Robert de Moravia, 6th Earl of Sutherland

Robert Sutherland, (died 1444) was the 6th Earl of Sutherland and chief of the Clan Sutherland, a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands.

Early life

Robert Sutherland, 6th Earl of Sutherland was the son of Joanna, daughter of Sir John Menteith and William de Moravia, 5th Earl of Sutherland, the surname Sutherland having been fully adopted from the Earldom. However, according to 19th-century historian William Fraser, upon later investigation it was found that there was no John or Nicolas, Earls of Sutherland in between and that Robert was the son of William, 5th Earl of Sutherland.

Robert, 6th Earl of Sutherland held the earldom for seventy years. and the 18th century John Pinkerton who quoted the 15th century chronicler, Walter Bower. Robert Sutherland, who according to Gordon led the forces that defeated the forces of John of Islay, Earl of Ross at the Battle of Skibo and Strathfleet in 1455, having been sent to do so by his elder brother, John, 7th Earl of Sutherland. According to Gordon, this Robert Sutherland also led a company of Sutherland men on the side of the Clan Mackay at the Battle of Aldy Charrish in the 1480s against the Clan Ross. Fraser also adds that if Robert Sutherland was present at this battle then he must have been a very old man. Alexander Sutherland, listed by Fraser as of whom nothing more is known other than he may have been the ancestor of Alexander Sutherland of Dilred (or Dirlot) who was killed in 1499.