A private officer of arms is one of the

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

s and

pursuivant A pursuivant or, more correctly, pursuivant of arms, is a junior officer of arms. Most pursuivants are attached to official heraldic authorities, such as the College of Arms in London or the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh. In the mediaeval ...

s appointed by great noble houses to handle all

heraldic 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 branc ...

and

genealogical Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinsh ...

questions.

History

Since the development of heraldry in the Middle Ages and the rise of

officers of arms An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions: * to control and initiate armorial matters; * to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state; * to conserve an ...

, noble families have appointed heralds and pursuivants to look after the correct marshalling of their

coats 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 wh ...

and research genealogical links. Many noblemen in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

retained heralds from about 1170 onwards, as did important

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s such as

Sir John Chandos Sir John Chandos, Viscount of Saint-Sauveur in the Cotentin, Constable of Aquitaine, Seneschal of Poitou, (c. 1320 – 31 December 1369) was a medieval English knight who hailed from Radbourne Hall, Derbyshire. Chandos was a close friend of ...

. The heralds were originally concerned with war and tournaments and identifying people by their arms. As such, they naturally developed an interest in genealogy. Formerly, the

Lord of the Isles The Lord of the Isles or King of the Isles ( gd, Triath nan Eilean or ) is a title of Scottish nobility with historical roots that go back beyond the Kingdom of Scotland. It began with Somerled in the 12th century and thereafter the title w ...

had

Ross Herald Ross Herald of Arms Extraordinary is a Scottish herald of arms Extraordinary of the Court of the Lord Lyon. The office is however held in Extraordinary after the retirement of the last holder in Ordinary. The title of the office is derived fro ...

and Islay Pursuivant. On the forfeiture of the Lordship these became, and remain, Royal Officers. In 1725,

Blanc Coursier Herald Blanc Coursier Herald was an officer of arms in England in the 18th and 19th centuries, associated with the Order of the Bath. The name of the office derives from the white horse in the arms of the Hanoverian monarchs. One of the main motivations ...

was created to serve

Prince William, Duke of Cumberland Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (15 April 1721 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S..html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki> N.S.">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html"_;"title="/nowiki>Old_Style_and_New_St ...

, and the tabard of the office includes Prince Williams differenced arms. Today, most officers of arms are employed by state heraldic authorities. There are, however, some private officers that still exist.

Current officers in Scotland

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, there are five private

s of arms that are recognized by the Court of the Lord Lyon King of Arms. These are appointed by clan chiefs to look after matters of clan heraldry and genealogy. The five currently recognized private Scottish pursuivants are listed below: *

Slains Pursuivant Slains Pursuivant of Arms is a private officer of arms appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of Hay – presently the Earl of Erroll, Lord High Constable of Scotland. It is believed that the Hay family had an officer of arms since the ti ...

, appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of

Hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...

– currently the

Earl of Erroll Earl of Erroll () is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay. The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are ''Lord Hay'' (created 1449) and ''Lord Slains'' (1452), both in the Peerage of Scotland. ...

Lord High Constable of Scotland The Lord High Constable is a hereditary, now ceremonial, office of Scotland. In the order of precedence of Scotland, the office traditionally ranks above all titles except those of the Royal Family.p60-61, Bruce, Alistair, Keepers of the King ...

Garioch Pursuivant Garioch Pursuivant of Arms is a private officer of arms appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of Mar – currently Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar. There was a Garioch Pursuivant to the Earl of Mar from at least as early as 1503.Charl ...

, appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of

Mar Mar, mar or MAR may refer to: Culture * Mar or Mor, an honorific in Syriac * Earl of Mar, an earldom in Scotland * MAA (singer) (born 1986), Japanese * Marathi language, by ISO 639-2 language code * March, as an abbreviation for the third mon ...

– currently the Countess of Mar *

Endure Pursuivant Endure Pursuivant of Arms is a private officer of arms appointed in 2006 by the Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force ...

, appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of Lindsay – currently the Earl of Crawford & Balcarres *

Finlaggan Pursuivant Finlaggan Pursuivant of Arms is the private officer of arms of the Clan Donald in Scotland. The office of Finlaggan Pursuivant is held by Thomas Miers, who was appointed at a ceremony in Edinburgh on 25 July 2009. Miers succeeds the Hon. Adam ...

, appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of Macdonald and High Chief of

Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill; Mac Dòmhnaill ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...

– currently the Lord Macdonald of Slate. This post was revived, after five centuries in August 2005 *

Clairinch Pursuivant Clairinsh or Clairinch (Scottish Gaelic: Clàr-Innis) is an island in Loch Lomond, central Scotland. The island lies just east of Inchcailloch, is approximately 1 km SW of Balmaha, and measures 450m NE to SW by 200m at its widest point. T ...

, appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of Buchanan - currently The Buchanan. This post was created on 8 October 2022

King of Arms of the Royal House of the Two Sicilies

In 10 November 1962 Fernando Muñoz Altea was appointed

King of Arms King of Arms is the senior rank of an officer of arms. In many heraldic traditions, only a king of arms has the authority to grant armorial bearings and sometimes certify genealogies and noble titles. In other traditions, the power has been de ...

of the Royal House of the Two Sicilies by the claimant

Prince Ranieri, Duke of Castro , title = Duke of Castro , image = Raniero.jpg , image_size = , caption = Portrayed with a cavalry uniform of the Spanish Army and the Order of Alcántara, c. 1914 , succession = Head of the House of B ...

, and Head of the Royal House. The Kingdom of Sicily did not have actual heralds (to grant coats of arms and issue certificates of nobility) in recent times, but rather a Commission for Titles of Nobility based in Naples until 1861. This commission concerned itself with administration of certain nobiliary institutions and recognition of titles of nobility. Muñoz Altea continued this tradition as a Private Officer of Arms of the Royal House. In addition to his office as King of Arms, Muñoz Altea was a delegate of the

Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (SMOCG) ( it, Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio, es, Sagrada Orden Militar Constantiniana de San Jorge), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order ...

. He died in Mexico City on March 2, 2018.

References

External links

The Court of the Lord LyonThe College of ArmsThe Canadian Heraldic Authority
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History

Current officers in Scotland

King of Arms of the Royal House of the Two Sicilies

See also

References

External links