The Norwegian Account of King Haco's Expedition |publisher= Johnstone}}{{#set: Has source=The Norwegian Account of King Haco's Expedition (1782)}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last1= Robertson |editor-first1= Joseph |editor-last2= Grub |editor-first2= George |date= 1862 |title= Illustrations of the topography and antiquities of the shires of Aberdeen and Banff |title-link= Illustrations of the shires of Aberdeen and Banff (vol. 4) |series=Antiquities of the shires of Aberdeen and Banff |volume= 4 |publication-place= Aberdeen |publisher= Printed for the [[Spalding Club]] |lccn= 03028907 |oclc= 5655332}}{{#set: Has source=Illustrations of the shires of Aberdeen and Banff (vol. 4)}}
* {{Foedera full|volume=3}}
* {{Foedera full|volume=1}}
* {{Calendar of Documents full|volume=5}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last1= Skene |editor-first1= F.J.H. |editor-link1= Felix James Henry Skene |date= 1880 |orig-date= c. 1461 |title= The Book of Pluscarden |title-link= The Book of Pluscarden (vol. 2) |series=The Historians of Scotland |language= en |volume= 2 |publication-place= Edinburgh |publisher= William Paterson |oclc= 9891882 |ol= OL6933769M |ol-access= free }}{{#set: Has source=The Book of Pluscarden (vol. 2)}}
* {{Documents illustrative full|volume=2}}
* {{Cite book |last1= Stuart |first1= Andrew |last2= Steuart |first2= Henry |date= 1798 |title= Genealogical history of the Stewarts, from the earliest period of their authentic history to the present time. Containing a particular account of the origin and successive generations of the Stuarts of Darnley, Lennox, and Aubigny, and of the Stuarts of Castelmilk; with proofs and references; an appendix of relative papers; and a supplement .. |title-link= Genealogical history of the Stewarts |publication-place= London |publisher= Printed for A. Strahan |lccn= 08170001 |oclc= 642274517 |ol= OL19379950M |ol-access= free }}{{#set: Has source=Genealogical history of the Stewarts}}
* {{Reg mag sig full|volume=1}}


{| class="sortable"
|-
! style="text-align:left;" |Sources cited by Medieval Lands
|-
|  data-sort-value="Scots Peerage (vol. 7)" | * Balfour Paul ''[[The Scots Peerage (vol. 7)|Scots Peerage]]'', Vol. VII, p. 241, citing “''[[Reg. Avenionensis]]'', vols. 269, f. 391; 272, f. 569” [not consulted].
|-
|  data-sort-value="Scots Peerage (vol. 7)" | * Balfour Paul ''[[The Scots Peerage (vol. 7)|Scots Peerage]]'', Vol. VII, p. 241. 
|-
|  data-sort-value="Complete Peerage (vol. 11)" | * [[The Complete Peerage (vol. 11)|CP XI]] 147 footnote c. 
|-
|  data-sort-value="Complete Peerage (vol. 11)" | * [[The Complete Peerage (vol. 11)|CP XI]] 146 footnote h. 
|-
|  data-sort-value="Complete Peerage (vol. 11)" | * [[The Complete Peerage (vol. 11)|CP XI]] 148. 
|-
|  data-sort-value="Complete Peerage (vol. 11)" | * [[The Complete Peerage (vol. 11)|CP XI]] 148-9. 
|-
|  data-sort-value="Complete Peerage (vol. 11)" | * [[The Complete Peerage (vol. 11)|CP XI]] 151. 
|-
|  data-sort-value="Complete Peerage (vol. 11)" | * [[The Complete Peerage (vol. 11)|CP XI]] 151 based on his sasine in 1456. 
|-
|  data-sort-value="Complete Peerage (vol. 11)" | * [[The Complete Peerage (vol. 11)|CP XI]] 152. 
|-
|  data-sort-value="Complete Peerage (vol. 11)" | * [[The Complete Peerage (vol. 11)|CP XI]] 153 footnote d. 
|}

== Acknowledgements ==
* Sources for some events found in the [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SCOTTISH%20NOBILITY%20LATER.htm#_Toc100141819 Earls of Ross section] of [[The Foundation for Medieval Genealogy]]'s site ''[[Medieval Lands (website)|Medieval Lands]]''.

[[Category:Leslie Earls of Ross]]
[[Category:Macdonald Earls of Ross]]
[[Category:Mac an t-Sagairt Earls of Ross]]
[[Category:Timelines]]