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A System of Heraldry - Clan Strachan Society

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43 S OF ARTIFICIAL THINGS.<br />

The arms <strong>of</strong> BRUCE <strong>of</strong> Ear] shall, in Fife, I gave before in page 143, being or, a<br />

saltier and chief gules, and in the collar point a flower-de-luce azure; which last<br />

figure was allowed them not only as differences from other families <strong>of</strong> the name,<br />

but also shows their military prowess performed in France, where they got several<br />

lands; and afterwards, in the reign <strong>of</strong> King James IV. purchased the barony <strong>of</strong><br />

Earlshall in Fife, where their arms above blazoned are to be seen, painted and en-<br />

graven on several parts <strong>of</strong> the house, with their exterior ornaments, viz. for crest,<br />

a horse's head and neck bridled, issuing out <strong>of</strong> the wreath; and, for motto, Be true;<br />

supporters, t\vo savages, wreathed about the head and middle with laurel, all proper:<br />

And upon the compartment, whereupon the supporters stand, are these words,<br />

Contemno IS or/to, mentc ? manu, as upon a stone over the head <strong>of</strong> the entry to the<br />

house, and the same upon the chimney-piece <strong>of</strong> the high gallery, with an inscription<br />

relative to the arms, the date 1546. Likewise, upon the tomb-stone <strong>of</strong> Sir<br />

Alexander Bruce <strong>of</strong> Earlshall, where he is interred in the church <strong>of</strong> Leuchars,<br />

with the date 1584: So that the family lias been in an ancient usage <strong>of</strong> using<br />

supporters. The family is now dissolved in an heiress, Mrs Helen Bruce, lineally<br />

descended <strong>of</strong> the family <strong>of</strong> Earlshall, married to David Baillie, Esq. son to Mr<br />

James Baillie <strong>of</strong> Hardington, who takes upon him the name and arms <strong>of</strong> Bruce <strong>of</strong><br />

Earlshall.<br />

Sir MARK. CARSE <strong>of</strong> Fordelcarse, as in the Lyon Register, carried argent, on a<br />

saltier vert, betwixt four cross croslets fitche gules, five crescents <strong>of</strong> the first; crest,<br />

a crescent surmounted <strong>of</strong> a cross ctoslet Jitfbt or: motto,<br />

Sir Mark purchased the lands <strong>of</strong> Cockpen, in Mid-Lothian, from which the fa-<br />

mily takes now their designation. The present Carse <strong>of</strong> Cockpen is<br />

grandson <strong>of</strong> the said Sir Mark.<br />

CARSE <strong>of</strong> Falconhouse, an old family in the shire <strong>of</strong> Linh'thgow, though now extinct,<br />

(there are severals <strong>of</strong> the name descended from it) carried argent, a falcon<br />

perching on the trunk <strong>of</strong> an old tree, all proper, within a bordure -vert; crest, a<br />

falcon's head: motto, Velocitate.<br />

MUIRHEAD <strong>of</strong> Lauchop, argent, on a bend azure, three acorns or; crest, two<br />

hands supporting a sword erect in pale, proper: motto, Auxilio Dei; being the<br />

principal family <strong>of</strong> them, and <strong>of</strong> a very old standing.<br />

MUIRHEAD <strong>of</strong> Stanhope, descended <strong>of</strong> Lauchop, argent, on a bend azure, a mullet<br />

between two acorns or. The mullet is for his difference, as in Sir George Mac-<br />

kenzie's Science <strong>of</strong> <strong>Heraldry</strong>.<br />

MUIRHEAD <strong>of</strong> Bredisholm, as a second son <strong>of</strong> the family <strong>of</strong> Lauchop, bears as<br />

Lauchop above, with a crescent for difference, as in the Lyon Register.<br />

But to conclude this volume, I shall speak a little to the label, and its use in<br />

armories, not having treated <strong>of</strong> it before.<br />

The label, or lambel, is taken for a piece <strong>of</strong> silk, stuff, or linen, with pendants.<br />

Robert Glover, Somerset Herald, in his book De Origine Armorum, says, " Diffe-<br />

'<br />

rentia principalis est labellus, ceu lingula cum pendulis &- appendicibus impari-<br />

'<br />

bus; simplex, & quandoque rebus onustus," i. e. the principal<br />

difference is the<br />

label, as a string with points, or pendants, <strong>of</strong> odd number, sometimes plain, and<br />

sometimes charged. Sir Henry Spelman, in his Aspilagia, page 140, says, " Lam-<br />

"<br />

bellus coronas pnrfert similitudinem, lemniscis ex ea dependentibus; quam ideo<br />

"<br />

primogenito assignatam dixeris, quia familiae decus, sic praeexornandus videatur,"<br />

I. e. the label with is points like a coronet ; and, therefore, assigned to the eldest<br />

MII, that, as he is the glory <strong>of</strong> the family, he may seem to be adorned above the<br />

rest.<br />

The French take it for a scarf, or ribbon, which young men wore anciently about<br />

the neck <strong>of</strong> their helmets, (as we now do cravats) with points hanging down, when<br />

they went to the wars, or to military exercises in company with their lathers, by<br />

which they were distinguished from them.<br />

To the eldest son, in his father's lifetime, was assigned a label with three points,<br />

plain: But if his grandfather was living, says Gerard Lee, a label with five points.<br />

The label is always placed on the upper part <strong>of</strong> the shield, the chief, or collar<br />

points <strong>of</strong> the shield, and sometimes also, by our heralds, upon<br />

the exterior, orna-<br />

ments. The traverse part is called the beam, which does not touch the sides <strong>of</strong>

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