"The Chiefs of Grant" (1883) by Sir William Fraser
Volume I, Chapter 1

SIR LAURENCE LE GRANT, SHERIFF OF INVERNESS 1258 - 1266

[1] The Family of Grant, like all other great families in the Highlands, have had their bards or seannachies, who sang the praises of their chiefs, and assigned to them a glorious ancestry of fabulous antiquity. In the case of the Grants, the licence usually given to the imaginations of the family bards has been largely exercised, the earliest ancestor claimed for the clan being no less a personage than Odin or Wodine, the well-known Scandinavian warrior or demigod. But the muse who presides over modern history permits no such flights of a romantic spirit, and the present work treats only of those members of the family or the name of Grant who appear in historic times and authentic records.

The origin of the Grants, like that of many other ancient families, has formed the subject of keen discussion. But recent investigations have displaced the fabulous ancestry assigned to them, and put the history of the family on a true and sure foundation. Wodine and Hacken Grant, with many generations of their supposed descendants, may now be discarded as ancestors of the Grants, as unceremoniously as the fabled Thanes of Lochaber, Banquo, and Fleance, who were long accepted as the ancestors of the royal and illustrious house of Stewart.

Besides the Scandinavian ancestry ascribed to the Grants, various other origins have been assigned to the family and name of Grant, The name Grant is variously spelled, Grant, Graunt, Graunte, Grawnt, Grantt, Grand, and Graund, and in the early documents and records it is generally preceded by the particle "le". But except in the case of quotations, the name is given in its modern form throughout this work. - a [2] Celtic, both Gaelic and Irish, an English and a Norman extraction, have all been urged. Of those who seek to establish a Gaelic origin, some make the family a branch of the Macgregors, one of whom acquiring the surname grannda, i.e. ill-favoured, from some personal deformity or defect in his appearance, was the remotest ancestor of the Grants; others assume them to be indigenous to the country of Strathspey, and explain the surname by transference from an extensive moor there, called Griantach, or Sliabh Grianais, the plain of the sun. The apologists for the Irish theory contend that several of the names current among the Grants, as Patrick, Duncan, etc., are native to Ireland, and thus establish the connection, the more especially that one distinct family of the clan bore the Irish appellation of Cheran or Chiaran. A similar line of argument is adopted by those who favour the theory of a Danish origin. They find the names Suene, Alan, etc., in frequent use among the Grants, and thence postulate that the family in which these names occur originated on Danish soil. The Norman or the Anglo-Norman theory, founding etymologically upon the word Grant being identical with the French appellative Grand, ie great, traces the family from France through England into Scotland. This theory best accords with the known history of the early Grants.

The Rev. James Chapman, A.M., who was minister of Cromdale from 1702 to 1737, wrote a memoir of the family of Grant, which is said to be preserved in MS. in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh. Copies are also preserved in the charter-chests of several families of the name of Grant. It commences with Prince Wodine in the year 600, and brings down the history of the Grants through Wodine and his descendants to James Grant, Laird of Grant, who married Lady Mary Stewart, daughter of the Earl of Murray. Mr. Chapman's compilation is a somewhat strange production, and is a record quite unworthy of the race of Grant. Sir Archibald Grant of Monymusk, Baronet, printed Mr. Chapman's history for private circulation. The title is "An Account of the Rise and Offspring of the name of Grant," 1876, 8vo. Pp. 40.

Setting aside, therefore, all the fabled successors of Prince Wodine, whom the family genealogists were wont, in former days, to place in the forefront of the long line of historic Grants, the first persons of the name of Grant who appear in any way connected with the north [3] of Scotland are Sir Laurence and Sir Robert le Grant. They are named among the witnesses to an agreement, dated in 1258, made between Archibald, then Bishop of Moray, and John Byset, a member of the powerful family of that name, by which the Bishop surrendered certain claims over lands in the Aird in Inverness-shire, and was to receive in return an annual payment of three pounds weight of silver. Registrum Moraviense, pp. 133-135

