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The Westford Knight The following information is taken from the brochure "The Remarkable Prince Henry Sinclair". The brochure itself is based on an article entitled Was Glooscap a Scot? reprinted as Yours Aye, August 1988, giving credit to Atlantic Insight of June 1983. Born in Scotland in about 1345 A.D. Henry Sinclair became Earl of Rosslyn and the surrounding lands as well as Prince of Orkney, Duke of Oldenburg (Denmark), and Premier Earl of Norway. In 1398 he led an expedition to explore Nova Scotia and Massachusetts. This was 90 years before Columbus "discovered America"!
Prince Henry Sinclair was the subject of historian Frederick J. Pohl's
Henry Sinclair's ancestry was a mixture of Norman, French, Norwegian, and
Scottish. The first Sinclair known in what is now the United Kingdom had
arrived with William the Conqueror in 1066. Sinclair's grand-father, a
friend of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, died fighting the Saracens in
Spain in 1330. His father, Sir William Sinclair, also died in battle while
fighting the Lithuanians from a base in Prussia in 1358. Henry was 13 at
the time. He was trained in martial exercises with sword, spear, bow and
arrow. He spoke Latin and French, and became a knight at the age of 21
years. His first wife, who died young, was the great-grand-daughter of
King Magnus of Sweden and Norway. His second wife, Janet Holyburton of
Direton Castle, bore him four children.
Sinclair was installed as the Earl of Orkney and Lord of Shetland when he
was only 24, and held his appointment at the pleasure of King Hakon VI of
Norway. As "jarl", he was next to royalty. He had authority to stamp
coins, to make laws, remit crimes, wear a crown, and have a sword carried
before him. He had already been rewarded by Kind David of Scotland for
a successful raid into England, with the title of Lord Sinclair and the
position of Lord Chief Justice of Scotland. Sinclair excelled in a furious
time.
Sinclair happened to be in the Faeroe Islands, which were part of his
earldom in 1390, when he heard that a ship had been wrecked and, since
shipwrecks were fair game for pillage at the time, the local fishermen
were attacking the crew. Sinclair rescued the mariners, and discovered
they were Venetians. Their commander, Nicolo Zeno, was a brother of the
most famous admiral of the time, Carlo Zeno. Sinclair hoped to dominate
the northern seas, and promptly appointed Nicolo commander of his fleet.
After Nicolo's death, Sinclair appointed another Zeno brother, Antonio, as
fleet commander. Nicolo and Antonio used to write to Carlo "The Lion" in
Venice, and this correspondence was published in 1558 by a great-great-
great-grandson of Antonio. Historians call it the Zeno Narrative,
and it is a basic source for Pohl's intriguing account.
This Zeno Narrative told about a survey to make a map of Greenland
in about 1393; it was conducted by Nicolo Zeno, and later by Prince
Henry's ships. This Zeno Map of the North proved to be the most accurate
map in existence for the next 150 years!
Not only did the Zeno Map chart the sea with uncanny precision, it also
showed certain landmarks. For example, it illustrated two cities in
Estotilanda (Nova Scotia), possibly founded by Sinclair at Louisburg
Harbor and St. Peter's. A castle or fortification was shown. There is
speculation that Zeno based his map upon a much more ancient map, coming
from the Templars in the Middle East, carried in secrecy by them for
safekeeping in Rosslyn Castle, until Price Henry commissioned its update by
Zeno.
The Zeno Narrative reported that as far back as 1371, four fishing
boats (the fishermen were Sinclair's subjects) were blown so far out to sea
that they eventually came ashore on land that was probably Newfoundland.
They spent more than twenty years on the island, and apparently on the
lands to the south, and then one of them made contact with some European
fishermen and managed to return to the Faeroes. Sinclair decided to
explore these new lands and set sail around April 1, 1398. His fleet
consisted of 13 little vessels, two of them driven by oars. The Zeno
Document suggests he tried to land at Newfoundland but was driven off by
natives, and then sailed into Chedabucto Bay. It is believed he dropped
anchor on the first of June in Guysborough Harbor.
Sinclair then sent 100 soldiers to explore the source of smoke they saw
swirling above a distant hill. The soldiers reported back that the smoke
was a natural thing proceeding from a great fire in the bottom of a hill,
where a spring, from which issued a certain substance like pitch, ran
into the sea. Thereabouts dwelt a great many people, half-wild, and living
in caves. They were of small stature and very timid. Geographical
detective work, archaeology, modern science and various documents have
pinpointed the burning hill as the asphalt area at Stellarton, about 50
miles direct from the head of Guysborough Harbor.
The Scots liked the soil, the rivers, even the air, and wanted to establish
a settlement. A portion of his party returned home, but he kept some men
with him together with two oar-powered boats, which were good for exploring
rivers and coasts. He took them through the Strait of Canso to meet the
Indians at Pictou.
Apparently he persuaded the Micmacs to act as guides in his exploration.
Sinclair may have travelled to Annapolis Basin and across the Micmac canoe
route to Liverpool. By October, he was back on Green Hill, southwest of
Pictou harbor, to attend a gathering of the Micmacs. " 'Twas the time for
holding the great and yearly feast with dancing and merry games" His winter
campsite was on the high promontory of Cap d'Or, overlooking Advocate Harbor.
During the winter, the expedition built a ship and, when spring arrived,
Sinclair sailed away from Nova Scotia.
They travelled southward, perhaps carried by a northeaster, to the New
England Coast, just north of Boston. The party landed and spent the
winter, living peacefully with the Indians. To the west they could see a
hilltop from which the Indians frequently sent smoke signals. Accompanied
by his 100 men, Henry marched inland to the summit of this hill, now
called Prospect Hill, located in Westford, Massachusetts. It is 465 feet
in altitude and afforded a good view in all directions.
While at this area, one of Prince Henry's loyal attendants by the name of
Sir James Gunn, also from Scotland, died. In memory of the lost companion,
the party carved a marker on the face of a stone ledge. It consisted of
various sizes of punched holes, which depicted a Scottish knight, with a
39 inch long sword and shield bearing the Gunn Clan insignia. The
punch-hole method of carving involved making a series of small impressions
with a sharp tool, driven by a mallet. Where glacial scratches or rock
colorations existed, they were incorporated into the man-made design. Some
holes were larger and deeper than others, probably due to the dulling of
the carver's tool and centuries of weathering. In the words of Frederick
Pohl, "the following are undeniably man-made workings: the pommel, handle,
and guard of the sword; below the guard the break across the blade that
is indicative of the death of the sword's owner; the crest above the
pommel; a few holes at the sword's point; the punched-hole jess lines
attached to the legs of the falcon; the bell-shaped hollows; the corner
of the shield touching the pommel; the crescent on the shield; and the
holes that form a decorative pattern on the pommel." Now weatherworn and
faint, one can see just enough of the carving to visualize the rest of it.
Of course, there have been many investigations to verify the authenticity
of this carving. There remains little doubt that this memorial is not a
hoax, nor some Indian marking, but rather, the true monument created by
Prince Henry Sinclair, nearly 600 years ago!
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