Lindsay Crests

What was the origin of the swan found on the Crest of the Earl of Crawford? Boulogne was one of the greatest ports on the North Sea and thus was a major port of the Roman Empire. The ancestors of the Lindsays of Scotland lived in Flanders just outside the city of Boulogne. The crest of the city of Boulogne was the swan. These early Lindsay ancestors brought the swan with them in 1066 and it has survived the ages. Today this swan is the most symbolic aspect of the Arms of the Chief of the Clan Lindsay and is known and displayed by Lindsays (how ever spelled) around the world.

In the ancient world, it was widely believed that swans sing only once in their lifetimes, just before they died. Both Socrates and Plato mentioned this belief in their writings. Hence, the phrase “swan song” was eventually coined with the implied meaning of a “person's final labor”. This belief led to an association between swans and prophecy, because swans were thought to predict their own deaths.

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Graphically represented below are some of the many crests employed on the coat of arms of the various Lindsay lineages. The source document for this information on Lindsay crests, with referenced Plate numbers, which was first published in 1859, is .....

Fairbairn's Book of Crests of The Families of Great Britain and Ireland, Reprint of the Fourth Edition (London 1905) Revised and Enlarged, Two Volumes in One.

Plate 100-8

Crest #1

Rt. Honorable James Ludovic Lindsay, Earl of Crawford and Earl of Balcarres; issuing from an antique ducal coronet or, the head, neck and wings of a swan proper, reference Fairbairn Plate 100-8. Some the mottos used with this Crest are Endure Fort and Astra castra numen lumen munimen.

Plate 97-5

Crest #2

Rt. Honorable James Ludovic Lindsay, Earl of Crawford and Earl of Balcarres; an ostrich proper holding in its beak a key or, reference Fairbairn Plate 97-5. The mottos used with this Crest are Endure Fort and Astra cast.

Plate 158-13

Crest #3

Rt. Honorable James Ludovic Lindsay, Earl of Crawford and Earl of Balcarres; A tent azure, fringed and semee of stars or, ensigned with a pennon gules (for Balcarres), reference Fairbairn Plate 158-13. The mottos used with this Crest are Endure Fort and Astra castra numen lumen munimen.