DECORATIO CASTLEN NO S OF HUNTL BALVENIED YAN 7 38 .

IV.

HERALDIC DECORATIO CASTLEE TH N N O HUNTLF SO D YAN BALVENIE THOMAY B . S INNE LEARNEYF SO , F.S.A.ScoT., CARRICK PURSUIVANT OF ARMS.

Amongst the outstanding features of Huntly Castle is the effective manner in which heraldry has been applied to the decoration of the structure, so that it is not merely a panel inserted upon the house but part of the architectural ensemble, and the result has been extraordinarily

[Photo A. B. Beattie, Huntly. Fig. 1. Huntly Castle: view of "Palace" from the south after conservation. picturesque, and indeed remains so even in its present damaged condition. Approachin f loft o e castl yth w g ro e a fro e souto m t th looe p hw u k bow windows, knit together by two great bands of lettering, containing the names of the builder and his wife—George Gordon, Marquis of Huntly, and Henriette Stewart, Marquisse of Huntly (fig. 1). Design of this nature was not unknown at the period. Hardwick Hall exhibits another instance, but I know of no such stately example as the tall bow 8 38 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , MARC , 193511 H .

windows crowning the lofty solidity of Huntly's massive palace. The letterin s separategi mulletsy db , whic thin hi s situatio somewhae nar t difficul explaino t t , unless they bear some subtle referenc famile th o et y e oft-soughclaith mo t t Earldo f Moraymo . That some heraldic signi- ficance is implied is evident from the appearance at the central window, fleur-de-lie oth f f Darnleyo s e chargth , e fro Marchioness'e mth s achieve- mentdumme Th . y window above, however, display typicasa l Scottish armorial tympanum wit quarteree hth d Gordonshiele th f do Huntlyf so ; 1st and 3rd, the boars' .heads of Gordon; 2nd, three lions' heads for the Lordship of Badenoch; 3rd, three crescents within a tressure for Seton; 4th, three fraise e mair Eraserth fo sf n O gatewa. e easth tn yo no decorative traces remain, but from the decoration of the palace block one may infer that this also would be highly decorated, presumably with the arms of Huntly, immediately above the door, and over them e Royath l Arm f Scotlando s , somewhat aftee stylth r e whic s stilhi l visible at Tolquhon. Within the courtyard, however, where the cause- way leads to the great doorway of the palace, we find in the round stair- case tower, which still exist heigha f so f somo t feet5 e4 compositioa , n which is probably the most splendid heraldic doorway in the British Isles r achievemenfo , t after achievement e stretche th e sid f th o e p u s tower, connecte y delicatelb d y moulded panels thao s , s t whewa l al n fres emblazoned han e corbellecolourn di th d an , d turret abov coms ewa - plete t musi , t have bee ntrula y imposing entrance (fig. First2) . , above e dooth r itself come four small shields upo e over-lintelth n , charged respectively with (1) the quartered arms of Huntly, (2) the initials of the Marquis and Marchioness, (3) the arms of Lennox, (4) shield with date 1602. Between the three mar e animals, apparently greyhounds, creatures which have always bee e Huntlnth y armorial supporters s suri e - On . prised that the initial and date should have been inscribed upon the two secondary shields, where one might have expected to find the arms e Marquis'th of s maternal ancestors, Hamilto d Keithe an nTh . opportunity for incorporating these does not, however, seem to have struc e builderkth sincd e Huntly'an , eth s associations wit e Royahth l Officer o frequentl to f Arm o sd ha s y bee e arrivath n f 'o ' lLetter f o s Treason" and other such executorials, no doubt the Marquis did not seek heraldic assistanc sucn ei h matters—beyon e actuath d l detailf o s e bearingsth e artistiTh . c compositio o muce s e morth s i th nh o t e crediMarquise th f o t . lone Th g moulded facade toweth f o er displays four panels f whico , h the first contains the impaled arms of Huntly and Lennox, being those s e wifeMarquiohi th f ,d Ladan s y Henriette Stewart. These ar e

