Grave of Sir James Balfour Paul, Dean Cemetery

Sir James Balfour Paul (16 November 1846 – 15 September 1931) was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926.

Life

Paul was born in Edinburgh, the second son of the Rev John Paul of St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh and Margaret Balfour (granddadughter of James Balfour of Pilrig), at their home, 13 George Square, Edinburgh. His great-grandfather was Sir William Moncreiff, 7th Baronet. He was educated at Royal High School and University of Edinburgh. He was admitted an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

in 1870. Thereafter, he was Registrar of Friendly Societies (1879–1890), Treasurer of the Faculty of Advocates (1883–1902), and appointed Lord Lyon King of Arms in 1890. He was created a Knight Bachelor in the 1900 New Year Honours list, and received the knighthood on 9 February 1900. Among his works was '' The Scots Peerage'', a nine-volume series published from 1904 to 1914. He tried two interesting heraldic cases in

Court of the Lord Lyon The Court of the Lord Lyon (the Lyon Court) is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All A ...

, the first being in 1909, when Sir Colin Macrae claimed the right to use the coat of arms as

Chief of the Name The Chief of the Name, or in older English usage Captain of his Nation, is the recognised head of a family or clan (''fine'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic). The term has sometimes been used as a title in Ireland and Scotland. In Ireland In Eliza ...

of Clan Macrae, which was opposed by Colonel

John MacRae-Gilstrap Lieutenant Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap (31 December 1861 – January 1937) was a British army officer and a senior figure of the Clan Macrae. He contested a rival claim to the chiefship of the clan, and in 1912 he purchased and subsequently rest ...

. The second was action brought against Mrs. Fraser Mackenzie by Colonel James Stewart-Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth, in connection with the bearing of arms in right of her father. In the second case, the Lyon's ruling was upheld on appeal by the House of Lords. Shortly before his retirement in 1926, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in the 1926 New Year Honours list. He was also admitted an Esquire and then a Commander of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and was a member of the Royal Societies and University (Edinburgh) Clubs. He was also Secretary of the

Order of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order. The ...

. He gave the Rhind Lectures in 1898, on heraldry. He resided at 30 Heriot Row, Edinburgh. Sir James married, in 1872, Helen Margaret (d. 20 December 1929), daughter of John Nairne Forman of Staffa ( WS). They had four children: three sons and a daughter. One son, John William, also became a heraldic officer, while another, Arthur Forman, became an architect and partner of Robert Rowand Anderson. Sir James is buried with other family in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

in Edinburgh, in the north section immediately east of the opening in the wall between the original cemetery and the north extension.

Published works

* ''History of the Royal Company of Archer'' (1875) * (ed.) Record Series of ''Registrum Magni Sigilli,'' (1882-3) * ''Handbook to the Parliament House'' (1884) * ''Heraldry in relation to Scottish History and Art'' (1890). * ''An Ordinary of Arms Contained in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland'' (1893) 1st ed., (1903) 2nd ed. * ''Memoir and Remains of John M. Gray'' in 2 vols. (1895) * (ed.) '' The Scots Peerage'' Vol. I (1904), with successive volumes up to Vol. IX (1914) * (ed.) ''Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland'' Vols. II-XI, 1900–1916 ** Vol. 2: AD 1500–1504. 1900
Vol. 3: AD 1506–1507. 1901Vol. 4: AD 1507–1513. 1902
Vol. 5: AD 1515–1531. 1903; Vol. 6: AD 1531–1538. 1905;Vol. 7: AD 1538–1541. 1907
Vol. 8: AD 1541–1546. 1908
Vol. 9: AD 1546–1551. 1911; Vol. 10: AD 1551–1559. 1913; Vol. 11: AD 1559–1566. 1916. * "Ancient Artillery, with some notes on Mons Meg" in ''The Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland'', volume 50, 1915–1916, pps: 191–201. * (ed.) Scottish History Society, ''Diary of the Rev. George Ridpath, Minister of Stichill''

Coat of arms

References

Citations

Sources

* * ''Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed, and Official Classes, 1903'', London, p. 1156.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour Paul, James 1846 births 1931 deaths Scottish knights Knights Bachelor Lord Lyon Kings of Arms Scottish genealogists Commanders of the Order of St John Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Faculty of Advocates People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Lawyers from Edinburgh