Heraldry Society of Scotland

Heraldry Society of Scotland is a learned society dedicated to the study, preservation, and promotion of Scottish heraldry, armory, genealogy, and heraldic art. The society engages amateurs, professional heralds, antiquarians, archivists, and curators across Scotland and internationally, maintaining links with institutions such as the Court of the Lord Lyon, National Records of Scotland, and the British Library. Through lectures, publications, grants, and exhibitions the society fosters research into arms associated with families, clans, municipal corporations, universities, and ecclesiastical bodies.

History

Founded in 1970 by a group of heraldic enthusiasts, antiquarians, and scholars, the society emerged amid renewed interest in Scottish identity following events such as the investiture of the Duke of Rothesay and constitutional debates involving the Scottish Office. Early patrons and correspondents included officers and scholars connected with the Court of the Lord Lyon, the Worshipful Company of Scriveners, the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Over decades the society documented arms recorded in registers maintained by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, collaborated with archivists at the National Records of Scotland, and contributed to exhibitions at the National Museum of Scotland, the National Galleries of Scotland, and the Scottish Parliament. Notable interactions involved figures and institutions like Sir Thomas Innes of Learney, the Lyon Court's official artists, and university heralds at the University of Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews.

Organization and Membership

The society is governed by an elected council composed of officers drawn from professional heralds, genealogists, archivists, librarians, curators, and private members. Membership categories encompass ordinary members, institutional subscribers, corporate patrons, and student associates, attracting individuals affiliated with the Court of the Lord Lyon, the College of Arms, the Society of Genealogists, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and civic bodies such as Glasgow City Council. Institutional relationships extend to the National Library of Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, the Scottish Civic Heraldry Committee, and international partner organizations including the International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences and the Heraldry Society (UK). The society maintains specialist committees on armorial bearings, manuscript collections, and emblematic art, drawing on expertise associated with the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.

Activities and Publications

Regular activities include public lectures, study days, armorial exhibitions, heraldic dinners, and visits to archives and churches where funerary monuments and stained glass preserve historical coats of arms. The society's lecture series has featured speakers connected with the Court of the Lord Lyon, the College of Arms, the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada, and academics from the University of Glasgow and the University of Aberdeen. Annual symposia have explored topics touching on clan heraldry, municipal arms of Aberdeen and Dundee, university armorial bearings at the University of St Andrews, and ecclesiastical heraldry linked to St Giles' Cathedral. The society publishes a quarterly journal and occasional monographs detailing new grants of arms, transcriptions from the Lyon Register, studies of seals associated with the Wars of Scottish Independence, and catalogues of armorial glass from country houses associated with families such as Campbell, Stuart, Gordon, and Douglas. Back issues and indexes have been consulted by researchers at the National Portrait Gallery, the Bodleian Libraries, and the Royal Archives.

Heraldic Research and Grants

A core activity is administering small grants and research awards to support transcription, conservation, and scholarly editions of armorial rolls, matriculation documents, and heraldic manuscripts. Grant recipients have collaborated with repositories including the National Records of Scotland, the National Archives (Kew), and local record offices in Aberdeenshire, Ayrshire, and the Borders to publish inventories of arms associated with regiments such as the Black Watch, civic corporations like Edinburgh Corporation, and landed estates in the Highlands and Islands. The society has funded projects that produced catalogues of painted ceilings, heraldic carved stonework, and armorial tiles linked to sites such as Stirling Castle, Holyrood Palace, Dunnottar Castle, and Iona Abbey. Selection panels have included advisers from the Court of the Lord Lyon, the Royal Collection Trust, the Historic Houses Association, and university departments of history and medieval studies.

Education and Outreach

The society runs outreach aimed at schools, heritage centres, and community projects to teach the history of Scottish armorial bearings and the skills of blazon, tincture identification, and heraldic design. Educational partnerships involve museums and cultural organisations such as the National Museum of Rural Life, local archives in Inverness and Perth, clan centres for Macdonald, MacLeod, and MacGregor, and adult education programmes at institutions like the Open University and City of Glasgow College. Public-facing initiatives have included family history workshops, heraldic design competitions for pupils, guided tours of heraldic collections at university chapels and parish kirks, and collaborative displays with bodies such as the Scottish Civic Trust and the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland. The society also provides advisory resources for civic authorities, community councils, and voluntary museums seeking accurate representation of historic arms.

Category:Learned societies of Scotland Category:Heraldry