West Highland Heraldry and the Lordship of the Isles

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CHAPTER 8 West Highland Heraldry and The Lordship of the Isles

Alastair Campbell of Airds

Few people would claim that Heraldry is conclusive historical evidence. But if it does not always prove who people actually are, it may well show who they thought they were or most of all, who they would like to be! And whatever crit- ics may say, heraldry is intensely symbolic and allows its users to make state- ments which can be clearly recognisable by those who understand a little of the language. A particular form of heraldry which does not conform to the established rules seems to have evolved in the Western Highlands and Isles as well as in the North Central Highlands which, for purposes of convenience is given the title of ‘West Highland Heraldry’ – a phrase first coined by the late Mr Roger Pye who was the first to draw attention to the phenomenon. This is characterised by the use of quartered arms and by the repetitive use of a number of highly symbolic charges. Quartering is usually used in heraldry to denote descent from a heraldic heiress whose arms are quartered with those of her husband – hence such arms as those of the Duke of Argyll (Quarterly, 1st and 4th, gyronny of eight or and sable; 2nd and 3rd, argent, a galley sails furled oars in action sable flagged gules) where the Campbell gyronny of eight is quartered with the Galley of Lorn which came into the family with the marriage of the Earl of Argyll with the heiress of the Lordship of Lorn; the fact that a financial deal was involved does not alter the fact that the lady concerned was an heraldic heiress. This is normal heraldic practice. But it is common to find in the arms of the chiefs of West Highland clans the use of quarters where no marriage with heraldic heiresses appears to be involved and where, apart from the use of such obvious symbolic charges as rocks, towers and castles, repeated use is made of four objects; − the Lion rampant, the Galley, the Red Hand (either on its own or clutching an object, nota- bly a cross crosslet fitchy) and the Salmon. Usually these are separate quarterings but on occasion, so much are they apparently desired that two charges may be crammed into the same quarter in order to accommodate them. This form of coat appears in the arms of the Chiefs of such clans as the Clan Donald, the Macleans of Duart, the Maclaines of Lochbuie, the MacLachlans, the MacDougalls, the MacNeills of Barra and of Taynish and the MacKinnons and it is repeated with due differences in the arms of their cadets.

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Not all West Highland clan Chiefs follow the same pattern. Notable excep- tions include the Campbells whose use of the galley quartering follows normal heraldic practice, the Lamonts (azure, a lion rampant argent) the Mathesons (gyronny of eight, sable and gules, a lion rampant or armed and langued azure) and the MacLeods of the Lewes (or, a burning mountain proper) and of Dunvegan (quarterly, 1st and 4th, azure, a triple towered castle argent masoned sable, windows and porch gules; 2nd and 3rd, gules, three legs armed, con- joined and flexed at the knees argent) the Camerons of Locheil (gules, three bars or), and the Mackenzies (azure, a stag’s head cabossed or). The same repetition of the four charges is also to be found among the chiefs of the Clan Chattan Confederation who also claim a West Highland back- ground. They, too, make frequent use of the same symbols which clearly are of considerable significance and among those displaying two or more on their shields are the Chiefs of the Mackintoshes (quarterly, 1st, or, a lion rampant gules; 2nd, argent, a dexter hand couped fesswise, grasping a man’s heart proper; 3rd, azure, a boar’s head couped or; 4th, or, a lymphad azure, oars erect in saltire gules); the MacBeans (quarterly, 1st, or, a lion rampant gules; 2nd, argent, a dexter hand appaume gules; 3rd, argent, a sword in pale proper within a border indented gules; 4th, or, a galley with sails furled sable); the Macphersons (party per fess or and azure, a lymphad of the first flagged gules, sails furled, oars in action proper, in the dexter chief point a hand couped fesswise grasping a dagger palewise gules, and in the sinister a cross crosslet fitchy gules); the Shaws (quarterly, 1st, or, a lion rampant gules, armed and langued azure; 2nd, argent, a fir tree growing out of a mound in base seeded proper; in the dexter canton a dexter hand couped at the wrist holding a dagger point downwards gules; 3rd, chequy argent and azure and on a chief of the second; three mullets of the first; 4th, or a galley, sailed furled azure, flagged and oars in saltire gules); the MacGillivrays (quarterly, 1st, or, a cat-a-mountain sejant guardant proper; 2nd, argent a dexter hand couped at the wrist appaume gules; 3rd, azure, a salmon naiant argent; 4th, or, a galley azure flagged and oars in saltire gules); and the MacThomases (quarterly, 1st, or, a lion rampant gules, armed and langued azure; 2nd, argent, a dexter hand fesswise couped at the wrist holding a dagger point downwards gules; 3rd, or, a lymphad azure, sails furled proper, flagged and oars in saltire gules; 4th, or, a lion rampant gules, armed and langued azure, surmounted of a chevron sable; the whole within a border com- pony gules and argent, the latter charged of a heart gules). If this usage does not denote marriages with specific heraldic heiresses, than can it have a more general totemic meaning, of descent in general rather than specific terms, perhaps? Or, with the prevalence of such arms in the Western Isles, can it denote a particular connection with the dominant power