A description of Armory,Mure, (Rowallan,Co Ayr)

[Karen Moore McKenzie]

According to a book online, in Google Books, titled 'The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales' by Bernard Burke, This is the description;

"Quarterly, 1st and 4th ar. on a fess az. Three Mullets or. "for Mure"; 2nd and 3rd az. Three garbs or. "for Cumming".

As I understand the meaning of the heraldry colors and placements, I note that a Coat may only be "merged" upon a marriage of two Noble families. Quartering placement would indicate the placement of 1st and 4th, as the one who's title is stronger than the peerage of the other.
The first color description given, is the "Field" behind all symbols. ar. = argent (which means a metal, Silver, or depicted in white). az. = Azure (Blue, meaning of the blood of a Noble or Royal family member). or. = Gold (Gold is Royal, full bloodline). Mullets are 5 pointed stars. Mullets are the Surname description for the Mures,Muirs,More, Mohr, Mor, O Mordah, and Moores.(In England it is the Moorcock), Garbs are of the Comyn Surname, known to be related to and in line of succession to the Scottish Crown. John "the Black" Comyn was said to have been murdred by Robert the Bruce.
By the description above, I see the 3 Mullets on a fess (a bend, or a belt), 3 mullets of the Color Gold.By this fact, the Surname of Mure was indicated to be in a Royal bloodline of it's own( maybe not just merging with the Comyns). This would not be because of Elizabeth Mure marrying Robert II, it may have come from Gilchrist Mure who married Isabelle Comyn and merged these two Coats. Wikipedia has a portrait of Elizabeth and Robert II and her Coat is on her dress, but the mullets are not in gold. ? Can anyone tell me why not? Thank you!!

[Jann Muir ~ Guardian Clann Muir]

Beautiful job Karen, when she 'married' Robert..she became a Stewart, and never made Queen (royal in his line).
She was then of his Clann and it's ranks of positions.
******************************************************
NOTE:
Elizabeth Mure (d. before May 1355) was mistress and then wife of Robert, High Steward of Scotland, and Guardian of Scotland (1338 - 1341 and from October 1346), who later became King Robert II of Scotland.

The daughter of Sir Adam Mure of Rowallan, she initially became the Steward's mistress. He married her in 1336, but the marriage was criticised as uncanonical, so he remarried her in 1349 following a Papal Dispensation dated at Avignon 22 November 1347.

She died before her husband inherited the crown at the rather advanced age of 54, and he married again (Papal Dispensation dated 2 May 1355), so she was never queen of Scotland.


Hope that helps.
Hugs!

[Karen Moore McKenzie]

Thanks Jann,
I have seen some of this information, but have also seen conflicting reasons for the challenge of marriage. One being that it was challenged on Consanguity, which meant they were too close of same bloodline relatives. There were rules about that for marriages of successional blood. The Pope would hold true the rules, thus they went to Avinon France for the approval of a Catholic Pope. The Church of England was begun in the time of Edward I Longshanks, who bombed alot of sacred Scottish castles in his wake of cruel conquerings, I think he started that religion so he would not have to follow rules of Catholic protected Royalty successions, and he could place into the Kingdom, whomever he chose to rule.
Mures of Rowallan were known Jacobites/Covenenters. I, personally, thought that they had to remarry because they had to prove their blood relationship degree, and to be accepted by a higher Orthodoxy more widely accepted. The first marital ceremony may have been performed by Presbyterian or Jacobite religion that was considered competitional to both Catholics and the Church of England Protestants (all different religions), but the Jacobites were ordered to ban their" Genoa Bibles" after a certain date.
I am dying to know what happened to Elizabeth, and her father. Sir Adam Mure would have been of the near same age as Sir William Wallace, and if they were neighbors, they would have been allies! Elizabeth was said to be buried at Paisley Abbey, but on Google Earth, I found that her body is claimed to be on the Dean Castle Property protected by the Dick Institute, but I do not see much information about this.
She would not have been known as Queen Regent, but would she have once qualified as Consort?
I also desperatly need to know who "the last known Laird" of 'Mure of Rowallan' was, the one said to have died out without a male heir, I need to know who that was, can anyone help?
Reguards!

[Robert B. More, High Commissione]

Jacobite and Presbyterian issues did not exist at the time that Robert and Elizabeth were married - they were undoubtedly Catholic christians, Robert by his Norman heritage, and Elizabeth based upon the Mure family connection with the ancient (pre-Roman Catholic) christian church.

[Jann Muir ~ Guardian Clann Muir]

For the gen. interests.

