Murkle (Murchill) is a small scattered hamlet, made up of ''East Murkle'' and ''West Murkle'' located east of

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; , ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great Britain. From a latitudinal s ...

, in

Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

and is in the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

council area of

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

Name

The name ''Murkle'' derives from the name ''Morthill'', meaning Field of Death, so called because it was the site of a battle with the

Danes Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. History Early history Denmark ...

in the early medieval period.

Sinclairs of Murkle

Members of

Clan Sinclair Clan Sinclair ( ) is a Highland Scottish clan which holds the lands of Caithness, the Orkney Islands, and the Lothians. The chiefs of the clan were the Barons of Roslin and later the Earls of Orkney and Earls of Caithness. The Sinclairs are be ...

associated with Murkle are as follows: *James Sinclair (1567–1642), 1st of Murkle, who was the second son of John, Master of Caithness, and grandson of George, 4th

Earl of Caithness Earl of Caithness is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland, and it has a very complex history. Its first grant, in the modern sense as to have been counted in strict lists of peerages, is now generally held to hav ...

. He married Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of Robert Stewart (b. 1533),

Earl of Strathearn Earl or Mormaer of Strathearn is a title of Scottish nobility, referring to the region of Strathearn in southern Perthshire. Of unknown origin, the mormaers are attested for the first time in a document perhaps dating to 1115. The first known mo ...

and

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

, a natural son of King

James V James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...

. He was followed by his son: *Sir James Sinclair (d. 1662), 2nd of Murkle. He was followed by his son: *John Sinclair (d. 1705), 3rd of Murkle, who succeeded as 8th Earl of Caithness in 1698. He was followed by his son: *Alexander Sinclair (d. 1765), 9th Earl of Caithness, upon whose death the earldom of Caithness became a matter of controversy and passed from the Sinclairs of Murkle. The original estate of Murkle, as possessed by James Sinclair, his wife Elizabeth Stewart, and their son, Sir James, was acquired at various times between 1586 and 1637, from four main sources: George, fifth Earl of Caithness; his son William, Lord Berriedale; the Bishops of Orkney and Caithness; and the Earls of Sutherland. The estate held by Sir James Sinclair consisted of Murkle (East and West) and Clairdon; one half of Ormlie, Thurdistoft, Acharascal, and Carnabiud, Lybster, and Borrowstone, all held of the Earl of Caithness; one half of Ormlie, held of the Bishop of Caithness; Pownreay, held of the Bishop of Orkney; and Broynach, held of the Earl of Sutherland. In the eighteenth century, the family also acquired Isauld (1723) and Brubster and Brims (1726–27).

Legends

It is said that a

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...

once fell in love with a local fisherman, who to this day holds him captive in a nearby loch. It is also said in the 9th chapter of the ''

Orkneyinga saga The ''Orkneyinga saga'' (Old Norse: ; ; also called the ''History of the Earls of Orkney'' and ''Jarls' Saga'') is a narrative of the history of the Orkney and Shetland islands and their relationship with other local polities, particularly No ...

'' that "Ragnhilda, king Eric's daughter" had a husband called Arnfinn, the fifth son of Thorfinn the Earl. Arnfinn died at Murkle in Caithness leaving Ragnhilda a widow.

References

Populated places in Caithness Orkneyinga saga places {{Caithness-geo-stub