Sir William Borthwick, 3rd of Borthwick and later 1st Lord Borthwick (c. 1413 – October 1483) was a Scottish peer and ambassador. Borthwick was the eldest son of Sir William Borthwick, 2nd of Borthwick, castellan of Edinburgh ( Sir William Borthwick of that Ilk), and his wife Bethoc (or Beatrice) Sinclair of Orkney, daughter of

Henry Sinclair, 1st Earl of Orkney Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, Lord of Roslin () was a Scottish and a Norwegian nobleman. Sinclair held the title Earl of Orkney (which refers to Norðreyjar rather than just the islands of Orkney) and was Lord High Admiral of Scotland unde ...

. He accompanied Henry, Bishop of Aberdeen, William, Bishop of Dunblane, John,

Abbot of Melrose The Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a ...

, James, Prior of St. Andrews, John, Abbot of 'Balmurynach', Sir William de Hay, knight, Master Thomas de Myrton, Master Edward de Lawedre, and Master John Stenes, all as Scots' ambassadors, with 50 attendants, setting out for the Court of Rome. The Safe-conduct is dated 9 June 1425 and is given until the following

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

. Borthwick was sent in 1424 as hostage in England in the place of James I. He was knighted in 1430 at the baptism of

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

and

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

, the twin sons of King

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

. In either 1424, 1438 or 12 June 1452 he was raised to the Peerage of Scotland as a

Lord of Parliament A Lord of Parliament ( sco, Laird o Pairlament) was the holder of the lowest form of peerage, entitled as of right to take part in sessions of the pre- Union Parliament of Scotland. Since that Union in 1707, it has been the lowest rank of the ...

with the title Lord Borthwick. He built

Borthwick Castle Borthwick Castle is one of the largest and best-preserved surviving medieval Scottish fortifications. It is located south-east of Edinburgh, to the east of the village of Borthwick, on a site protected on three sides by a steep fall in the gro ...

in 1430. He sat in the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

under the title Lord Borthwick in 1455. Since the date of the first Lord Borthwick’s death is unknown, it cannot be stated with certainty whether he or his son, also William Borthwick, was the Scottish ambassador to England in 1459, 1461, 1463, and 1464–65. He is said to be buried with his wife in Borthwick Kirk.

Family

Lord Borthwick was married three times and had issue: By his first wife, name unknown: *Agnes By his second wife, Mariotta Hoppringle: *James Borthwick, d. before 1494 *Sir Thomas Borthwick, d. after 1503 *Alexander Borthwick, d. after 1513 By his third wife, name unknown: *Sir

William Borthwick, 2nd Lord Borthwick William Borthwick, 2nd Lord Borthwick (died between 6 October 1483 and 7 February 1484) was a Scottish landowner and ambassador to England. He was a son of William Borthwick, 1st Lord Borthwick. Borthwick served as ambassador to England in 1459 ...

, died between 1483 and 1484 *John Borthwick, 1st of Crookston, died c. 1459 *Margaret Borthwick, m. Sir John Maxwell of Calderwood The 1st Lord Borthwick was succeeded by his son and heir William. His son John Borthwick, acquired the lands of Crookston, Midlothian, in 1446.Anderson (1867), vol.ii, p.339

References

* Balfour Paul, Sir James,''The Scots Peerage'', Edinburgh, 1905, (under 'Borthwick'). *Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors), ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'', St. Martin's Press, New York, 1990. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Borthwick, William Borthwick, 1st Lord Borthwick, William Borthwick, 1st Lord Borthwick, William Borthwick, 1st Lord Lords of Parliament (pre-1707) Scottish knights Ambassadors of Scotland to the Holy See 15th-century Scottish people Medieval Scottish diplomats 15th-century diplomats Peers created by James II of Scotland