Auchindoun Castle (13) The life of Edom o' Gordon
(Looking across the ditches of the Iron Age fort upon which Auchindoun Castle stands, and the valley of the River Fiddich beyond, to the hill called "The Scalp".)
Sir Adam Gordon of Auchindoun, or Edom o' Gordon if you prefer, has featured quite heavily over my recent photos of Corgarff and Druminnor, but despite featuring in one of the North-East's more famous stories, not a great deal is known about him - as is often the case with the 'younger sons' of great men, so I shall summarise here what I know of him.
He was probably born in 1545. He was one of the nine sons of George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly and lady Elizabeth Keith.
He took part in the Battle of Corrichie, 22 October 1562, aged 17, at which the Gordons were defeated by Mary Queen of Scots' forces under the command of her illigitimate half-brother, James Earl of Moray. While his father died immediately after the battle, his next eldest brother, Sir John Gordon, "was soon afterwards tried at Aberdeen, condemned, and beheaded. His youth and magnanimity excited the compassion of the beholders, which was deepened by the manner in which he was mangled by the unskilful executioner. The Queen is said to have witnessed his death with many tears."
Adam Gordon escaped execution after Corrichie due to his youth - he was only 17. He lived to be, as his father had been (despite what happened to him), one of Queen Mary's most faithful servants. His eldest brother George, Master of Huntly, who had fortunately been absent when Corrichie was fought, duly became 5th Earl of Huntly. While the new Earl was fighting for the Queen's party in the south, Sir Adam held the north for her. It was against this background that Sir Adam fought the Battles of Tillyangus and the Craibstone in late 1571, against the Forbeses, events that were followed shortly afterwards by the burning of Corgarff Castle by either Sir Adam or his men.
The following year, in June 1572, Sir Adam "entered into the Mearns and surprised the castle of Douglas of Glenbervie, wasted his lands, and carried off his goods." Early on the morning of the 5th July, at the head of 1600 men, he surprised the King’s forces at Brechin (Queen Mary had been forced to abdicate and had been replaced with her one year old son, however her supporters, the Gordons chief amongst them, continued to fight on on her behalf), and took several of the leaders and 200 men prisoner. "But, after haranguing them about the wrongs inflicted upon his family through the death of his father and the execution of his brother, he dismissed them. Gordon marched to Montrose and imposed a ransom of £2000 and two tuns of wine upon the town." A truce in the fighting between the King’s party and the Queen’s adherents was agreed to at the end of July, 1572, to continue for two months.
In the winter of 1573 Huntly seems to have seen that the struggle against the King’s party was hopeless. Accordingly he resolved to make the best terms he could for himself and his friends. He had a meeting with the Regent Morton at Aberdour on the 18th of February 1573. A few days after, an agreement was concluded, under which Huntly and his allies the Hamiltons were to receive a remission for past offences and the murder of the late Regent, as well as a discharge for all the damage done by them during the late troubles; and they were also to be secured in their estates and titles. The Master of Forbes and John Glen of Bar, who had been taken prisoners by Sir Adam Gordon, were to be immediately liberated. Huntly was to discharge his armed men, and the forfeiture standing against him was to be reduced.
With his military talents no longer in demand and with a number of people no doubt bent on vengeance, Sir Adam together with his cousin and good friend George Gordon of Gight, decided that 1574 would be a good time for a prolonged visit to France! Sir Robert Gordon of Gordonstoun records in his history of the family that "Gight went across to France with Edom o' Gordon and six other gentlemen, and was entertained by Charles IX." But even there, amongst fellow Catholics, they were not safe because "They were followed by Arthur Forbes, son of Lord Forbes, who attempted to assassinate Auchindoun. The French king sent out his guards, who, with the aid of the Gordons, killed Forbes." Auchindoun recovered, but there was to be a sequel to this event a few years later.
In 1575, Sir Adam Gordon returned from France to Scotland, with twenty of his companions. He was immediately seized, and imprisoned in Blackness Castle, however in January of 1576, he was released "on the Earl of Huntly becoming surety, for the relief of his cautioners—Hugh, Earl of Eglinton, Lord Elphinstone, and others—that he would enter into ward in the town of Kirkcudbright."