390 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, MARCH 11, 1935.

supported by the collared hound of the Gordons upon the dexter, and a somewhat damaged animal, which is presumably the wolf of Lennox, upon the sinister. It is noticeable that both the Gordon and Darnley mottoes are incorporated, and in the intervening space between the 1st and 2nd panel is an open crown in detail more of a Royal nature than the accepted pattern of crest coronet, which—if it appeared in the earlier work—tempore Mary Queen of Scots, may not have escaped her adherents when pointing out that Huntly was too magnificent a build- ing for a subject. From the coronet, however, emerges not only the Gordon stag's hea t alse bull'bu dth o s hea f Lennoxo d a somewha, t incongruous combination exactln a t bu y; similar arrangemen s founi t d later on, in the memorial to Udny of that ilk at Newburgh, and the practice of displaying the crest of the wife's family along with one's own seems to have been fairly usual in seventeenth-century Scotland. In the panel above appears the Royal Arms of Scotland, impaled with those of Denmark, being those of James VI. and Anne of Denmark. e Queee armth f Th o sn show: quarterly ) Denmark(1 , ) Norway(2 , , (3) Sweden basen Gothland) i (4 ) , (5 , Vandaliad an , . Ove l dividinal r g the first four quarterings, the cross of the Dannebrogg and over all an inescutcheon, charged with an escutcheon en surtout. The two last are t carvede detailno th o s s, were presumably painted e onlyfirsTh t . should have shown quarterly Holstein) (1 , Stammarn) (2 , Ditmarken) (3 , , (4) Lauenburg, whilst the escutcheon en surtout would have born, per pale, dexter, Oldenburg, sinister Delmanhorst. Supporters on the dexter Scottise th y b h Unicorn, holdin e Royagth sinistee lth bannern o r d an , the wyvern of Denmark, holding a banner charged with a similar wyvern. The badge of St Andrew is pendant beneath the Royal shield; and I would remind you that only eleven years later, in 1613, in Mennevius, Delicice Equestrium sive Militarum Ordinem, details are given of what purports to be the rules of the Order of the Thistle, to which Order Bishop Lesli alsd eha o referre s alsi t o i 1578n i dreferrea d n an i , o t d Sinclair pedigree dated 1590, in the Lyon Office. There is thus good reaso believo nt e thae ThistlOrdern th ta s a e actually existed an t da before this time. Indeed t appear i , e reig th s ris it nn hav o ei t s d eha of James III., revivals unde rJamed Jamean . s thereafted IV sV. an , r to have been kept alive by the badge in the Royal Arms, though no revival as a knightly brotherhood took place until the reign of James VII. , indeedis t I , somewhat curious tha te revival eacth e Orde f th h o f o rs appear havo st e been associated wit bandine hth g togethe chivalria f o r c brotherhoo defencn di e Churc th f o ef Rome ho , whose tenet indeed sha d been introduced into Scotland along wit veneratioe hth t AndrewS f no . DECORATIO CASTLEN NO F HUNTLO S BALVENIED YAN 1 39 .

Above this panel appear e Royath s l Cres f Scotlando t e lioth ,n sejant upo crowne nth , whils eithen o t r side appea initiale th r Kinf so g James and his, wife: I.R.6, Jacobus Rex, Sextus, and A.R.S. Anne Regina Scotorum, whilst the Royal motto, IN DEFENS, has been got in by affixing it to a panel across the leaf-embellished moulding of the upper panel, wherein are depicted the emblems of Our Lord's Passion, above which appears the motto: "A B S N Nobis gloriar nisi in cruce domini nostri Jesu Christe."mouldee th n I d panel above this appear blazinsa g sun within a circle of clouds, along with the motto, Divina virtwte resurgo,

