A slogan is used in

Scottish heraldry Heraldry in Scotland, while broadly similar to that practised in England and elsewhere in western Europe, has its own distinctive features. Its heraldic executive is separate from that of the rest of the United Kingdom. Executive The Scottish he ...

as a

heraldic motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

or a secondary motto. It usually appears above the

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

on a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

, though sometimes it appears as a secondary motto beneath the shield. The word ''slogan'' dates from 1513. It is a variant of the earlier ''slogorn'', which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic ''sluagh-ghairm'' (''sluagh'' "army", "host" + ''gairm'' "cry").

Mottoes and heraldry

There are several possible origins for mottoes used in heraldry, and slogans may have originated from battle cries or war cries. There are several notable heraldic mottoes which are thought to originate from a war cries. For example, the

Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, or the royal arms for short, is the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently King Charles III. These arms are used by the King in his official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom. Vari ...

contains the motto ("God and my right") which has been thought to originated as a war cry, as has the motto which appeared on the former French coat of arms. Several mottoes found in Irish heraldry, which end in ''a boo'', are also thought to have originated as war cries. Examples of such

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

mottoes are of the Fitzgerald earls of Leinster; and of the Fitzgerald

earls of Desmond Earl of Desmond is a title in the peerage of Ireland () created four times. When the powerful Earl of Desmond took arms against Queen Elizabeth Tudor, around 1578, along with the King of Spain and the Pope, he was confiscated from his estates, ...

. Not all slogans are based on war cries. Many slogans pertaining to

Scottish clan chief The Scottish Gaelic word means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard c ...

s have been registered relatively recently at the Court of the Lord Lyon. Sometimes slogans are merely a name, such as ''A HOME A HOME A HOME'' of the

Homes A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. ...

, others refer to a rallying point for the clan, like of the Campbells, some slogans refer to a prominent clansman like the

Maclean MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John). The clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic "Mac Gille Eathai ...

("Another for Hector"). In at least one case, a

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

is used as a slogan, as in ''St Bennet and Set On'' of the Setons. The arms of Grant use two slogans (or mottoes): , which appears above the crest; and ''STANDFAST'', which appears beneath on a scroll beneath the shield. Sometimes a clan chief's slogan appears on his

crest badge A Scottish crest badge is a heraldic badge worn to show allegiance to an individual or membership in a specific Scottish clan. Crest badges are commonly called "clan crests", but this is a misnomer; there is no such thing as a collective ''clan' ...

and in consequence on the crest badges worn by his clan members. In some cases the chief's slogan also appears on his

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

Mottoes and heraldry

Slogans

Notes

Citations

References