Scotland Heraldry: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:26, 14 December 2007

Heraldry is the designing, use, regulation, and recording of coats of arms and related emblems. Originally, the crown granted coats of arms to individuals—not families or surnames—to identify them in battle. A person entitled to bear arms is called an "Armiger."

An Armiger’s legitimate male descendants can inherit the right to use his coat of arms. However, most Scottish ancestors did not have a coat of arms.

The crown awards the right to use a coat of arms to:

Persons who perform a heroic deed.

Persons who make a notable achievement.

Persons who hold a prominent position.

Such grants are recorded by representatives of the crown called the "King’s Heralds."

In Scotland the heralds work under the direction of the Lord Lyon King of Arms, who is responsible for rights to arms and pedigrees. Heraldic records are housed at the following address:

Court of the Lord Lyon
New Register House
Edinburgh
EH1 3YT
Scotland

In the sixteenth century, heralds visited all parts of Scotland to discover who was using coats of arms. They asked for proof of male descent from the original grantee. These heraldic visitations were recorded in Public Register of all Arms and Bearings, which continues to be expanded and is available at the above address.

Heralds developed terms to describe the records they kept:

Armorials: Alphabetical lists of names with a description, or blazon, of the arms.
Ordinaries: Similar books that describe coats of arms and arrange them according to design. Some minor armigers are not included in any books.

The Family History Library has many books on heraldry, including armorials and ordinaries, laws of heraldry, and explanation of terms. To find their call numbers, look in the Locality Search of the catalog under:

SCOTLAND - HERALDRY

GREAT BRITAIN - HERALDRY

Families who bore heraldic arms are often subjects of books or articles. See the "Genealogy" and "Nobility" sections of this outline.

Web Sites[edit | edit source]

Court of the Lord Lyon: http://www.lyon-court.com/lordlyon/ll_homeTemplate.jsp;jsessionid=398C4AB80E077601E75A2C806A9026AF?p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&pContentID=220&

Public Register of all Arms and Bearings: http://www.heraldry-scotland.co.uk/register.html

