A System of Heraldry - Clan Strachan Society

7 o
OF THE CHIEF OR CHEF.
IV. afterwards honoured the Scots in Plai-
sinister ; and that the Emperor Henry
sance with a pelican for their crest.
The ancient arms of the DOUGLASES then, were azure, three stars argent; which,
it seems, were altered, after that Good Sir James Douglas carried King Robert the
Bruce's heart to Jerusalem, thus, argent, a man's heart gules, on a chief azure,
three stars of the first, by some called mullets.
WILLLAM Lord DOUGLAS, and Baron of Cavers, nephew to Good Sir James, car-
ried these last arms, as by his seal of arms, which I did see appended to a charter
of his, granting the church of Meikle-Cavers to the abbacy of Melrose ; which
charter was in the custody of Mr David Simpson historiographer : The seal was
of red wax, on which was a shield couche, charged with a man's heart, and on a
chief three stars, supported by one lion only, seiant, having his head in a helmet,
which timbred the sinister high angle of the shield. The man's heart was not en-
signed with an imperial crown in the arms of Douglas, till some ages after.
The Earls of DOUGLAS, of this line, afterwards quartered other arms with their
own, upon the account of alliances and noble feus. They ordinarily carried, quar-
terly, first Douglas, as before ; second, azure, a lion rampant argent, for Galloway ;
third, azure, three stars argent, upon what account I cannot learn, being the same
with their old arms before mentioned ; fourth, argent, a saltier and chief gules, for
the lordship of Annandale. And when Dukes of Touraine in France, they quartered
that duchy's arms in the first quarter ; being azure, three flower-de-luces or.
I shall give the arms of the branches of this noble family, in the end of the chap-
ter, after I hvive treated of the chief and its various attributes more fully.
Fig. 30. Plate IV. Or, on a chief sable, three escalops of the first, by the surname
of GRAHAM ; which, when surnames came in use, is said to have been taken
in memory of that valiant man, called Graham, general of King Fergus II's army,
who made a breach upon the trench or wall, which the Emperor Severus had
made betwixt the Scots frith and the river Clyde, as the outmost bounds of the
Roman Empire, to keep out the Scots from molesting them in their possessions ;
which Graham threw down ; and ever since it has been called Graham's Dyke. He
was the progenitor of a noble family in Scotland, who, when surnames came in
use, as is said, took the name Graham from this their famous ancestor.
The principal family of the name is that of the Earls of Montrose, now honoured
with the title of duke ; and, for their antiquity, I shall mention here some documents.
In the charter of foundation of the abbacy of Holyroouhouse by King
David I. William de Graham is a witness ; which principal charter I saw lately,
and is now in the archives of the town of Edinburgh. King William gave a
charter of the lands of Kinnabyr, Davidi de Graham militi, pro homagio y servitio
suo ; and the same Sir David got also the lands of Muckram. To him succeeded
his son Sir David, who lived in the reign of Alexander III. and got from that
King the lands and barony of Kincardine. This family was very zealous in vindicating
the independency of Scotland against the English, and was sometimes de-
signed of DundafF, sometimes of Kincardine, and sometimes of Mugdock. Sir
Patrick Graham, son and heir of David de Graham de is Dundaff, one of the hostages
sent to England, for the ransom of King David II. ; which Sir Patrick was
sometimes designed of Kincardine : His son and successor, Sir William Graham,
was, designed of Mugdock ; and his grandchild, Sir Patrick Graham, was by our
King James II. created Lord Graham : His grandson again, William Lord Graham,
was, by King James IV. in the 5th year of his reign, anno 1504,
created Earl
of Montrose, and had those lands erected into a free barony and earldom, which
formerly belonged to his progenitors, by the gift of King Robert the Bruce, narrated
in a charter of King James IV's, which is to be seen in the chartulary of
Dunfermline, and in the Earl of Haddington's Collections, in the Lawyer's
Library.
This Earl of Montrose was killed with King James IV. at the battle of Flodden,
the pth of September 1513. Of him was lineally descended James Earl of Montrose,
who was created Marquis of Montrose 1643, by King Charles I. He was
that King's High Commissioner, and Lieutenant-General of Scotland ; who, with a
small army for the King, did feats beyond belief against the Covenanters. His
great-grandson James, the fourth Marquis of Montrose, was raised to the dignity