Clan Borthwick

Clan Borthwick
Crest: A moor's head couped Proper wreathed Argent and Sable
Motto	Qui conducit ("He Who Leads")
Chief
John Hugh Borthwick of that Ilk
24th Lord Borthwick
Historic seat	Borthwick Castle

Clan Borthwick is a Scottish clan.

The name Borthwick is of territorial origin. It is a traditional origin that the progenitor of Clan Borthwick was Andreas, who accompanied the Saxon Edgar the Ætheling and his sister, Margaret, who was later queen and saint, to Scotland in 1067. However recent research has suggested that the Borthwicks may have come to Scotland with Julius Caesar's Roman legions.

Sir William Borthwick held substantial lands in Midlothian and the Scottish Borders 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.

William Borthwick, 1st Lord Borthwick was one of the nobles who was sent as substitute hostages for the ransom of James I of Scotland in 1425. He was responsible for the construction of what is now one of the most impressive fortified dwellings in Scotland, Borthwick Castle, 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.

During the Anglo-Scottish Wars the Borthwicks fought on the side of King James IV of Scotland at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.William Borthwick, 4th Lord Borthwick, whose father had died in the previous decade, was given command of Stirling Castle and charged with the safety of the infant James V of Scotland.