Heraldry of Kilravock
Just a brief bit about the historic Arms lawfully born exclusively by our Current Clan Chief:
Scottish Arms in the U.K. are under the governance of the Lord Lyon King of Arms, and are more strictly regulated by law than Armorial traditions in most other countries. While some countries allow for use by all direct descendants, that is not the case in Scotland where a stricter Anglo-Norman system took root. In the U.K., Arms are held/ owned by one person at a time and are their exclusive property for life. After death a person's Arms may matriculate down in an unaltered state to the next living heir or heiress, but not to other siblings or family members. Keeping in mind that Armorial Bearings were originally used for identification and also to assert a “Claim of Right” to a certain social rank or geographical property the logic behind such a tradition makes sense.
Many researchers over the years have concluded that the Rose family of Scotland descends from the de Ros Barons of Helmsley who settled in Yorkshire England, that are believed to have come over from Normandy with William the Conquered in 1066.
Scholarly sources have speculated that the first de Ros arms were canting arms that related directly to the name due to a long held Norman tradition. Eliments of this tradition can also be seen in the arms of our chief where three water-bouget are used as heraldic devices which were inherited from our Trusbut ancestor who most likely adopted them during the first crusade. This means that the first arms were most likely a variation on red roses or coniqfoils. A later de Rose armorial that predates the Trusbut inheritance is recorded as having three “Chaplets of roses” which were similar to the Greystoke or Howard arms.
The current arms of our Chief first appear after 1370
These arms were not constant but did have the constant element of three water-bougets passing form generation to generation.
An example
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Ariel view of Kilravock Castle first started in 1460
A little note on pronunciation: Kilravock is pronounced “Kilrawk”, and the name originates from the old Scots Gaelic name “Cill Rathaig”.
( Kil or cill (pronounced keel) originally meant ‘cell, church’ from Old Irish cell, (ultimately from Latin cella) and now usually means ‘chapel, churchyard’ in modern Gaelic. The name Kilravock is place specific in that it originally referred to a church site associated with a fortified settlement during the time of St. Columba's life, sometime between the early 560's to the late 590's A.D.. The believed church location is recorded as being in the area of Kilravock Castle's dovecote/ pigeon house. [Ref. HIGHLAND REGIONAL COUNCIL, ARCHELOGICAL SITES AND MONUMENTS RECORD, FIELD MONUMENTS, SITE CODE HNH84NW003 ]
We must be clear on this one point; Only our Clan Chief, Baron David Hugh Heriot Baird Rose, 26th of Kilravock, has current ownership of the historic Arms of Kilravock and no other person can lay claim to such arms during his lifetime. Clan Rose International (CRI) has been granted permission to display our Chief's arms for historical and educational use, but it is to be made clear to all, that CRI does not own or lay any claim to these arms. We display these arms to show pride in our ancestors who lawfully held these arms in the past, and these arms act as evidence of our Clan's ancient pedigree. Any other armorial bearing that CRI might use in a display or presentation would fall under fare use doctrine, so long as the arms are being used in proper historical context and not infringing upon the rights or wishes of the current living owner of such arms.
