The House of Burnett (Burnet, Burnette, Burnard, Bernard) is a Lowland and Border Scottish family composed of several branches. The Chief of the Name and Arms of Burnett is James Comyn Amherst Burnett of Leys.
Origins of the name It remains uncertain if the name of Burnett is of Saxon or Norman origins. It has been suggested that the name Burnett is derived from the Old French burnete, brunette, which is a diminutive of brun meaning "brown", "dark brown". Another proposed origin of the name is from burnete, a high quality wool cloth originally dyed to a dark brown colour.Crannog to Castle; A History of the Burnett Family in Scotland, ed. Eileen A. Bailey (Banchory: Leys Publishing, 2000), pp. 2-3 There is also evidence which suggests that Burnett stems from the English surname of Burnard, a derivative of the Anglo-Saxon name "Beornheard". Spelling variations of the name in early documents show Burnet and Burnard/Bernard being used interchangeably for the same family and at times for the same person. It is likely that the family of de Bernard first came to Scotland with the return of David I of Scotland and that they settled in Roxburghshire.
Early Burnetts in Scotland There is documented evidence of the family of Burnard in England from the Norman Conquest in 1066, but not before. These are found in the Domesday Book, the Chartulary of St Neots Priory and in charters concerning the Waltham Abbey.George Burnett, The Family of Burnett of Leys; With Collateral Branches, ed. James Allerdyce (Aberdeen: The New Spalding Club, 1901), p. 3 Roger Burnard was the Domesday tenant of Alrichesey and also held a manor in Rodedie hundred, Hampshire and the manors of Celdretone and Coteford in Wiltshire; all of which were held of William De Ow.Frederic Madden; Bulkeley Bandinel; John Gough Nichols, Collectanea Topographica Et Genealogica, Vol. VI (London: J. B. Nichols and Son, 1840), p. 198 He, his wife Margaret and his son Odo were named in several charters of St. Neot's and in one there is a mention of a daughter, Magilia Burnard.Frederic Madden; Bulkeley Bandinel; John Gough Nichols, Collectanea Topographica Et Genealogica, Vol. VI (London: J. B. Nichols and Son, 1840), p. 199 Among the English who came north in the train of David I of Scotland were Burnards who settled in the County of Roxburgh and owned the considerable barony of Farningdoun (aka. Fairnington).Crannog to Castle; A History of the Burnett Family in Scotland, ed. Eileen A. Bailey (Banchory: Leys Publishing, 2000), pp. 6-7 They were benefactors of Melrose Abbey and other religious houses. They soon move on to the Northeast of Scotland, where Alexander Burnard settled near Banchory. This Alexander Burnard is considered "The first of the Deeside Burnards, or Burnetts as they were later called".George Burnett, The Family of Burnett of Leys; With Collateral Branches, ed. James Allerdyce (Aberdeen: The New Spalding Club, 1901), p. 6
Burnets of Farningdoun Roger Burnard of Faringdoun gave two grants of land of that barony; one being witnessed by his sons Geoffrey, Walter, Ralph and Richard.Eileen A. Bailey, 'The Burnets in Southern Scotland', Eileen A. Bailey, 'Saxon or Norman?',Crannog to Castle; A History of the Burnett Family in Scotland, ed. Eileen A. Bailey (Banchory: Leys Publishing, 2000), p. 7 Ralph, his son and heir appears in the Episcopal Records of Glasgow in 1208 as providing fuel in the form of peat to the Bishop of Glasgow. In 1252 Richard Burnard of Farningdoun sold the Eastmeadow of Faringdoun to the Abbey of Melrose, confirmed in a charter of Alexander III of Scotland that same year. After 1381 the link between the Burnards and Fairingdoun seems to have been lost.Eileen A. Bailey, 'The Burnets in Southern Scotland', Crannog to Castle; A History of the Burnett Family in Scotland, ed. Eileen A. Bailey (Banchory: Leys Publishing, 2000), p. 8
Burnets of Burnetland and Barns The Burnards or Burnets owned lands in Peeblesshire named for them, Burnetland. A Robert de Burnetland () was a witness to the foundation charter of Selkirk Abbey by David I prior to his becoming king, and to several charters afterwards.Montgomery Burnett, Genealogical account of the family of Burnet, of Burnetland and Barns (Edinburgh: 1853), p. 13 An indicator of when this family became of Barns is from the will of William Burnet of Barns, Treasurer-Clerk of Scotland, dated 30 April 1656 stating that his predecessors had held Barns for three hundred years. This would date the family's connections to Barns to at least 1356. The genealogy of the Burnet family of Burnetland and Barns traces down to when the estate was sold in 1838.Eileen A. Bailey, 'The Burnets in Southern Scotland', Crannog to Castle; A History of the Burnett Family in Scotland, ed. Eileen A. Bailey (Banchory: Leys Publishing, 2000), pp. 8–22 At times the family of Burnet of Barns and that of Leys have contended for the chiefship of the House of Burnet.
