The Raitt Stuff
 
 

 One of the earliest books (though not the first) to mention the Rait Coat of Arms is A System of Heraldry by Alexander Nisbet and published in 1722. Nisbet writes: The surname of Rait or Rhet, or, a cross ingrailed sable. The first of this name is said to be a German, from the country of Rhetia, from whence the name; and, it is said, to have come to Scotland in the reign of Malcolm IV. and from that king got some lands in the shire of Nairn, which he called after his own name. In the reign of John Baliol, mention is made by our historians of Sir Gervis Rait of that Ilk. In the reign of Robert III. Sir Alexander Rait of that Ilk, having killed the Thane of Calder, fled to the Merns, and lived under the protection of the Earl Marischal ; his son, Mark Rait, married - Dunnet, heiress of Halgreen, and got with her these lands. David Rait of Halgreen and Drumnagar gets a charter from King James III. of these lands, of whom were descended the Raits, lairds of Halgreen; who carried as above, for crest, an anchor, proper; motto, Spero meliora. Lyon Register. Mr William Rait of Pitforthie, descended of a second son of Halgreen, or, on a cross ingrailed sable, a hunting-horn of the first, stringed gules; crest, an anchor, proper, ensigned on the top, with a crescent argent: motto, Meliora spero sequorque. Lyon Register. William Rait, Merchant in Dundee, whose father was a second son of Halgreen, or, a cross ingrailed within a bordure invected sable ; crest, a lily . motto, Sperandum. Lyon Register. ----------- One of the fullest and most interesting works, however, because it provides actual illustrations is Scottish Arms: Being a Collection of Armorial Bearings, A.D. 1370-1678. Reproduced in Facsimile from Contemporary Manuscripts. With Heraldic and Genealogical Notes by R. R. Stodart. Published in two volumes by William Paterson in 1881. This work, as originally planned was to have included the arms of the Peers of Scotland from the time of Sir David Lindsay (b 1490-1555), Lord Lyon King of Arms, to the Union (1701). Several reasons prevented the execution of this design, however, the collection as it stands contains a great deal of information as to the bearings of ennobled families extinct as well as existing. In so far as it relates to the Raitts, the relevant Coats of Arms are to be found in the Armorial de Berry (plate 10 - image on left below) and the Earl of Crawford’s MS (plate 99 - image on right below). These images have faded over time. However, the image in the middle is taken from an analysis by J. Storer Clouston on the Armorial De Berry (Scottish Section) which appeared in the Proceedings of The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol LXXII, 6th series, vol 72, 10 January 1938. The author notes that two shields are without a legend at all, but fortunately the arms are again unmistakable. One of these is Rait. The author provides images of all the arms with heightened colours. Armorial de Berry The Bibliotheque Nationale of France possesses one of the most valuable heraldic manuscripts in existence. Gilles le Bouvier, its compiler, was born in 1386, entered the service of the Dauphin-Regent, afterwards Charles VII. He was appointed a herald in 1420, and afterwards crowned and created Berry King of Arms in France. He travelled widely, including Scotland. Charles VII. desired his king of arms to make an authentic collection of the bearings of the princes, nobles, and gentlemen of the countries he visited, and the result was this magnificent register. It consists of two hundred and five leaves, nearly half of which are vellum. Commencing with a genealogy of the Kings of France, illustrated by portraits, it gives an armorial of France divided into eight provinces, and containing upwards of fifteen hundred coats. Germany, Spain, Scotland, Italy, England, and the East follow, bringing the total to nineteen hundred and fifty-three. It is fortunate that the intimate alliance between this country and France led Berry King of Arms, to carry out a more extensive visitation in Scotland than in any other country. While he collected only sixty coats in Germany and sixty-four in Italy, he gives a hundred and twenty-two from Scotland. The probable date for the compilation is around 1445 and in it is listed - Rait (or cross engrailed sable). In the Scottish Arms the following descriptions of Raitt arms and their bearers are given. Rait, A cross engrailed is the bearing on the seal of Sir Gervase de Rait 1292 ; an early seal of John de Rait has a hunting horn, and that of Mr David Rait, 1591, has a cross invecked. The coat here represented was matriculated 1672-78 by William (Rait) of Hallgreen; Mr William (Rait) of Pitforthie, a cadet at the same time has a hunting horn of the field stringed gules on the cross. The surname is taken from localities, and probably was assumed in different parts of the country by persons not related to one another. Rait in Nairn, Rait in Perth, Raith in Fife, and Raith in Ayrshire, may all have given a name to residents if not to owners. 