J is for Jardine

our fridge magnet

J is for Jardine

Clan motto: Cave Adsum (beware I am present; beware I come)

Jardine is the name I acquired by marriage- and it’s an interesting, and very old one. Believed to be of French origin, the word jardin means garden or orchard. Members of the Jardine family are documented as having travelled with William during the Norman conquest of England in 1066, though recorded evidence of the name Jardine doesn’t appear in Scotland until 1153 when a Wmfredus de Jardine appears on several charters.

The name Jardine is mentioned in Hollingshead’s Chronicles of England as one of the knights of Normandy who fought for William at the Battle of Hastings AD 1066. (Suggestions have also been made that the Jardines were originally of Norse extraction who followed the warrior Rollo to Normandy before 1066.)

Over time the name appears to have been present in documentation in different forms as it was translated into English- Gardinus, de Gardino, Jorden, de Jardine and many other variants are all found on documentation.

When it comes to the time of William Wallace, it appears that the Jardines fought against him and allied themselves with the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 and the Battle of Falkirk (1298). However, they appear to have had a rethink since the Clan Jardine supported King Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1311 where they helped the Scottish King defeat the English.

The Clan Jardine settled in Applegirth, Dumfriesshire, during the 14^th century where the family seat of Spedlins Tower was built. This remained the clan seat until the 17th century till Jardine Hall was built on the opposite banks of the River Annan. The move from their seat at Spedlins Tower to Jardine Hall got the reputation of being because of a grisly event. The tale goes that a miller had been left to starve to death in the dungeon of the tower and his ghost had driven the family from their home.

The border area between Scotland and England became a war zone during the 16^th century when there were constant raids and skirmishes between the Clan Jardine and the English. In 1573, the King confirmed the grant of lands to Sir Alexander Jardine of Jardinefield in Berwickshire; Applegirth and Sibbaldbie in Dumfrieshire; Hartside and Wandel in Lanarkshire; and Kirkandrews in Kirkcudbright. Fighting for the King required Sir Alexander to muster some 242 men and it was these fellows who became known as “Jardine Men”. They later adopted Jardine as their surname. 

Crest: A spur rowel of six points Proper

Arms: Argent, a Saltire Gules, on a chief of the last three mullets of the first pierced in the Second

Motto: Cave adsum (Latin: Beware I am present)

Plant Badge: Apple blossom

Clan Septs;

Spelling variations and septs of the Clan Jardine include:

Gardino, Gardin, Gardinus, Garden, Jardin, Jardane, Jerdane, Jerden, Jerdone, Jarden, Jardine, Jardines, Jardyne, Jarding, Jardyn, Gerden, Gerdain, Gairdner, Gardynnyr, Gardynsr, Gardnsrd, Gardinare, Gardinar, Gardenar, Gardenare, Gardnare, Gardener, Gardennar, Gardnar, Gardiner, Gardner

There are a number of tartan variations available to buy at present, but disappointingly for some Clan Jardine members, none of them are particulary old.

During the 1970s my brother-in-law and his wife went to meet with Lady Anne Jardine down in the borders. It was not at Applegirth itself, since the family of the Clan chief no longer resided there. Some clan mementoes were purchased by my brother-in-law and given to my husband and me. I received a scarf and my husband, Alan, got a tie. These are in the colours of an 'ancient' brownish Jardine tartan, seen below when we attended a Burns Supper sometime around the year 2000.

 

The clan motto items available in many shops have this 'ancient' form as the background.

However, we also have two other tartan variations used by the family. My younger daughter has a skirt made from the tartan you see in the scraps I used to form the braided cowl in the photo second from top, a cowl which I've used in various ways as a gesture to wearing the clan tartan. 

My husband has both a kilt and a pair of trews in yet another Jardine tartan and this one we consider our favourite. He wore his trews at his Masters Graduation Ceremony in Edinburgh, 2013. 

Though he wore his kilt at his first graduation ceremony in Glasgow. 

J is for Jardine

Slainthe!