A System of Heraldry - Clan Strachan Society

OF THE CROSS, &c.
boa and heir, Charles Duke of Grafton.
his lawful
CHARLES FITZROY, another natural son of that king with the dutchess of Cleveland,
had his button-sinister ermine.
GEORGE FITZROY, Duke of NoRXHUausftLAND, another natural son of that king
with the same dutchess, to differ himself from his two elder brothers, gave his batton-sinister
compone' azure and ermine, (as Jacob ImhotT says) Similem bacillitm ex
batton-sinibtcr, componed azure and argent ; which was also used by
bermionicis if cerultis segment is composition,
CHARLES BEAUCLERK. Duke of St ALBANS, another natural son of King Charles
II. carried, over the arms of Great Britain, a batton-sinister gules. Let t 1
,
amples sutfice for carrying batton-sinisters as marks of illegitimation.
CHAP. XV.
OF THE CROSS, AND ITS ACCIDENTAL AND PROPER FORMS.
CROSS is so generally known, that I need not give a long description of
JL it, as some do by lines perpendicular and horizontal, but only shew, as in fig.
26. Plate V. it us as it were composed of the pale and the fessc : which two do not
lie upon, or bruise one another, but are corporally united in the centre.
This is called -a. plain cross, and possesses a third part of the field, whether char-
the fifth
ged or not : but the English say, when not charged, it should only possess
part. And some of their Heralds, as Gerard Leigh and Sylvanus Morgan, begin
with the cross, as the first and most honourable of all the ordinaries because it
;
has been of great esteem, since our Saviour suffered it. upon And though this be
true, yet
I think it more methodical to rank it after these ordinaries which seem
to compose it.
The CROSS has been anciently and frequently used by Christians on their ensigns,
flags, and armories. Constantine the Great is said to be the first who assumed it,
and carried a red cross in a white field, which is the ensign and flag of England ;
assumed by the Britons, says Edward Bolton, in his Elements of Armories, p. 73.
because that Emperor was born in Britain. Other English say again, they took
this cross from Joseph, the son of Joseph of Arimathea, who first preached Chris-
tianity in Britain, and, when dying, drew a red cross with his own blood on a
white banner, telling them, that if they continued in the faith, they should
waysal-
be victorious under such a banner. Some again ascribe it to their patron St
of the Noble Order of the Garter.
George, and now is become the badge
The republic of GENOA carries the like ensign, argent, a cross gules ; upon the
account that one St is George the patron of that republic. But whether he be the
same with St George the patron of England, I know not.
The ensign of DENMARK is gules, a cross argent. Some Danish writers say, that
such a banner dropped from Heaven, when their King, Waldimer II. was fighting
against the infidels in Livonia at the ; sight of which the Danes took courage, and
obtained a complete victory over the infidels : and, to perpetuate that favour from
heaven, they have always made use of it as their ensign. But others tell us, wi'.h
more probability, that Waldimer, observing his own men giving ground to the
enemy, who had beat down his ensign, upon which was an eagle, he ixared up a
new one with the cross, which he had sent him from the Pope, rallied his forces,
and recovered the victory ; and the people were made to believe that it was sent
from heaven, founding upon an ordinary custom of the Popes, in those days, to
send consecrated banners to princes, to encourage them to war against infidels and
heretics.
I shall not insist here upon the public ensigns of kingdoms or countries, and of
the occasion of their rise and assumption ; which I think would be out of my
road. For there are few old ensigns or banners which are not supported with le-
gendary stories.
The DUKE of SAVOY'S ensign, gules, a cross argent, is place3 by way of surtout
over his shield of arms, being the cross of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem,
with which they complimented Amadeus, the great Duke of Savoy, who came to
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