Burnard of Ardross and Currie Thought to be originally of the Burnards of Farningdoun, John Burnard owned part of the lands of Ardross in Fife and of a part of those in Currie in Midlothian. He accompanied king David II of Scotland on his journey south in 1346 and in the attack on the fort of Liddell where John Burnard was severely wounded and left at Roxburgh Castle where he later died of his wounds.Eileen A. Bailey, 'The Burnets in Southern Scotland', Crannog to Castle; A History of the Burnett Family in Scotland, ed. Eileen A. Bailey (Banchory: Leys Publishing, 2000), p. 23 But before he died Roxburgh surrendered to the English and it was assumed John Burnard was a traitor who joined the English. As a result, his lands were forfeited and given to Alexander Maitland. When David II was released from captivity the truth was known and the lands were restored by royal charter to John Burnard's nearest kinsman, William of Dishington. The Dishington's continued ownership until about 1700 when the lands were sold.Eileen A. Bailey, 'The Burnets in Southern Scotland', Crannog to Castle; A History of the Burnett Family in Scotland, ed. Eileen A. Bailey (Banchory: Leys Publishing, 2000), p. 23-4
Burnetts in north-east Scotland Burnetts who settled in the north-east of Scotland are primarily located in Kincardineshire and Aberdeenshire. These branches stemmed from the family of Leys, the ancestors of the present Chief of the Name of Burnett, James C. A. Burnett of Leys.Eileen A. Bailey, 'The Burnets in North-East Scotland', Crannog to Castle; A History of the Burnett Family in Scotland, ed. Eileen A. Bailey (Banchory: Leys Publishing, 2000), p. 26
Burnett of Leys
Alexander Burnard, almost certainly of Farningdoun, is considered "The first of the Deeside Burnards, or Burnetts as they were later called". Alexander was an adherent of Robert the Bruce and for his services to the king he was rewarded in 1323 with land in Banchory and a position as the Royal Forester of Drum. He also received a charter of that king of the lands of Kilhenach, Clerech, and other lands in Aberdeenshire dated 28 March 1324.Robert Douglas, The Baronage of Scotland, vol. I (Edinburgh: 1798), p. 41 This was about the time the Burnard or Burnett family first took up residence on an artificial island called a crannog, on the Loch of Leys.National Trust for Scotland. 1969. Crathes Castle, Fifth ed. Edinburgh. 4.