1291, Sir Gervase de Rathe, Constable of Inverness; 1292, H. de Rathe; 1292-97, Sir Andrew de Rathe ; the Ragman Roll contains the names of Sir Gervase de Rate, Gervase Rat, and Sir Andrew de Rat of the county of Inverness, and Roger de Rath of Ayrshire 1296. In 1332 John de Rate, the father, enters into an agreement with the Abbot of Scone; Sir Alexander, 1335-69; Thomas de Rath, 1371; John de Rath, 1398. Thomas de Rate had charters in the fortieth year of his reign from David II. of Ures in Kincardineshire, to be held in free barony, and of Balgillo in Forfarshire ; another of the barony in the first year of Robert II., and again to him, designed dilectus scutifer noster, and Margaret, his spouse, in the twelfth year of the reign of the same king. He was dead seven years later, when the superiority was granted to Sir Alexander Lindsay.. Hugh de Rath was appointed coroner of the sheriffdom of Ayr by Sir John Lindsay, and had a crown charter of confirmation second Robert II. In 1492 Alexander Rait possessed lands in Rait. David of Drumnagair acquired Hallgreen, and had a charter 1471, which was confirmed in 1478. This property gave a designation to his descendants, till it was sold in 1724 by William Rait of Hallgreen, who married Isobel, sister and heir of James Douglas of Bridgeford. Futhes and Drumtochty, in 1440, belonged to John Rait; 1445, Henry, son of John; 1492, Robert of Drumtochty; 1491, Elizabeth, Lady of Futhes, is said, by Mr Jervise, to have married Hew Calder, and to have left a son, Alexander Calder of Drumtochty. Branches of the Hallgreen family were seated at Cononsyth, Bryanton, Pitforthy, Findlaystoun, &c., and the representation is claimed by Rait of Anniston, co. Forfar. James was Abbot of Culross 1530. Archibald went to Poland in 1650, and in 1676 had a birth-brief showing his descent through Raits of Lentush, co. Aberdeen, from Hallgreen. Mr James, advocate, acquired Edmonstone, near Edinburgh, of which he had a charter in 1630 to him and Eliza Fouller, his wife; their son, James of Edmonstone, married a daughter of Hay of Monkton, and was dead in 1667, leaving two daughters, Anna and Elizabeth. The elder married John Wauchope, a senator of the College of Justice, with the style of Lord Edmonstone and died in 1729. Her arms, registered c. 1672, and displayed at her funeral, are the undifferenced coat. ----------- Other Rolls In the Armorial de Gorrevod, dating from about 1450, and in the possession of the Royal Library of Belgium, there appears a coat of arms that is very similar to that of Gervaise de Rait. And in the Holkham manuscript (a text in Latin by Nicholas Upton entitled De Re Militari) dating from the second half of the 15th century and in possession of the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, there is also a coat of arms similar to that of Sir Gervaise. Although the coat of arms for Sir Gervaise de Rathe was or, a cross engrailed sable, the arms for his brother Sir Andrew de Rathe are given in both the Collin’s Roll (1296) and St George’s Roll (1295) as argent, a cross indented gules. The same coat of arms appears to have been borne also by Sir John de la Linde, Sir John FitzHenry and several others. (See Brian Timm’s Order of Blazon.) Rait of Halgrein’s arms are included in the Slains Roll as being granted in 1565. The arms for Rait of Hallgreen are also included in The Science of Herauldry by George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh, first published in 1680. © Royal Library of Belgium © Bodleian Library © Brian Timms ----------- Another early work is that of Joseph Edmondson who published his two volume treatise A Complete Body of Heraldry (with an extremely lengthy title) in 1780. In volume 1, we find mention of Rat - Ar. a chev. engrailed gu. This coat for Rat (also Rate) is given in other works, however, mistakes and confusion surround these early descriptions of arms. On the same page, there is mention of another, more familiar, coat - that of Mohun and also Gifford - which is described as Or. a cross engrailed sa. (See more under heraldic symbolism.) ----------- Although described as a bearing une croix engresle, Andrew de Rat (d after 1304) bore a cross indented gules upon an argent field. He was a Scot, and a