Fig . Huntl3 . y Castle: fourte Armth f so h Ear wifes Huntlf o lhi ,d yan Elizabeth Keith nortn o , h wal "Palace.f o l " f mouldingo p to whilseithee n o sth t ra tlioa side n ear sejan t affronte and a double-headed eagle, presumably representing Scotland and the Holy Roman Empire, or the Norse raven. Surmounting the whole com- bination is the figure of St Michael; but this and the two sacred panels beneath it have been sadly defaced by the activity of Major Strachan, wh n 165i o 0 busied himsel n defacini f g "the popish emblems.n O " e nortth he palac th a walparticularl f s o i el y pleasant achievement of the 4th Earl and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Keith, which is an instructive piece of carving, since it shows the comital achievement adapted to a situatio whicn ni h horizontal latitud requireds e wa se herd e an ,ew the fancy shield type of the sixteenth century expanded so as to show both the arms of husband and wife effectively, and above, the old- fashioned Scottish type of Earl's coronet used before the Union (fig. 3). The dexter supporter is the Huntly greyhound; but the sinister, instead of being mighs a , t have been expecte periode th t Keite da th , h roebuck, is a somewhat French-looking Cupid with elevated wings. The initials

DECORATIO CASTLEN NO F HUNTLO S BALVENIED YAN 3 39 .

and arms of this couple—conjoined per fess—along with the date 1553, are also found on the spurstone of the building. Within, on ascending the staircase to the great hall of the palace, e fireplace th e hald greath an lf to s chaumer have beed nan tort nou

[Photo W. Douglas Simpson. Fig . Huntl5 . y Castle: Detai f Greao l t Fireplace. have disappeared, thoug f thes o a h drawin e s extane i e th on f n i o gt Library at King's College, Old Aberdeen. It shows a lozenge ensigned with corone d containinan t a gmonogram e lozengTh . s supportei e d by two savages and the space of the lintel on either side is filled by wha horseo t tw appea e sb courranto t r . Presumabl firee yth -s thiswa place of the Marchioness's room. The elaborate ceilings, decorated with

tempera paintings and mottoes, also have vanished. In the upper

1 1 Shaw, History of Moray, vol. ii. p. 410. 394 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , MARC , 1935H11 .

chambers there still remai splendio ntw d mantelpieces whicf o . e , his on , like staircaseth e tower outstandinn a , g exampl f everythineo g than a t armorial fireplace should be (figs. 4 and 5). It bears the date 1606. The jambs on either side are supported .by knights in armour, whilst upon the lintel appear the full achievements of Huntly on the dexter and Lennox on the sinister, with between them an oval, inscribed with the motto: SEN GOD DOE VS DEFEND, VE SAL PREVAIL VNTO YE END, and within it the coronet and cipher of the Marquis and Marchioness. The use of the complete achieve- ments and shields forms a symmetry which would have been impossible if Lady Henrietta's lozenge alone had been displayed. Along the moulding of what we might call the mantelshelf is the inscription: TO THAES THATAL LOVGOD E THINGIS VIRKS TO THE BEST; whilst the overmantel is supported fluteo tw dy b columns, which have been surmounted by carved figures —presumably of a sacred character, since they also have been defaced— between which are displayed the usual large achievemen Royae th f to l Arms, indicating thae castlth t e immediat n waseae a f sth o t e vassal e s Crowna Bartolusth o f r fo ; , Pig. 6. Fireplace on second floor of "Palace. e celebrate" th • ;1 dn legaT l, writer-, -, ,-, observes., :i "Whilst subjects may not display the arms of their Sovereign, they relativelyo s o d y y placinb , ma g them abovee theiarmn th n ow i rs centre "of their wall, indication a s " a feuda e th f no l relationshi superiof po r and vassal. This is the explanation of what would otherwise appear

a lavish displae Royath 1 f yo l Arms upo mano ns y baronial castlen i s Scotland eithen O .r side, outwit pillare h th completin d san desige gth n of fluted pilasters above the knightly jambs, are two cones, twisted round with ribbons, bearing the name and title of the Marquis and Marchioness, surmounted respectively by a Seton crescent and by a fleur-de-lis of Aubigny. Above, there is a moulded panel which has evidently contained a sacred device, now either completely weathered