Sir Adam, while still only in his early thirties, seems to have lived out the last few years of his life comparatively quietly by his standards. On the morning of the 24th of October 1576, his brother George, 5th Earl of Huntly, was in good health. In the afternoon, he went out to play a game of football, and, after kicking the ball once or twice, he fell upon his face. He was immediately conveyed to his room in Strathbogie Castle, where he died three hours later. During the minority of George, sixth Earl of Huntly, his uncle, Sir Adam Gordon of Auchindoun, managed his affairs, and sent him to France to complete his education.
The death of Arthur Forbes in Paris in 1575, had of course, to be avenged by the Forbeses, and it was (to continue in the words of Sir Robert Gordon) "Gight that had to pay the penalty of the act, for in late 1579, or early 1580, he fought a duel with John Lord Forbes (the Privy Council register calls the antagonist Alexander Forbes, younger of Towie, which is far more probable) - on the shore of Dundee.
The cause which Forbes pretended for this slaughter was that the laird of Gight had given him some injurious words before the Privy Councell, which wes then by the lords reconciled in some measure. Yet the Lord Forbes returning into the north (apparently after the Council meeting in Edinburgh) did watch the Laird of Gight when he landed at the ferry of Dundie, wher the Forbesses shott him unawares with muskets, beside the windmilne upon the shore. He fought with them a long tyme after he was shott and wounded, and pursued them eagerly until he was oversuayed with their multitude. So he died fighting with great courage among them, having killed some of them at that instant.
The Laird of Auchindoun (Adam Gordon) went about to pursue the Forbesse by the laws of the kingdome for this slaughter, but such was the great malice of the ringleaders then at court against the Gordons (the king being a minor) that he could have no justice at that tyme; and so Auchindoun delayed the matter, thinking to repair that wrong by some other occasion; but he was prevented by (his own) death in 1580. The Privy Council tried to stop the feud in 1580, but it was still going on as late as 1587, when the Council again intervened."
George Gordon of Gight had married Agnes Beaton, 'natural' daughter of Cardinal David Beaton (murdered in 1546). After the death of her husband in 1580, followed by that of his close friend Adam o' Gordon, she remarried in 1583, Patrick Gordon, the new laird of Auchindoun, and younger brother of Sir Adam.
Auchindoun Castle (13) The life of Edom o' Gordon
(Looking across the ditches of the Iron Age fort upon which Auchindoun Castle stands, and the valley of the River Fiddich beyond, to the hill called "The Scalp".)
Sir Adam Gordon of Auchindoun, or Edom o' Gordon if you prefer, has featured quite heavily over my recent photos of Corgarff and Druminnor, but despite featuring in one of the North-East's more famous stories, not a great deal is known about him - as is often the case with the 'younger sons' of great men, so I shall summarise here what I know of him.
He was probably born in 1545. He was one of the nine sons of George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly and lady Elizabeth Keith.
He took part in the Battle of Corrichie, 22 October 1562, aged 17, at which the Gordons were defeated by Mary Queen of Scots' forces under the command of her illigitimate half-brother, James Earl of Moray. While his father died immediately after the battle, his next eldest brother, Sir John Gordon, "was soon afterwards tried at Aberdeen, condemned, and beheaded. His youth and magnanimity excited the compassion of the beholders, which was deepened by the manner in which he was mangled by the unskilful executioner. The Queen is said to have witnessed his death with many tears."
Adam Gordon escaped execution after Corrichie due to his youth - he was only 17. He lived to be, as his father had been (despite what happened to him), one of Queen Mary's most faithful servants. His eldest brother George, Master of Huntly, who had fortunately been absent when Corrichie was fought, duly became 5th Earl of Huntly. While the new Earl was fighting for the Queen's party in the south, Sir Adam held the north for her. It was against this background that Sir Adam fought the Battles of Tillyangus and the Craibstone in late 1571, against the Forbeses, events that were followed shortly afterwards by the burning of Corgarff Castle by either Sir Adam or his men.
The following year, in June 1572, Sir Adam "entered into the Mearns and surprised the castle of Douglas of Glenbervie, wasted his lands, and carried off his goods." Early on the morning of the 5th July, at the head of 1600 men, he surprised the King’s forces at Brechin (Queen Mary had been forced to abdicate and had been replaced with her one year old son, however her supporters, the Gordons chief amongst them, continued to fight on on her behalf), and took several of the leaders and 200 men prisoner. "But, after haranguing them about the wrongs inflicted upon his family through the death of his father and the execution of his brother, he dismissed them. Gordon marched to Montrose and imposed a ransom of £2000 and two tuns of wine upon the town." A truce in the fighting between the King’s party and the Queen’s adherents was agreed to at the end of July, 1572, to continue for two months.
