Frasers of Philorth > Volume 1

90 THE FRASERS OF TOUCH-FRASER, ETC., AND COWIE.
" 37, Fraser Lord Fraser of old az : 5 fraes strawberrey leves salterwayes,
2.1.2. argent. 38, Fraser of Lovat, the same. 39, Fraser of Mucehall,
quarterlie, 1 Fraser, 2 argent, a lyon sable. 40, Fraser of Phillorth, quarterly,
1 azure, 3 fraes, argent gules, a lyon rampant argent." '
Mr. Anderson follows these extracts with an argument, which need not
be repeated here, if it be shown that the premises on which it is based, the
above statements of the heralds of 1663, are fallacious.
Who these heralds imagined to have been the person they called " Lord
Fraser of old " will be found below ; but the earliest seals of the race extant,
those of William Fraser, Bishop of St. Andrews, 1279 to 1297, Sir Pdchard
Fraser, before 1276 and in 1297, Sir Andrew Fraser, 1297, Sir Simon Fraser,
films, 1297, Sir Alexander Fraser, 1320, Sir James Fraser, 1371, and Margaret
Fraser, 1392, all show the rosettes or cinquefoils, six in number, disposed in
the shield 3.2.1, and upon the seal of a William Fraser, 1296, they are still
six in number, although not on a shield, and the three-pointed label on
which they are placed forces their disposition to be two on each point. 2
It is evident that the heralds of 1663 knew nothing of these seals, and
from the mis-spelling of the name, " Fraiser," and the mention of " frays," and
" fraes," if they themselves were not the inventors of the punning derivation
of the name, it had been at all events suggested by that time and accepted
by them, and it is not difficult to discover the source from whence they took
the five " fraes " placed " salterwayes."
One of the daughters and co-heiresses of Sir Simon Fraser, filius, executed
by order of Edward I. in 1306, married Sir Gilbert de Hay of Locherwart, and
their descendants, the Lords of Yester (now Marquis of Tweeddale), quartered
the rosettes or cinquefoils of Fraser in consequence of that alliance. They
appear to have done this by placing five of them saltireways, at all events,
in the upper quarter, though the shape of the shield in the earlier Yester
seals prevented their being so placed in the lower quarter, and four are found
there, or three, though not disposed 2 . 1, as may be seen in Mr. Laing's first
vol. of Scottish Seals, where plates of those of John, second Lord Hay of
Yester, 1513, and John, fourth Lord Hay of Yester, 1556, show that arrange-
1 These extracts are strictly copied from Mr. Anderson's work.
2 See Appendix.