Innes of Learney, Scots Heraldry, pp. 124, 161. 1 DECORATIO CASTLEN NO F HUNTLO S BALVENIED YAN 5 39 . I suspect s awaya , or , deface Majoy b d r Strachan e adjoininth n I . g chamber there is another interesting but less imposing fireplace, in whic centrae hth l motiv impalee th s ei d achievemen Marquie th f o d t san Marchioness, now, however, in a much decayed condition (fig. 6). On eithe carvee r th side dear bust lad a gentlemand f yso an ,y whoma e mw supposintendee b y erepresenma o dt builderse chambee th tth n O f .o r roune th d towe thin o r s floostiln tracee ca b rl dfragmena paintea f o t d achievement of the Huntly arms, and there are traces of others on the side f otheo s r window openings, from deducy whicma e ehw that whilst the walls were no doubt hung with tapestry, the window recesses had been elaborately decorated with heraldic achievements painted upoe nth stucco plastering of the walls. In the course of the excavations were discovered some other frag- ments whic hhavey havema ,r o forme, d par f armoriao t l bearings—as e fragmenth armorian a f o t l shield wit e Gordohth n arms undoubtedly does; whilst two griffins, each supporting a shield, must, I think, in e perio somth refey r personago wa et o dr f Elizabeto e h Gray, widow of the 4th Earl, who married for her second husband the Earl of Rothes, whose supporters -were griffins. These are the only heraldic griffins which seem in any way associated with the history of the building.

BALVENIE CASTLE. t BalvenieA meee 1w t with heraldry applie vera n di y different bu t non lese eth s effective manne buildina o t r g whic sensa f some o n hi s ei - what similar style, though markedly different in appearance to the palace bloc f Huntlyko fine e samth W d .e rounw ro de th towe d an r of ornamental windows, though these are of a different and much less pretentious type, consistin f littlo g e semicircular bows which must have looked very attractiv f eglazei d with curved leaded panels. Here e heraldrth f ymouldeo is w • appliero da paneln di s situated above eth bow windows and beneath the eaves course which may have been lighted by dormer windows. The central panel displays the Royal Arms of Scotland, surmounte e opeth ny db crow surrounded nan spraa y f db yo thistles, the whole being evidently copied from the style of heraldic drawin time th Lorf eo n g i d Lyo r RobernSi t Forma Luthrief no , which is indeed confirme e nexth ty b dpanel , situated abov d midwaan e y windowsy ba e abovd betweeth f an , o bolea o ndtw scroll wit proue hth d motto: FVRTH FORTVI FID LN AN TH I FATRIS, which, discount- ing the banal "fill the fetters," probably did have a double entendre, There are unfortunately no photographs of the Balvenie panels, and from their height such 1 are not easily to be obtained. 396 PROCEEDING E SOCIETYTH F O S , MARC , 1935H11 .

