A System of Heraldry - Clan Strachan Society

68
OF THE CHIEF OR CHEF.
head. And any concessions of armorial figures, granted by sovereign princes to
their deserving friends and subjects, are ordinarily placed on a chief, or in chief, as
all these concessions of armorial figures, made by the emperors to the free states in
Italy, viz. Genoa, Mirandula, Massa, &c. are placed in chief. And Sir George
Mackenzie very well observes, that the reason why this ordinary, the chief,
is so
frequently charged with figures, or that figures are placed in chief, is the respect
our gentry had to their superiors or over-lords, by using some of their figu;es on a
chief, or in chief, in their bearings.
When there is a chief of concession to be added to any coat of arms that has a
bordure about it, the bordure must not go round the chief but cede to it.
The chief, saith Leigh and Guillim, containeth in depth the full third part of
the field ; which may in some cases be augmented or diminished a little, notwith-
standing of this rule, but in no case divided into halves horizontally,
terwards.
of which af-
Fig. 25. Plate IV. argent, a chief gules, by Sir ALEXANDER MENZIES of that Ilk ;
crest, a savage's head erased, proper: motto, Will God, I shall. N. R.
MENZIES of Weem, and others of that name, of whom afterwards, give ermine
a chief gules. This surname is ancient with us, and our historians, as Hector Boyes
and others, mention it among the first of our surnames in the reign of Malcolm
Canmore ; of which surname there have been many eminent families, who stood
firm for their country against the English, under the usurpations of the Edwards,
Kings of England.
Argent, a lion rampant gules, armed and langued azure, a chief ermine, by Sir
JOHN MONCRIEF of that Ilk, Baronet, in the shire of Perth ; crest, a demi-lion rampant
as the former ; supporters, two men armed cap-a-pee, bearing pikes on their
shoulders, proper : motto, Sur esperance. N. R. Which surname is from their
land : Alexander III. grants a charter of confirmation of the lands of Moncrief to
John de Moncrief, whose family was chief, and continued till of late. More examples
of bearing a chief plain at the end of this chapter.
The chief may be parted per pale, bend, dexter or sinister, as also- quartered ;
but the English say it cannot be parted per fesse. It is also subject to be counter-
changed, and to all other accidental forms of lines above-mentioned, of which I
shall add a few examples.
Fig. 26. Plate IV. or, a chief parted per pale, azure and gules, by ARCHIE of that
Ilk, with us. The French say, d'or an chef parti $ azure et de gueules. Sylvester
Petra Sancta gives us such another bearing, thus : scutum aureum cum coronide scu-
taria Ifipartita ex cianeo i$ ostro.
Fig. 27. Plate IV. parted per pale, argent and sable, a chief indented and counter-changed
of the same, by the surname of LAING, as in Font's Manuscript. Where
ulso SHEWEL of that Ilk, argent, a boar's head erased sable, on a chief invected of
the last, three mullets of the first. Having given examples of arms with a chief,
and of its accidental forms, I shall now give a few with a chief charged, for which
we ordinarily say on a chief; and afterwards a few examples of what we call in
chief.
By one of the rules of blazon, when a chief is in a coat of arms, it is the last figure
to be mentioned, except it be surrounded with a bordure.
Fig. 28. Plate IV. argent, on a chief gules, three pallets or ; but in several paintings,
the chief is paly of six pieces, or and gules, the ancient bearing of the surname
of KEITH. The occasion of this bearing is not unlike that of the Prince of
Catalonia, his carrying such figures, of which before ; but of a more general and
Certain tradition, being of a later date. Thus, in anno 1006, at the battle of Pan-
which it is said came the
bride, one Robert, a chieftain amongst the Chatti, (from
mme of Keith or
Ketbi), having joined Malcolm II. King of Scotland with his
;
illowers, was very instrumental in obtaining a notable victory over the Danes,
u here their King Camus was killed by the hands of this Robert, which King Malcolm
perceiving, dipped his fingers in Camus's blood, and drew long strokes or pales of
blood on the top of Robert's shield, which have ever since been the r.rmorial fi-
gures of his descendants. All our historians and antiquaries agree in this action ;
and Hector Boyes, in his Book u. chap. 17. tells us, Camus was slain in the fight
by a young man called Keith j who, for his singular valour, got lands in East Lo-