Clan Stewart or Clan Stuart
My husband and I are both directly descended from Robert the Bruce and Mary Queen of Scots. So my interest in Scottish Clan history begins.
Clan Stewart or Stuart is a Scottish Highland and Lowland clan. Clan Stewart has no chief, and is considered an armigerous clan.
The clan is recognised by Court of the Lord Lyon; however, it does not have a Clan Chief recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Because the clan has no chief it can be considered an armigerous clan; however, the Earls of Galloway are now considered to be the principal branch of this clan, and the crest and motto of The Earls of Galloway's arms are used in the Clan Stewart crest badge. Here is a depiction of the family crest picture frame that I made in 2022. (It is available for general sale).
This Royal clan, whose history is the history of Scotland, is, strangely, not of Celtic, or even of Scottish, origin. The progenitor of the Stewarts was a Norman baron named Alan, who obtained from William the Conqueror the Barony of Oswestry, in Shropshire. Alan was the father of three sons William, Walter, and Simon. From Walter, the second son, descended the Scottish Royal family of Stewarts. Alan’s eldest son, William, was the progenitor of the Earls of Arundel, whose title and possessions passed, through an heiress, into the ducal family of Norfolk.
The spelling of the name as “Stuart” by the royal family appears to have been introduced by Mary, Queen of Scots, the lovely but unfortunate daughter of King James V. The branches of the Stewart clan are so numerous that it is impossible to refer to them all in detail.
Here is a closer look at the clan Stewart badge that I made and sell:
The Court of the Lord Lyon recognises two other Stewart/Stuart clans, Clan Stuart of Bute and Clan Stewart of Appin. Clan Stuart of Bute is the only one of the three clans at present which has a recognised chief.
Motto: virescit vulnere virtus (courage grows strong at a wound)