meaning either "fily fetterth e s (off), r "fill fatris,y o "e las th th t f i " word be read in the meaning "coffer." At any rate the coat-of-arms above, surmounte s comitait y b d l coronet, displaye e armth th sf o s Stewart Earls of Atholl: Quarterly, 1st and £th, paly of six Or and Sable, for Atholl; 2nd and 3rd, a fess chequy, for Stewart, along with the initials I.S., standing for John Stewart, 4th Earl of Atholl (1542-79), whose arms, impaled with s wifethoshi f , o e Lady Elizabeth Gordon, appear in the third panel, situated at the top of the narrow angle stair- case turret, this shield being impaled: Dexter e quarterlth , y coaf o t Atholl; and sinister, the quarterly coat of Huntly: 1st, the boars' heads of Gordon; 2nd, the lions' heads of Badenoch; 3rd, the crescents of Seton; ith, cinquifoile th Eraserf lowea o s n O r .level , abov archee eth d gateway with its heavy iron yett, and between the two principal windows e firsoth f t floor s anothei , r recess devoiy coat-of-armw an no , f do d an s surrounded by a cable moulding, but one surmises it may have displayed the achievement and supporters of the house of Atholl. Withi e courtyarnth eithen do r side circulariso etw r towers, each wit ha doorwa y leadin s turnpikit o gt e stair abovd an , e eac f thesho e doorways is a recess for a coat-of-arms. Both are now empty. When, however, I first went to Balvenie in 1913 the carved shield was still, accordin recollectiony m f thes o o gt e e on openings n i ,192n i d r 6D an , Douglas Simpson noticed in the transe a shield which had apparently come from one of them, in which the first quarter, displaying the six pales of Atholl, was alone distinguishable. McGibbon and Ross, however,1 state tha shiele th t d ove southere th r n door displayed Atholl impaling Forbes, being therefore evidentl e achievemenyth f Johno t Eard f 3r , o l Atholl, 1522—42 e sketchTh . , however, suggest s anothes wa tha t i tr shield displaying the arms of the 4th Earl, impaled with Gordon, since neithe e wived Earlth 3r f so ,re oth Grizef l Rattra r Jeayo n Forbes, would have had a- quartered shield. Conceivably, the shield in the transe displaye arme d th f Athol so Forbesd turreto an l tw tha o e s ,s th t may have been embellished with the arms of the third and fourth Earls. There was, however, at Balvenie other and more elaborate heraldry, of which only fragments exist to-day r amongsfo , t those collectee th n di cours f clearino e e courtyar th ge remain e th muzzl th e d f ar do s an e shoulder of a chained unicorn, as in the Scottish Royal Arms, and this

must have formed part of a large and magnificent carving of a2 heavily- artistid an t ccu style I hav r fo e, seldom see nbettea t piec cu rchaif eo n

1 Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland, vol. i. p. 387. 2 The unicorn being a sinister one, and the post-union achievements always showing the unicorn dextee th n Scotlandn ri o t followi , s tha fragmene tth achievemen n pars a i tf o t t older than 1603. DECORATIO CASTLEN NO F HUNTLO S BALVENIED YAN 7 39 .

and tufting. It has all the characteristics of the best heraldic art. Perhaps it surmounted the fireplace, either in the vaulted hall or the north hall adjoining, or it may have been over some doorway leading vanishew no e othe d th dan o r t suite f apartmento s s tim e whicon e t ha surrounded the interior of the courtyard. Both these castles are excellent examples of how armorial bearings have been used as an effective element in architectural decoration, and also in such a manner as to preserve the history of the structure and identite th buildere th f yo variouf so s parts involved.

MONDAY, 8th April 1935. SIR GEORGE MACDONALD, K.C.B., LL.D., F.B.A., President, in the Chair.

A ballot having been taken followine th , g were elected Fellows:— Mrs WYNDHAM CHAPLIN, Sesame Club, 49 Grosvenor Street, London, W. 1. HAROLD HBLMAN, "Dil-Kushi," Plonier Hill, High Wycombe, Bucks. Rev. CHARLES P. BOBERTSON, M.A., "Norwood," 41 Queen Mary Avenue, Glasgow, S. 2. GEORGE SOUTER, Drynie, Dingwall.

Miss M. E. Crichton Mitchell, Ph.D., F.S.A.Scot., exhibited photo- graphs of two Bronze Age Beaker urns from Cawdor, Nairn. The urns t presena e ar t housee Museuth n i d f Archaeologmo d Ethnologyan y , Cambridge, and are labelled 23.1316 and 23.1317 respectively. Both were found in a cist together with the remains of a human skelton. The

first (fig. 1, 1) is of type CA and is decorated by means of a cog-wheel, the lines of ornament having a deliberate white filling which serves to enhance the various patterns. This beaker measures 15 cm. in height, 14-. acros 5cm mouthe sth diameten ,i 12- . necke 8th cm t n ,a ri 13-. 2cm diameter at the bulge, and 8-4 cm. across the base. The second (fig. 1, 2)

is of the CB variety, and while decorated by means of the same device is much more degenerat n boti e h ford ornamentationman . Thin ur s measures 13 cm. in height, 10-5 cm. across the mouth, 10 cm. in diameter