Children of Robert II and Elizabeth Mure

Sons

John Stewart Earl of Carrick, High Steward of Scotland,
Custodian of Edinburgh Castle, Guardian of the kingdom
Walter Stewart, lord of Fife (d. 1362)
Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, Earl of Fife and Monteith
Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, Lord of Badenoch and Ross



Daughters

Margaret Stewart, married John of Islay, Lord of the Isles
Marjory Stewart, married (1) John Dunbar, 5th Earl of Moray,
(2) Alexander Keith
Johanna Stewart, married (1) Sir John Keith,
(2) Sir John Lyon,
(3) 1384 Sir James Sandilands
Isabella Stewart, married (1) James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas,
(2) David Edmondstone
Katherine Stewart, married Sir Robert Logan of Grugar,
later also of Restalrig, Lord High Admiral of Scotland
Elizabeth Stewart, married Sir Thomas Hay, Lord High Constable of Scotland

[Jann Muir ~ Guardian Clann Muir]

In Scottish Heraldry, there are things only a 'Chief' can wear.
The crest of Mure (Mure family crest) would only be worn by the Laird (chief).

[Karen Moore McKenzie]

I found the armorial above the doorway of Rowallan to be very useful in the identity of this family. This website has a photo I hope you will visit and stare at awhile. It is the most impressive Arms I have seen of antiquity. FYI a Helm or Helmet facing forward open shield, meant "Dont you dare challenge me, I am Royalty", James Paterson wrote a book decyphering the symbols, if anyone were as curious as I...:) Also, note the Bird legs in the lower, far background of the "Field", that symbol in itself is quite ancient.
See this link;
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/ayrshirehistory/web/rowallan-castl...
Happy Trails!

[Karen Moore McKenzie]

After you have seen the photo of the Stone armorail above the door of Rowallan, on your left is an orb that is hard to see, but deserves investigation. I have found in my solar calendar research, that this orb, matches an ancient one found at Skara Brae, an Orkney Archaeological treasure. Go here to compare, then if you can help me identify it, then we'll have solved another mystery! YEAH!
It is called a Pyramid sphere.
http://www.geocities.com/futhark_runes/SkaraBrae_AncientEgyptianSet...

[Alan & Cynthia Muir]

That Skara Brae article made for an intereresting, if not controversial read. I will attempt to get a higher-resolution photo of the armorial plate and the surrounding symbols. My visit to Rowallan is scheduled for January 6th - Pray for good weather!

[Jann Muir ~ Guardian Clann Muir]

My grandfather had on the side of his home backdoor a symbol, and on the furthest tree of his backline property, the same symbol.
As a child I asked my nana what it was for, she said," oh your grandpa leaves food for the hobo's", it's his mark.
(she who put a dish of milk out for the fae folk on the back porch step)
??????
I never found out the truth. maybe Alan can peek at Rowallans back door to see if a symbol is etched in there as well.

[Robert B. More, High Commissione]

Jann & Karen,

Go to my page - I have just added a photo that I took at Rowallan of the coats of arms you referenced. There is no "back door" at Rowallan, and no other heraldic devices displayed anywhere on the buildings. The castle compound is basically rectangular, with the main wings being front and left, the wing on the right being mostly in ruins, and the rear including a curtain wall that runs between left and right wings.

[Karen Moore McKenzie]

Upon further investigation of the Stone Armorial above the doorway to Rowallan Castle, I see that the bird legs have 3 toes, I looked up what kind of bird that might represent, and I could only find an Emu, close to an ostrich, but not quite... still do not know what that means. I also notice behind the Crown above the Helm, has a dim outline of a Bishops helm. Food for thought! That Armorial is ancient and shows more than we know. I think if we ask the Lord Lyon who's Coat of Arms is displayed below the Cheif shield, that will tell about when this Armorial was mounted on the Castle.(Notice the placement of the Comyns wheat sheaves being tied in a bundle, this is a clue). It was before 1704 when the English replaced OUR supporters of 2 Unicorns with their own Lion and Unicorn. I like that the Scots put the position of the Unicorn in Dexter where it belongs, and the English tried to put the Scottish Unicorn in Sinister, meaning it was not as important. Anything in the Dexter (left as you look at it) is in actuality, the right hand of the people being represented, and was what was most important to that person. (I hope I have the postion description right, because I have been confused by this before, so please correct me if I have it wrong).

[Robert B. More, High Commissione]

Karen,
I have carefully analyzed my enlarged photo of the armorial above Rowallan entrance, and I do not find bird legs in the sculpture. Perhaps you are interpreting the lines emerging at the bottom of the frame between the legs of the unicorns as bird legs, but keep in mind that there is substantial deterioration/erosion of the sculpture, and these lines are most likely a background embellishment of the frame. They make no sense, either in terms of heraldry or artistic display, as bird legs.

Secondly, regarding the crown that is placed as the crest above the arms, I do not find an additional bishop's helm in dim outline - the stone has significant wear in this area - perhaps you are being misled by shadows cast by the eroded stone.

As to the time that the armorial was added to the castle, this east wing of the castle was built in the mid-1500's, and it is estimated that the front staricase and drum towers were added about 1562, so I think a good date range for the armorial would be 1540-1562.

You may be interested to know that Historic Scotland and Nigel Tranter speculate that the front entry was originally by drawbridge - the Carmel Water that passes around the front of the castle in a loop was early on part of a larger marshland (now grass lawn) that provided a more defensible area in the front of the castle.

Regards,
MacBear