member of Edward I's household in the earlier part of his reign. His elder brother, Sir Gervaise de Rathe, was Constable of Invernairn in 1292, rendered homage in the Ragman Roll, and his seal bearing a cross engrailed is still extant. The name seems to have died out in the Moray Firth area, and by the 16th century the principal family was Rait of Halgreen in the Mearns which bore Or, a cross engrailed sable. (From: Scotland's Historic Heraldry by Bruce A. McAndrew. Boydell Press, 2006) ----------- The British herald, or, Cabinet of armorial bearings of the nobility and gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, published in three volumes in 1830 by engraver Thomas Robson lists the following coats of arms in volume 2: Rait, [Dundee, Scotland ; Lyon Register] or, a cross engr. within a bordure invecked, sa.—Crest, a lily ppr. Motto, Sperandum. Rait, or Rhet, [Halgreen and Drumnagar, Scotland; Lyon Register] or, a cross engr. sa.—Crest, au anchor ppr. Motto, Spero meliora. Rait, [Pitforthie, Scotland ; Lyon Register] or, on a cross engr. sa. a hunting horn of the first, stringed gu.—Crest, an anchor ppr. ensigned on the top with a crescent ar. Motto, Meliora spero sequorque. Raitt, or, a cross engr. sa.—Crest, a dolphin, naiant, or. In volume 3, there is entry as follows: Rait, Crighton, (Glasgow) quarterly; first and fourth or, a cross engr. sa. for Rait; second and third, ar. a lion ramp, az. armed and langued gu. for Crighton. - Crest, an anchor ppr. Motto, over the crest, Spero meliora. (See also under Illustrious Raitts). ----------- However, in The general armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales; comprising a registry of armorial bearings from the earliest to the present time by Sir Bernard Burke and published in 1884, we find only: Rait (Halgreen and Drumnagair, co. Forfar). Or, a cross engr. sa. Crest - An anchor ppr. Motto - Spero meliora. Rait (Dundee, Scotland, 1672). Or, a cross engr. within a bordure invecked sa. Crest - A lily ppr. Motto - Sperandum. Rait {Pitforthie, co. Forfar). Or, on a cross engr. sa. a hunting horn of the first, stringed gu. Crest - An anchor ppr. ensigned on the top with a crescent ar. Motto – Meliora spero sequorque. In a later book An ordinary of arms contained in the public register of all arms and bearings of Scotland by James Balfour Paul and published by William Green & Sons in 1895. there are the following Coats of Arms listed: Rait of Pitforthie, or, on a cross engrailed sa. a hunting-horn of the first, stringed gu. Rait of Hallgreen, or, a cross engrailed sa. William Rait, merchant, Dundee, or, a cross engrailed within a bordure invected sa. Raith (impaled by Wauchope), or, a cross engrailed sable. (This particular person was James Rait or Raith to whom the estate of Edmonstone in Midlothian was sold in 1626. In 1664, his daughter and heiress Anna married John, second son of Sir John Wauchope of Niddry Marshall, by which marriage the estate of Edmonstone passed to the Wauchopes.) ----------- The crests for various coats of arms are separately described and illustrated in Fairbairn's Crests of the Leading Families in Great Britian and Ireland and their kindred in other lands - compiled from the best authorities by James Fairbairn and published as two volumes in one by the Heraldic Publishing Company in 1911 (earlier editions were also published). The following crests are given for Raitt. Rait, Sco., an anchor, ppr. Spero meliora. Rait, Sco., a lily, ppr. Sperandum Rait, Sco., an anchor, ppr., ensigned on top with a crescent, ar. Meliora spero sequorqvex. Rait, James, Esq., of Anniston House, Forfars., an anchor, ppr. Spero meliora. Raitt, Eng., a dolphin, naiant, or. ----------- In Volume 2 of the sixth edition of Burke’s History of the Landed Gentry published in 1879 under Rait of Anniston House, we find: Rait, Major Arthur, of Anniston House, county Forfar, J.P. and D.L. for Forfar, and late Major Royal Horse Artillery, C.B., born 1839; married in 1877, Kathleen Georgia, only daughter of the Hon. Walter Arbuthnott, of Hatton, co. Kincardine and had a son Walter Garnet, born 1878. Lineage —This is a branch of the ancient family of Rait of Halgreen, co. Kincardine, which derived its name from the lands of Rait, cos. Nairn and Perth. Dr. George Rait (brother of Rait of Halgreen, county Kincardine) m. Catharine, daughter of Bishop Douglas, of Dunblane, and had one son, William Rait, Esq. who married Agnes Lyon. They had one son, John Rait, Esq. of Anniston (died 1814) who married in 1799, Elizabeth Guthrie. Their children included James Rait, Esq. of Anniston House, J.P. and D.L., Capt. 15th Hussars, Major Forfarshire Militia, born 1805; married 1838, Lady Clementina Drummond Ogilvy, 2nd daughter of David, 5th (or 7th) Earl of Airlie. James died in 1877 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Arthur John Rait (born 1839), now of Anniston House. Another son, William Rait, was born in 1847. Arms—Or, a cross engrailed sa. Crest—An anchor ppr. Motto—Spero meliora. Seat—Anniston House, Arbroath. The above arms of James Rait of Anniston impaled with those of Clementina Ogilvy (argent, a lion passant guardant, gules, crowned, or) are to be seen above the kirk door in Inverkeilor.  ----------- In 2008, a Qianlong Chinese export armorial part dinner service, dated 1745, bearing the arms of Rait or Rhet of Halgreen and Drumnager, with the motto Esto Perptua, was sold by Christie’s.  An anchor, being the crest of Raits of Hallgreen and Drumnagir, as well as of Anniston, appear on a George IV sterling silver spoon manufactured in London by William Chawner in 1830. The flatware may well have been commission by James Rait of Anniston. ----------- Elsewhere, in the tome by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies published in 1895 and entitled “Armorial families; a complete peerage, baronetage, and knightage, and a directory of some gentlemen of coat-armour, and being the first attempt to show which arms in use at the moment are borne by legal authority”, we learn that: Arthur John Rait, Esquire, Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Lieutenant-Colonel {retired) Royal Artillery, Justice of the Peace and Deputy-Lieutenant for the county of Forfar, was born in 1839 and was the eldest son of James Rait of Anniston, Captain 15th Hussars and Lieutenant-Colonel 1st Lancers British Auxiliary Legion in Spain, and Knight of St. Ferdinand. Armorial bearings as used, but which have not been matriculated to Colonel Rait, are for Arms: Or, on a cross engrailed sable, a hunting-horn stringed gold. Crest- An anchor in pale azure. Motto " Spero meliora." He was entitled to wear the Military Cockade. In the same book mention is made of a similar Coat of Arms for Ernest Robert Raitt, born in 1831, the fifth but only surviving son of Lieutenant-Colonel George Edward Raitt. Armorial bearings as used are for Arms: Or, on a cross engrailed sable, a hunting-horn of the first stringed gules. Crest: An anchor proper, ensigned on the top with a crescent gules. Motto: “Esto perpetua." The arms, but with a different motto, are those matriculated in Lyon Register as the arms of Rait of Pitforthie, and have not been matriculated to Ernest Robert Raitt. A third edition of this book by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies and published in 1899, entitled Armorial families; a directory of some gentlemen of coat-armour, showing which arms in use at the moment are borne by legal authority has the following entry (which does not seem to appear in subsequent editions of this work.) ----------- The coat of arms for Rait shown below left is recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884. Next to it is one with a hunting horn - yet another variation belonging to Rait of Pitforthy. Next to this are two other Raitt crests - one with a dolphin rather than anchor and with the motto Spero Meliora (I aspire to greater things); at right is one with an anchor. ----------- In the Lady Chapel in the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul, Dundee, a stained glass window remembers two Bishops of the Diocese of Brechin - one panel bears the Coat of Arms of Bishop James Rait (1742–1777) with the motto ‘Spero memora’ (I hope for better things). The arms are those of the family of Rait on the right and likely the Coat of Arms for Brechin (town) on the left. Brechin cathedral was originally dedicated to the Holy Trinity and this is commemorated in the Coat of Arms of the town which has a gold shield with three red rays converging at a point near the base. Since the second bishop’s arms in the Lady Chapel also have the same left half, perhaps it was a convention for Bishops that they added the arms of their see or city to their own arms.  ----------- It seems that in 1350, the Coat of Arms of John Rait, Bishop of Aberdeen, was Or, a cross engrailed sable, with a bend azure. Where the bend azure originates is not known, though it may be a representation of the blue background used anciently for the Arms of Aberdeen. ----------- Plate III in the Lyon Register gives the following coat of arms for Rait of Hallgreen c. 1673. ----------- An article entitled "The Descendants of Col. William Rhett, of South Carolina" appeared in The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, v4, n1, January 1903, pp36-74. On p36, the Coat of Arms of William Rhett (1666-1722) are shown together with the following text: “These arms are taken from the tombstone of Co. William Rhett in St Philip’s church-yard (western), Charleston, SC. No tinctures are indicated thereon but the best information is that the field is gold and the engrailed cross black. The motto is Aut faciam, aut periam. Note by the Editor: The seal of Roger Moore, with Moore impaled with Rhett, his wife, is extant. It shows the engrailed cross sable, but does not show the field or. That, however, might have been the fault of the engraver, who probably did not recognize the importance of the dots on the field. The following arms are given in Burke’s General Armory (1851) for Rhet: Rait, or Rhet (Halgreen and Drumnager, Scotland; Lion Register), Or, a cross engr. sa” A similar tombstone is also to be found in Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, South Carolina. The same arms are also given in Crozier's General Armory: a Registry of American Families Entitled to Coat Armor. Edited by William Armstrong Crozier. Published 1904. RHETT. South Carolina. Col. William Rhett, Receiver-General. 1662-1722. Or, a cross engrailed sable. Crest - An arm in armor holding a broken tilting spear, head of spear hanging downwards. Motto -Aut faciam, aut periam. Furthermore, in An Alphabetical Dictionary of Coats of Arms belonging to Families in Great Britain and Ireland forming an extensive Ordinary of British Armorials by John W. Papworth and published in 1874, the Coat of Arms for G. Rait or Rhet, Hallgreen; and Drumnager, Scotland (as well as Reath, Edmistoun) is also given as Or, a cross engrailed sable.   See also the earliest known entry for the Rait or Rhet family in the Families of Scotland under Raitt Name, as well as details on the American Raitts page. ----------- It is not know how and why the various crests came to be associated with the Raitts of Hallgreen, Pitforthie, Anniston etc, but it is likely that when designing their Arms, the later would-be bearer would have delved into the family history to some extent as best he could. Thus the Raits of Hallgreen would have known their ancestors shield of black cross on gold background. As for the crests, an anchor was symbolic of hope and although it could also signify a mariner, this is not the case for the Raits of Hallgreen, many of whom were ministers rather and sailors (although later Raitts, particularly in my own family ancestors, were mariners, while in the Anniston branch they were soldiers.) In line with this meaning of the anchor goes the motto Spero melioris - I hope for better things. The hunting horn, used in various Raitt crests could be an attempt to claim descendancy from, or at least recognize him as a family member, Roger de Rathe of Ayr, whose seal showed a stringed hunting horn (though the name John de Rat is (erroneously?) listed against the seal instead. ----------- Other Raitt Arms John Raitt (died 1758) was a merchant who became the high sheriff of Anne Arundel county, Maryland (see Maryland Raitts). His Coat of Arms is not that of the standard Scottish arms displayed above, but instead that shown below. In a letter written in June 1982, Gordon Marquis Raitt, of Eliot, Maine mentioned the Raitt Coat of Arms and queried whether the silver lion rampant come out of Scotland or Rhatea and did the black eagle come out of Scotland, the legions of Rome, or Rhatea? This Coat of Arms he presumably had seen is not the normal Raitt one - but it could be a personal Coat designed for or by Captain Alexander Raitt of Maine in his roll as merchant. However, it appears very like the Coat of Arms of the above John Raitt - so perhaps there is a link between the Maryland Raitts and the Maine Raitts! ----------- Remarkably similar coats of arms are known for five men named Raitt who resided in Bavaria, Germany several centuries before John Raitt of Maryland and it is possible that not only were all these early Bavarian Raitts related in some way, but at least one of them may have been an ancestor of John Raitt. Since I have since discovered a fair amount of interesting information on these Raitts and their coats of arms, I have created a separate page for them under Bavarian Raitts. However, something must be said about their arms here. The Bavarian Raitt arms - on which it appears that the arms of John Raitt are based - are recorded in Siebmacher's Wappenbuch in Germany (though probably not for him personally). Siebmacher's Wappenbuch is the definitive work on Germanic heraldry. The collective work consists of over 100 volumes published in a series spanning over 100 