St Kilda Kilts & Scottish Gifts

Menu
Your Cart

Crest Meaning: Boyle

Here we have a double headed eagle ‘parted’ with a wiggly line. Not to imply some sort of Frankenstein’s bird, or bad taxidermy, the double-headed eagle is usually a symbol of the Roman Empire (representing the east and west portions of Rome and Constantinople) and was later adopted by the Holy Roman, Hapsburg and Russian empires among others. Here it seems to specifically symbolise the Earldom of Glasgow, created for David Boyle (1666-1733). He seems to have devised his own arms. As he was a commissioner for the 1707 Acts of Unions, the eagle may be a reference to the two heads of that Union. The wiggly line is a reference to the earldom of Burlington 

Apparently, the eagle was adopted from the arms of the English de Boyvills (R.R. Stoddart, Scottish Arms being a Collection of Armorial Bearings 1370-1678, p.392). However, Nisbet’s 1722 System of Heraldry suggests the eagle was the old crest of his Scottish family (albeit both could be true). Sir George MacKenzie’s 1680s Scottish Families manuscript does not mention any crest for the ‘Boiles’ as he calls them.

The Latin motto Dominus Providebit translates as ‘the Lord will provide’. An older motto of the Boyles of Kelburn was Honor Virtutis Praemium’ (Honour is the reward of virtue).

MKP 17 August 2020

We use cookies to give you the best possible shopping experience, in keeping with our privacy policy. You can accept all or manage them individually.

Cookie Preferences

You control your data
You can control how your data is used on our website. Learn more below about the cookies we use and choose whch cookies work for you.
if you accept all our cookies
  • Our site may be improved based on your interests
  • Your preferences may be stored for when you return
  • You may see content that's tailored for you
    •
    Operate the website
    These cookies are required for the site to function and for necessary activities like protecting against fraud
    Store your preferences
    These cookies remember your preferences, like country or language, to personalize your next visit to the site
    Personalize marketing
    These cookies are used for marketing communications based on your interests
    Measure performance
    These cookies help to refine our understanding how you interact with the site and what types of content are valuable to you