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The Lord Lyon Court of Arms |
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Protecting the heraldic tradition in Scotland
(Modified Nov. 2008)
Original Article by Sarah Powell
Public records have been kept officially in Scotland since the late
thirteenth century – an important duty for those involved, although
standards of "keeping" have varied tremendously, with hungry rodents and
damp being constant threats in earlier centuries. Until the mid-sixteenth
century Scotland's records used to be kept in the royal treasury in
Edinburgh castle where a clerk "bred up a cat" to keep the rats at bay.
Conditions have improved since, fortunately, with the National Archives of
Scotland housed in the decidedly grandiose General Register House opposite
the Balmoral Hotel on Princes Street in Edinburgh. Designed by Robert Adam
and opened in 1788, the classically-styled building boasts 3-ft thick
walls and a 76-ft high central dome with an elaborate plasterwork ceiling.
Set slightly behind General Register House stands a much smaller but
nevertheless striking building. Its nineteenth-century design mirrors that
of its older and grander neighbour, having a domed central search room
surrounded by high-ceilinged corridors and offices which face outwards,
giving a welcome impression of space and light. This is New Register
House, built to house the records of civil registration in Scotland, and
also home to a rather different and particularly colourful branch of
record-keeping: that of The Court of the Lord Lyon, the official body
charged with protecting and recording the heraldic tradition
in Scotland. The offices
of
The |
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Court
of the Lord Lyon, although remarkably small, are anything but ordinary.
Tall glass-fronted bookshelves housing collections of heavy tomes line one
corridor; cabinets display intricately embroidered tabards worn by
previous Lord Lyons; hand-painted crests of past knights of the Most
Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle* adorn cabinet tops; and
leather bound registers conceal genealogies incorporating coats of arms,
hand-painted on thick vellum paper. Hand-painted coats of arms and
accompanying descriptions – the work of members of a team of freelance
artists and calligraphers who come in on demand – are carefully stored in
a plans' chest.
So
what exactly goes on at The Court of the Lord Lyon?
Former Lord Lyon, Robin
Blair, explains that "in the earliest times, the principal function
of the Lord Lyon in Scotland was to confirm the correct heir to the
Scottish throne, satisfying himself that the genealogy of the claimant was
honourable and accurate. The significance of this role was, and still is,
reflected in the
royal coat of arms worn by the |
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Lord
Lyon. This identifies him as 'high sennachie', the officer
responsible
for identification of
the
heir to the throne. The name 'Lyon' was adopted because the royal coat of
arms for Scotland principally depicted a lion rampant." Robin Blair
relates that "the history of the Lord Lyon dates back several centuries.
Early historical information is incomplete, but we know that there was a
Lord Lyon appointed by King Robert the Bruce in 1318 or thereabouts, and
from 1388 onwards there are records of all the subsequent Lord Lyons. |
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The Arms of the present
Lord Lyon, Joseph Morrow |
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"Heraldry itself dates
back far earlier than that, reflecting the custom for knights in armour,
when fighting on horseback, to wear a distinctive 'coat' on top of their
armour to enable their followers to identify them on the field of battle.
That is why we speak of a 'coat of arms', the more popular name for
armorial bearings. The custom of wearing such coats of arms was widespread
across Europe, notably at the time of the Crusades when armies were making
long journeys and the soldiers were unfamiliar with the territory on which
they were fighting." The Lyon Office in the twenty-first century. Today,
the responsibilities of the Lord Lyon are threefold: one is to exercise
what is called the "royal prerogative" in granting coats of arms in
Scotland; the second is to operate a judicial function as a court to
ensure that arms are used lawfully and to make judicial decisions in
relation to the right to arms, titles and dignities; the third is a
responsibility for state ceremonial such as the opening of the General
Assembly of the Church of Scotland and |
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related service in St
Giles' Cathedral.
The Lyon Office in
Edinburgh differs from The College of Arms in London in that unlike the
English College of Arms, it is in effect a court of law and operates daily
as such under an Act of the Scottish Parliament which, in 1672,
established a register of arms called The Public Register of All Arms and
Bearings in Scotland, which is still maintained today. While the court
rarely hears evidence in person, its role is to handle as a judicial
process any application made to it for the grant of arms. That said, from
time to time, it does process cases where evidence is heard in front of
the Lord Lyon sitting as judge.
Prior
to the 1672 Act, the Scots already had coats of arms. "Indeed," says Robin
Blair, "if you owned land in Scotland, you were expected to have arms. But
there was no proper control of the system. It was only in the sixteenth
century that legislation was passed giving the Lord Lyon the right to
prosecute people who had arms which were not officially approved. The
register was subsequently set up to serve as a complete record of these. |
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"The maximum fine we can
levy today for a breach of the legislation is £100," explains the Lord
Lyon. "This is pretty small but what is important is that we can have the
arms removed. While I am not sure that we would be entitled to demolish a
whole building, we could certainly insist on arms being removed and flags
being taken down. At one time the Lord Lyon had the power to put people in
prison – although I am not sure that this power still exists and it
certainly has not been used for a long time!
"The situation is rather different in England. There the Earl Marshall of
the College of Arms is entitled to convene the Court of Chivalry to deal
with any abuse. However, this has only met once in the last century, just
after the Second World War and, on that occasion, the proceedings were
supervised and |
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heard by Lord Goddard, a
judge of the High Court in England. The College and the Earl Marshall did
not hear the case themselves. Unlike the Lord Lyon, the Earl Marshall has
no legal right to prosecute. Scotland, by comparison, is fortunate to have
a system with the power to ensure that arms are used correctly. In
countries without this authority, it is far less easy to 'police' heraldic
use.