A person named Gregory le Grant has been claimed by previous historians of the family as their first authentic ancestor, and the father of Laurence and Robert le Grant. In proof of this statement a recent writer has quoted the Chamberlain Rolls, which are said to instruct that "Gregory le Grant was Sheriff of Inverness in 1263." History of the Priory of Beauly, p. 55. But this is a misreading, for the page of the Rolls referred to shows that Laurence le Grant, and not Gregory, was Sheriff of Inverness at that time. Chamberlain Rolls, vol. i. p. 21

Laurence and Robert le Grant are the first of their name on record in Scotland, and the manner in which their names are written may be adduced as a proof that they, and, by consequence, the family of Grant, are of Anglo-Norman extraction. But this is not the sole evidence on the matter, and the theory of Norman origin is by no means merely conjectural, as in a list of the companions of William Duke of Normandy, in 1066, compiled by a recent writer from authentic sources, there appears, along with Melville, Hay, and other names well known in Scotland, the name of Robert Grante. Nobiliaire de Normandie, by E. de Magny, p. 4 The same writer claims that from the famous Norman family of Grante or Grantemesnil, a name also found among the first Norman invaders of England, came the first Grants in England. The arms of the Norman family of Grant differ from those borne by the Chiefs of Grant in Scotland, but the motto is, by a curious coincidence, nearly identical, "Tenons ferme". Ibid pp. 171, 172. Holinshed, in his history of England, gives the name "Graunt" in the Roll of Battle Abbey. Holinshed's Chronicle, Edition 1577, p. 295 The name of Grant does not appear in the survey known as Domesday Book, made about 1083, but that of Grantemesnil figures prominently, and at a later date the name of Grant is found in English Records. Thus in 1270, King Henry the [4] Third gives permission to a number of Anglo-Norman knights to proceed to the Holy Land, among whom is William le Grant. Foedera, vol i. p. 483 In 1288, Peter le Grant witnessed an obligation made to the English king by Alfonso, King of Aragon, in favour of the Prince of Salerno, dated at the camp of the French in Aragon, on 27th October 1288. He must have been a person of some distinction, as he acts as a substitute for the mayor-domo of the King. ibid. p. 692 In England the name of Grant appears so early as the year 1228, when Richard le Grant, chancellor of the diocese of Lincoln, was elected Archbishop of Canterbury, and lived only a short time after his consecration. The name of this Archbishop is somewhat disputed, but see authorities given in Leland's Collectanea, vol. i. pp. 266 - 284, vol ii. p. 401 ; compared with the Chronica de Mailros, p. 142.

In the same diocese, and about the same date, lived William le Grant. He possesses a special interest for the Scottish family of Grant, inasmuch as he was closely connected with the family of Byset, who at that period were powerful both in England and Scotland, possessing in the latter a large portion of the province of Moray. In right of his wife William le Grant held the manor of Athelington, in the county of Lincoln, and also the manor of East Bridgeford, in the county of Nottingham. Thornton's Nottinghamshire, edition 1677, p. 149; Calendarium Genealogicum, vol. ii. p. 461. The authorities cited show that the wife of this William le Grant was Albreda Byset, one of the heiresses of Henry Byset. A Henry Byset or Bisset, with other nobles, is a party to a league between Richard I of England and Baldwin Count of Flanders in 1197. Foedera, vol i. p. 68. In King Henry the Second's reign the manor of East Bridgeford was possessed by Manassar Byset, sewer (steward) of the royal household, who conveyed it to his brother William. In 1242 John and Walter Byset were forced to leave Scotland, having been accused of the murder of Patrick Earl of Athole at Haddington. Fordun a Goodall, Lib. ix. cap. 59. In the following August 1243, King Henry Third bestowed the manor of East Lowdham, or Ludeham, in Nottinghamshire, upon Walter Byset, who went to England, while John passed over to Ireland. The object of the grant, as set forth in the Charter, was to maintain Walter Byset in the king's service as long as the latter pleased. Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland. vol. i. No. 1621 The manor of East Lowdham adjoined the manor of East Bridgeford, the property of the English Bysets, which was about [5] that time held by William le Grant and his wife Albreda. It is distinctly stated that William le Grant held his manors by right of his wife and in trust for her heirs, but it is an important fact that shortly before the appearance of the Grants in Scotland, in attendance on or as companions of John Byset, Lord of the Aird, a William le Grant was not only a neighbour of the Bysets in England, but also was allied to that powerful family by marriage.

