St Kilda Kilts & Scottish Gifts

Bethune, sometimes better known as Beaton. The crest is of an Otter’s head. The crest and motto are recorded in Nisbet’s 1722 System of Heraldry. They were attached to the arms of Beaton of Balfour, the principal line of the Bethunes, who also had two otter supporters and an otter’s head on one of the quarters of the shield. They were certainly keen on their otters!

However, the otters represented the lands they had acquired, as the otter was a favoured symbol of the Balfours of Balfour. Their arms were just an otter’s head with two otter supporters, which the Bethunes took after taking over the lands of Balfour.

The otters themselves are presumably a reference to the wildlife in Fife, as the critters are well known on the kingdom’s many waterways. However, the otter can also represent more generally to qualities of perseverance and industry.

The motto ‘De Bonnaire’ is usually translated as ‘gracious’ and how the word debonair is usually used today (conjuring an image of a very fancy otter). However, it’s older meaning from the French ‘de bon aire’ meant 'of good lineage'. In the first half of the sixteenth century, Cardinal David Beaton was a key pillar in the Franco-Scottish Alliance (‘the Auld Alliance’), so the use of French in the crest seems appropriate.

MKP 16 July 2020