Coat of Arms of the Court of the Lord Lyon

William David Hamilton Sellar, MVO, FRHistS,

FSA (Scot) 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 ...

, FRHSC (Hon) (27 February 1941 – 26 January 2019) served as

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 2008 to 2014. He was married, with three adult sons and a step-son. RVO-Star (MVO)

Sellar read history at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

graduating as

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

before gaining a law degree (

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

) from the

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 qualified as a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

solicitor in 1966, and after two years as a legal assessor with the Scottish Land Court joined in 1968 the

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

at the

, where he was elected an Honorary Fellow. Sellar wrote about the

Lordship 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 ...

and on the origins of many

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

families. He served as a Member of the

Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) was an executive Scottish public bodies, non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government that was "sponsored" inanced and with oversightthrough Histo ...

, was President of the Scottish Genealogy Society and sat on the council of the Heraldry Society of Scotland, and as Vice-President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. He was the O'Donnell Lecturer, in Celtic Studies, at Edinburgh in 1985 and the Rhind Lecturer for the Society of Antiquaries in 2000. He held the office of Bute Pursuivant of Arms from 2001 until his appointment in 2008 as Lord Lyon King of Arms. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (FSA Scot) and a

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

(FRHistS), Sellar was appointed

Member 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 ...

(MVO) in the 2014 New Year Honours in anticipation of his retirement from the office of Lord Lyon. Upon retirement, he was appointed Islay Herald Extraordinary. He died on 26 January 2019. His funeral took place in the Lorimer chapel at Warriston Crematorium, Edinburgh, on Saturday 23 February 2019, with standing room only, followed by a reception in the Playfair Library at Edinburgh University.

Arms

References

External links

www.scottishlegal.com
Photograph and painting
www.law.ed.ac.ukwww.scotsheraldry.comwww.scotland.gov.ukwww.lyon-court.comWorks by Sellar (William David Hamilton) (1941 – 2019)
at bill.celt.dias.ie 1941 births 2019 deaths Scottish legal scholars 20th-century Scottish historians Legal historians Lord Lyon Kings of Arms Academics of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Members of the Royal Victorian Order Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland {{heraldry-stub