Houston Coat of Arms

by D.E. Barker

No one needs to tell you that when you research a historical figure you find that there are just as many variations on what happened in a particular instance as there are people who witnessed it.  Some take a stand that is one hundred and eighty degrees in opposition to another’s point of view. So in order to avoid stepping on any ones toes or ruffle their feathers I thought that I would discuss something concrete, stable, a no questions about it subject. The Houston family coat of arms. Wrong again. I won’t get into the different spellings of the Houston name from the era when the coat of arms was bestowed. There are several. Or how or why the heraldry changed. Let’s just look at the coat of arms as it appears in the floor of the main Sam Houston Museum building or as we like to call it “The Rotunda” and the meaning of each separate part or image used.

 First a short story about Sir Hugh and the coat of arms because that’s how it or parts of it came to be. Now I originally thought that Sir Hugh was just an ordinary man, a regular bloke fighting in a battle when he realized that the young King of Scotland was getting beat up pretty badly. Hugh rushed over and saved King Malcom IV from certain death at the hands of the enemy. The grateful King bestowed property, title and a coat of arms on Sam’s ancestor around the middle of the 12^th century. But, according to Cleburne Huston (there’s one of those spellings) in the book “Bold Legacy” that hero was already a baron by the name of Hugh of Padinan with a Norman coat of arms. The rescued king merely added to the existing heraldry. Old Sir Hugh already had the property and basic coat of arms. Skip those discrepancies in the story for now. It’s the quickness of Sir Hugh’s actions and how they relate to the family coat of arms that is important. Every thing in a cost of arms has meaning. Colors, patterns, creatures, and objects can all be interpreted as to meaning. The coat of arms mosaic in the floor of the museum shows an hour glass with wings above the actual shied. An hour glass represent the swiftness of time and a reminder of mans mortality. Wings, swiftness and protection. He got there in the nick of time? They both were in mortal danger? He protected his king? There are two dogs on either side of the shield. Dogs in heraldry can mean fidelity, courage, vigilance, and loyalty. The dogs depicted look like greyhounds, known for speed, they once again reference the swiftness of Sir Hugh’s actions and his loyalty. There is a chevron with a blue and silver checker board pattern. The chevron often represents protection. Another source says that it represents builders or others that have accomplished works of faithful service. Blue is for truth, silver for peace and serenity. The checkered pattern called chequy, compony, or gobony indicates constancy. The main color of the background or field is gold or yellow indicating generosity and elevation of the mind.  On this field of yellow or gold are three birds, black in color. I say it in this manner because the birds are indistinguishable as to species. They might be cough (Irish crows),  martlets, or ravens.  The cough suggest a strategist in battle, or one that is watchful for friends.  Martlets designate peace and deliverance, the raven signals divine providence. All of the symbolic heraldic images evoke a man strong of character, brave, and resourceful. Each image ties to his heroic deed regardless of the particular meaning you attach to that image.

There are other meanings that might be attached to these images. Most are going to be very close to the interpretations I’ve found. Go ahead, give me your take on what you believe, but for me, there’s a couple of kickers to this story. The first is that these attributes are found, according to most historians, in his distant relative, our own Sam Houston. Whether a hero, a great man, or an ordinary man who did great things, all these character traits were prominent in Sam’s makeup. Did he know much about Sir Hugh? Did he know the coat of arms and it’s meanings?  If so, did any of this play a part in making him the man he became?  Secondly, and this is just a thing that has stuck in my mind for some time - whether crows, ravens or martlets - did the Cherokees know about the birds on the coat of arms? Why did they call him the Raven? Did Sam tell them? Or was this one of those quirky things that befalls ordinary men in great times?