| Meaning |
Nickname: Arm-strong. The name of a familiar Border clan. 'Ye need not go to Liddisdale, For when the see the blazing bale Elliots and Armstrongs never fail.'
The Armstrongs derive their surname from the following circumstance : an ancient king of Scotland having his horse killed under him in battle, was immediately remounted by Fair- bairn his armor-bearer. For this timely assistance the king amply rewarded him with lauds on the borders, and to perpetuate the memory of so important a service, as well as the manner in which it was performed (for Fairbairn took the king by the thigh and set him on his saddle), his royal master gave him the appellation of Armstrang, and assigned him for a crest, an armed hand and arm, in the left hand a leg and foot in armor, couped at the thigh, all proper. The chief of the clan in the early part of the sixteenth century was John Armstrong of Gilnockie; he was hung as a freebooter by James V, in 1529. The family have always been noted for their courage and daring. In the Lay of the Last Minstrel, the chief when about to assemble his clans, says to the heralds,
A name given for strength in battle. Historians relate the following tradition:
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| Origin |
English, " Ye need not go to Liddisdale, For when they see the blazing bale Elliots and Armstrongs never fail.", This family was anciently settled on the Scottish border; their original name was Fairbairn, which was changed to Armstrong on the following occasion: An ancient king of Scotland having had his horse killed under him in battle, was immediately re-mounted by Fairbairn, his armor-bearer, on his own horse. For this timely assistance he amply rewarded him with lands on the borders, and to perpetuate the memory of so important a service, as well as the manner in which it was performed (for Fairbairn took the king by the thigh, and set him on the saddle), his royal master gave him the appellation of 'Armstrong.' The chief seat of Johnnie Armstrong was Gilnockie, in Eskdale, a place of exquisite beauty. Johnnie was executed by order of James V., in 1529, as a "Border Freebooter." Andrew Armstrong sold his patrimony to one of his kinsmen, and emigrated to the north of Ireland in the commencement of the seventeenth century. The Armstrongs were always noted for their courage and daring. In the "Lay of the Last Minstrel, " when the chief was about to assemble his clans, he says to his heralds: "Ye need not go to Liddisdale, Jewish, Dutch, Chilean, Irish, Maori, Austrian, Belgian, South african | |