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For the Irish peerage possessed by the Parsons family based in County Offaly, see Earl of Rosse.
The
Mormaer or
Earl of Ross refers to the leader of a
medieval Gaelic lordship in northern
Scotland, roughly between the
Oykell and the
Beauly. Initially, it was probably confined entirely to
Easter Ross to an area between the
Dornoch Firth and the
Cromarty Firth, i.e. the
Tarbat peninsula and the parishes of
Kiltearn (equal to the modern
Evanton) and
Alness. The earliest man we known of to have the comital title to
Ross, was the rebel
Máel Coluim mac Áeda. However, the true founder was of course the famous
Ferchar mac in tSagairt, who attained the title probably sometime in the
1220s by destroying the "
MacHeths" and "
Meic Uilleim", two rebel kinship groups.
His son and successor
Uilleam I greatly expanded the Mormaerdom, conquering territory from the Kingdom of
Norway. The line ended in
1372, when
Uilleam III died with no heir, and his daughter
Euphemia married
Walter Lesley. The comital Lordship eventually passed into the hands of the
MacDonald Lords of the Isles.
The role of Chief of
Clan Ross was with the earls of Ross until
Uilleam III, Earl of Ross died in 1372. It then passed to
Euphemia I, Countess of Ross, who became the wife of Sir
Walter Leslie. The position of Earl of Ross stayed with the Leslie line until the death of
Alexander Leslie, Earl of Ross in 1402. The Earldom then passed to MacDonald, Lord of the Isles and then later it passed to the
House of Stewart.
The title remained in crown hands until, on
January 23, 1481, it was awarded to
James Stewart, the second son of
James III, King of Scots. He was simultaneously created
Lord Ardmannoch and
Lord Brechin and Navar. He was later created
Duke of Ross. The fourth creation was on
May 20, 1565, for
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who was simultaneously created Lord Ardmannoch. Shortly thereafter (
July 20, 1565) he was created
Duke of Albany. After his murder at
Kirk o' Field House, he was succeeded by his infant son
James, whose accession as James VI a few months later returned the peerages to the crown. Upon the creation of
Charles Stuart as
Duke of Albany on
January 23, 1600, he was also invested with the subsidiary titles of
Marquess of Ormonde, Earl of Ross, and Lord Ardmannoch. He was crowned as Charles I in 1625, and the titles again returned to the crown.
However, Brown (1834) states: "Earl of Ross (Extinct) was claimed in 1778 by Munro Ross of Pitcalnie, as male descendant of Hugh Ross of Rarichus, brother of the last Earl."
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