Heraldry plays a major role in Scottish History, since the twelfth century heraldry has been used to determine a person’s identity on the field of battle by means of a ‘Surcoat’ worn over his armour displaying the individuals personal ‘markings’, this allowed his followers to determine his whereabouts during the mêlée of battle, he may well have had this markings displayed on his shield also. (It is not known whether heraldry was first used on a shield or a Surcoat) This practice grew and developed into the art and science of heraldry that we are all familiar with today. Along with this growth, however, was the need to record and regulate its use so that no two people would use the same design (an introduction to this is given on the “Introduction to Heraldry” page) A system of ‘Heralds’ was established and still exists in several countries to this day. In Scotland they exist under the jurisdiction of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms (The Queens heraldic representative in Scotland) In England they are under the jurisdiction of the Earl Marshal and the College of Arms (The Queens heraldic representative in England) There is also the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland, who has jurisdiction over Heraldry in Ireland, The Chief Herald of Canada as well as several others, There are links given below.
One of the greatest attractions of heraldry, for most people, is the incredible beauty and elegance of Heraldic Arms, the skill of the Heraldic artist is second to none. In celebration of this, we have decided to dedicate an area of this site to Heraldry, mainly Scottish, and a selection of Armorial bearings created by the Heraldic Artist’s whose work we consider, in our personal opinion, to be amongst the finest in the world.
An Introduction to Heraldry
This is a good starting point for anyone
interested in Heraldry, it gives a brief introduction to some of the basics
of Arms and the forms of differencing (Introduction
to Heraldry page)
Also, A guide to the Heraldry of the Harden's of Cowdenknowes. The Harden's
of Cowdenknowes are the only Armigerous House of the 'Harden' name in
Scotland and probably all of Great Britain (Harden
Heraldry)
Heraldic Artists
Romilly Squire: Heraldic Artist to the Lyon Court and accomplished Author
Valery & Natalie Yegorov: Heraldic Artists and Pursuivants to the Russian College of Heraldry
Heraldic Authorities
Links to the websites of Heraldic Authorities and Colleges around the world. (Only a few of these have the Authority to Grant Arms, these are indicated by with a *, others are primarily for registering Arms or otherwise advising)
Court of the Lord Lyon* (Scotland)
College of Arms* (England)
Chief Herald of Ireland* (Ireland)
Chief Herald of Canada* (Canada)
Chronicler of Arms* (Spain)
Collegium Heraldicum Russiae (Russia)
Bureau of Heraldry (South Africa)
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