Sir James Balfour Paul (16 November 1846 – 15 September 1931) was the

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grant ...

, the officer responsible for heraldry in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, from 1890 until the end of 1926.

Life

Paul was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, the second son of the Reverend John Paul of

St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh The Parish Church of St Cuthbert is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in central Edinburgh. Probably founded in the 7th century, the church once covered an extensive parish around the Old Town of Edinburgh, burgh of Edinburgh. The church' ...

and Margaret Balfour (granddaughter of James Balfour of

Pilrig Pilrig is an area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The name probably derives from the long field (rig) on which a peel tower (pil/peel) stood. There is evidence of a peel tower situated on an area of higher ground above the Water of ...

), at their home, 13

George Square, Edinburgh George Square ( gd, Ceàrnag Sheòrais) is a city square in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is in the south of the city centre, adjacent to the Meadows. It was laid out in 1766 outside the overcrowded Old Town, and was a popular residential area for E ...

. His great-grandfather was Sir William Moncreiff, 7th Baronet. He was educated at Royal High School and

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He was admitted an advocate in 1870. Thereafter, he was Registrar of

Friendly Societies A friendly society (sometimes called a benefit society, mutual aid society, benevolent society, fraternal organization or ROSCA) is a mutual association for the purposes of insurance, pensions, savings or cooperative banking. It is a mutual org ...

(1879–1890), Treasurer of the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constit ...

(1883–1902), and appointed Lord Lyon King of Arms in 1890. He was created a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in the

1900 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1900 were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and British India. The list was published in ''The Times'' on 1 January 1900, and the various honours were gazetted in ''The London ...

list, and received the knighthood on 9 February 1900. Among his works was ''

The Scots Peerage ''The Scots Peerage'' is a nine-volume book series of the Scottish nobility compiled and edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, published in Edinburgh from 1904 to 1914. The full title is ''The Scots Peerage: Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Rober ...

'', a nine-volume series published from 1904 to 1914. He tried two interesting heraldic cases in Court of the Lord Lyon, the first being in 1909, when Sir Colin Macrae claimed the right to use the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

as Chief of the Name of

Clan Macrae The Clan Macrae is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan has no chief; it is therefore considered an armigerous clan. Surname The surname Macrae (and its variations) is an anglicisation of the patronymic from the Gaelic personal name ''MacRaith' ...

, 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 resto ...

. The second was action brought against Mrs. Fraser Mackenzie by Colonel

James Stewart-Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth Colonel James Alexander Francis Humberston Stewart-Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth, (9 November 1847 – 3 March 1923) was a Scottish soldier, who was regarded by many as chief of Clan Mackenzie. Stewart-Mackenzie was the son of Keith William St ...

, 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 The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. Shortly before his retirement in 1926, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(KCVO) in the

1926 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1926 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 29 December 1925. The recipients of honours are displayed here ...

list. He was also admitted an Esquire and then a Commander of the

Order of St John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

, elected a Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usua ...

, and was a member of the Royal Societies and University (Edinburgh) Clubs. He was also Secretary of the Order of the Thistle. 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 Staffa ( gd, Stafa, , from the Old Norse for stave or pillar island) is an island of the Inner Hebrides in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The Vikings gave it this name as its columnar basalt reminded them of their houses, which were built from ver ...

( WS). They had four children: three sons and a daughter. One son, John William, also became a heraldic officer, while another,

Arthur Forman Arthur Francis Emilius Forman (26 July 1850 – 13 February 1905) was an English schoolmaster and cricketer who played for Derbyshire between 1877 and 1882. Forman was the son of Richard Forman of Gibraltar and his wife Mary Heath, daughter of ...

, became an architect and partner of

Robert Rowand Anderson Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, (5 April 1834 – 1 June 1921) was a Scottish Victorian architect. Anderson trained in the office of George Gilbert Scott in London before setting up his own practice in Edinburgh in 1860. During the 1860s his ...

. Sir James is buried with other family in Dean Cemetery 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'' (1882–1883) * ''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 The Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, established in 1672, is an official register of Scottish coats of arms maintained by the Lyon Clerk and Keeper of the Records. As a public register, it can be seen by anyone on application, ...

'' (1893) 1st ed., (1903) 2nd ed. * ''Memoir and Remains of John M. Gray'' in 2 vols. (1895) * (ed.) ''

'' 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

'', volume 50, 1915–1916, pps: 191–201 * (ed.)

Scottish History Society The Scottish History Society is a historical and text publication society, which promotes the study of and research in the history of Scotland. It was founded in 1886, as part of the late 19th-century revival in interest in Scottish national i ...

, ''Diary of George Ridpath, Minister of Stitchell, 1755–1761'' (1922)

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