Heremon, eldest son of Milesius, reigned in Ireland for fourteen years, along with his brothers Heber, Ir, and Ithe. They named the land Scota or Scotia, their mother’s name, the land of the Scots. This name would later be taken by the Irish King Colla in 357 when he was exiled to Scotland, leaving the name ‘Ir-land’, land of Ir, youngest of the four sons of Milesius, to the Emerald Isle. The four Irish kingdoms eventually broke into five separate nations under the High King, or Ard Righ. These royal lines would later produce such great kings as the 4th century King Niall of the Nine Hostages who died in France while cutting off the retreat of the Romans from Britain, and King Brian Boru who died in the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, finally expelling the Vikings from Dublin and Ireland.

The surname was found first in Shropshire where Walter FitzAlan of Brittany was given lands following the Norman Conquest in 1066. Walter FitzAlan was descended from King Alan of Brittany. Different spellings included Allan, Alan, Alleyn, Allayne, Allain, and others.

Walter FitzAlan propagated 3 distinct family lines: the Stewarts of Scotland, the Boyds of Scotland, and the Allan family. Over the years the family moved north to Scotland, settling in Ayreshire, Argyll, and Lothian. The Allans of Bute were considered the senior branch of the family. Other branches settled in northern England in Durham, and also in Staffordshire and Herefordshire. Family seats include Aros House, Blackwell Hall, Davenham Hall, and Thirnton House.

]]> http://1st4-coatsofarms.co.uk/surnames/surname-origins-allan/feed/ 0 http://1st4-coatsofarms.co.uk/coats-of-arms/more-rules-of-heraldry/ http://1st4-coatsofarms.co.uk/coats-of-arms/more-rules-of-heraldry/#comments Mon, 01 Aug 2011 07:42:55 +0000 Tony http://1st4-coatsofarms.co.uk/?p=259 Whilst any colour can be used for the ‘charges’ (the designs on the shield), there are rules governing the colours used in the remainder of the coat of arms, and each colour has a meaning./p

The Mantling or Lambrequin: is the flourish surrounding the coat of arms. In wartime the suit of armour could get very hot inside so a cloth was worn suspended from the helmet down the back of the armour. The Mantling shaded the wearer from the effects of the sun, and it also helped to prevent rust. In battle the Mantling was useful as it could prevent a clean swipe at the wearer and a sword could get snagged by the cloth thereby impeding the assailant. The Mantling often became ragged as a result, and heraldic artists often exaggerate the raddedness implying that the holder of the coat of arms had been in the thick of things.

The colour of the Mantling was originally always crimson and white, but after about 1700 the red and white was replaced by the main colours on the shield.

The Scottish Clan name Alexander is decended from the Dalriadan tribe which inhabited the west coast of Scotland. The name comes from the given (first) name Alexander which was introduced to Scotland by Queen Margaret who heard the name while in the Hungarian Court where she was raised. She named her first son Alexander and he went on to become king of Scotland following the detah of King Malcolm III in the late 11th century.

The Dalriadan tribe was one of several Scoti tribes that invaded Scotland from northern Ireland. The name Alexander emerged as a Scottish Clan in the territory of Kintyre. The Gaelic version of the name is Alisdair. The Alexanders are descended from King Somerled who had five sons. The founder of the Clan is generally recognised to be Alistair Mor (meaning Alistair the big). The Clan descended through three main lines: the House of Loup; the House of Tarbert, and the branch in Arran which was referred to as the Clan Alistair Beg.

Conflict between Clans and the monarchy was common in those days. A long running feud between the MacDonalds and the King ended with some of the MacDonald’s land being confiscated by the Crown. King James III formed the Stewardry of South Kintyre which inclded Dunaverty Castle and gave the land to Tarlach (Charles) MacAlexander.

There is much more information about the origins of the Alexander Clan in our Surname History print.

The Coat of Arms of the Alexanders is shown on the left. The family motto is Per mare, per terras which translates as By sea, by land.

– Royalty: the helmet will be gold and facing forwards. The visor should be open and guarded by grilles or bars.

– Peers: the helmet must be silver and will be viewed in profile. The visor should be open and guarded by griiles of gold.

– A knight or baronet’s helmet should be of steel and viewed facing forward. The visor should be open but with no grilles.

– The helmet of a gentleman or squire should be steel and seen in profile. The visor will be closed.

The shape and style of the helmet is not important and is left to the whims of the heraldic artist.

In those days an army was more like a collection of mini-armies; each knight would bring with him his own small band of men, a sort of private army. It was important that the fighting men, most of whom were illiterate, could pick out their leader with ease and rally around to help him. So the knights started to decorate their shields and suits of armour. They wore a cloth garment over the top half of their armour, this was decorated and was known as a ‘surcoat’, a name that was later corrupted into ‘coat of arms’.

At first only the ‘upper classes’ displayed their arms with shields and banners prominent in castles and large houses, but others wanted to get in on the act. In those days it was necessary to get the king’s permission to sell land and the monarch granted the arms to the gentry; however, commoners started displaying arms too even though ‘heralds’ and other appointed officials tried to stop the practice. Eventually the people won and the display of arms became common place.

As Arms were handed down the generations many were added to. If two prominent families joined together in marriage, their Arms were often merged. This is very apparent in the shield that are dived into quarters, the design in each quarter will represent another family who joined in marriage.

The Crest or Family Crest is the design on top of the helmet. Sometimes you will see 5 feathers there, which means that particular coat of arms does not have a crest. Indeed, in early days these were virtually non-existent; then crests were added by high ranking families, usually in the form of an animal or an animal’s head. Later crests became popular and there addition became common.

The Motto: Rather like crests, early coats of arms did not have a motto and they don’t really have a place in heraldry. Mottos first appeared in about 1660 and, like crests, they became popular after that date.

Today I will discuss the shield which is the part of greatest importance. The shield should have a background colour as a minimum, and this is known as the ‘field’. Some sort of figure, animal or design known as the ‘charge’ is added to the shield. You will often see the shield divided into halves or quarters; with a different design in each segment. This usually means that as the arms have been handed down the generations the overall design has been added to when the family married; in effect two coats of arms have merged into one – the techical term being ‘cadency’.

Generally speaking, the older the coat of arms, the simpler the design.

In coming days I will talk about the other parts of an ‘Achievement’.