Genealogy of the Leith Clan

Leith Coat of Arms and Motto

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According to The General Armory for England, Ireland, Scotland and Whales of 1884 by Sir John Bernard Burke, there are several variations of the Coat of Arms, as well as the Motto. These variations correspond to families of specific locations, dated from 1884. The image below is generally depicted as the Coat of Arms for Leith in many websites and books; however, it originates from the Leiths of Burgh St. Peter's of Norfolk County.

The New World Book of Leiths (Halbert's Family Heritage, 1997) states that "Coats of Arms came into use in the Middle Ages as a means of identification of warriors in battle and tournaments. Today the Coat of Arms serves not only for identification puposes, but also to preserve tradition and history. Heraldic artists of old developed their own unique language to describe individual Coat of Arms." (The New World Book of Leiths displays the Burgh St. Peter's of Norfolk County as the only Leith Coat of Arms, and makes no mention of the several variations. It should be noted that I have found little information of use in this book, and it was certainly not worth its cost.)

	Burgh St. Peter's, co. Norfolk, Baronet. "Or, a cross crosslet fitchee sa. betw. three crescents in chief and as many lozenges in base gu. Crest--A lion pass. gu. charged on the body with three mullets in fesse or. "Motto: Trusty to the end. Restalrig, Edinburgh County. "Ar. five fusils in fess sa. Leith Hall, Aberdeen County, now Leith-Hay of Rannes and Leith Hall. "Or, a cross crosslet fitchee sa. betw. three crescents in chief and as many fusils in base gu.; now quatered with Hay of Rannes. Crest--A cross crosslet fitchee sa. "Motto: Trustie to the end. Freefield and Glenkendy, Aberdeen County. "Quaterly, 1st and 4th, or, a cross crosslet fitchee sa. betw. three crescents in chief and as many fusils in base gu. a bordure az.; 2nd and 3rd, az. a hart trippant or, attired and unguled gu., for STRACHAN. Crest--A hart at gaze ppr. "Motto: Trusty to the end.
	Craighall, Scotland. "Or, a cross crosslet fitchee sa. betw. two crescents in chief gu. and in base three fusils az. two and one, all within a bordure of the third. "Motto: Trusty and bydand. Over-Barns, Scotland. "A chev. betw. three fusils az. Crest--A turtle dove ppr. "Motto: Semperfidus.		Hearthill, Scotland "Or, a cross crosslet fitchee az. betw. two crescents in chief and a fusil in base gu. Whitehaugh, Aberdeen County, now Forbes-Leith. "Ar. a fess fusily sa. (or, ar. five fusils in fesse sa.). Crest--A dove with an olive branch in her beak ppr. "Motto: Fidus ad extremum.

The Electic Scotland website has the only motto for Leith as -- "Trusty to the end, spare not.

Definitions:
ar = silver, or white (argent, French)
az = azure, or blue (azure, French, Arab)
baronet = in Britian the lowest hereditary title, inferior to baron and superior to knight (dimunitive of baron, French)
bordure = border; formerly a mark of distinction to distinguish one branch of a family from another; a border one fifth the width of the shield, surrounding the field; edge (bordure, French)
bydand = steadfast
chev. = chevron
chevron = two broad bands, respectively from the dexter and sinister bases of the field and conjoined at its centre (chevron, French)
crosslet = crossed again, said of a cross the arms of which are crossed (crux, Latin)
dexter = on the right hand (dexter, Latin)
escutcheon = shield with a Coat of Arms, where the surface is the field, the upper portion the chief, the lower the base, its right hand side the dexter and its left hand side the sinister; shield (scutum, Latin)
fess = alternate of fesse
fesse = two horizontal lines across the field comprising the centre third part of the escutcheon, or a band drawn horizontally across the centre af an escutcheon, and containing in breadth the third part of it
fidus + ad + extremum = trusty, dependable + reaching to, until + finally, at last (Latin)
fitchee = pointed at the end, as applied to a cross (fitche, French)
fusil = light flintlock musket (fusil, French)
gu = gules, or red in heraldry (gueule, French)
hart = male deer (heort, Old English)
lozenge = diamond figure (losange, French)
mullet = a star; the rowel of a spur, in English heraldry usually a 5 pointed star mulet, French)
or = gold, or yellow (or, French)
pass. = passant
passant = walking; said of any animal on an escrutcheon, which is represented as walking with the dexter paw raised
ppr. = proper
sa = sable, or black (sable, Old French)
semper + fidus = always, ever + trusty, dependable (Latin)
sinister = on the left hand (sinister, Latin)
trippant = having the right forefoot lifted, the others remaining on the ground, as if he were trotting; dance (triper, Old French)
unguled = hoofed, or bearing hoofs, used only when these are of a tincture (tint, shade) different than the body; nail (unguis, Latin)

Reference:
Burke, J. B.. The General Armory for England, Ireland, Scotland and Whales. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1884, 1969.
Wester's Dictionary. Ivyland: Book Essentials Publications, 1991.
Simpson, J. A., Weiner, E.. Oxford English Dictionary. Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press, 1993.
Wunder Dictionary. http://websters.wunderdictionary.com
Clan Leith. http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/htol/leith.html