Of all the variances of Heraldry, the Scottish have 16 different symbols for son

Question:Was it normal to have that many sons or more in that time period? Were families expected to multiply that much? What is the deal with that?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Was it normal to have that many sons or more in that time period? Were families expected to multiply that much? What is the deal with that?

Not sure.

I have been researching my ancestry and I can tell you, up until my parents generation, you'd be hard pressed to find more than a handfull of less than 8 children per male Scot, and thats going back over 200 years.