A System of Heraldry - Clan Strachan Society

i 9 3
OF THE SUB-ORDINARIES.
dal cut in the Plate of Achievements, being taken off the original gold
one in the
Colonel's own possession, and, at the writing hereof, in my hands. I hope the
reader will excuse ray being so particular in this narration, which I could not
avoid, without being unjust to the valour of the man, and to the gratitude of our
countrymen ; who have, in so signal a manner, taken care to perpetuate his memory
and this singular action to after ages. I wish this testimony may excite
others to acquire such honourable trophies for their country ; and thereby transmit
their fame to after ages, which indeed is the true and solid foundation of honour.
Having treated before of these gironal arms, which are .made by the four principal
partition lines, and borne by the name of Campbell and others, I shall here
add a few instances of those .whose arms are cut in the Plate of Achievements,
before I speak of girons which are not made by the partition lines.
The arms of CAMPBELL of Ardkinlas, and CAMPBELL of Lochwell, are blazoned
in the end of the yth chapter, and cut in the Plates of Achievements, and there
also the bearing of CAMPBELL of Shawfield, parti, ccupe, tranche, tattle, or and
sable, (as others say, gironne of eight) within a bordure of the first, charged with
eight crescents of the second; crest, a griffin erected, holding the sun betwixt his
fore paws ; with the motto, Fidus amicis. And there, in the Plate of Achievements,
are the arms of Mr ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, Advocate, as a son of CAMP-
BELL of Craignish, who carries the arms of that family, viz. gironne of eight, or
and sable, with a crescent in the centre for his difference, hung upon the mast
~j? a galley which ; they have assumed from the old seal of the family of Craignish,
mentioned before, and cut in the Plate of Achievements ; but they have
caused cut the girons after the
and not after those on the seal.
fashion of these used by the arms of Campbell,
Some of the name of SPENCE, gironne of eight pieces, argent and azure, and on
an inescutcheon of the first, an eagle's head erased sable, within a bordure gules,
as in Sir James Balfour and Mr Pout's Manuscripts of Blazons ; but I find SPENCE
of Wor-miston, and others of that >name, carried other figures, of which in another
place.
The surname of MATTHEW, gironne of eight pieces, sable and gules, in Sir Jame j
Balfour's Manuscript of Blazons. And there,
MATTHISON, gironne of eight pieces, sable and gules, a lion rampant or, armed
and langued azure, all within a bordure of the third ; charged with eight cross
croslets fitched of the second : Which arms, says Sir James, in his Manuscript,
I gave under my hand and seal to Colonel George Matthison, the ist of October
1639.
Besides these girons, which necessarily fall out by partition lines, blazoned as
before by the French, there are other gironal arms, which are not made by the
principal partition lines, which are properly girons, as Plate VIII. fig. 34.
Gironne of eight pieces, or and gules, by the family of BERANGER, in Dauphine.
Here two girons do not meet in the angle of the shield, as in the former ; but the
.ingles are filled with one giron. And further to explain it, it is as it were made
up of a cross paiee and a saltier patee, their points meeting in the centre ; and so
two girons stand exactly in pale, two in fesse, two in bend, and two in bend-sinis-
ter ; which blazon Mr Gibbon brings from Segoing, viz. gironne cCor et de gueules
de bull pieces ; and latins thus, " Conos octo aureos decussim, versus extremita-
" tes ejus patulam, simulque crucem ejusdem formae referentes." Such another
cut in
bearing is that of CAMPBELL of Craignish, as on the old seal of the f.he Plate of Achievements.
family,
WILLIAM D'!PRE Earl of KENT, gironne of ten pieces, or and azure,
'i'
an escut-
jon gules over ail a ; batton sinister argent, which Mr Gibbon latins, " scutum
'
1
'
segmentis denis, ex auro vicissim &- cyano cuneatum, quibus in umbilico imponitur
scutulum sanguineum, &- dein super inducitur bacillus sinister argen.'eus,
oram scuti majoris mininie pertingens;" here he uses cuneatus, from the word cunc-
us, a wedge, after which form is a giron ; in this last blazon there are ten girons,
winch do not fall out by the four partition lines. Fig. 35.
Gironal bearings were called by the English, of old, counter-coined coats,
as the
blazon of arms of BASSINGBURN in England, counter-coined of twelve pieces or