A System of Heraldry - Clan Strachan Society

1 72
OF THE SUB-ORDINARIES.
when charged with different sorts of figures, but give my blazon of them, as we
and other nations have been in use to do. I shall only briefly show their singularity
in blazoning of such bordures : If charged with inanimate things, as annulets,
besants, escalops, &c. they say a bordure entoire, from the French word, entovre,
i. e. About ; which is superfluous, for all bordures go about the shield ; as for ex-
ample, Plate VII. fig. 29. The bearing of Mr JAMES SCOTT, sometime Sheriff-
Clerk of Edinburgh, descended of the Scotts of Knightspottie, or, on a bend azure,
a star between two crescents of the field, within a bordure gules, charged with
eight besants of the first ; the English heralds would say, especially the old ones,
a bordure gules, entoire of eight besants. When the bordure is charged with ve-
getables, they say verdoy of such flowers, fruits, or leaves, as in the bearing (Plate
VII. fig. 30.) of SCOTT of Hedderwick, a younger son of Scott of Logic, argent, a
fesse crenelle, between three lions' heads erased, gules ; within a bordure of the
last, vcrdoy
of six flower-de-luces of the first.
When the bordure is charged with birds, it is called by them enaluron. Mr
Skinner, in his Dictionary, says, that enaluron is the corruption of inorolatus,
orle-ways ; but Sir George Mackenzie more properly brings it from the French,
who say, a bordure en alerions, when they blazon a bordure charged with
alerions ; so that the term enaluron by the English is certainly the corruption of
alerion, a bird, very frequent in armories, of which afterwards.
HAMILTON of West-Port, Plate VII. fig. 30. gules, three cinquefoils ermine within
a bordure argent, charged with eight martlets of the first ; the English would
say, enaluron off eight martlets ; which term the French and we omit as
insignificant
and superfluous.
When the bordure is charged with beasts, they term it a bordure enurny ; and
so they would blazon the bordure in the bearing of ALEXANDER GORDON, sometime
Provost of Aberdeen, whose father was a second son of Gordon of Tullyangus,
who was a son of Gordon of Craig, azure, three boars' heads couped or, within a
bordure waved of the last enurny (we say only charged) of three unicorns' heads
erased sable, and as many stags tripping, proper, alternately. L. R.
In the blazon of the arms of STEWART of Newark, or, a fesse cheque azure and
argent, within a bordure gules, (the English would say enurny and entoire, upon
the account it is charged with living and inanimate things) charged with three
lions rampant, and as many ships at anchor of the first. L. R.
When the bordure is of any of the furrs, they call it a bordure purjlew ermine, or
pur/lew vair ; but the French and other nations use not these terms, but say only
ermine and iair as we do ; and they who please to follow the English in these
terms may so do, for I have shown them the way.
Bordures are very frequent with us and other nations, and of different forms, of
which I shall add some examples ; and first of bordures gobonated, or compone,
counter-compone and cheque.
A bordure gobonuted or
compone, the last term is used by the French, when
the bordure or any other figure is filled with one rank of square pieces alternately
of metal and colour ; and is latined by Upton, gobonatuf ; we and the English
say ordinarily for compone, gobone or, gobonated Mr Gibbon it is ; says, a word used
in
carving, as to gobon or nick a lamprey,
or other fish, in seven or eight pieces ; the
English sometimes, but we especially, use also the word compone.
PHILIP Duke of BURGUNDY, surnamed the Hardy, the youngest
i. e.
lawful son of
John King of France, encompassed the arms of France within a bordure gobonated
or compone, argent and gules, Plate VII. fig 32. Which w r ere the ensign of Bur-
gundy Modern, and quartered it with Burgundy Ancient, bande of six, or and gules,
within a bordure of the last. Chiffletius blazons the arms of Burgundy Modern
thus, Area ccerulea liliis aureis sparsa, limbo circumducto ex argento et coccineo an
gularibus, compositus. Mr Gibbon takes this Latin blazon to task, and approves of
the word compositus, for
compone, but not of the word angularibus ; for angularis
expresses a corner, and corners are of several forms : And therefore he mends the
blazon thus, Limbus duSlu
simplici vel singulari & talibus coloribus tessalatus, or,
quadrangulatus, to show it is composed of square pieces, and of one tract ; this
bordure has been of old of great esteem in differencing lawful sons ; for those arms
of Burgundy, above blazoned, have been marshalled with those of Spain, and stood