A System of Heraldry - Clan Strachan Society

OF THE SUB-ORDINARIES.
OF TH ESCUTCHEON, OR INESCUTCHEON.
THOUGH this figure does represent the military shield, and may be treated of
amongst the common charges, yet heralds place it amongst the lesser ordinaries, as a
proper armorial figure ; and when there is but one of them in the field, it p
the fifth middle part of it, and the rest of the field round it looks like a bordure ;
it is called escutcheon, ox inescutcbe-on, being contained within the field, as other
charges ; the French call it ecusson from ecu, and the Latins, scutulum or pannula.
DAVID Earl of HUNTINGDON in England, and GARIOCH in Scotland, brother to
King William the Lion, both grandsons to King David I. carried argent, an escutcheon
within a double tressure flowered and counter-flowered : gules These arms I
have given in taillc-douce on the first Plate in my Essay of the Ancient and Modern
Use of Armories. Sir John Feme, in his Lacie's Nohili-ty, says, he took the-
field argent, in place of or, the field of Scotland, because it was the field of arms of
his grandmother Maud, daughter of Waltheof Earl of Northumberland and Hun-
tingdon, (who carried argent, a lion salient azvrc t and a chief gules') to show his
descent that way, and retained the double tressure to show his descent from the
royal blood of Scotland ; and the escutcheon, says our author, did represent him,
as the shield of his country in his brother the king's absence, and his valour when
he was abroad with his countrymen in the Holy War ; it was not the practice in
his time, as I have shown elsewhere, for the younger sons of sovereigns to carry
the entire imperial ensigns of their fathers, as they are now in use to do, with
minute differences, but to take only a part of them, and to join them, with other
figures, that they may be more eminently distinguished from the sovereign ensigns,
which were always looked upon to be sacred.
Earl David married Maud, eldest daughter and heir of Hugh Kivilioc Earl of
Chester, sister and heir to Randolph Earl of Chester, by whom he had John and
three daughters : His son John, surnamed Scott, though he was of the royal family
of Scotland, he did not carry the entire arms of that kingdom, but a part of them,
viz. argent, three garbs within a double tressure flowered and counter-flowered
^ules ; he had the garbs, the figures of Chester, in place of his father's escutcheon
Ho died without issue 1237, and his sister's issue became die heirs of the crown of
Scotland.
I gave before the arms of Maule Earl of Panmure, with a bordure, as they are
now in use to be blazoned ; but, meeting with a remnant of an old Book of
Blazons, I found them otherwise blazoned, which I could not pass by here without
giving it, viz. parted per pale, gules and argent, an escutcheon within an orlc of
eight escalops, all counter-changed ; which blazon is more agreeable and suitable
to the family, being the chief and principal one of the naae, than a bordure,
but more of this family at the title of Escalop.
Fig. 13, M' NAUGHT of Kilquharity, sable, an escutcheon cheque, argent and
charged and counter-changed ;
azure, between three lions' heads erased of the second, langued gules. Pont's Ma -
nuscript.
GEDDES of Radian, descended of Ceddes of that Ilk, now extinct, gules, an in
escutcheon argent, between three pikes or ged-heads, couped or. Pont'o Manu-
script.
The surname of HAY, argent, three escutcheons gules, two and one. Syh'
Petra Sancta, in his 66th chap. De Scutulis Insitltiis, says, " Tria ^:utula punicia
" in laterculo argenti metalli sunt Abbevilleorum i. Gallia, Haionnn in Scotia &.
" Rebeau preorum iterum in Gallia." Those of the Hays are lammi-i all F.urnp-
over, upon the account of their rise, which our historians generally l:uvv givrn of tiif
name and arms ; who tell us, that in the reigti of King Kenneth III. about the y
980, when the Danes invaded Scotland, and prevailing in the battle of Loncartv.
a country Scotsman, with his two sons, of gre.it strength and courage, having rural
weapons, as the yokes of their plough, and sucli plough furniture, stopped th
Scots in their flight in a certain defile, and, upbraiding them of cowardice, obliged
them to rally, who with them renewed the battle, and gave a total overthrow to
the victorious Danes : And it is said by some, after the victory was obtained, tlje
old man lying on the ground, wounded and fatigued, cryed Hay, Hay ; which word.
Z T.