Lord Lyon King of Arms
 |
Arms of the Office of the Lord Lyon |
The
Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of
Lyon Court, is the most junior of the
Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the
Scottish official with responsibility for regulating
heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of arms, and serving as the judge of the oldest
Heraldic court in the world that is still in daily operation. The post was formerly held by an important nobleman, whose functions were in practice carried out by his assistant, the Lyon-Depute. The practice of appointing Lyon-Deputes, however, ceased in
1866.
The Lord Lyon is responsible for overseeing state ceremonial in Scotland, for the granting of new
arms to persons or organisations, and for confirming given pedigrees and claims to existing arms.
As a government department, fees paid for granting coats of arms are paid to the Treasury. The misuse of arms is a criminal offence in Scotland, and treated as tax evasion. Prosecutions are brought before Lyon Court, Lord Lyon being the sole judge. Appeals can be made to the
Court of Session in Edinburgh, and ultimately to the
House of Lords in London, following standard legal practice. There is no appeal if the Lord Lyon refuses to grant a coat of arms, as this is not a judicial function, but an exercise of the
Royal Prerogative.
The Lord Lyon has several English equivalents.
* Being responsible for Scottish state ceremonies he parallels the
Earl Marshal in England.
* Lord Lyon is Scotland's only "King of Arms", or a high heraldic officer. England has three: the
Garter Principal, the
Clarenceaux (responsible for southern England), and the
Norroy and Ulster (responsible for northern England and Northern Ireland). Unlike the English
Kings of Arms, he does not need permission from the
Earl Marshal.
* The Court of the Lord Lyon is the heraldic authority for Scotland, much as the
College of Arms is responsible for granting arms in England
Whilst the
Court of Chivalry (which last met in 1954) is a
civil court, the Lyon Court meets often and has criminal jurisdiction. Lord Lyon is empowered to have assumed coats of arms, and whatever they are affixed to, destroyed. As an example, when
Leith Town Hall, now used as a police station, was renovated during the
1990s, several of the coats of arms decorating the Council Chamber were found to be attributed to the wrong person. The police were given special permission to retain the display, on condition that the tourist guides pointed out the historical anomalies.
|
Sir Francis Grant, Lord Lyon King of Arms, H.R.H. The Duke of York, and the Rev. Charles Warr, D.D., Dean of the Thistle, proceding to the Armistice Service at St. Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh in 1933 |
(incomplete)*
Alexander Nairne (1437- 1450)
*
Duncan Dundas (1450-1490)
*
Henry Thomson (1504-1512)
*
Sir William Cumyng (1512-1530)
*
Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount (1530 - 1535)
*
Sir Robert Forman (1535 - 1567)
*
Sir William Stewart (1567 - 1568)
*
Sir David Lindsay of Rathillet (1568 - 1591)
*
Sir David Lindsay of the Mount (1591 - 1621)
*
Sir Jerome Lindsay (1621 - 1630)
*
Sir James Balfour (1630 - 1658)
*
Sir James Campbell (1658 - 1660)
*
Gilbert Stewart (1660)
*
Sir Alexander Dundas (1660 - 1663)
*
Sir Charles Erskine, Bt (1663 - 1677)
*
Sir Alexander Erskine (1677 - 1726)
*
Alexander Badie (1727 - 1754)
*
John Hooke-Campbell (1754 - 1796)
*
Robert Hay-Drummond (1796 - 1804)
*
Thomas Hay-Drummond (1804 - 1866)
*
George Burnett (1866-90)
*
Sir James Balfour Paul (1890 - 1927)
*
Captain George Sitwell Campbell Swinton (1927 - 1929)
*
Sir Francis James Grant (1929 - 1945)
*
Sir Thomas Innes of Learney (1945 - 1969)
*
Sir James Monteith Grant (1969 - 1981)
*
Sir Malcolm Innes of Edingight (1981 - 2001)
*
Robin Orr Blair (2001 - )
*
Official Website of the Court of the Lord Lyon*
The Heraldry Society of Scotland's pages on the Lord Lyon*
The Scottish Court Service's page on the Lord Lyon
