Clan Borthwick is a

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Scottish Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared heritage and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure r ...

History

Origins of the clan

The name Borthwick is of territorial origin. It is a traditional origin that the progenitor of Clan Borthwick was Andreas, a Livonian knight who accompanied the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

Edgar the Ætheling Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Middle Ages; it was, howeve ...

and his sister,

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

, who was later queen and saint, to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1067. However recent research has suggested that the Borthwicks may have come to Scotland with

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

Roman legion The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military List of military legions, unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens serving as legionary, legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 i ...

15th century

Sir William Borthwick held substantial lands in

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

and the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

and obtained a charter confirming the lands of Borthwick in about 1410. It is after these lands that the family was named. Also during the 15th century the Borthwicks became Lords of the

Parliament of Scotland In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. William Borthwick, 1st Lord Borthwick was one of the nobles who was sent as substitute hostages for the ransom of

James I of Scotland James I (late July 1394 – 21 February 1437) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scots from 1406 until his assassination in 1437. The youngest of three sons, he was born in Dunfermline Abbey to King Robert III of Scotland, Robert III and ...

in 1425. He was responsible for the construction of what is now one of the most impressive fortified dwellings in Scotland,

Borthwick Castle Borthwick Castle is one of the largest and best-preserved surviving medieval Scotland, Scottish fortifications. It is located south-east of Edinburgh, to the east of the village of Borthwick, on a site protected on three sides by a steep fall ...

, which remains in the ownership of the Borthwick family. The first Lord Borthwick died before 1458 and is commemorated in a splendid tomb in the old Borthwick church. The church is now in private hands.

16th century

During the

Anglo-Scottish Wars The Anglo-Scottish Wars comprise the various battles which continued to be fought between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland from the time of the Wars of Independence in the early 14th century through to the latter years of the ...

the Borthwicks fought on the side of King

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James I ...

at the

Battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton or Brainston Moor was fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland and resulted in an English victory ...

in 1513.

William Borthwick, 4th Lord Borthwick William Borthwick, 4th Lord Borthwick (died 1542) was a Scottish nobleman. He succeeded his father William Borthwick, 3rd Lord Borthwick in 1503. Lord Borthwick inherited a tenement on the south side of Edinburgh's High Street divided into seve ...

, whose father had died in the previous decade, was given command of

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most historically and architecturally important castles in Scotland. The castle sits atop an Intrusive rock, intrusive Crag and tail, crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill ge ...

and charged with the safety of the infant

James V of Scotland 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 ...

. John, Lord Borthwick was an opponent of the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

and a supporter of

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1538 until 1542, as the second wife of King James V. She was a French people, French noblewoman of the ...

. His adherence to the church, however, did not mean he was in favour with the church hierarchy and in 1547 he was excommunicated for contempt of the Ecclesiastical Court of the See of

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

. An officer of the court, William Langlands, was dispatched to deliver the letters of excommunication to the curate of Borthwick. Langlands was seized by Borthwick's men and thrown in the mill dam north of the castle. Later they made him eat the letters, having first soaked them in wine. He was sent back with the warning that any other letters would 'a gang the same gait'. John's son, William, was a close friend and confidant of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

. Mary took refuge with her husband,

James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell James Hepburn, 1st Duke of Orkney and 4th Earl of Bothwell ( – 14 April 1578), better known simply as Lord Bothwell, was the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. He was accused of the murder of Mary's second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord ...

, but was forced to flee when a force under

James Stewart, Earl of Moray James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570) was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. At times a supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scotl ...

approached. She is said to have escaped dressed as a

page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

. In 1573, David Borthwick of Lochhill became the king's advocate or principal legal adviser. However, not all Borthwicks were nobles. Robert Borthwick was the

Master Gunner Master gunner is an appointment of the warrant officer rank in the British and United States armed forces. United Kingdom In the British Army's Royal Artillery master gunners are experts in the technical aspects of gunnery. They fill advisory ra ...

to James IV of Scotland in 1509 and is said to have cast seven great cannons which were called the ''Seven Sisters''.

17th century

During the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union un ...

the Borthwicks supported the royalist cause and their castle was besieged after the

Battle of Dunbar (1650) The Battle of Dunbar was fought between the English New Model Army, under Oliver Cromwell, and a Scottish army commanded by David Leslie, 1st Lord Newark, David Leslie on 3 September 1650 near Dunbar, Scotland. The battle resulted in a d ...

. The east wall of the castle was blasted with cannon fire from a nearby hillside. Damage was done to the outer wall (still visible to this day), but, before the wall was breached, the inhabitants of the castle surrendered to

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

's forces. The fortress was spared destruction when Cromwell offered Lord Borthwick terms of surrender which he accepted.

18th century

In 1762 Henry Borthwick of Neathorn was recognised as male heir first Lord by the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. However although he assumed the title he died without heirs ten years later. During the 18th century and 19th century various branches of the family disputed the line of succession until in 1986, Major John Borthwick of Crookston was recognised by the

Lord Lyon, King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants ...

as Borthwick

of that Ilk "Of that Ilk", otherwise known as "Chief of that Bluid", is a term used in the Scottish nobility to denote a clan chieftain in some Scottish clans. The term '' of that ilk'' means "of the same ame, and is used to avoid repetition in a person's ti ...

, chief of the name and arms of Borthwick. He also became the 23rd

Lord Borthwick Lord Borthwick is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Alexander Nisbet relates that "the first of this ancient and noble family came from Hungary to Scotland, in the retinue of Queen Margaret, in the reign of Malcolm Canmore, ''anno Domini'' 105 ...

in the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland (; ) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union 1707, Treaty of Union, the Kingdom of Scots and the ...

. His son John Hugh Borthwick became the 24th Lord Borthwick three months prior to his death.

Clan castle

The seat of the chief of Clan Borthwick has always been at

Clan chief

John Hugh Borthwick of that Ilk, 24th

, Chief of the Name and Arms of Borthwick, 18th of Crookston, Baron of Heriotmuir.

References

External links

Official website of Clan Borthwick

Borthwick Castle
{{Scottish clans

Borthwick Borthwick is a hamlet, parish and stream in Midlothian, Scotland. The parish includes the 15th century Borthwick Castle, which is to the east of the village and the villages of Gorebridge and North Middleton.''Gazetteer of Scotland'', publ. by ...