The Herries crest is a stag’s head with specifically ten tynes. The motto is ‘Dominus Dedit’, the Lord has given. Sadly, the hedgehog on their shield didn’t make it to the crest.

Both stag and motto appear in the Workman heraldic manuscript of the 1560s, although a contemporary manuscript has an alternive motto ‘Durum patientia frango’ which translates as ‘I overcome difficulty through patience.’ (R.R. Stoddart, Scottish Arms being a Collection of Armorial Bearings 1370-1678, p.102).

As with many stag and deer-themed crests, the imagery reflects not only the natural richness of the chief’s ancestral lands but also the proud, wild, and noble qualities associated with these animals—bravery, dignity, and resilience.

The stipulation that there should be exactly ten tynes on the antlers comes in the 1680s in Sir George Mackenzie’s Families of Scotland manuscript. Whether there is any particular significance to the number ten is unclear. There does not seem to be a reliable source that gives a specific reason, and it may just be a standard heraldic detail used for visual distinction. Other families such as Forbes and Sempill also specify ten. 

The motto is a reference to the bible, and specifically the Latin vulgate translation. Specifically, the second half of Job 1:21: “Dominus dedit, Dominus abstulit; sicut Domino placuit, ita factum est: sit nomen Domini benedictum.”

The full verse in the King James bible is: “And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

So motto and stag are a reminder to the chief of Herries to remember that their prosperity was a divinely given, but it could just as easily be taken away.


MKP 6 January 2026