This weeks showcased coat-of-arms will be the surname 'McClain' from Scotland. Information for this coat-of-arms was found in 'HPS Surname Origin Database'.
MOTTO: RECTUM MEI VENERATIO (Virtue Mine Honor)
Lets break this down. We will start with the arms:
QUARTERLY, (fr. ecartele): When a coat of arms is divided into four parts, which is usually party per cross (rarely per saltire). The term quarterly is found in ancient rolls, and the lines of partition are subject to many of the variations to which ordinaries are subject. The divisions are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, beginning at the dexter chief, and most frequently Nos. 1 and 4 are alike, as also Nos. 2 and 3; and when the quarter is charged its number must be always specified.
ARGENT (Silver or White): Sometimes fancifully called Luna in the arms of princes, as also Pearl in those of peers: peace and sincerity.
FITCHEE (cross pointed at base): A combination of cross and sword; symbolizing unshakeable faith.
OR (Gold or Yellow): Known as 'jaune'; symbolizes generosity and elevation of the mind; one of the two metals of Heraldry. 'Or' is from Latin (aurum): the chief of the tinctures; it is called Sol by those who blazon by the sun and planets.
Next week we will showcase the coat-of-arms of 'Wallis'
Lets break this down. We will start with the arms:
QUARTERLY, (fr. ecartele): When a coat of arms is divided into four parts, which is usually party per cross (rarely per saltire). The term quarterly is found in ancient rolls, and the lines of partition are subject to many of the variations to which ordinaries are subject. The divisions are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, beginning at the dexter chief, and most frequently Nos. 1 and 4 are alike, as also Nos. 2 and 3; and when the quarter is charged its number must be always specified.
ARGENT (Silver or White): Sometimes fancifully called Luna in the arms of princes, as also Pearl in those of peers: peace and sincerity.
ROCK:
Generally borne proper, and
issuing from the base of the shield; it only occurs in comparatively
late coats of arms.
HAND:
The human hand is often
borne in coat armour, though only one instance has been observed in
the early rolls, and that only incidental. The hand is generally
couped at the wrist, and is so represented if no other description is
given.
GULES
(Red): The term is probably
derived from the Arabic gule, a red rose; introduced by the
Crusaders. Some historians feel the word is derived from the Latin
gula, which in old French is found as gueule, i.e. the "red
throat of an animal." Others, again, have tried to find the
origin in the Hebrew word gulade, which signifies red cloth.
Symbolizes a warrior or martyr; military strength and magnanimity.
CROSS
CROSSLET: Signifies the
fourfold mystery of the cross.
FITCHEE (cross pointed at base): A combination of cross and sword; symbolizing unshakeable faith.
AZURE
(BLUE): Tears shed in a
great battle over a lost compatriot or family member or the bearer
shows some great work unaccomplished and deplored his unavailing
efforts; also grief, loss.
OR (Gold or Yellow): Known as 'jaune'; symbolizes generosity and elevation of the mind; one of the two metals of Heraldry. 'Or' is from Latin (aurum): the chief of the tinctures; it is called Sol by those who blazon by the sun and planets.
GALLEY
(Lymphad): An ancient ship
with one mast; a feudal ensign; notable expedition by sea, by which,
perhaps, the first bearers had become famous.
SABLE
(Black): Derived from
animals with black feet called Sable; signifies constancy or
sometimes grief; mysteriousness.
EAGLE:
A noble device signifying a
person of action, ever more occupied in high and weighty affairs, and
one of lofty spirit, ingenious, speedy in apprehension, and judicious
in matters of ambiguity; true magnanimity and fortitude of mind; a
symbol of power and sovereignty. The Eagle also symbolizes courage,
freedom, and immortality. It proudly served as an emblem of the might
and unity of empire for Babylon, the Caesars, Charlemagne and many
Holy Roman and Byzantine emperors as well as for Russian czars,
Aztecs and Napoleon. The heraldic Eagle appeared in Persian and
Egyptian battle ensigns and on the flags of the Roman legions. The
Romans called the Eagle the "bird of Jove, and carried it on
their standards, into battle. If a legion lost its Eagle, it was in
disgrace until the Eagle could be recovered. It was the Roman custom
to let an Eagle fly from the funeral pyre of a deceased emperor,
bearing the god's soul to heaven after a period of earthly
incarnation as the emperor. Early Christians honored the Eagle as a
symbol of hope, of strength and of Resurrection. The latter is based
on the early belief that the Eagle, unlike other birds, periodically
renewed its plumage and its youth by flying near the sun then
plunging into the water. The majestic Eagle was central to many
mythologies and sacred writings of humanity. The ancient Greeks
revered the eagle as a symbol of the god of lightning, and it is said
they nailed Eagles to the peaks of temples to serve as magic
lightning rods; Scandinavian myths also associate the Eagle with
lightning and storm. The Hittites (an ancient people living in
Anatolia and northern Syria about 2000-1200 B.C) used the double
Eagle as an emblem of sovereignty.
RECONTRANT: When two charges are facing away from each other.
SALMON: From the Latin, salmo, to leap; the leaping fish. The sacred Salmon represents the ancient sanctity of water, its power to destroy and create. At another level it may stand for the troubled human soul, in its perpetual struggle to reconcile itself to itself; a symbol of perseverance. Legend states that the magic Salmon gained the power of wisdom by consuming the hazel nuts that dropped into sacred springs. Betoken on one of wisdom, knowledge and constancy.
Next we will discuss the crest:
RECONTRANT: When two charges are facing away from each other.
SALMON: From the Latin, salmo, to leap; the leaping fish. The sacred Salmon represents the ancient sanctity of water, its power to destroy and create. At another level it may stand for the troubled human soul, in its perpetual struggle to reconcile itself to itself; a symbol of perseverance. Legend states that the magic Salmon gained the power of wisdom by consuming the hazel nuts that dropped into sacred springs. Betoken on one of wisdom, knowledge and constancy.
Next we will discuss the crest:
TOWER
(castle, chateau): The emblem of grandeur and society, and has
been granted sometimes to one who has faithfully held one for his
king, or who has captured one by force or strategy. The castle of
Western Europe was a Norman creation, stemming from the 10th and
11th-century 'Norman Mound' castles. A castle that became the model
for many English and Norman castles was the formidable castle built
at Arques in Normandy by Henry I of England. In the Middle East the
Crusaders developed great castles with double circuits of curving
outer walls and towers or turrets to overlook all sections of the
wall. Early in the 13th century the medieval castle, a mixture of
Norman, English, and Byzantine elements were born.
EMBATTLED:
A line of partition resembling a row of battlements, (from which
it derived its origin and its name) across the shield, the term may
also be applied to the edge of an ordinary.
MEANING
OF NAME: Anglicized
form of Gaelic Mac Gille Eathain, a patronymic from a personal name
meaning ‘servant of (Saint) John’. The family bearing this name
were chieftains in several islands of the Inner Hebrides.
Next week we will showcase the coat-of-arms of 'Wallis'
