Clan Swinton

Clan Swinton
Crest: A boar chained to a tree
Motto	J'espere, Je Pense (I Hope, I Think)
Profile
Region	Lowlands
District	Berwickshire
Chief
Rolfe William Swinton of that Ilk
Chief of the Name and Arms of Swinton.
Seat	New York, United States.
Historic seat	Swinton House, Berwickshire

Clan Swinton is a Lowland Scottish clan.

The Swinton chiefs seem to be of Anglo-Saxon origin and descended from the prominent nobles of the kingdom of Northumbria. The kingdom of Northumberland straddled the modern day border between Scotland and England. According to tradition the name was acquired for their bravery in clearing the country of wild boar, with the family arms alluding to this legend. However, the name is more likely to have been of territorial origin: the village of Swinewood in the county of Berwickshire was granted by Edgar, King of Scotland, son of Malcolm III of Scotland to Coldingham Priory in 1098.

In around 1136/7, Ernulf de Swinton received one of the first private charters recorded in Scotland which confirmed his property from David I of Scotland. This is one of two original charters of David kept in the cartulary of Durham, both to Ernulf, wherein he is told to "hold his lands as freely as any of the king’s barons", and importantly is termed Miles in both, making him the first recorded instance of a Scottish Knight.

Of note, the charters reference Ernulf's father (Udard), grandfather (Liulf) and great-grandfather (Eadulf) as holding the land before him.Eadulf is believed to have been granted the land by his cousin Malcolm III of Scotland in return for military support against Macbeth. This, according to James Lees-Milne, makes Eadulf the first subject of Scotland whose land ownership can be proved, and means the Swinton Family is one of only three ( see Arden Family & Berkeley Family) that can trace its unbroken land ownership and lineage to before the Norman Conquest, making it one of the oldest landed families in Britain.