''The Scots Peerage'' is a nine-volume
book series
A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their pub ...
of the
Scottish nobility
The concept of the Scottish Noblesse, a class of nobles of either peerage or non-peerage rank, was prominently advocated for by Sir Thomas Innes of Learney during his tenure as an officer of arms. Innes of Learney believed that Scottish armigers ...
compiled and edited by
Sir James Balfour Paul
Sir James Balfour Paul (16 November 1846 – 15 September 1931) was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926.
Life
Paul was born in Edinburgh, the second son of the Rev Jo ...
, published in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
from 1904 to 1914. The full title is ''The Scots Peerage: Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, containing an Historical and Genealogical Account of the Nobility of that Kingdom''.
About
The book series, which begins with the
Kings of Scotland
The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the sovereign state, state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thoug ...
, is a comprehensive history of the Scottish peerage, including both extant and extinct titles. It also includes illustrations and
blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...
s of each family's
heraldic achievement
In heraldry, an achievement, armorial achievement or heraldic achievement (historical: hatchment) is a full display or depiction of all the heraldic components to which the bearer of a coat of arms is entitled. An achievement comprises not only ...
:
arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
,
crest
Crest or CREST may refer to:
Buildings
*The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York
*"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York
*Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...
,
supporter
In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up.
Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. However, unlike the coro ...
s and family
motto
A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...
s. Each entry is written by someone "specially acquainted with his subject, a feature of which the editor is justly proud", ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' noted on release of the third volume in 1906.
The full title refers to the earlier work by
Sir Robert Douglas
Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, 6th Baronet (1694 – 24 April 1770) was a notable genealogist responsible for one of the major works on Scottish families, ''The Baronage of Scotland''.
Works
No substantive Scottish peerage had appeared since ...
, who in 1764 published a one-volume book, ''The Peerage of Scotland''. He was working on a second volume, but died in 1770 before it was completed. Editors finished the volume, and it was published in 1798 as ''Baronage of Scotland, Containing an Historical and Genealogical Account of the Gentry of that Kingdom''.
A revised edition was published in 1813, edited by
John Philip Wood
John Philp Wood (died 1838) was a Scottish antiquary and biographer.
Life
His family was from Cramond, near Edinburgh. Though deaf-mute from early childhood, he held for many years the office of auditor of excise in Scotland. Wood died at Edinburg ...
, and received some criticism for errors committed by both Douglas and Wood.
Sir James Balfour Paul
Sir James Balfour Paul (16 November 1846 – 15 September 1931) was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926.
Life
Paul was born in Edinburgh, the second son of the Rev Jo ...
, who served as 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 ...
from 1890 through 1926, wrote of the need for a new authoritative work on the subject to be published. The book is dedicated to
Sir William Fraser
Sir William Augustus Fraser, 4th Baronet (10 February 182617 August 1898), of Pilton House, near Barnstaple, Devon, was an English politician, author and collector. He was elected member of parliament for Barnstaple (Devon) in 1852, and again in ...
, who left in his will funds for "printing works which would tend to elucidate the history and antiquities of Scotland".
In the preface to the first volume, Balfour Paul writes kindly of his predecessors' efforts:
The works both of Douglas and Wood were for their time admirable examples of ability and research. The former author, himself a member of an ancient Scottish house, was in a position which made it easy for him to collect information from the members of the Scottish nobility, and many of their charter-chests were opened to him. But he and his editor, Wood, laborious and painstaking though they were, lived at a period when the historical records of the country were very much less accessible than they now are. With the exception of the Acts of Parliament in an abridged and mutilated form, absolutely nothing in the way of records had in Douglas' days been printed, and references and authorities had to be patiently sought with much expenditure of time and trouble in the badly arranged, insufficiently housed, and wholly unindexed public documents. The natural consequence was that while their information, so far as it dealt with their own times or the generation immediately preceding, was on the whole commendably accurate, the particulars regarding the earlier centuries were scanty and too frequently untrustworthy.
The ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'' stated that ''The Scots Peerage'' was Paul's chief and most lasting contribution to Scottish heraldry:
It was fortunate that a work of this magnitude was completed on the eve of the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. It effectively replaced all former Scottish peerage reference works and, on the whole, was comprehensive and accurate in the information it contained. Unlike ''The Complete Peerage
''The Complete Peerage'' (full title: ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant''; first edition by George Edward Cokayne, Clarenceux King of Arms; 2nd edition revis ...
'' it was not limited to successors to titles of honour and their immediate heirs. Amateurs of quaint and curious footnotes are likely to be disappointed. ''The Scots Peerage'', as Paul acknowledged, was not his work alonehe received much assistance from a well-chosen body of able and learned personsbut there can be no doubt that he inspired the work and deserves most of the credit for it.
