The Urquhart Crest Badge

This distinctive insignia which consists of a naked lady from the waist upward issuing from a crest-coronet and brandishing in her right hand a sword and in her left hand a palm sapling, encircled by a strap and buckle bearing the motto “Meane Weil, Speak Weil, and Doe Weil.” The clan crest badge identifies members of Clan Urquhart and signifies their loyalty to The Urquhart, Chief of the Clan. His crest and motto are embodied in the badge.

The crest is part of the Chief’s Coat of Arms while the badge is the plant worn as the Clan symbol just as the thistle is the badge of Scotland. The crest, within a strap and buckle, is the property of the Chief and may be worn by officially recognized members of the Clan at the Chief’s discretion. The strap and buckle indicates that the wearer is merely displaying the Chief’s crest. To wear this crest badge without being a member of the Clan is an offence punishable by fine. See the section on “Who are the recognized members of Clan Urquhart”

The chief’s coat-of-arms are the personal heritable property of the chief and come under the strictest heraldic jurisdiction in the world: the Court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms. Only the chief may use the basic coat-of-arms. Despite popular myth and the availability from many Scottish shops of wall plaques, there is no such thing as a “family name” coat-of-arms or a coat-of-arms that all Urquharts can use.

Any proved descendant of the chiefly family, however remote, has a right to record this coat-of-arms in his own name, but the Lord Lyon in doing so will arrange with him a suitable ‘difference’ to be added to show that the particular descendant is not the actual chief. Any other reputable bearer of the clan surname may also ask the Lord Lyon for a grant of arms, which will also allude to his connection with the clan, but in a slightly different way.

Without recording personal arms, any Urquhart or descendant of an Urquhart who is accepted into the Clan by the Chief may:-

use the chief’s crest surrounded by a strap and buckle and
use the clan plant badge – the wallflower and
wear the Urquhart Tartan

Clansmen now scattered all over the world still have special heraldic rights, protected for them by law, such as are hardly enjoyed by any other peoples.