He later died, leaving a son also named Adam, in battle at Alnwick in 1093 when Malcolm Ceanmor invaded England in an attempt to regain lands in Northumbria. 131) Adam de Gordun (sic) was granted lands near the lower Tweed (the lands then named Gordun for the family in Berwickshire and also land in present day Roxburgh district-see below for references to Kelso and Houm, now called Hume) for his service to Malcolm in regaining his throne. 129) He further puts forth the version of Adam de Gordun (Gordon) being among the ten thousand men under Siefried, Earl of Northumberland, (some French and Norman knights then at the English Court) being granted by King Edward Atheling (the Confessor) to his son-in-law Malcolm Ceanmor to regain his throne from Maclbeatha, Maormer of Moray, better known as MacBeth. (1949) states that since the Gourdon name was known in France from at least the time of Charlemagne that the opinion of the Gordon family historians followed that of a French origin for the family. In addition, it would be more likely that the grandfather of Richard & Adam de Gordon, Adam de Gordun who fought with Malcolm Ceanmor would be the link with the Saxon family of Swinton, if there were indeed a link.Įdward Gordon of Cairnfield in his History of the House of Gordon, XVIII Vols. Peer.,iv, p.507) Although there seems to be much to support the possibility of the Swinton claim in regards to the early customs of the family, the similarity of the arms and so forth, there has been no documentary proof found to date for this supposition. There are many suppositions on the origin of the family from the Gorduni tribe located in Flanders during the time of Julius Caesar to the Norman family de Guerdon (later spelled Gourdon) to the possibility of Adam & Richard de Gordon being the sons of Ernulf of Swinton and therefore a cadet branch of the Swinton family whose arms also bear the three boar’s heads.
The other version put forth has the family coming during the reign of Malcolm IV or his brother William the Lion and settling in the Berwickshire area called Gor dun meaning hill fort hence the name of the family. With 157 main branches, the Gordon family traces it’s lineage back to Adam de Gordon who settled in Berwickshire in the time of Malcolm III, known as Malcolm Ceanmor, or his son, David I (1124-53).Ĭhalmers in Caledonia appears to be giving two versions of the family’s origin first being in the time of Malcolm III or his son David I, with Adam being one of the favorites and ridding the land of a particularly pesky boar (hence the boar’s heads on the arms) and being given land in Berwickshire.
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