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Armstrong Clan

Armstrong Crest: A Strong Arm.

Armstrong Clan Motto: Invictus Maneo (I remain unvanquished).

Armstrong Clan History: The Armstrong surname is assumed from a personal attribute – strength of arm.  The Armstrong’s were a fearsome warring Clan from Liddesdale and the debatable lands on the borders of Scotland and England. The Armstrong surname is first recorded in 1235 when Adam Armstrong was pardoned at Carlisle for causing the death of another man.

A political vacuum was created in the borders after Edward 1st's brutal invasion of Scotland in 1296 and the subsequent retaliation by Scottish armies over the years ravaged the North of England. The Years of conflict eventually turned parts of the frontier into a lawless economic wasteland, giving rise to the infamous border reivers and over three centuries of livestock raiding, robbery, blackmail and violence.

The thirteen most notorious of the reiving clans were known locally as de’ils (devils) dozen and consisted of the following families: Armstrong, Bell, Carleton, Dacre, Elliot, Graham, Johnstone, Kerr, Maxwell, Musgrave, Nixon, Storey and Scott.

The Armstrong’s were the most feared of the riding clans along the frontier and at the height of their power could muster several thousand horsemen.

The Union of Scotland and England in 1603 signalled an end to the border warfare that had existed for centuries. The Armstrong powerbase was broken and many families left the border area for pastures new.

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