As an association between the families of Byset and Grant prior to 1258 is thus indicated, it may not be amiss briefly to show the high position held by the Bysets both in England and Scotland. The earliest member of that family found in English records is Manassar (or Mauncell) Byset, who, so early as 1152, was sewer or steward of the household to Henry Duke of Normandy, afterwards King Henry Second of England, and held that office for many years after Henry came to the throne. Foedera, vol. i. pp. 16, 18, 23, 41, 42. He it was who acquired the manor of East Bridgeford, as already stated. In 1168, as shown by a charter to the priory of Thurgarton, confirmed by King Henry II. in that year, Manassar Byset's family consisted of himself, his brothers William, Henry, and Ansold, and two of a younger generation, Ernulph and Henry Byset. Authorities quoted in "History of Beauly Priory," pp. 20, 299. Manassar Byset's position about the king's person shows that he was of high rank, and the Bysets or "Biseys" are named among those young nobles of England, the Baliols, Bruces, and others, who accompanied King William the Lion to Scotland on his return from captivity in the year 1174. Scalacronica, p. 41.

At a later date, between 1180 and 1198, a Henry Byset or Biset wit nesses two charters of' King William the Lion, both granted at Selkirk. Liber do Melros, vol. i. pp. 107, 123. The Register of the Bishopric of Moray shows that in the time of King Alexander Second, John Byset was Lord of the Aird, and held large possessions in the north. Registrum Moraviense, pp. 15, 27, 59, 77. 82, 97, 332. He was the founder of Beauly Priory in 123 1, History of Beauly Priory, p. 14 and his uncle Walter was Lord of Aboyne, in Aberdeenshire, and of Stratherrick, in Inverness-shire. Ibid. p. 35 ; Chronica de Mailros, p. 155 Robertson's Index, p. xxv Other members of the family had possessions both in [6] the north and south of Scotland, notably Abertarff, in Invernessshire, and Upsettlington, in Berwickshire. History of Beauly Priory, pp. 33, 37. In 1242 Walter Byset and his nephew John left Scotland, and Walter, as stated, became a neighbour of William le Grant in Nottinghamshire, where the Bysets already held property.

The exile of the Bysets from Scotland was not of long duration, as Walter Byset appears as a witness to a charter of King Alexander Second to the monks of Dunfermline, dated at Stirling on 13th January 1249. Reg. de Dunfermelyn, p. 44. John Byset, Walter's nephew, and the founder of the Priory of Beaulv, died between 1244 and 1258, leaving a son, John Byset, that Lord of the Aird who, in the last-named year, entered into the agreement with the Bishop of Moray to which Laurence and Robert le Grant were witnesses.

In view of these facts, and as it is in this agreement that the Grants are first named in Scotland, the suggestion is a very probable one, "that the Grants were brought to Scotland from England by John and Walter Byset on their return from the exile of 1242." History of Beauly Priory, p. 53 This remark is qualified by the statement of the same writer, that John Byset, the exile, did not go to England, or did not remain there, and that no evidence exists of his return to Scotland. But, as has been shown, Walter Byset of Aboyne, who was the neighbour of William le Grant, the husband of Albreda Byset, did return to Scotland. Laurence and Robert le Grant may have come to Scotland in his train, and after his death, which took place in 1251, Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, vol. i. No. 1836. they probably continued their attachment to his family. Any weight which can be assigned to the traditional accounts of the family of Grant tends to support the above statement, as it is uniformly asserted that at a very early period, the Grants possessed lands in Stratherrick, and Walter Byset was lord of that territory. Robertson's Index, p. xxv. Defenders of the theory that the Grants were connected with the north of Scotland at a period anterior to the settlement of the Bysets in Moray, may naturally contend that Walter Byset merely became overlord of the Grants who originally held the territory. But no proof has been found in favour of such contention, while the presumption in favour of the migration of the Grants from England is very strong.

