Heraldic Times — Royal Arms of Scotland RSS

The establishment of the Lyon office in Scotland consists of three Heralds, Albany, Marchmont, and Rothesay; three ordinary pursuivants, Unicorn, Carrick, and Dingwall or Kintyre; and two pursuivants extraordinary, Linlithgow and Falkland. These officers are members of the Royal Household in Scotland  and wear a special uniform. The arms worn on their tabards ( Herald’s sleeveless coats ) show the lion of Scotland in the first and fourth quarters. There is also an Ormond Pursuivant who takes his name from the Castle of Ormond which was forfeited by the Douglasses on June 9th 1445. Around 1475 King James III of Scotland made his second  son, James, Marquess of Ormond. The first mention of an Ormond Pursuivant occurs in 1488, as...

In Scotland the bearing of arms began around the same time period as in other feudal lands and for a long time followed a procedure similar to that elsewhere. The King instituted his own Heralds, usually giving the duty of Herald to the Royal Bard or Sennachie  ( Gaelic for storyteller). The title Lyon is derived from the lion of  Scotland who is seen in the Scottish royal arms ( see below). In a troubled land like Scotland where conspiracy was always simmering, and the Stuart Kings met with violent ends or led wretched lives, it is not surprising that no Visitations are recorded. Yet in Scotland the practice of Heraldry was to be put upon a firmer foundation than...