years, the first volume being published in 1855. Each volume contains detailed illustrations of coats of arms with text descriptions about the arms and the families and other entities that bore them. These families included not only noble families, but also those of the bourgeoisie (upper middle class). Information provided about these families may include biographical information and sometimes even pedigree charts. Areas covered in the volumes include the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and some other parts of Europe and the heraldry presented dates from the 12th to the early 20th centuries. There are actually several Coats of Arms recorded in Siebmacher's Wappenbuch where it states that "The surname Raitt appears to be characteristic in origin, and is believed to be associated with the Germans, meaning "one who had curly hair." Under the heading Raitt in one of the volumes covering Bavaria (Bayern), Siebmacher starts off by stating that the family had originally been recorded as Kraitt by an earlier author (Primbs), but this had been corrected to Raitt in the notes of yet another author (Hefner). Hefner described the coats of arms for: Steffan Raitt - "Gespalten # w., vorn ein s. Löwe, hinten am Spalt ein halber # Adler. Helm: s. Kugel zwischen zwei s - # Hörnern. Decken # s." (Divided vertically into black and white; on the right a silver lion; on the left a black half eagle, issuing from the dividing line. Above the shield is the helmet and crest which is described as a silver ball between two silver and black horns and covered in silver and black mantling.) Johann Arnold Raitt of Kürnstein, knight - who appears to have a similar shield, except that the second field is green and the first horn and mantling is also green instead of silver. Siebmacher indicates that dates are unfortunately not provided for these two men. However, he notes that since these arms do not appear in any of the many books of arms known to him – either handwritten or printed, then the information must have been drawn from some source book. Mention must also be made of another similar coat of arms belonging to Gabriel Kraitt in Kürnstein. As noted above it appears the name was erroneously recorded and that it should be Raitt. This knight died in 1367 and his arms (according to Primbs) were an elongated shield divided, charged with a lion and a half eagle. Two more very similar coats of arms are known from bookplates belonging to Hugo Raitt in Kirnstein and Christoph Raitt and these are discussed further under Bavarian Raitts. ----------- Clearly the coat of arms for Gabriel, Hugo, Christoph, Johann and Steffan (see below) are similar to that of John Raitt. However, these are not the only coats of arms for the name Raitt in Germany. My searches have led me to at least two others – and since they are so different then the assumption must be that the families are not related. Under the heading for Raitt, Siebmacher states that another coat of arms from a noble family of Raitt is described from additional handwritten information (in German) as follow: Raitt: divided vertically, with green and blue bars, one bearing a red fleur de lis on the right field; and on the left on a green field, a stag standing on a rocky crag. The crest depicts the upper torso of a stag rising from a crown. The mantling is blue and green and red and silver. Steffan Raitt’s arms are shown on the left of the image below, and the second coat of arms for Raitt is shown on the right. The entry for Raitt in Siebmacher ends with the fact that Hans Georg Raitt bought the estate of Unterbruck from Hans Christoph Ruprecht in 1634. (Presumably this is the Unterbruck near Regensberg in Bavaria.) No arms are given. ----------- What is interesting about the second coat of Raitt arms above is that there is also a Bavarian family called Raidt of Raidtenstein (also Raydtenstein), mentioned by Siebmacher, which also features in red and gold a stag on the left and on the crest. The arms are found for 1560, and various Raidt of Raidtenstein individuals are mentioned: Georg, 1699 and 1707; and Peter Wilhelm, 1742 and 1745. What is even more interesting is that the name is also recorded in Reitstap’s Armorial General as Raitt of Raittenstein. In Prey’s Sammlung zur Geneaologie des bayerischen Adels, the name appears to be written Raith (or is it Raidt?) and two names are mentioned: Peter in 1495, and Sigmund in 1574. The Bavarian Raidts have a different coat of arms to the Austrian family of the same name, the shield of which bears a hunting horn (as incidentally does the Raits of Pitforthie, Angus, Scotland). ----------- And still in Germany, though