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Clan Arbuthnot (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

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Arbuthnot

Clan Crest: A peacock’s head couped at the neck, Proper

Clan Motto: Laus Deo (“Praise be to God”)

Origin of Tartan: Registered by Lord Lyon in 1962, based on Black Watch tartan

Origin of Name: Aberbothenoth is derived from the place name.

Clan Chief: The Rt. Hon The Viscount of Arbuthnott K.T.

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Clan Arbuthnot History

Arbuthnot derives its name from the ancient lands of Arbuthnot in Kincardineshire. Hugh's marriage to the daughter of Osbert Olifard (or Oliphant) 'The Crusader' brought these lands into the Swinton family's possession. The term "independent" refers to a person who does not work for the government. Early documents refer to the area as 'Aberbothenoth,' which has been translated as either the "mouth of the stream below the noble house" or the "meeting of the small stream with the river."

The name Arbuthnot was first used by the family in 1355, with Philip de Arbuthnott.

Phillips son Hugh was part of a gang implicated in the murder of the local sheriff John Melville of Glenbervie around 1420. Melville was a strict authoritarian and his hard line had made him extremely unpopular with many local lairds. The Duke of Albany, Regent of Scotland, was said to have said at the time, no doubt tired of the stream of complaints, "sorrow gin that sheriff were sodden and supped in broo." The Lairds of Mather, Arbuthnott, Pitarrow, and Halkerton took his remarks far too literally, with disastrous consequences!

They planned an ambush in the Forest of Garvock after inviting the sheriff to join them. He was said to have been killed by being thrown into boiling water. After the Sheri had been thoroughly poached, each conspirator drank from the resulting broth. Arbuthnott was pardoned for his participation and died in 1446.

Alexander Arbuthnot was a prominent figure in the Church of Scotland, serving as Moderator of the Church of Scotland's General Assembly in 1577. In 1583, under pressure from the assembly, he complained to James VI of Scotland about various 'popish practices' that the King still permitted. The king did not take this complaint well, and he was placed under house arrest in St Andrews. His fortunes plummeted, resulting in his untimely death later that year.

The Arbuthnot family fortunes rose again when Charles I of England made Sir Robert Arbuthnott 1st Viscount of Arbuthnott and Baron Inverbervie, no doubt in an attempt to gain some support north of the border.

Dr. John Arbuthnot was another Arbuthnot whose fortunes were improved by royal association. The term "electronic commerce" refers to the sale of electronic goods. In 1705, Prince George of Denmark, Anne of Great Britain's husband, became ill while attending the Epsom races. Dr. Arbuthnot was rushed to his aid; fortunately, the prince recovered, and Arbuthnott was appointed a royal physician. His position earned the queen's trust and friendship, as well as that of many other leading figures, including Dr Samuel Johnson, who described him as "a man of great comprehension, skilful in his profession, versed in the sciences, acquainted with ancient literature, and able to animate his mass of knowledge by a bright and active imagination."

From 1818 to 1847, the eighth Viscount of Arbuthnott served as Lord Lieutenant of Kincardineshire and as a representative peer for Scotland in Parliament. After his father died in 1966, John Arbuthnott, 16th Viscount of Arbuthnott, took over as chief. During WWII, he received the Distinguished Service Cross, and in 1985, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire with a CBE. He was made a Knight of the Thistle in 1997. The 16th Viscount died on July 14, 2012, at the age of 87. His son, The Rt Hon. Keith Arbuthnott, was appointed 17th Viscount of Arbuthnott and Clan Chief.

This Arbuthnot land has been in the hands of the same family for over twenty-four generations, all the way up to the current Viscount of Arbuthnott. Stonehaven is only a few miles south-west of Arbuthnott House.

Clan Arbuthnot People & Places

Arbuthnot Clan People

Arbuthnot, Alexander (1538–1583)

Alexander Arbuthnot was a Scottish church poet. Arbuthnot took ecclesiastical orders and became a zealous supporter of the Reformation in his own country after studying languages and philosophy at the University of Aberdeen and civil law under the noted Jacques Cujas at the University of Bourges in France. The term "electronic commerce" refers to the sale of goods and services over the internet. He was an active participant in church politics of the time, serving as Moderator of the Kirk of Scotland twice and as a member of the commission of inquiry into the condition of the University of St. Andrews. His stance on public issues earned him the condemnation of Catholic writers. He is not on Nicol Burne's list of periurit apostatis, but his policy and influence were disliked by James VI, who ordered Arbuthnot to return to his duties at King's College after the Assembly elected him to the charge of the kirk of St. Andrews.

John Arbuthnot, M.D. (1667 – 1735)

Dr. Arbuthnot was a Scottish physician, satirist, and polymath who lived in London. He is best known for his contributions to mathematics, his membership in the Scriblerus Club (where he inspired both Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels book III and Alexander Pope's Peri Bathos, Memoirs of Martin Scriblerus, and possibly The Dunciad), and his creation of the figure of John Bull.

The 1st Baronet of Edinburgh, Sir William Arbuthnot (1776–1829)

Sir William was a Scottish politician who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh twice, from 1815 to 17 and again from 1821 to 23. Robert Arbuthnot, 2nd of Haddo-son Rattray's and George Arbuthnot, 1st of Elderslie's older brother. He had children with Anne Alves. After his father, Robert Arbuthnot of Haddo, died, he became Secretary of the Board of Trustees for the Encouragement of Scotland's Manufactures and Fisheries.