[7] If Laurence and Robert le Grant followed Walter Byset to Scotland, to push their fortunes there, they only adopted a course which was not uncommon among young chevaliers of that day, many of whom, though Anglo-Normans, became the founders of the proudest families in the northern kingdom. At this period there was much intercourse between England and Scotland, and some of the greatest barons at either Court held estates in both countries, so that they and their retainers were frequently passing to and fro. In 1251, Alexander the Third, the young King of Scotland, was married with great pomp to the Princess Margaret, daughter of King Henry the Third of England. It is not improbable that some of the English chivalry followed the young monarch across the Border. There is proof that at least one person did so by special permission from the English king, either then or when Alexander the Third returned to Scot land, after a visit to England in 1256. In 1261, King Henry the Third, at the King of Scotland's suggestion, pardoned an offence against the forest laws committed by "William le Graunt, who lately, by the king's precept, set out with Alexander King of Scotland for that country," and who was accused of taking venison in Sherwood Forest on the journey. Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, vol. i. No. 2250. This may have been the crusader already referred to as receiving permission in 1270 to go to the Holy Land, but in any case the fact that a William le Grant was in the train of the King of Scotland is established. It is also worthy of notice that at the time of the Scottish king's marriage in 1251-2, a Thomas le Grant acted in the capacity of his "merchant," and for some reason was, at the king's desire, removed from his office of viewer or keeper of the English king's works in York Castle. Ibid. Nos. 1857 and 1863.

If Laurence and Robert le Grant were the Sons of, or related to William le Grant of East Bridgeford, the neighbour of Walter Byset, they were excluded from succeeding him in his English manors. From an inquest held in 1292, some time after his decease, it appears that William le Grant had held the manors of Athelington and East Bridgeford only in liferent, and that the true heirs of the estates, and lawful successors to the Bysets therein, were the three daughters of his wife Albreda (probably by [8] a previous marriage). They were the proprietors, and he only held the lands as from them with consent of their husbands. Calendariurn Genealogicum, vol ii. p. 461. This being so, it is evident that whether William le Grant had Sons by his wife Albreda or not, it is doubtful whether he could have provided them in the lands in which he himself was only a liferenter; and if he had Sons by another wife, it would be natural that to further their interests he should seek the aid of his powerful neighbour and kinsman Walter Byset. That the latter was returning to resume the lordship of his extensive domains in Scotland was an excellent opportunity for preferring such a request. The facts known, however, do not warrant the affirmation that Laurence and Robert le Grant were children or relatives of William le Grant of Bridge ford, hut the coincidence of names, dates, and other circumstances is certainly worthy of attention.

The history of Laurence and Robert le Grant themselves may now be given so far as it has been ascertained. There is a difficulty in deciding whether they were brothers or not. Family tradition claims Laurence to have been the elder, as he was certainly the more prominent, and also that he was the direct ancestor of the family of Grant. Robert le Grant, however, is the first of the two who can be in any way proved to have actually possessed land in Moray. About 1258, John Prat, miles or knight, bestowed on Sir Robert le Grant the land of Clonmanache, now Coulmony, on the river Findhorn, which had been the subject of dispute between Robert and the father of the granter. Vol. iii. of this work, p. 5. These lands lay on the west bank of the river, and adjoined Daltely or Daltullich, which also belonged to John Prat, and which lie gave to Gilbert, the younger of Glencarnie, who had married Marjory Prat, the granter's sister. . Ibid. p. 6. Another lady of the name of Prat intermarried at an early date with the family of Melville, as between 1180 and 1213 William the Lion confirmed a charter of certain lands in Fife, given to Richard Melville by Reginald Prat with his daughter Margaret. - [Melville Charter-chest.] It is not improbable that this contiguity of the properties of Robert le Grant and Gilbert of Glencarnie gave rise to the tradition that a Grant had intermarried with the Glencarnie family at that remote period. Such may have been the case, but the marriage with the heiress of that family did not take place until a hundred and fifty [9] years later. It may be noted that Sir John Byset is a prominent witness to Sir John Prat's charter. The fact that the lands had been in dispute between the elder Prat and Sir Robert le Grant, certainly indicates that the latter had resided some time in Moray, but this in no way disproves the facts above stated. The date of the charter is not given. John Byset of the Aird died in 1259, but he left a son, who may be the witness here named. History of the Priory of Beauly, p. 54; Calendarium Genealogicum, p. 266. It would appear from an entry in the last-named work p. 265, that a family of the name of Prat also held lands in Nottingham. The Byseta, Prats, and Grants were thus near neighbours in England as well as in Scotland. The charter of Daltulich is not confirmed until 1267.

