A patch, depicting the shield of Clan Leslie.

Iconography has been used for centuries to identify members of a clan whether on the battlefield or at a Scottish gathering.

This section examines the design elements and history of Clan Leslies’ shield, Coat-of-Arms, badges, surname and tartan.  Some of these design elements are older than others.

Objects with clan iconography can be found in the Clan Leslie Collection in Archival & Special Collections in the University of Guelph Library. The older items contain the signifiers of Clan Leslie, the most consistent being the griffin and the three buckles. The device of the three buckles originates from Bartholf’s service to Saint Margaret of Scotland, from which King Malcolm III granted to him the Leslies’ ancestral lands.