be, it is certain, that in England supporters were of 
= old worn by many persons of the commons. All those, 
- particularly, who bore offices of dignity in the state, 
__as the lord deputy of Ireland, the lord of the marches 
of Wales, the warden of the stannaries, &c, and even 
by families altogether in private life ; as the Stevenings 
3 of Sussex, the Stawells of Somerset, the Wallops of 
Hants, Savage of Cheshire, &c. ; and certainly the sup- 
poe still worn by the descendants of some of these 
families, rest on a much more honourable foundation 
than any modern grant of supporters that can be ob- 
tained from a college of arms.’ 
ieee It is worthy of remark, that supporters were former- 
on chan. Ly changed very frequently according to the choice of 
individuals, and by né means coneideeais as fixed and 
unalterable marks of descent like the armorial 
bearings. From King Edward III. till James I. few of 
the English kings wore the same supporters as their 
predecessors. The lion, the falcon, the hart, the an- 
telope, the swan, the leopard, the bull, the boar, the 
greyhound, the dragon, and the eagle, were all suc- 
cessively used by the monarchs of England ; and one 
of them (Edward IV.) altered his no less than three 
times. ~ Edward VI. was the first who bore the lion 
crowned with the imperial crown. This was retained 
by Mary and Elizabeth ; and James also used it as his 
dexter supporter, placing the Scottish unicorn * on the 
left side ; on which arrangement, no alteration has been 
' made by any of his successors. 
Henry VIII. was the first king of England who for- 
mally ted supporters to the peers of the realm. He 
gave the like ornaments to the nights of the garter 
and of the bath. The kings of arms in England are 
authorised to grant supporters to all persons not under 
the degree of a knight of the bath ; and whoever of an 
inferior rank bears supporters in that kingdom, does so 
by an express t from the crown, 
Great abu- __In Scotland, the right to bear supporters is common- 
ses respect- ly supposed to rest on somewhat a different footing. 
ing the use Some of the baronets of Nova Scotia have taken up the 
re ip Scot. NOtion, that they are, by the terms of their patents, 
* entitled to add supporters to their paternal coats, and 
they accordingly wear them in their armorial ensigns. 
But an impartial consideration of the clause in the pa- 
tents will convince them of their mistake, more parti- 
cularly as it is not pretended, that there ever was any 
other royal grant or warrant issued, whereon they can 
found a-claim to any such privilege. In the patents 
revious to the year 1629, it is ordained, “ that the 
Basunete and their heirs-male shall, as an addition of 
honour to-their armories, bear, either on a canton or 
inescutcheon, at their option, the ensign of Nova Sco- 
tia, being Argent, a cross of St Andrew azure charged, 
with an inescutcheon of the royal arms of Scotland, sup- 
ported on the dexter by the royal unicorn, and on the si- 
nister by a salvage or wild man proper,” &c.; all evi- 
dently referring to. what is within the canton or in- 
escutcheon, and’ not to: any exterior ornaments of the 
baronet’s own shield, of which the said canton or in- 
escutcheon is henceforth to form: a part. Ass for the 
patents posterior to the year 1629, the whole of the 
clause just quoted is omitted, and the patentee is not 
allowed to carry a canton or inescutcheon of honourable 
HERALDRY. 
733 
augmentation to his coat ; but, in lieu thereof, “ around Heraldry. 
his neck an orange tanny silk ribbon, whereon shall be ——\— 
pendent in a scutcheon argent, a saltire azure, therein an 
inesculcheon of the arms of Scotland,” &e. This al- 
teration, in all probability, took place on account of the 
manifest impropriety of blazoning supporters, mottos, &&c. 
on a canton or inescutcheon ; an objection which could 
never have occurred, had the construction which has 
been put on the clause of gift been the one. 
During the reign of Charles II. a letter was address- 
ed to the Lyon-office, strictly prohibiting any grants of 
supporters to persons under the de, of nobility. 
But many of the old barons of Scotland, (and partica- 
larly the chiefs of names,) who had always been in use 
to sit in parliament in their own right, and who with 
justice considered themselves as inferior in degree in- 
deed, but as members of the same order with the ti- 
tled Lords of Parliament, protested with great zeal 
against being obliged to discontinue the use of those 
supporters which had been borne by their ancestors 
for several centuries, and originally retained either as 
the marks of their patriarchal superiority over their 
clans-men, or im consequence of some feat of skill or 
valour in tournament or in battle. The matter was 
not pressed, and these families have continued their 
meppertes ever since without any objection being 
made. Of later years, however, a much more ques- ; 
tionable extension has been given to the use of sup- 
porters. From whatever cause the laxity may have 
arisen, the fact is certain that we have seen supporters 
assumed by persons who, so far from having any claim 
to being descended from the old barons who had power 
of pit and gallows, and were in reality the nobles of 
Scotland, as much as either dukes, marquisses, or earls, 
are sprung from the very dregs of the people, and are 
in truth the very men to guard against whose pre- 
sumption and insolence was one of the first t ok- 
jects for which a college of heralds was instituted in 
this country. The utmost latitude which can be given 
to the interpretation of the law on this head, either as 
it is expressed in the King’s own words, or as it has 
been modified by the practice of the heralds, is that 
those of the lesser barons, who can shew proofs, by old 
seals or otherwise, of their ancestors having borne sup- 
rters previous to the ing of the act 10th Se - 
r 1672, are excepted from the general rule, and per- 
mitted to carry ray prone The letter above referred to 
was quoted by the Lord Lyon bene Foadoge pone 
r refusing supporters to persons o very diffe- 
pac ae cau of those ia have of late procured 
these ornaments by the good offices of his successors. 
——At titulos Regina Pecunta donat, 
Et genus, et proavos, sordesque parentis honestat. 
Secranvs, 
No women have a right to bear supporters, except 
those who are peeresses by descent or by patent. If 
they are peeresses by patent, they have in consequence 
a grant of supporters to themselves and their heirs- 
male ; if by descent, they retain the ancient Po gece 
of the barony, to which they have an indisputable right, 
in as much as they represent peers whose insignia and 
titles are all through them to descend to their pos- 
terity. 
* The unicorn was originally, with great propriety, assumed by the Scottish kings, in allusion to the words of Scripture, Job xxxix.— 
« Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band? Will he be willing to serve or abide by thy crib?” ’ 2 
+ Vide Fountainhall’s Decisions, MS. (in the Advocates’ Library) p. 217. This important document was pointed out by John Riddell, 
Esq. advocate, a gentleman-whose attainments in every part of the antiquarian Jearning of his country are above all praise, 
