Clan Gordon

Clan Gordon Crest

Clan Gordon, also known as the House of Gordon, is a traditional Scottish clan name and it is now a common forename. It became a popular forename after the death of General Charles George 'Chinese' Gordon at the Battle of Khartoum.

History

The origin on the Gordon family in Scotland was not Gaelic. This is best described by H. Potter in his book, Blood Feud. Although the Gordon family in Scotland rose to become the predominant power in the northeast of Scotland they were not natives to that part or indeed to Scotland, and had a feudal rather than a Gaelic origin. Of Norman descent, they were one of many families welcomed into his kingdom by David I. By the early twelfth century they had settled in the village and estates of Gordon, near Kelso in the Scottish Borders under the protection of their kinsman, the Earl of Dunbar." Because the Gordon family did not start as a "clan", it is often referred to as the House of Gordon, a name more tied to its Norman descent. While the family organization in Scotland calls itself the "House of Gordon", most publications use the more common "Clan Gordon" as does the book "Scottish Clan and Family Encyclopedia" considered the authority.

Some Gordons claim to be Clan Gordon while others House of Gordon out of personal preference or bias. While Clan Gordon is certainly the most common term used, both Clan and House are truly synonymous and either term is proper. Hence our use of both House of Gordon and Clan Gordon.

Castle Huntly

The king gave the Earl of Atholl’s confiscated lands of Strathbogie to Gordon. The castle there became known as Huntly, a reminder of the Gordons’ Berwickshire lands. Sir Alexander Gordon was created Earl of Huntly in 1449.

At this time the king was at enmity with the powerful Clan Douglas.

The Gordons stood on the king’s side, and with their men involved in the south of the country, the Earl of Moray, a relation and ally of the Douglases, took the opportunity to sack the Gordon lands, setting Huntly Castle ablaze. The Gordons returned and quickly destroyed their enemies. Although the castle was burned to the ground, a grander castle was built in its place.

Huntly Castle
Huntly Castle

Wars of Scottish Independence

During the Wars of Scottish Independence Clan Gordon supported Robert the Bruce and fought at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333.

Clan Conflicts

  • Clan Chief Sir John Gordon is killed leading the clan at the Battle of Otterburn fighting against the English in 1388.
  • Clan Chief Sir Adam Gordon is killed leading the clan at the Battle of Homildon Hill, also known as the Battle of Humbleton Hill on 14th September 1402.
  • The Gordons fought at the Battle of Arbroath in 1445 where Patrick Gordon of Methlic was slain.
  • Huntly Castle 1449; The Gordons defeat the Clan Douglas who had invaded their lands.
  • The Gordons fought at the Battle of the Western Isles in 1505.
  • 1520, Feud with Clan Forbes, During the 15th and 16th centuries the Clan was engaged in a long feud against Clan Forbes. The feud which had been carried on for a long time reached a climax in the 1520's with murders committed by both sides occuring constantly. One of the most prominent of those killed by the Forbes action, Seton of Meldrum, was a close connection of the chief of the Gordons, the Earl of Huntly. The Earl of Huntly soon became involved in a plot aimed at the Master of Forbes (son of John, the 6th Lord Forbes), who was heavily implicated in the Seton murder.
  • In 1536 Chief of Gordons, the Earl of Huntly accused the Master of Forbes of conspiring to assassinate King James V of Scotland while visiting Aberdeen by shooting at him with a cannon. The Master of Forbes was tried and executed, but within days his sentence was revoked and the Clan Forbes family restored to favour. However the damage to relations between the Clan Forbes and Clan Gordon was irreparable. Attacks by each family and their supporters were carried out more or less continuously throughout the remainder of the century, reducing Aberdeenshire to an unparalleled state of lawlessness.
  • Clan Gordon fought the English at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh 1547.
  • Inverness Castle 1562; In 1562 while visiting Inverness the Princess who would later become Mary Queen of Scotts was refused admission into Inverness Castle by the governor of the Castle who was a Gordon. The Clan Munro and Clan Fraser wishing to support Mary took Inverness Castle for her. Mary then hanged the Gordon who had refused her admission.
  • Corriche 1562, The Battle of Corrichie took place around Meikle Tap in 1562, between George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntley and James Stuart, the new Earl of Moray (half-brother to Mary Queen of Scots). Gordon was killed and his son, Sir John, and other members of his family were later executed at Aberdeen.
  • 1571, Feud with Clan Forbes, During the 15th and 16th centuries the Clan was engaged in a long and bitter struggle against the Clan Forbes. By 1571 the feud had got to the point where other clans began taking sides. The Clan Leslie, Clan Irvine and Clan Seton who had their own feuds with the Forbeses joined forces with Clan Gordon. However opponents of the Gordons such as Clan Keith, Clan Fraser and Clan Crichton joined forces with Clan Forbes. The feud culminated in two full scale battles in 1571; The Battle of Tillieangus and the Battle of Craibstone. It was at the Battle of Tillieangus that the 6th Lord Forbes's youngest son known as Black Aurther Forbes was killed. Legend has it that "he stooped down to quench his thirst and one of the Gordons gave him his death blow through an open joint in his armour".
  • 1571, The Castle Druminnor, then Lord Forbes's seat, was itself plundered and sacked and in the same month the Gordons followed this up by the atrocious massacre of 27 Forbeses of Towie at Corgarff. Two acts of Parliament were required to force the clans to lay down their arms but the struggle had drawn the Forbeses deep into debt making it necessary for them to sell much of their land.
  • 1594, The Clan Gordon with allies the Clan Cumming/Comyn participated in the Battle of Glenlivet in 1594.
  • The Clan Gordon fought at the Battle of Alford in 1645. They are victorious, led by George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly fighting under James Graham 1st Marquess of Montrose. The Marquess of Huntly's eldest son George Gordon fell at this battle.
  • 1645, Lewis Gordon, clan chief and 3rd Marquess of Huntly of the Clan Gordon attacks and burns down Brodie Castle of the Clan Brodie. This was part of the Covenanting conflict during the Civil War
  • 1682, A fight over cattle and land with the southern Scottish family the MacCulloch's of Myreton.

    • Jacobite Risings

    During the Jacobite Uprisings of 1715 - 1716 and 1745 - 1746 there were Gordons on both sides. The 2nd Duke of Gordon followed the Jacobites in 1715, but the 3rd Duke of Gordon supported the British government by the time of the 1745 uprising. While his brother raised two regiments against him at the Battle of Falkirk (1746) and the Battle of Culloden (1746).

    Gaelic Names

    Motto & Slogan

    Mottos:*Bydand (Remaining)

    Slogan: *"An Gordanach! An Gordanach!"

    Pipe Music & Plant Badge

    Tartans

    Clan Gordon has several recognized tartarns:

    The Gordon Modern tartan was used by The Gordon Highlanders Regiment, (now the Highlanders) and is sometimes referred to as "Military." The difference between the family sett (modern) and military sett is only in the pleating of the kilt. The military pleat to the stripe, showing a series of stripes across the back of the kilt. The family sett is pleated to the sett, showing the repeat of the pattern in it's entirety across the back of the kilt.

    Chief & Arms

    Branches

    Septs of the Clan Gordon

    Most of Wikipedia's text and many of its images are licensed under the
    Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (CC BY-SA)

    Return to Main Index