But though Robert le Grant was apparently the first to acquire territory in Moray, Laurence le Grant takes the more prominent part in public life. He became, some time prior to the year 1263, the king's Sheriff of Inverness, which sheriffdom at that time comprehended also the present counties of Ross, Sutherland, and Caithness. In this capacity several important matters passed through his hands. He received from the Earls of Sutherland and Caithness, in the year i certain sums of fine or king's silver, which may imply that both these Earls were under age, or that the fines inflicted on the northern districts, which had incurred the royal displeasure, had been converted into an annual payment to the Crown. Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, vol. i. pp. 13, 19. It may be gathered also from Laurence le Grant's accounts that the loyalty of the natives of Caithness was deemed precarious at this period, the time of King Haco's descent upon Scotland, for these show that not only was a fine of 200 cows imposed upon them, but certain of them were detained as hostages for a considerable period. Ibid. In his account as Sheriff rendered to the Crown for the year 1266, Laurence le Grant credits himself with a sum for the expenses of certain Friars-preachers or Dominicans, going on a mission to Norway. This was the embassy of Reginald of Roxburgh, a monk of Melrose, which resulted in a treaty by which the King of Norway ceded all rights over the Isles to the King of Scotland.

Laurence le Grant was also bailie of "Inverchoich" (Inverquoich). His account in this capacity has not been preserved, but from an account rendered [10] in 1264 by G. de Cambusmychel, as bailie of "Inverkoych," it appears there was a castle there, the constable of which was paid two merks of silver yearly. Exchequer Rolls, vol. i. pp. 3, 33. It is difficult to discover precisely where this castle stood. It was probably a small place, and may be represented by the "Entrekoyt Chastelle," where King Edward the First of England passed a night during his progress through Scotland in 1296. Historical Documents, Scotland, vol. ii. p. 28. From its position on his route it seems to have been near the junction of the Alyth Burn with the river Isla, and probably is identical with an old castle in the parish of Ruthven in Forfarshire, said to have belonged to the Earls of Crawford, which was demolished in last century. Gazetteer of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 628. This supposition is corroborated by the evidence of a charter under the Great Seal of King Robert the Second to Sir James Lindsay, of date 3d February 1375. In that charter the King grants, in addition to other lands which had been resigned by Lindsay, "also the place of our castle of Inuercuych . . . in the thanage of Alyth and sheriffdom of Perth." This grant is followed by other charters of the same lands. Registrum Magni Sigilli, Pp. 137, 141, etc.

