One of the most notable Ulster King of Arms was Sir Arthur Vicars, left, who held the post from 1893 until 1908 when he was forced to resign in disgrace due to his part in the theft of the Irish Crown Jewels. The story begins with a report in the London Times of 8 July 1907 that the "Crown Jewels and other Insignia of the Order of St Patrick", popularly known as "The Irish Crown Jewels" had disappeared from a safe in Dublin Castle, Ireland. Inside a safe in the Office of Arms in Dublin Castle were kept the regalia of the Grand Master of the Order of St Patrick. The jewels formed a star with eight points, and a...
The noted heraldic writer Arthur Charles Fox-Davies in his Heraldry Explained ( 1925 ) noted that “ In Ireland there still exists the unique opportunity of obtaining a confirmation of arms upon mere proof of user …… The present regulation is that user must be proved for at least three generations, and be proved also to have existed for one hundred years.” Sir Bernard Burke,image below, who held the office of Ulster King of Arms for nearly 40 years ( 1854 – 1892 ), in the introduction to his Burke’s General Armoury mentions that the confirmation was accompanied by the addition of some slight heraldic difference mark. In Ireland the system of heraldic funerals prevailed as in England but with...
Heraldry in most of Western Europe is highly feudalized and arose in a feudal environment. There are, however, regions of Europe which have their own heraldic jurisdiction, uses and traditions, where feudalism came late, and was imposed on a tribal foundation. Examples of these regions are, in Eastern Europe, Poland and Hungary, and in Western Europe, the Highlands and Isles of Scotland and Ireland and Wales. What occurs in these regions is the overrunning of an allodial society by feudalism. An allodial society is one where property is owned free and clear of any superior landlord and lands are held tribally. All members of a tribe claimed to be of common blood and sooner or later these clan communities had...
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...