In the winter of 1573 Huntly seems to have seen that the struggle against the King’s party was hopeless. Accordingly he resolved to make the best terms he could for himself and his friends. He had a meeting with the Regent Morton at Aberdour on the 18th of February 1573. A few days after, an agreement was concluded, under which Huntly and his allies the Hamiltons were to receive a remission for past offences and the murder of the late Regent, as well as a discharge for all the damage done by them during the late troubles; and they were also to be secured in their estates and titles. The Master of Forbes and John Glen of Bar, who had been taken prisoners by Sir Adam Gordon, were to be immediately liberated. Huntly was to discharge his armed men, and the forfeiture standing against him was to be reduced.
With his military talents no longer in demand and with a number of people no doubt bent on vengeance, Sir Adam together with his cousin and good friend George Gordon of Gight, decided that 1574 would be a good time for a prolonged visit to France! Sir Robert Gordon of Gordonstoun records in his history of the family that "Gight went across to France with Edom o' Gordon and six other gentlemen, and was entertained by Charles IX." But even there, amongst fellow Catholics, they were not safe because "They were followed by Arthur Forbes, son of Lord Forbes, who attempted to assassinate Auchindoun. The French king sent out his guards, who, with the aid of the Gordons, killed Forbes." Auchindoun recovered, but there was to be a sequel to this event a few years later.
In 1575, Sir Adam Gordon returned from France to Scotland, with twenty of his companions. He was immediately seized, and imprisoned in Blackness Castle, however in January of 1576, he was released "on the Earl of Huntly becoming surety, for the relief of his cautioners—Hugh, Earl of Eglinton, Lord Elphinstone, and others—that he would enter into ward in the town of Kirkcudbright."
Sir Adam, while still only in his early thirties, seems to have lived out the last few years of his life comparatively quietly by his standards. On the morning of the 24th of October 1576, his brother George, 5th Earl of Huntly, was in good health. In the afternoon, he went out to play a game of football, and, after kicking the ball once or twice, he fell upon his face. He was immediately conveyed to his room in Strathbogie Castle, where he died three hours later. During the minority of George, sixth Earl of Huntly, his uncle, Sir Adam Gordon of Auchindoun, managed his affairs, and sent him to France to complete his education.
The death of Arthur Forbes in Paris in 1575, had of course, to be avenged by the Forbeses, and it was (to continue in the words of Sir Robert Gordon) "Gight that had to pay the penalty of the act, for in late 1579, or early 1580, he fought a duel with John Lord Forbes (the Privy Council register calls the antagonist Alexander Forbes, younger of Towie, which is far more probable) - on the shore of Dundee.
The cause which Forbes pretended for this slaughter was that the laird of Gight had given him some injurious words before the Privy Councell, which wes then by the lords reconciled in some measure. Yet the Lord Forbes returning into the north (apparently after the Council meeting in Edinburgh) did watch the Laird of Gight when he landed at the ferry of Dundie, wher the Forbesses shott him unawares with muskets, beside the windmilne upon the shore. He fought with them a long tyme after he was shott and wounded, and pursued them eagerly until he was oversuayed with their multitude. So he died fighting with great courage among them, having killed some of them at that instant.
The Laird of Auchindoun (Adam Gordon) went about to pursue the Forbesse by the laws of the kingdome for this slaughter, but such was the great malice of the ringleaders then at court against the Gordons (the king being a minor) that he could have no justice at that tyme; and so Auchindoun delayed the matter, thinking to repair that wrong by some other occasion; but he was prevented by (his own) death in 1580. The Privy Council tried to stop the feud in 1580, but it was still going on as late as 1587, when the Council again intervened."
George Gordon of Gight had married Agnes Beaton, 'natural' daughter of Cardinal David Beaton (murdered in 1546). After the death of her husband in 1580, followed by that of his close friend Adam o' Gordon, she remarried in 1583, Patrick Gordon, the new laird of Auchindoun, and younger brother of Sir Adam.