Clan Burns Collection

Burns is a common Lowland Scottish surname best known through the poet Robert Burns, whose father William Burnes was a self-educated tenant farmer from Dunnottar in the Mearns (Kincardineshire); his mother Agnes Broun was the daughter of a tenant farmer from Kirkoswald, Ayrshire.…

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About Clan Burns

Burns is a common Lowland Scottish surname best known through the poet Robert Burns, whose father William Burnes was a self-educated tenant farmer from Dunnottar in the Mearns (Kincardineshire); his mother Agnes Broun was the daughter of a tenant farmer from Kirkoswald, Ayrshire. 'Burns' does not appear among Scotland's recognized or armigerous clans listed by the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, and it has no chief, clan arms or clan seat. In a 1794 letter the poet described arms he had invented for himself, with the motto 'Better a wee bush than nae bield', but they were never recorded with the Lord Lyon

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Modern or Ancient?

Same pattern, different dyes. Modern uses deep, saturated colours; Ancient uses the softer tones associated with natural dyes.