The history of the family from this time onward is recorded in detail. During the next three centuries the Burnetts came to gain prominence in the area by making connections with the church, granting lands and other endowments. John Burnet "of Leyis", the fifth laird, was the first in this family to bear the distinction "of Leys" which from this time onward was applied both to the lands and to the family who held them.George Burnett, The Family of Burnett of Leys; With Collateral Branches, ed. James Allerdyce (Aberdeen: The New Spalding Club, 1901), pp. 10-11 His son, Alexander Burnet of Leys was the first 'Baron of Leys' during the reigns of James II of Scotland, James III and James IV.Crannog to Castle; A History of the Burnett Family in Scotland, ed. Eileen A. Bailey (Banchory: Leys Publishing, 2000), p. 36 In 1553, Alexander Burnet of Leys, the ninth lord of Leys began construction on Crathes Castle, which was finished by his great-grandson, another Alexander, the twelfth lord, in 1596.George Burnett, The Family of Burnett of Leys; With Collateral Branches, ed. James Allerdyce (Aberdeen: The New Spalding Club, 1901), p. 22 Alexander Burnett, 12th Laird of Leys (d. 1619), Laird of Crathes Castle, acquired Muchalls Castle about 1600 and commenced its early 17th-century reconstruction. Having died in 1619, the completion of Muchalls Castle was carried out by Alexander Burnett's son, Sir Thomas Burnett, 1st Baronet. Ownership of Muchalls Castle passed from the Burnett of Leys family about 1882. Crathes remained in the ownership of the Burnett family descendants for over 350 years, until 1952 when Sir James Burnett, 13th Baronet gave it to the National Trust for Scotland as part of Scotland's heritage.The National Trust for Scotland. 1988. Crathes Castle and Garden. Edinburg: Marketing Services Division of the National Trust for Scotland. 6-9.
Heraldic history
There were no known seals for Burnett of Leys before 1621.Charles J. Burnett, Ross Herald, 'The Heraldry of the Burnett Family', Crannog to Castle; A History of the Burnett Family in Scotland, ed. Eileen A. Bailey (Banchory: Leys Publishing, 2000), p. 177 In 1550 Burnet of Burnetland (later Barns) appealed to the then Lord Lyon King of Arms to change his motto to that already in use by Burnett of Leys, Virescit vulnere virtus (strength draws vigour from an injury).Charles J. Burnett, Ross Herald, 'The Heraldry of the Burnett Family', Crannog to Castle; A History of the Burnett Family in Scotland, ed. Eileen A. Bailey (Banchory: Leys Publishing, 2000), p. 178 Apparently successful, the Burnett of Leys lord then began using the motto Alterius non sit qui potest esse suus (he would not be another's who could be his). The earliest arms for Burnett of Leys was found on a carved panel dated to some thirteen years later showing the impaled arms of Burnett and Hamilton commemorating the marriage between Alexander Burnett (1500–1574) and Janet Hamilton (d.1557). The arms of Burnett of Leys in 1553 used a shield, charged with three holly leaves and a hunting horn, blazoned: Argent, three holly leaves in chief vert and a hunting horn in base sable stringed Gules. The crest, a hand holding a knife shown pruning a vine had the motto: Alterius non sit qui potest esse suus (same meaning as above) or a marriage variant: Alterius non sit qui suis esse potest (who can be his would not be another's).Charles J. Burnett, Ross Herald, 'The Heraldry of the Burnett Family', Crannog to Castle; A History of the Burnett Family in Scotland, ed. Eileen A. Bailey (Banchory: Leys Publishing, 2000), p. 179 The next progression was that of Thomas Burnett of Leys, knighted in 1620, whose seal of Bore a shield with holly leaves and hunting horn, set within foliage decoration with his name and rank but no crest or motto. By 1627 and upon completion of Muchalls Castle, the impaled arms of Sir Thomas Burnet and his second wife Janet Moncreiffe now had supporters. On the dexter side was a huntsman in contemporary dress with a hunting horn suspended from his shoulder while the sinister supporter was a greyhound with a collar.Charles J. Burnett, Ross Herald, 'The Heraldry of the Burnett Family', Crannog to Castle; A History of the Burnett Family in Scotland, ed. Eileen A. Bailey (Banchory: Leys Publishing, 2000), p. 180 In addition to the current motto, displayed beneath the supporters, was the motto above the hand, knife and crest, apparently ignoring the ruling of 1550 by the Lord Lyon Sir David Lindsay, the previous Burnett motto: Virescit vulnere virtus.