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+Heraldry is the designing, use, regulation, and recording of coats of arms and related emblems. Originally, the crown granted coats of arms to individuals—not families or surnames—to identify them in battle. A person entitled to bear arms is called an "Armiger."
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-Heraldry is the designing, use, regulation, and recording of coats of arms and related emblems. Originally, coats of arms were simply "assumed", that is, designed and adopted by the person using them.  Eventually, the crown reserved to itself the right to grant coats of arms to individuals—not families or surnames—and strictly limited the use of assumed arms in Scotland. A person entitled to bear arms is called an "Armiger."
-Scottish heraldry is administered by the [[Lord Lyon]], King of Arms. It has a few idiosyncratic features. Researchers into Scottish heraldry will also come across various clan memorabilia, badges etc.
+An Armiger’s legitimate male descendants can inherit the right to use his coat of arms. However, most Scottish ancestors did not have a coat of arms.
-== Online Resources ==
+The crown awards the right to use a coat of arms to:
-*'''1895''' [https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-57065/armorial-families?s=275764761 Armorial Families] at MyHeritage — index ($)
+* Persons who perform a heroic deed.
-*'''1895''' [https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-57066/armorial-families-part-1?s=275764761 Armorial Families, Part 1] at MyHeritage — index ($)
-*'''1895''' [https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-57067/armorial-families-part-2?s=275764761 Armorial Families, Part 2] at MyHeritage — index ($)
-*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=6326 General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, (60,000 Family Coat of Arms)]] ($)
-*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=48510 The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, 1500's - 1800's] ($)
-*[http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7443 Peerage of Scotland and Ireland, 1700's] ($)
-*[http://www.heraldry-scotland.co.uk/ The Heraldry Society of Scotland] Various indexes
-*[http://heraldry-scotland.co.uk/mitchell-rolls.html The Heraldry Society of Scotland] The Mitchell Rolls
-*Heraldry and Coats of Arms Resources and help pages on [http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?board=430.0 RootsChat Heraldry and Coats of Arms Resources and help pages. (Free)].
-*[https://www.courtofthelordlyon.scot/ Court of the Lord Lyon]
-*[http://www.poms.ac.uk/ People of Medieval Scotland 1093-1314]<br>
+* Persons who make a notable achievement.
-An Armiger’s legitimate male descendants can inherit the right to use his coat of arms, either unchanged (by the eldest son) or with specific differences (for younger sons and their male descendants). However, most Scottish ancestors did not have a coat of arms.
+* Persons who hold a prominent position.
-The crown awards the right to use a coat of arms to:
+Such grants are recorded by representatives of the crown called the "King’s Heralds."
-*Persons who perform a heroic deed.
+In Scotland the heralds work under the direction of the Lord Lyon King of Arms, who is responsible for rights to arms and pedigrees. Heraldic records are housed at the following address:
-*Persons who make a notable achievement.
+'''Court of the Lord Lyon'''<br />New Register House<br />Edinburgh<br />EH1 3YT<br />Scotland
-*Persons who hold a prominent position.
+In the sixteenth century, heralds visited all parts of Scotland to discover who was using coats of arms. They asked for proof of male descent from the original grantee. These heraldic visitations were recorded in Public Register of all Arms and Bearings, which continues to be expanded and is available at the above address.
-Such grants are recorded by representatives of the crown called the "King’s Heralds."
+Heralds developed terms to describe the records they kept:
-In Scotland the heralds work under the direction of the Lord Lyon King of Arms, who is responsible for rights to arms and pedigrees. Heraldic records are housed at the following address:
+* '''Armorials:''' Alphabetical lists of names with a description, or blazon, of the arms.
+* '''Ordinaries:''' Similar books that describe coats of arms and arrange them according to design. Some minor armigers are not included in any books.
-'''Court of the Lord Lyon King of Arms'''<br>New Register House<br>Edinburgh<br>EH1 3YT<br>Scotland
+The Family History Library has many books on heraldry, including armorials and ordinaries, laws of heraldry, and explanation of terms. To find their call numbers, look in the Locality Search of the catalog under:
-Unlike England, where beginning in the sixteenth century heralds visited all parts of England to discover who was using coats of arms, in Scotland by an Act of the Scottish Parliament, the Lord Lyon King of Arms was authorized to keep a Public Register of all Arms and Bearings, beginning in 1672, in which all coats of arms lawfully borne in Scotland were recorded, and which continues to be expanded and is available at the above address.
+SCOTLAND - HERALDRY
-Heralds developed terms to describe the records they kept:
+GREAT BRITAIN - HERALDRY
-*'''Armorials:''' Alphabetical lists of names with a description, or blazon, of the arms.
+Families who bore heraldic arms are often subjects of books or articles. See the "[[Scotland Genealogy|Genealogy]]" and "[[Scotland Nobility|Nobility]]" sections of this outline.
-*'''Ordinaries:''' Similar books that describe coats of arms and arrange them according to design. Some minor armigers are not included in any books.
-The FamilySearch Library has many books on heraldry, including armorials and ordinaries, laws of heraldry, and explanation of terms. To find their call numbers, look in the Locality Search of the catalog under:
+=== Web Sites ===
-SCOTLAND - HERALDRY
+Court of the Lord Lyon: [http://www.lyon-court.com/lordlyon/ll_homeTemplate.jsp;jsessionid=398C4AB80E077601E75A2C806A9026AF?p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&pContentID=220 http://www.lyon-court.com/lordlyon/ll_homeTemplate.jsp;jsessionid=398C4AB80E077601E75A2C806A9026AF?p_applic=CCC&amp;p_service=Content.show&amp;pContentID=220]&amp;
-GREAT BRITAIN - HERALDRY
+Public Register of all Arms and Bearings: http://www.heraldry-scotland.co.uk/register.html
-Families who bore heraldic arms are often subjects of books or articles. See [[Scotland Genealogy]] and [[Scotland Nobility]].
-==Clan Heraldry==
-People who consider themselves to belong to a certain [[Scottish Clan]] are permitted to use a clan badge. The clansmen's badge, consists of their chief's crest surrounded by a strap and buckle device on which the clan chief's motto or slogan is inscribed.
-In addition to the usual heraldry, there is also the matter of [[Scottish Tartans]]. Most families and areas in Scotland have a tartan of some kind, some of more recent origin than others.
-[[Category:Scotland]]
-[[Category:Scotland Heraldry]]