William III, Earl of Ross

William (or Uilleam) III, 5th Earl of Ross (d. 1372) was a fourteenth-century Scottish nobleman. He was the fifth O’Beolan earl of Ross, descending from the founder of the line, Fearchar of Ross (or Fearchar MacTaggart).

William was the son of Aodh (Hugh), 4th Earl of Ross, and his wife Matilda Bruce, daughter of Robert de Bruce, 6th Lord of Annandale. He was first cousin to David II, king of Scotland, through his mother, who was a sister of Robert the Bruce.

William was in Norway at the time of his father’s death at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333, but returned in 1336 and took possession of the earldom. Soon after his return, the earl undertook the rebuilding of the ruinous Fearn Abbey, which had been founded by Fearchar MacTaggart in the previous century.

The life of William, Earl of Ross, is closely entwined with the political and military events of the reign of David II, who was ever vigilant to repel the English as they undertook to expand their influence in Scotland. In 1339, the English, in support of Edward Baliol’s claim to the Scottish crown, had planted themselves in Perth, and the earl played a key role in David’s siege of Perth. Aware that the defensive channel of water around the town made it difficult for the Scots to enter the city, Ross and his men diverted the waters and filled in the ditch with driftwood, giving them access to the city walls. At this point, the English decided to give up the cause and pulled out.

In 1342, Ross granted a charter for ten davochs (about 4,160 acres or 104 Scots acres) of land in Kintail to Ronald MacRuari (Raghnall MacRuaidhrí), Lord of the Isles, a descendant of Somerled.

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