| Swintons
are an ancient family of royal Anglo-Saxon genesis. Another example of early heraldic
practice is the famous raven-banner of the Vikings (the raven was considered in pagan days
to be a manifestation of Odin, and was later borne on the banner of the Picto-Norse earls
of Caithness and Orkney in Scotland). Another worthy example is the antiquity of the arms
of the Scottish family of Murray, derived, like their name, from the province of Moray.
Silver and blue were the ancient livery
colors of the Morayshire Picts, and stars are said to have been painted on their bodies,
in these colors, as a war-paint" by which they could be distinguished from other
tribes in battle. There was a noticeable tendency toward the use of blue in the original
arms of the northeastern mormaerships (Celtic earldoms), the region including Mar, Buchan
and Moray. In addition, stars appear in ancient Morayshire cave carvings, a possible
indication of their ancient local significance. The heraldic device of "three Moray
stars" appears in the arms of the Murrays and most old Morayshire families, including
the MacRaes. These colors, silver on blue, also relate to the origin of the Scottish
national flag, the cross of St. Andrew (Adam 520, 533).
The heraldic use of the three Moray stars by
Murray families in the south of Scotland shows that their significance as a dynastic
symbol extended even into preheraldic times, as these families migrated from the province
of Moray before formal heraldry developed during the twelfth century. Such preheraldric
dynastic affiliations throughout Gaeldom go hand-in-hand with shared heraldic symbology as
a proof of the antiquity of pre-formal heraldry.
Such armorial bearings were born in the mists
of the unrecorded past. They are a constant reminder of the ancient European origins of
the Gaelic race, as indeed, much of what people think and do in their daily lives today is
a direct legacy from their earliest ancestors. Many of the assumptions which guide
people’s lives reflect basic attitudes born of long tradition, and yet they are as
common in our day as the Christmas tree (symbol of continuous life in winter) or the
Easter egg and Easter bunny (symbolic of fertility in the rites of spring)—all
equally survivors from Western civilization’s earliest IndoEuropean roots.
Many such attitudes are so close to us that
we scarcely notice them, or else they are held subconsciously. Jungian views on the
"collective unconscious and "racial memory" take on a special aspect when
considered in light of our heritage from those distant times. Nightly visitations by a
"shee" (faery) prophesying the return of a leader, selfless and heroic (such as
Arthur), from an otherworldly sleep (such as on the Isle of Avalon, or within a faery hill
or "Sheed") to inspire great loyalty and deliver his people from an enemy (such
as the English)—or at least lead them on a great quest (such as for the Grail):
These are recurrent archetypal themes, common
to the Celtic peoples and their literature. They are an outgrowth of the
pre—Christian religion of the Germanic and Celtic peoples (the "dawn
religion") which arose out of a mix- |
