Sir Reginald le Chen or Cheyne (c.1235-1312) was a 13th-14th century Scottish noble. He was a

sheriff of Nairn The Sheriff of Nairn was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order and bringing criminals to justice in Nairn, Scotland . In 1747 the office was merged with that of the Sheriff of Elgin to create the office of Sheriff of ...

, sheriff of Inverness and Baron of Inverugie. Reginald was the son of Sir Reginald le Chen (d.1293) and an unknown daughter of John Comyn of Buchan. He was the

Sheriff of Inverness The Sheriff of Inverness was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order and bringing criminals to justice in Inverness, Scotland. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the J ...

in 1297. In 1305, it was recorded that Reginald received a grant from King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Duchy of Aquitaine, Aquitaine and D ...

of 200 oaks from the royal forests of Longmorn and Darnaway "to build his manor of Dufhous" (

Duffus Castle Duffus Castle, near Elgin, Moray, Scotland, was a motte-and-bailey castle and was in use from c. 1140 to 1705. During its occupation it underwent many alterations. The most fundamental was the destruction of the original wooden structure and it ...

).Bain, J (ed) 1888 ''Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, Vol IV. Edinburgh.'' Sir Reginald Le Chen died before November 1312.

Family

He married Mary in c.1269, daughter of Freskin de Moray of Duffus and of Strabok and lady Johanna de Strathnaver. Almost nothing is recorded about Johanna except in a single charter, which makes clear that she had come to control those lands in the far northwest which

Harald Eiriksson Harald Eiríksson (fl. 1190s), also known as Harald the Young, was joint Earl of Orkney with Harald Maddadsson. He was the son of Orkney chief Eirik Stagbrell and Ingerid Ragnvaldsdotter, the daughter of Rögnvald Kali Kolsson, the former Earl ...

's family had wrested from the

jarldom of Orkney The Earldom of Orkney is the official status of the Orkney Islands. It was originally a Norse feudal dignity in Scotland which had its origins from the Viking period. In the ninth and tenth centuries it covered more than the Northern Isles ...

. The charter is clear that Joanna had control of this territory -

strathnaver Strathnaver or Strath Naver ( gd, Srath Nabhair) is the fertile strath of the River Naver, a famous salmon river that flows from Loch Naver to the north coast of Scotland. The term has a broader use as the name of an ancient province also kno ...

- independently of the Jarl, and of Sutherland. Peculiarly, Joanna donated the territory, in some sense, to

Elgin Cathedral Elgin Cathedral is a historic ruin in Elgin, Moray, north-east Scotland. The cathedral—dedicated to the Holy Trinity—was established in 1224 on land granted by King Alexander II of Scotland, Alexander II outside the burgh of Elgin and clo ...

, only for the cathedral to rent it back to Reginald for a bi-annual fee; mysteriously, the charter does not explain why this transaction arose. As Reginald's descendants eventually became Earls of Sutherland, this ultimately led to an intimate connection between Strathnaver and Sutherland, with which it is now merged. Reginald had the following known issue: * Reginald of Inverugie and Duffus, married Helen, daughter of Malise, Earl of Strathearn and Joan de Mentieth. * Francis of Straloch, married Isabel, daughter of

John Comyn, Earl of Buchan John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan (circa 1260 – 1308) was a chief opponent of Robert the Bruce in the civil war that paralleled the War of Scottish Independence. He should not be confused with the better known John III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, ...

and Isabella MacDuff. *Elena, married William de Moubray. *Unknown daughter, probably Beatrix (b.c.1266), married Andrew Fraser of Touch Fraser and Cowie.

Citations

References

*Cheyne, Archibald: The Cheyne Family in Scotland *Godsman, James: A History of the Burgh and Parish of Ellon, Aberdeenshire {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Reginald le 1312 deaths 13th-century Scottish people 14th-century Scottish people Medieval Scottish knights Scottish people of the Wars of Scottish Independence R Year of birth uncertain