A System of Heraldry - Clan Strachan Society

OF THE SUB-ORDIXARI1
je King of England, and to dethrone King John; but atler
Henry 111. by the conduct of RALPH, Earl' :
. defeated
the French Lewis,
and his confederates the Scots and English in a battle at Lincoln ; the English
who escapdd came to Scotland, amongst whom were the CUiincys, who got several
lands, and married with the best families there.
ROGER QHINCY, Earl of WINCHESTER, was High Constable of Scotland in right
of his wife, the eldest daughter of ALLAN of Galloway, High Constable; as i-
evident by many charters with us, to which I have seen appended their seals of
arms, which were of an equestrian form, and on the shield, seven mascles, three,
three, and one. Thefse of this name were worn out afterwards, for joining with
the Baliols against the Bruce.
The name of WEAPONT or VIPONT, in old writs de Vetere Ponte, carried for arm--.
azure, six mascles, three, two, and one, (some books make the field gulesS) These
of this name anciently possessed great estates in Scotland ; the Mortimers got the
lands of Aberdour in Fife, by marrying Anicia, daughter and heiress Domini
Joannis dc Vetere Ponte, anno secundo Regni Davidis 1126. For which see Sir Robert
Sibbald's History of Fife. And in the Register of Kelso, Fol. 53. there is
a. charter of William de Vetere Ponte, confirming a prior deed of Roger de Ov, of
the church of Lunton to the abbacy of Kelso. The charter appears to have been
granted in the reign of King William, for it bears, Pro salute dominorum nieorum
Regis Millie/mi, & eorum filii Alexandra. The same William de Vetere Ponte gives
donations to the abbacy of Holyroodhouse, out of the barony of Carriden in West-
Lothian. His successors retained the possession of the lands of Langton in the
Merse and Carriden in Lothian, till Sir William Weapont was killed fighting vali-
antly for King Robert the Bruce, at the battle of Bannockburn, against the
English, 1314. Afterwards these lands came to the COCKBURNS, now of Langton,
for which the Cockburns ot
upon marrying the heiress of WEAPONT of Langton ;
Langton have ever since been in use to quarter the arms of Weapont
with their
own ; gules, six mascles, three, two, and one, or ; and these mascles are carried by
other families, upon account of their descent from the Weaponts, as the KERS of
of whom before.
The surname of PURVES, argent, on a fesse azure, between three mascles gules,
Roxburgh and Lothian ;
as many cinquefoils of the first. Font's Manuscript.
When the PURVESES assumed the mascles, representing mirrors, as equivocally
relative to their name, as Sir George Mackenzie fancies, I know not ; but an-
ciently they had no such figure, as by the seal of one William Pur-voys de Mos-
pennach, appended to a charter of his, about the end of King William's reign,
granting to the Monks of Melrose a free passage through his lands of Mospennoch.
The seal thereto appended was entire (which I see in the custody of William
Wilson, one of the Under-Clerks of the Session), and after an oval form, and had
no shield upon it ; but in the middle was a very rude and irregular figure, which
I cannot name : It is true, there were several families who lived about Earlston,
in the west eud of the shire of Berwick, and the east end of Tev iotdale, who carried
mascles, as the PURVESES and LEARMONTS.
The eminentest family of late, of the name of PURVES, is that of Sir WILLIAM
PURVES of that Ilk, in 'the shire of Berwick, fig. 17. azure,, on a fesse between
three mascles urgent, as many cinquefoils of the first ; crest, the sun rising out of
a cloud, proper ; with the motto, Ciarior e tenebris. New Register.
The surname of BETUUNE or BEATON, anciently with us, azure, a fesse between
three mascles or : I know that our modern books call lliem lozenges, and our old
books wasclcs or lozenges voided, which is the same with mascle. As for the antiquity
of the family, 1 have met with Robert de Set/June, witness in a charter of Rogents
dc tiincy, in the reign of King William, to Sayerus de Scion, of an annuity
of the mill and mill-lands of Tranent and afterwards David de Ettbune ; miles, about
the year 1296, and Alexander ds Betbuiif, is mentioned in the parliament held at
Cambnskcimeth, the 6th of November 1314, in the ist year of the reign of King
Robert I. Robertas de Betbune, fainiliarms Regis Roberii II. married the daughter
and heiress of Sir JOHN BALFOUR of that Ilk, and with her got the lands of Balfour
in Fife ; for which the family has been designed since, BETKUNE of Balfour :
Which being the principal seat of the family, yet they retained the name of Be-
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