not in Bavaria, we learn from Macco’s Aachener Wappen und Genealogien book published in 1908, there is an entry under the name Rait, where the arms are described thus: two four-part bars, accompanied by three roses. These arms belonged to Heinrich Rait who was a scribe in Aachen, Germany in 1420 occupying the House of the Red Cross under the blacksmith. Between 1426-35 he was deputy Judge in Aachen. He is also identified as Heinrich Raet, who on 1 Sept 1410, bought a house in Cologne with his wife and another. He married again after the death of his wife. It may have been his son, also Heinrich Rait, who was curator of the Teutonic house San Gillis in Aachen in 1463. Related Coats of Arms Of course, the Raitts were not the only ones to have Coats of Arms. Many other families did too and new Coats of Arms were created when families intermarried. As seen above David Crighton Rait merged the Rait arms with the Crichton arms, and the Rait arms were impaled by those of the Wauchope family. Also the arms of Rait (or, a cross engrailed sable) were impaled with those of Ogilvy (argent, a lion passant guardant gules crowned or), for James Rait of Anniston and the Honourable Clementina Ogilvy, daughter of David (7th) Earl of Airlie, with the motto: "Spero meliora" - "I hope for better things". There is also a Rait-Mowat coat of arms, and there were different arms for the name Raith. Some of the families that various Raitt ancestors married into that had their own Coats of Arms include (with various spellings): Crab, Munro, Durward, Doig, Purvis, Wilkie, Sangster, Mikieson, Smith and Scorgie. Descriptions of these related Coats of Arms can be found on the following page. The Coats of Arms of other more distant families (such as Hutcheon, Kinnear, Millar, Smith, Robertson, Lawrence) can be found after that. Heraldic symbolism of Coats of Arms There is a wide body of literature that describes the meanings and symbolism behind the metals, colours, crests and creatures of the shields and coats of arms borne throughout the ages. In so far as they relate to the Raitt Coats of Arms some explanation of this heraldic symbolism, together with other Coats of Arms that are very similar to those of the Raitts but borne by other knights are included on a separate page. Just to recap, the Raitt arms borne by members of the Scottish family are mentioned in several ancient armorial rolls (with varying spellings): Andrew de Rat - St George’s Roll (dated c 1285); Lord Marshal’s Roll (c 1295); Collin’s Roll (c 1295); and the Ragman Roll (1296) Gervaise de Rathe - Ragman Roll (1296); Ragman Roll Seals (1296); and Scottish Armorial Seals (1904). Rait of Hallgreen - Armorial de Berry (c 1445); Slains Roll (mid-16th century); Hague Roll (c 1590) http://www.archive.org/details/systemofheraldry01nisbuofthttp://www.archive.org/details/scottisharmsbein01stoduofthttp://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_072/72_084_114.pdfhttp://mx500i.kbr.be/collections/manu/nouveautes/iv1301/iv1301_fr.htmlhttp://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwmss/wmss/medieval/mss/holkham/misc/031.htmhttp://www.briantimms.net/Order%20of%20blazon.pdfhttp://www.archive.org/details/completebodyofhe01edmoHeraldic%20symbolism.htmlhttp://www.archive.org/details/britishheraldorc02robsIllustrious%20Raitts.htmlhttp://www.archive.org/details/generalarmoryofe00burkhttp://www.archive.org/details/anordinaryarmsc00paulgooghttp://www.archive.org/details/fairbairnscrests00fairrichhttp://www.archive.org/details/genealogicalhera02byuburkhttp://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5114010&sid=9021bf90-6862-4f72-9bf9-0f7eb77c8b13http://www.archive.org/details/armorialfamilies00infoxdhttp://livepage.apple.com/http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13694424Raitt%20name.htmlAmerican%20Raitts.htmlHeraldic%20symbolism.htmlRaitt%20seals.htmlMaryland%20Raitts.htmlMaryland%20Raitts.htmlMaine%20Raitts.htmlBavarian%20Raitts.htmlBavarian%20Raitts.htmlRelated%20arms.htmlDistant%20arms.htmlHeraldic%20symbolism.htmlshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2shapeimage_2_link_3shapeimage_2_link_4shapeimage_2_link_5shapeimage_2_link_6shapeimage_2_link_7shapeimage_2_link_8shapeimage_2_link_9shapeimage_2_link_10shapeimage_2_link_11shapeimage_2_link_12shapeimage_2_link_13shapeimage_2_link_14shapeimage_2_link_15shapeimage_2_link_16shapeimage_2_link_17shapeimage_2_link_18shapeimage_2_link_19shapeimage_2_link_20shapeimage_2_link_21shapeimage_2_link_22shapeimage_2_link_23shapeimage_2_link_24shapeimage_2_link_25shapeimage_2_link_26shapeimage_2_link_27shapeimage_2_link_28shapeimage_2_link_29
Raitt Coats of Arms and Crests