Arbuthnot-Lane, Sir William ("Willie") (1856–1943)

Arbuthnot Lane was a surgeon from Scotland. Benjamin Lane Lane is the son of Brigade Surgeon Benjamin Lane. Lane was associated with Guy's Hospital for the majority of his career and is best known for three surgical procedures: treatment of cleft palate, application of internal splints to fractures using the aseptical 'Lane technique,' and treatment of chronic intestinal stasis. During the First World War, he organized and established Queen Mary's Hospital in Sidcup, a pioneering institution in plastic surgery. Without being disciplined by the General Medical Council, this controversial surgeon had his name removed from the Medical Register in order to promote the New Health Society (the first organized body dealing with social medicine), which he founded in 1925 to publicize his views on healthy diet and life. He was an Irishman assigned to Inverness who later trained and worked at Guy's Hospital in London. Lane is well-known for his efforts to improve fracture alignment through internal fixation. He began by using silver wire, then steel screws, and finally plates and screws. Lane was said to be eccentric, viewing humans as machines and performing total colectomies to treat "auto-intoxication." He also started the health education programs that are still in place today. Lane published newspaper columns, gave public lectures, and worked to improve the distribution of fruits and vegetables.

2nd Baronet Sir William Reierson Arbuthnot (b. 1950)

Sir John Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet, is Arbuthnot's eldest son, and he inherited his father's baronetcy in 1992. He attended Eton College and The College of Law before going on to work in banking, law, and as a company director. He has Parkinson's disease and volunteers with Families Need Fathers. The term "electronic commerce" refers to the sale of electronic goods. Since 1981, he has been a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Grocers. His younger brother, Rt. Hon. James Norwich Arbuthnot, MP, is the presumptive heir to the baronetcy.

Clan Arbuthnot Tartans

The Arbuthnott tartan is based on the Black Watch tartan; little is known about it other than the fact that it was recorded with the Lord Lyon in 1962.

Arbuthnot Contemporary

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Ancient Arbuthnot

Clan Arbuthnot Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan Arbuthnot Coat of Arms

Worn by everyone with the same name and ancestry

Description of the Crest:

Proper peacock head couped at the neck

Coat of Arms of Clan Arbuthnot

A word about Coats of Arms:

A coat of arms is granted to an individual under Scottish heraldic law (with the exception of civic or corporate arms). There are no such things as "family coats of arms." Personal weapons are depicted below (with the above exceptions). Only the person who has been granted these weapons has the right to use them.

The head of a peacock is couped at the neck. Ermine collared between two saltire keys or one on each side of the head. ii 01502: A crescent of azure between three mullets Argent, within a bordure cted Ermine, three lions' heads affrontée Gules, imperially crowned Alternatively (Robert Arbuthnott, 1 April 1969 - LR 51/102) The motto is Laus Deo.

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Arbuthnot Style

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The crest of Sir William is "a peacock's head and neck proper, accompanied on either side by a spray of strawberry leaves vert, each flowered of a cinquefoil argent."

"Azure a crescent between three mullets Argent, a bordure Gules charged with two escallops in chief and a buck's head cabossed," his shield reads. Or in base, and an inescutcheon Argent charged of a sinister hand erect epaumee couped Gules in centre chief (overlapping the bordure)."

"Deum Laudans," he says (Praising God).

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A crescent of azure between three mullets Argent, within an indented Ermine bordure charged with three lions' heads affrontee Gules imperially crowned Or (Hugh Forbes Arbuthnott – 21st June 1954)

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A fraise issuing from an Azure crescent between three mullets Argent (Alexander Aberbuthnet – 1672-7)

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Quarterly: azure a crescent between three mullets argent, all within a bordure

engrailed For difference (for Arbuthnot), charge with three boars' heads erased gules:

II and III, argent, a double-headed eagle displayed sable, three stars on a chief vert

or spur-rowels (for Aitchison).

(1) A peacock's head and neck proper, mantling argent, doubled

(2) A proper cock standing on a trumpet Mantling sable doubled argent, or

(1) Innocent and true; (2) Vigilantibus.

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Table M. ii 01496 - 20 Jan 1925 - LR 26/51) Mary Helena Arbuthnot or Pullan

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Auchterforfar's Arbuthnot -

Shield: Azure, a crescent between two and one argent etoiles, all within a bordure Or

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A crescent of azure between three mullets Argent within a bordure of the second, verdoy of eight fraises of the first (Aberbuthnet of Catherlen – 1672-7)

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Arbuthnot Fiddes

Tam interna, quam externa (As well internal as external – qualities)

A crescent Azure between three mullets within an orle of eight fraises Argent (Aberbuthnet of Fiddes – 1672-7)

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Count Arbuthnot of Findoury

Motto: Interna proestant (Inward things are best/Internal things stand firm).

Shield: Azure, a crescent between three etoiles, two and one argent, all within an argent bordure.

Azure, a crescent between three mullets within an Argent bordure (Aberbuthnet of Findowrie – 1672-7)

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The Montrose Arbuthnot

Proper: A dove with an adder in orle.

Motto: Innocue ac supply (Harmless and with foresight)

A crescent Azure between three mullets Argent within an indented and quartered bordure of the second and first (Robert Aberbuthnet, Montrose – 1680-7)

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