Heraldic symbolism on Colquhoun standard

[Mike_Oettle]

Just to recap on the Red Hand: yes, this is the badge of a baronet, but specifically a baronet of Ulster – baronetcies of this kind were originally created in connection with activities in the settlement of Protestants in that province of Ireland, whereas baronetcies of Nova Scotia involved the settlement of colonists on that Canadian island.
I believe the direct connection with Ulster fell away over time, but the Red Hand remained the badge of baronetcies other than those of Nova Scotia.
Bear in mind also that the rank of baronet is unique to the British Isles. It has no Continental equivalent, although it did have its roots in a misunderstanding by King James VI and I of the mediæval term knight banneret.
Regardless of the shortcomings of the Stodart system, it is a very effective way of identifying men of different branches of a family. The English equivalent (which exists more in theory than in practice) of combining the basic brisures in ever-decreasing size and grouped together, very quickly becomes impossible to follow.
Regards,
Mike

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

As I seem to recall, when I was in the Office of Arms in Dublin the practice was to use standard marks of cadency for the first generation, and Stoddart for all subsequent generations. Given all of the variations possible with Stoddart (including more than a dozen different lines of partition for the bordures!), and working on the assumption that there would be eight armigers in each generation, I believe we reckoned that it would take something like thirteen generations to exhaust all possible differences, at which point one could start over from the top, differencing by changing the tincture of the arms!

[creagdhubh]

As I seem to recall, when I was in the Office of Arms in Dublin the practice was to use standard marks of cadency for the first generation, and Stoddart for all subsequent generations. Given all of the variations possible with Stoddart (including more than a dozen different lines of partition for the bordures!), and working on the assumption that there would be eight armigers in each generation, I believe we reckoned that it would take something like thirteen generations to exhaust all possible differences, at which point one could start over from the top, differencing by changing the tincture of the arms!

I was waiting for you to chime in, Scott! Haha! Your heraldic expertise is always appreciated.

Cheers,

[saharris]

More on topic - a lot of bucket shops and websites will tell you that the certain colours, patterns, shapes, and charges have particular meanings (red is for courage, blue is for nobility, etc.), and some of the meanings they cite even have some historical precedent as people have tried to assign meaning to such things in the past.

This is an excellent point! Whatever tinctures, ordinaries, and charges are used in a given set of arms meant what they meant to the armiger. These is absolutely no such thing as a definitive list.

Mr A might use green because he was an environmentalist, Mr B might use green for his devout Muslim faith. My green chevron is neither A nor B – but that does not make its usage any more or less correct.

In most cases, though , the reason that a coat of arms was designed the way it was is lost and attempts to assign meaning now really are futile.

When I had my assumed arms recorded with the USHR and the NEGHS, I included a detailed design rationale (link). If my n^th-great-grandson is inclined to wonder why I designed the arms as I did, then I wanted to give him a fighting chance.

[creagdhubh]

This is an excellent point! Whatever tinctures, ordinaries, and charges are used in a given set of arms meant what they meant to the armiger. These is absolutely no such thing as a definitive list.

Mr A might use green because he was an environmentalist, Mr B might use green for his devout Muslim faith. My green chevron is neither A nor B – but that does not make its usage any more or less correct.

When I had my assumed arms recorded with the USHR and the NEGHS, I included a detailed design rationale (link). If my n^th-great-grandson is inclined to wonder why I designed the arms as I did, then I wanted to give him a fighting chance.

I couldn't have said it any better, Steven.

[Dixiecat]

By way of comparison.

The arms of the Clan Chief of Clan Agnew, Sir Crispin Agnew, 11th Baronet of Lochnaw.

Blazon: Argent a chevron between in chief two fraises Gules and in base a saltire couped Azure. A badge of a Baronet of Nova Scotia.

Regards

Chas

The arms that you show do not have a badge of a Baronet of Nova Scotia. As your other images show, the colours of the Nova Scotia ensign? are white background, blue saltire. A mistake of the illustrator? Or liberties?

[Dixiecat]

Just to recap on the Red Hand: yes, this is the badge of a baronet, but specifically a baronet of Ulster – baronetcies of this kind were originally created in connection with activities in the settlement of Protestants in that province of Ireland, whereas baronetcies of Nova Scotia involved the settlement of colonists on that Canadian island.
I believe the direct connection with Ulster fell away over time, but the Red Hand remained the badge of baronetcies other than those of Nova Scotia.
Bear in mind also that the rank of baronet is unique to the British Isles. It has no Continental equivalent, although it did have its roots in a misunderstanding by King James VI and I of the mediæval term knight banneret.
Regardless of the shortcomings of the Stodart system, it is a very effective way of identifying men of different branches of a family. The English equivalent (which exists more in theory than in practice) of combining the basic brisures in ever-decreasing size and grouped together, very quickly becomes impossible to follow.
Regards,
Mike

Nova Scotia is not an island. However, Cape Breton Island is part of the province of Nova Scotia and saw a great deal of Scottish settlement and may figure in the Baronetcies of Nova Scotia.

[Chas]

The arms that you show do not have a badge of a Baronet of Nova Scotia. As your other images show, the colours of the Nova Scotia ensign? are white background, blue saltire. A mistake of the illustrator? Or liberties?

Well spotted, Dixiecat. I have been in contact with the author of the image, but as he has not been active anywhere for over 18 months, I don't hold out much hope for an amendment.

Thanks

Regards

Chas

[saharris]

Bear in mind also that the rank of baronet is unique to the British Isles. It has no Continental equivalent, although it did have its roots in a misunderstanding by King James VI and I of the mediæval term knight banneret.

Although the title of “Baronet” (and “Baronetess”) are uniquely British, the idea of a hereditary knighthood is not. Continental Europe had several examples, as are the three FitzGerald hereditary knighthoods in Ireland, and I believe that Malta has one form or another of hereditary knighthood.

I just recently became aware of the supposed connection between the “knight banneret” (who ranked above a “knight bachelor” but below a Lord) and James’s Baronets – the first one being the Baronet Bacon of Redgrave, in 1611 (arms below).


Were the 14th-century knight bannerets also hereditary?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Were the 14th-century knight bannerets also hereditary?

No, is the short answer. During the medieval period the highest degree of knighthood was that of "Knight Banneret". A Knight Banneret was permitted to lead troops in battle under his own banner, a right normally reserved to the king and the highest titled nobility. Lesser knights (Knights Bachelor, from the French Bas Chevalier) were only permitted to fly a pennon on the battlefield. If they sufficiently distinguished themselves, then they could be advanced in rank from knight bachelor to knight banneret. When this happened it was the custom of the military commander to take the knight's bachelor pennon and remove the tails, leaving only the arms on the lance. Froissart recorded such an incident which took place at the battle of Najera in 1367. Sir John Chandos, a knight under the command of Edward, Prince of Wales (the Black Prince) was raised to the status of knight banneret on the eve of the battle. The actual cutting of the tails was performed by Perdo of Castile, with whom the Black Prince was allied. Sir John Chandos, after being handed his new "banner" paraded it in front of his troops so they would recognize it in the coming battle. The phrase "banneret" (a small banner) came into being because the banner of a knight was significantly smaller than the banner of a titled nobleman.

Hope that answers the question.
MoR