Volumes
''The Scots Peerage'' is
out of copyright. Its volumes are available at :
Coats of arms gallery
The
bookplates
An ''Ex Libris'' (from ''ex-librīs'', ), also known as a bookplate (or book-plate, as it was commonly styled until the early 20th century), is a printed or decorative label pasted into a book, often on the front endpaper, to indicate ownership. ...
of coats of arms for each title were made by Graham Johnston, who was herald-painter at the
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 ...
from 1898 to 1927. The illustrations in the first two volumes were of a bold, minimalistic style, which changed in the third volume to a more traditional style.
Image:Coat of Arms of the Earl of Dalhousie.jpg , Arms of the Earl of Dalhousie
Earl of Dalhousie, in the County of Midlothian, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, held by the Chief of Clan Ramsay.
History
The family descends from Sir George Ramsay, who represented Kincardineshire in the Scottish Parliament in 1617. ...
Image:Lord Doune.jpg , Arms of the Lord Doune
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or a ...
Image:Coat of Arms of the Earl of Dundonald.jpg, Arms of the Earl of Dundonald
Earl of Dundonald is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1669 for the Scottish soldier and politician William Cochrane, 1st Lord Cochrane of Dundonald, along with the subsidiary title of Lord Cochrane of Paisley and Ochiltre ...
Image:The Scots Peerage COA Mar and Kellie.jpg, Arms of the Earl of Mar and Kellie
The title Earl of Kellie or Kelly is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1619 for Sir Thomas Erskine, who was Captain of the Guard and Groom of the Stool for James VI. It is named after Barony of Kellie in Fife, Scotland. Since 1875 ...
Image:Coat of Arms of the Earl of Eglinton.jpg, Arms of the Earl of Eglinton and Winton
Image:The Scots Peerage COA Banff.jpg, Arms of the Lord Banff
Lord Banff is an extinct or dormant title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created on 31 August 1642 for Sir George Ogilvy, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a Baronet, of Forglen in the County of Banff, in the baronetage of Nova Scotia ...
Image:The Scots Peerage COA Glasgow.jpg , Arms of the Earl of Glasgow
Earl of Glasgow is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1703 for David Boyle, Lord Boyle.
The first earl was subsequently one of the commissioners who negotiated the Treaty of Union uniting the Kingdom of England and the Kingd ...
Image:The Scots Peerage - Kinnoull arms.jpg, Arms of the Earl of Kinnoull
Earl of Kinnoull (sometimes spelled Earl of Kinnoul) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1633 for George Hay, 1st Viscount of Dupplin. Other associated titles are: ''Viscount Dupplin'' and ''Lord Hay of Kinfauns'' (1627) ...
Image:COA of Viscount Stormont.jpg, Arms of the Viscount Stormont
Viscount of Stormont is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1621 by James VI for his friend and helper Sir David Murray who had saved him from the attack of the Earl of Gowrie in 1600. Murray had already been created Lord Scone ...
Image:The Scots Peerage COA Carnwath.jpg , Arms of the Earl of Carnwath
The title Earl of Carnwath is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created together with the subsidiary title of Lord Dalzell and Liberton, on 21 April 1639 for Robert Dalzell, 2nd Lord Dalzell. His father, Sir Robert Dalzell, had been raised ...
Image:COA of the Earl of Southesk.jpg , Arms of the Earl of Southesk
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
Image:COA of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne.jpg, Arms of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne is a title in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was first created as Earl of Kinghorne in the Peerage of Scotland in 1606 for Patrick Lyon. In 1677, the designation of the earldom c ...
Image:Coat of Arms of Lord Elibank.jpg , Arms of the Lord Elibank
Lord Elibank, of Ettrick Forest in the County of Selkirk, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1643 for Patrick Murray, 1st Lord Elibank, Sir Patrick Murray, 1st Baronet, with remainder to his heirs male whatsoever. He had alr ...
Image:Coat of Arms of the Lord Sempill.jpg, Arms of the Lord Sempill
Lord Sempill (also variously rendered as Semple or Semphill) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in circa 1489 for Sir John Sempill, founder of the collegiate Church of Lochwinnoch. Sempill was killed at the Battle of Flodden ...
Image:Peerage COA Earls of Erroll.jpg, Arms of 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. ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scots Peerage
Scottish books
1900s books
1910s books
Series of books
English-language books
Peerage of Scotland
History books about Scotland
Scottish heraldry
Literature on heraldry
20th-century history books
British biographical dictionaries
Genealogy publications
Scottish genealogy