A further question arises as to Laurence le Grant's connection with Inverquoich. In 1262-3, G. de Cambusmychel was bailie of that place. Exchequer Rolls, vol. i. p. 3. A year later he is described as "formerly bailie," having apparently resigned. Ibid. p. 16. Laurence le Grant was baffle of Inverquoich in 1266, and rendered the account for that year. Ibid. p. 33. But between the two dates there is an account rendered by Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan, as bailie of "Invery." Ibid p. 18. He paid a certain sum of money for repair of the house and drawbridge, and for the building of a new hail within the castle; also for the food of eight men who occupied the place for six months during the time of King Haco's attempt on Scotland. Then a question arose in the Exchequer as to whether the Earl of Buchan or Laurence le Grant, the Sheriff of Inverness, ought to answer to the king for the rents of "Invery." From this conjunction of "Invery" and the Sheriff of Inverness, it has been concluded that the copyist of the transcripts, which are all that remain of the earliest Exchequer Rolls, made a mistake, and wrote "Invery" [11] instead of Ulerin or Vierin, which is said to be the modern Blervie, near Forres, and the only royal castle in that district not elsewhere mentioned in the accounts. Exchequer Rolls, vol. i. p. xlvi, note. But independently of the fact that Blervie is usually known in early documents as "Blare" or "Blarie", Cf Registrum Moravienae; Statistical Account of Scotland, Elginshire, p. 248, the fact that though Laurence le Grant was Sheriff of the great sheriffdom of Inverness, he was also appointed bailie of a royal castle, which has been shown to lie on the borders of Forfarshire, indicates that mere locality had little to do with such appointments, it therefore seems probable that "Invery" simply means Inverquoich, which was a royal castle, that it had then changed hands, and that Laurence Grant had been appointed bailie. The Earl of Buchan, as Justiciary of Scotland, may, during the transfer, have paid the money for repairs on the fabric of the castle, but it was to be expected that the new bailie would account for the rents.

It is indeed not improbable, though the deficiency of contemporary record forbids absolute certainty, that the choice of Laurence le Grant, though Sheriff of Inverness, to be bailie of the castle of Inverquoich, may have arisen from his having some influence in the neighbourhood. This point will be referred to in the next memoir.

Nothing further is known of Laurence le Grant than what can be gleaned from the notices of him already quoted. The original possession of Stratherrick is assigned by tradition to the Grants. There is undoubted evidence that, at a later date, the Grants were Lords of Stratherrick, and it may be that from Walter Byset, while Lord of Stratherrick, Laurence le Grant acquired lands there which enabled him to hold the high office of Sheriff of Inverness. This, however, is wholly matter of conjecture, and though he was undoubtedly the first of his name who had authority in the north of Scotland, it is impossible to give further particulars of his history or possessions. The name of his wife is also unknown both to history and tradition. it is usually stated in histories of the Grants that Gregory le Grant, the alleged father of Laurence, married Mary, daughter of Byset of Lovat, and with her got Stratherrick. As shown, however, it is not proved that there was a Gregory le Grant, and Byset of Aboyne, not Byset of [12] Lovat, held Stratherrick. If, as has been suggested, the Grants did acquire that territory by marriage, facts would point to a daughter of Walter Byset of Aboyne, but no evidence on the subject is known to exist.

In regard to the strong presumption stated in this memoir that there was a family connection between the Bysets and the Grants prior to 1258, a few remarks as to the armorial bearings of the two families may not be out of place. Setting aside the fabulous or romantic theory of the well-known three crowns in the Grant arms, indicating their descent from as many Scandinavian kings, it is somewhat remarkable that no authentic origin has been assigned to them by any genealogist or herald. Unhappily the oldest seals in the family charter-chest date no further back than early in the sixteenth century, and thus afford no evidence as to the earliest period at which the three crowns were used as armorial bearings by the Grants. About the year 1325 John le Grant, the first Lord of Inverallan, affixed his seal to a charter by Sir Patrick Graham of Lovat. Charter quoted in History of Beauly Priory, p.78. It is important to know that the Grants bore arms at so early a date, but though the charter is extant, the seal is gone, and no conclusion can be drawn from it as to the bearings.

On the other hand, a certain amount of evidence is obtained from another source, by comparing the armorial bearings of the Frasers of Lovat at their first acquisition of Lovat, and at a later date, after they acquired Stratherrick. Hugh Fraser became Lord of Lovat in 1367, and in 1377 and 1390 he executed certain charters, to which he affixed his seal. The device upon that seal is described as "Couch?, a triangular shield bearing three rosettes or cinquefoils within a border charged with nine stars or mullets." The crest is a stag's head, the supporters two lions rampant regardant, and the legend "Sill H . . . Fraser." The Frasers of Philorth, vol. ii. pp. 171, 182; Laing's Catalogue of Scottish Seals, vol. i. No. 351.

