Royal Burgh of Auchtermuchty
Latin Motto
“Dum Sero Spero”
“While I sow, I hope”
One of four Royal Burghs which is quite special since it was never represented in Parliament, or in the Convention of Royal Burghs until modern times, they are known to historians as the four inactive Royal Burghs of Fife.
Auchtermuchty was made a Royal Burgh by King James V in 1517.
The arms show on the Dexter side a boar above a chevron to recall that Auchtermuchty means “upland of the boars”; the boar is a royal boar, as indicated by the gold and red colours, from Falkland Forest, of which the site of the town once formed part; below there is a red Seton crescent in reference to George Seytoun, a near kinsman of George, 5th Lord Seton, the faithful adherent of Mary , Queen of Scots; in 1542 he obtained part of the south quarter of Auchtermuchty; the black wavy lines allude to the swampy ground of the district and to Myres Castle near the town.
The sinister side shows the barley grown in the fertile fields of Auchtermuchty and used for whisky distilling, and, in the lower part, the ground where the sower (the sinister supporter) casts his seed.
The supporters are a Royal boar from Falkland Forest and a countryman sowing seed; the latter comes from the Burgh seal, which showed a sower at his work in a field.
The thistle and the rose also come from the seal and respectively recall the Charter of King James V in 1517 and the confirmation by King Charles I in 1631 of a Charter granted by King James VI in 1591.