.......Classical Heraldry .......

Arms of the 13th and 14th Centuries (4)

Anthony Bek, Bishop of Durham ~ Gules a cross anchorée Ermine. Anthony Bek was one of the great battling bishops of the mediaeval centuries, a powerful baron of immense wealth, and a close friend of King Edward I whom he had accompanied on Crusade and who nominated him as Lieutenant for Scotland during the minority of Margaret, the tragic Maid of Norway.

Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester ~ Or three chevronels Gules. The mother of Gilbert, 7th Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, was the second daughter of Edward I, and thus he was nephew to Edward II whom he accompanied to Bannockburn in June 1314. There he disputed precedence with the Earl of Hereford, then Constable of England, and in an attempt to snatch a triumph rushed precipitately at the Scots on whose spears he died.

Sir William de Ros ~ Gules three water bougets Argent. The great-grandmother of Sir William, the first Baron de Ros by Writ, was Isabella, the eldest known illegitimate daughter of William the Lion, King of Scots, and through this link he became one of the twelve Competitors for the Scottish crown when the Maid of Norway died. It was a very weak claim but being English he may have thought that the English King, who was to decide the succession, might look kindly upon it.

Sir William de Saint Clare ~ Argent a cross engrailed Sable. The name William occurs regularly in the early Sinclair (St Clair, St Clare) family, and we are uncertain which of its holders the undifferenced arms shown here were meant to represent. It may have been the Sir William who was taken prisoner by the English at Dunbar in 1296, or the Sir William who accompanied Sir James Douglas to Spain and in 1330 brought back his heart to Scotland.

Sir Richard Siward ~ Sable a cross fleury. The Siward family earned an early reputation as quickwitted warriors, the first Richard Siward of note appearing in the first half of the 13th century exploiting the problems of Henry III's reign. The Sir Richard these arms were intended to represent was probably the man Edward I appointed Constable of Lochmaben Castle, a Bruce property the English held for a time and significantly reinforced.

John, Earl of Warenne and Surrey ~ Chequy Or and Azure. In 1296 Edward I appointed the Earl of Warenne and Surrey to rule Scotland in his name, but at the Battle of Stirling Bridge the following year he was defeated by the Scots under William Wallace and Andrew Moray, fled to Berwick and thence into England.

NOTE -- In England a cross anchorée is blazoned a cross moline, but a cross moline should be pierced (as the origin of the word suggests) and the Scottish usage, which reserves moline for a cross anchorée pierced, is preferred as more precise.

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The Shape of the Shield ~ Part One

The Shape of the Shield ~ Part Two

The Shape of the Shield ~ Part Three

The Shape of the Shield ~ Part Four

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