Such was the Lovat seal in 1390. In 1431, the grandson of the first Hugh Fraser used a seal which is described as "Quarterly: first and fourth, three cinquefoils for Fraser; second and third, three crowns. Crest on helmet, a stag's head. Supporters, two lions sejant." Laing's Ancient Scottish Seals, vol. ii. No. 388; Rose of Kilravock, p. 129. Stratherrick was resigned, in 1419, in favour of her son, James Mackintosh, by Elizabeth [13] le Grant, the then heiress of the Grants, and lady of that territory, as related in a subsequent memoir. Three years thereafter, on 9th August, Thomas Dunbar, Earl of Moray, entered into a contract with Hugh Fraser of Lovat for the marriage of their children, and bestowed upon Lovat the barony of Abertarff, in terms of a charter formerly granted, from which it would appear that Hugh Fraser already held the dominiuin utile of the lands conveyed. Spalding Miscellany, voL v. p. 256 The barony of Abertarff at a later period included Stratherrick, and if this was so in 1422, it is remarkable that a few years afterwards, Hugh Fraser is found bearing in addition to his own arms the three crowns assigned by tradition as the cognisance of the Grants from time immemorial, and which were certainly borne by them at a later date. This fact raises a strong presumption that the three crowns were assumed by the second Hugh Fraser as the bearings of the former Lords of Stratherrick. It has been suggested that the first Hugh Fraser in 1390 had adopted the stag's head crest because it was that of his feudal superior the Earl of Moray, whose seal is affixed to the same document. The Frasers of Philorth, vol. ii. pp. 174, 182. This suggestion tends to corroborate the presumption that Hugh Fraser's descendant on acquiring Stratherrick also assumed the bearings of his immediate predecessors in that territory, who in this case were Grants.

There is thus, in default of actual proof, a certain amount of presumptive evidence that the three crowns were really the cognisance of the Lords of Stratherrick, and borne by the Grants as such. The question then arises, whence did the Grants derive these armorial bearings? The opinion formerly prevailed that the three crowns quartered in the Fraser of Lovat coat were those of Byset. Were this clearly established, it would bear out all that has been said about the connection between the Bysets and the Grants. Sir David Lindsay, however, in his Heraldry, gives the cognisance of the Bysets of Beaufort as a simple ordinary, a bend argent on a shield azure. The same arms are borne on a seal of Elizabeth Byset, a granddaughter of the founder of Beauly, attached to a Kilravock charter, about 1280. Rose of Kilravock, pp. 29, 111. The cognisance of the bend may, however, have been confined to one branch of the family, as the seals of the Bysets show a variety of [14] charges. Thus a William Byset bears in 1292 a "bend with a label of five points;" another William Byset bears a peacock passant, not on a shield; a Walter Byset bears "an eagle with wings expanded, not on a shield ;" a third William Byset bears "a boar's head couped, not on a shield, and in the background two mullets." The three seals last mentioned are detached, and the dates are not known, but from their devices they must be of an early period. Later Byset seals are also given, different from the fore going, but none of them bearing a bend. Laing's Ancient Scottish Seals, vol. i. Nos. 117-120; voL ii. Nos. 98-1 02

This variety of cognisances among the Byset family renders it less possible to decide that they bore a particular charge on their shields, and it shows that the bend was not universally adopted by them. On the other hand, there is one Byset cognisance which suggests the arms borne by the Grants. It is found on the seal of a certain Baldred de Bisset, which is appended to an acquittance to a bursar of Durham for £10 arrears of pension, dated in 1288. Ibid. No. 98. Original penes Dean and Chapter of Durham. It is thus described, "A fleur-de-lis between two roses or cinquefoils, beneath an arched crown, not on a shield, the seal itself being of that shape." Legend, "Sigill. Baldredi de Bisset." Nothing further can be ascertained regarding this Baldred. It is possible he may have been a cleric. But be this as it may, the seal suggests the possibility that a crown may have been borne by some branch of the Bysets, and this may have led to its adoption by the Grants, with a difference.

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