Protecting the heraldic tradition in
Scotland
An interview with 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 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?
 Robin
Blair, 34th Lord Lyon, 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 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.
"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 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.
"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 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.
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. The Lord Lyon explains 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.
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 grandparents 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."
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. 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: +00 44 (0)31 556 7255
Useful
books on Scottish Heraldry: Scottish Heraldry: An
Invitation, by M D Dennis. The Heraldry Society of Scotland,
Dunfermline, 1999. ISBN 0 9525258 2 8. Available generally in Scotland
and from: Mrs Elizabeth Sharp, The Heraldry Society of Scotland, 44
Seaview Terrace, Edinburgh EH15 2HE (£2.50 plus postage). Scotland's
Heraldic Heritage: The Lion Rejoicing, by C J Burnett, the Ross
Herald, and M D Dennis. The Stationery Office, Edinburgh, 1997, ISBN 0
11 495784 3. Available generally in Scotland.
*The Thistle Chapel in St Giles'
Cathedral was built for Scotland's order of chivalry, the Most Ancient
and Most Noble Order of the Thistle. Each knight's stall is crowned with
the crest from his coat of arms.
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