A System of Heraldry - Clan Strachan Society

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OF THE PARTITION, AND REPARTITION LINES
ing of the same tinctures ; and these partitions are called devices, from the diversity
of their colours.
Besides those partitions, we find other pieces of armories to have come from
habits and garments, to the shields, of fields, especially those that are seme, or
powdered, with small figures, such as stars, flowers, &-c. And show evidently, that.
they were first on the stuff of garments, before they came to the shield ; for in all
coats of arms seme, the half of these figures appear on the sides of the shield, being
as it were so cut, when the stuff or cloth was shaped to the form of a shield-
Many learned antiquaries and heralds are of this opinion. Sylvester Petra Sancta,
in his Tesserae Gentilitia, has the title of his loth chap, thus, " Ex vestium ornatu
" petitur origo gentilium Tesserarum ;" and about the end of that chapter, he says,
" Si modum desideres haec signa transcribendi ex vestibus ad clypeos, nempe ex
" unius luminis panno, vel bipartite, vel quadripartito, vel lemniscato, vel scutu-
" lato ; fingas clypeo super poni pannum ejus schematis &- statim habes istiusmodi
" gentilitias tesseras :" And besides, it is certain the crosses used in armories, were
taken from the habit to the shield ; for those who undertook the crusades to the
Holy War had crosses of stuff sewed on their clothes, before they were in their
arms: Whence many shields of arms are mancbe, and gironne ; that is to say, with
sleeves and gushets, which are proofs that many figures came from the habits and
garments of great men to their shields.
But to proceed to the partition lines, as is said before to be four principal ones,
which divide the shield or field, into equal parts, by cutting the centre. The
English and French give them different names, the knowledge of both which are
necessary. The terms of the last would be found more serviceable in this science
than those of the English, who bring them from the ordinaries. And to explain
both, I shall add their terms in Latin, by heralds who write in that language.
When the shield or field is divided into two equal parts, by a perpendicular line
from the top of the shield to the base of the point, it is said by us and the English,
parted per pale.
The French say only parti, as of other things, when divided into
two equal parts perpendicularly ; as Plate II. fig. 2. thus blazoned, parted per pale,
argent, and gules. The French, parti d'argent, et de gueules. The Latins say,
Scutum a swmno bipartitum, dextra semisse argentea, sinistra coccinea : The arms of
the city of Bari, in the Kingdom of Naples, which are so parted, upon the
account that the ancient robes of their magistrates were of the same partition, as
Favin gives us in his forementioned book : The arms of Lucerne, a Swiss canton,
argent, parti d' azure i. e. parted per pale, argent, and azure : And Feme, in his
above-named book, gives us the arms of the name of Fairly in England, blazoned
after the old English way, counterly per pale, sable and or : They said of old
counterly, when the field was divided into two equal parts, for which they say
now, parted per pale.
There are several surnames with us, who have their bearings parted per pale, as
that of MAULE ; the chief family of which name is that of the Earls of PANMURE,
whose bearing parted per pale, argent and gules; a bordure charged with eight
escalops, all counter-changed of the same.
Those of the surname of ALEXANDER, parted per pale, argent and sable; a
cheveron and crescent in base, all counter-changed. The chief of this name was
Alexander Earl of Stirling, who, to show his descent from the Macdonalds, quartered
their arms with his o.wn : Or, a galley sable, accompanied with three cross
two in chief, and one in base.
corslets, fitched gules ;
The surname of NAIRN gives parted per pale, sable and argent, a chaplet
charged with four quarter-foils all counterchanged, which was carried by Sir
Robert Nairn of Strathurd ; who, being one of the Senators of the College of
Justice, was created a Lord of Parliament by the title of Lord NAIRN, whose only
daughter and heir was married to William, a younger son of the Marquis of
Athol, who took upon him the name, title, and arms of Nairn, which he quarters
with the arms of Murray of Athol.
The blazons of other families of the surnames above mentioned will be found at
the end of this chapter.
The term counter-changed, mentioned in the foresaid blazons, is used where the
Held is of metal and colour, and the figure which is placed upon them, partakes