"The Setons are among the most ancient and illustrious of the great houses of Scotland, and proverbially said to have the reddest blood in the kingdom".

In consequence of a remarkable number of other families of the highest rank having sprung from their main stock, the heads of the house are termed ‘Magnae Nobilitatis Domini;’ and from their intermarriage upon four different occasions with the Scottish Royal Family.  They obtained the addition to their shield of the royal or double tressure.                                             George Seton, 7th Lord Seton, 1531 - 1585

Their earliest motto, ‘Hazard Yet Forward,’ is descriptive of their military ardour and dauntless courage. They were conspicuous throughout their whole history for their loyalty and firm attachment to the Stewart dynasty, in whose cause they perilled and lost their titles and extensive estates.

Before the Lords were created, the family maintained a tradition of Knights, for thirteen generations, until the mid-14th century and passed this training through hereditary means to every son of the House.  The first created Lord in Scotland was Sir William Seton, son of the heiress Margaret Seton and Alan de Winton, and grandson of Sir Alexander Seton, of Berwick Castle fame.  The Lords Seton are the premier Barons of Scotland, though the title passed inordinantly to the Montgomeries of Eglinton.  The heir of line, in accordance with the old Scots traditions: by which according to the old law and custom of Scotland, and under the original grant of the title, that the title should be transmitted through a female when a male heir was lacking; and the said female was to carry the surname Seton as though a male, was not adhered to.  As the Montgomerie claim was that of the male line, and not the bloodline, which was in favour during the Victorian age,  theirs is only a legal claim and not the Head of the House.

Click to read  The Great Historic Families of Scotland.