A System of Heraldry - Clan Strachan Society

OF ARTIFICIAL FIGURES IN ARMORIES. 409
Castles and towers are thus distinguished from one another by Guillim, who
says, that the architecture of a castle must extend itself over all the field, th;r
from the one side of the shield to the other ; but the building of a tower is not so
extended, so that the field appears on every side. This distinction does not hold
in the practice of any nation, nor with that of the English, and is even contrary
to our author's own blazons, especially where there are more castles than one
placed in a shield : Neither do I find any other herald make such a nice distinction
between them, but promiscuously calls castles towers, and towers castles, in their
blazons; but what I observe from the Italian Sylvester Petra Sancta, is, that castles
have triple towers above the embattlcrnent, and a tower lias but one above the
embattlement ; which is more agreeable to the general practice of Europe.
Many castles and towers are, and may be carried in one shield, situate according
to the position of the ordinaries, as in fesse, in bend, in pale &-c. from which situa-
tion, as other figures, they have their blazons.
t'astles towers, and other buildings, have one peculiar attribute in blazon, which
is, whatever tincture they be of, if the sediment of the building be of another colour
from the stones, represented by lines or tracts, then the buildings being argettt,
is said to be masoned of such- a tincture, as. sable, which the Latins call lapidnm
juncture, or lapidum commissura. When the windows and ports of castles, and
other buildings, are of a different tincture from the field and building, the windows
and ports are supposed to be shut, and must be so exprest in the blazon; if the
windows and ports are of the tincture of the field, so that the field is seen through
them, they are then supposed to be open, which is to be expressed in the blazon,
and for which the French say ajoure, as of other figures that are voided of the
field. When the port is after the form of a portcullis, it is so named in the
blazon, and by the French, caulissc, and the Latins call the portcullis, porta cataracta.
When towers are topped' with spears and fans, we name them in the blazon,
for which the French say, girouette, and the Latins say, cum versatile vexillulo. All
which attributes I shall illustrate by a few examples.
The kingdom of CASTILE in Spain, as relative to the name, carries gules, a castle
triple-towered or, masoned sable, windows and ports shut azure ; thus, by Sylvester
Petra Sancta, " Castellum aureum cum ostio ac speculis cyaneis, cum sabulea lapi-
" dum commissura, &- prominentibus in summo ejus fastigio, ternis turriculis,.
" perinde aureis, in parmula purpurata." In that kingdom there are many noble
families that carry castles, as the Albuquerqui, Almazani, Carilli, &-c. in imitation
of the sovereign ensign. And ALPHONSUS III. King of Portugal, when he
married a daughter of Alphonsus X. of Castile, in the year 1257,. and got the
country of Algarve, placed round his arms,, a bordure gules, charged with eight
cu.stles or.
The CHASTEUNI, in France, " de gueules, au chateau a deux tours d'or, crenelle,
ma^onne'e de sable, &.. girouette' d'argent ;" as Monsieur Baron, /. e. gules, a castle
with two towers or, embattled and masoned sable, adorned with four fans argent.
Sylvester Petra Sancta makes the castle have three towers, and, for girouette, says,
" Cum versatili pncterea triplici vexillulo argenteolo, est Cljastelainorum in
" Gallia."
The name of OLDCASTLK, in England, argent, a castle triple-towered table.
The family of TOURS in Auvergne, and LE TOUR in Savoy, have towers in
their arms, as relative to their names.
Towers differ from castles, being smaller, and are not triple-towered as castles ;
tlie French called don-
they have one or two towers above the embattlement, by
jonnee: The same may be said of the towers borne by the town of ABERDEEN",
donjonnee de trois pieces, which in our books are blazoned, gules, three towers (not
castles) triple-towered, within a double tressure, flowered and counterflowered
ardent, supported by two leopards, proper ; with the motto, Bon accord.
The double tressure, being a part of the royal arms, was granted as an honourable
additament for the singular loyalty of the citizens of Aberdeen, who cut off
in one night their old enemies the English, their word being Bon-accord which.-
;
arras are on the face of the town-seal, and on the reverse, in a field azure, a church
argent, masoned sable, St Michael standing iu the porch, miU'id and vested, pro-