"Illegal use of arms
often arises from ignorance of the system; people will put up a coat of
arms because they think it looks rather nice, not realising that they
haven't got the right to do so. Usually, as soon as this is brought to
their attention, they immediately stop. If awareness of the system were
more widespread, these sorts of cases would never occur."
A major part of the work of The Lyon Office work relates to the handling
of applications for arms. These come either from individuals, companies,
clubs or other organisations that want new ones or from people who are
claiming descent from someone who has had arms in the past. In the latter
case, applicants normally seek either to use the same version or a
different version of those arms because of the relationship that they have
with the original holder. |
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Less frequently, the Lyon
Office receives applications from people who wish to register their
genealogical details on the Public Register of Genealogies maintained
there. The office also receives myriad queries relating to use of coats of
arms and of clan insignia and badges, flags and protocol, traditional
Scottish dress and so on.
The volume of queries is
challenging for such a small office. Robin Blair hopes in the future to
move the register of arms on to an electronic database, which would be a
tremendous asset to researchers while easing the pressure on staff. The
availability of such an official website might also help steer researchers
away from the burgeoning number of heraldic websites which claim, often
falsely, to match coats of arms to family names.
Clan chieftainships are another area of activity for the
court. Robin Blair |
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explained that a number of clans that are without chiefs – some for
hundreds of years – are now keen to find one. Interestingly, much of the
litigation coming to the Court of the Lord Lyon over recent years relates
to clan feuding because more than one person claims descent from an
original chieftain. In such cases the Lord Lyon must decide who is the
proper person to assume chieftainship. Many of these cases have been the
subject of appeal from the Lyon Court to the civil courts and ultimately
to the judicial committee of the House of Lords for a final decision.
In cases of granting of arms, meanwhile, it
is the Lord Lyon who makes the final decision. Here he exercises the royal
prerogative, which means he speaks on behalf of the Crown; his decision in
relation to the form of any particular arms is final and there can be no
appeal. |
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Establishing a coat of
arms. So who can use arms and how are the designs determined? The answer
is that anyone wishing to have a Scottish coat of arms must have a
connection with Scotland, either through an ancestor or through ownership
of property in Scotland. To prove Scottish links, applicants must submit
birth certificates or other such evidence. In more complicated
circumstances, many are referred to professional genealogists who will
search for information for them.
Applicants then present a petition, requesting that the Lord Lyon grant
them arms. In the case of a first-time application, that is, from someone
who has no connection to anyone with arms, the petition is fairly
straightforward, simply recording details of the applicant, with reference
to immediate forebears, parents or grand |
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parents for example, if
such details are to be recorded in the register. Where there is no link to
an existing coat of arms, the Lord Lyon agrees with the applicant what
form the arms will take.
The Lord Lyon is
permitted to grant arms to any "virtuous and well-deserving person" with
Scottish connections and he has the final word on what form the arms
should take. Under the Scottish system, if an applicant's name is Scottish
or resembles that of an 'armigerous' person (i.e. a person with arms), the
Lord Lyon first looks at the designs granted to people with similar names;
this reflects the importance of the clan system of identification with a
particular family. Afterwards features personal to the applicant are
incorporated in the design. In all cases the Lyon Clerk drafts the text of
what is to be recorded in the register including the description of the
arms. Then an artist paints the arms and the text is inscribed by a
calligrapher. Finally, the artist and calligrapher produce a duplicate for
the register, a record which is kept for posterity.
"After we have provided
the official version of arms," explains Robin Blair, "applicants are
perfectly free to make whatever use of this they wish – they can have
flags made, glass or signet rings engraved, knives, forks or china
decorated – and, of course, they can use any artists they wish to do
this." |
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There is no family coat
of arms as such in Scotland. A coat of arms is granted to an individual
and belongs uniquely to that person, being passed down from that person to
the eldest son, and then to that eldest son's eldest son and so on down
the male line. In such cases, the arms usually remain unchanged. While the
father still lives, an eldest son can use the father's arms with what is
called a "label": a small three-pointed sign which goes over the top part
of the shield to indicate that he is an heir apparent. The younger sons
can use another "label". A system of different coloured and shaped borders
also distinguishes one member of the family from another.
A limited number of
colours is used heraldically. Among the principal colours, called
tinctures, the principal ones are "gules" for red, "vert" for green,
"azure" blue, and "sable" black. Less frequently used are things like "purpure"
for purple, "murrey" for mulberry and one or two others. Finally there are
the metals, gold and silver, called "or" and "argent", and occasionally
furs like ermine. There is no restriction on the colours chosen for
particular items and, of course, the shades of individual colours
themselves can vary quite considerably.
The combination of shapes
and colours used in the design is important but the individual features
can be depicted in various ways – a lion's head, for example, can be
painted in many different ways, that is up to the artist. Looking through
the registers of arms, it is clear that since 1800 there has been a huge
variation in artistic taste and styles.
Scottish heraldry has
been rather appropriately described as "historical shorthand", heraldic
decoration providing uniquely colourful and evocative clues to the past,
whether through crests adorning buildings, insignia on flags and banners,
badges on uniforms or inscriptions on rings or cutlery. |
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The increasing interest
in it reflects a strong loyalty to Scotland and a widespread desire to
establish or maintain links with particular families or communities. This,
coupled with a widespread appreciation of Scotland's heritage and
pageantry, means that today the historic Court of the Lord Lyon is as busy
as it has ever been, protecting and promoting the country's rich heraldic
tradition.
Contact address: The Court of the Lord Lyon, H.M. New Register House,
Edinburgh EH1 3YT. Tel: +044 (0)31 556 7255 |
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© The Society of Scottish
Armigers last Update
24 Jun 2019
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