200px A lymphad or galley is a charge used primarily in

Scottish heraldry Heraldry in Scotland, while broadly similar to that practised in England and elsewhere in western Europe, has its own distinctive features. Its heraldic executive is separate from that of the rest of the United Kingdom. Executive The Scottish he ...

. It is a single-masted ship propelled by oars. In addition to the mast and oars, the lymphad has three flags and a basket. The word comes from the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

''long fhada'', meaning a long ship or

birlinn The birlinn ( gd, bìrlinn) or West Highland galley was a wooden vessel propelled by sail and oar, used extensively in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland from the Middle Ages on. Variants of the name in English and Lowland Scots in ...

. It usually indicates a title associated with islands, such as

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 ...

, specifically those on the west coast of Scotland, including the Hebrides - but is not limited to Scottish arms: prominent examples including the coats of arms of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

and

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. Although the drawing of the lymphad for heraldic design purposes naturally became standardized, there are minor differences. These usually involve the position of the sails and oars and the tincture of the flags. There are other variations as well, such as the tincture of the ship. Additionally, the basket may be afire and a crew may be depicted.

Gallery

File:Arms of Hamilton-Arran.svg, Undifferenced arms of the Earl of Arran File:Arms of Somerville-MacAlister of Loup and Kennox 2.svg, Somerville-MacAlister of Loup and Kennox File:Maclean of Duart and Morven arms (2).svg , Maclean of Duart and Morven File:Arms of MacDonell of Glengarry.svg , MacDonell of Glengarry File:Duke of Argyll arms.svg ,

Duke of Argyll Duke of Argyll ( gd, Diùc Earraghàidheil) is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerfu ...

File:Arms of New Zealand.svg ,

File:Inverness.png ,

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in popula ...

Examples

The Captain of

Clan Chattan Clan Chattan ( gd, Na Catanaich or gd, Clann Chatain) is a unique confederation of Highland clans. The clan is distinctive in highland clan history in that it was acknowledged to be a community or confederation, of twelve separate Scottish cla ...

field: Or, lymphad: Azure, sail furled, oars shown in saltire over the boat, flags Gules.

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 ...

field: Or, lymphad: Sable, sail furled, oars in action, flags Gules. MacAlister of the Loup The lymphad is shown on an eagle's breast, Gules, lymphad Sable, sail furled, oars in action, flags Sable. Macdonald, Lord of the Isles field: Or, lymphad Sable, sail furled, oars in action, flags Gules, with an eagle displayed on the boat. MacDougall of MacDougall field: Or, lymphad Sable, sail furled, oars in action, flags Gules, with a fire basket fired on top of the mast. McBain of Kinchyle field: Or, lymphad Azure, sails furled (Argent), oars in saltire, Gules, flags Gules. Macfie of Colonsay field: Or, lymphad Sable, full sails Argent, no oars, flags Gules. MacGillivray of Dunmaglass field: Azure, lymphad Or, sails furled, oars in action, flags Gules.

MacIain of Ardnamurchan The MacDonalds of Ardnamurchan also known as MacIain of Ardnamurchan, or Clan MacIan,{{cite book , last=Coventry , first=Martin , year=2008 , title=Castles of the Clans: The Strongholds and Seats of 750 Scottish Families and Clans , location=Musse ...

field: Or, lymphad Sable, sails furled, oars in action, flags Gules. Mackinnon of Mackinnon field: Or, lymphad Sable, sails furled, oars in saltire, flags Gules. The Mackintosh field: Or, lymphad Azure, sails furled, oars in saltire (gules), flags Gules. Maclachlan of Maclachlan field: Or, lymphad Sable, sail furled, no oars, flags Gules. Maclaren of Maclaren field: Or, lymphad Sable, sail furled, oars in action, flags Sable. Maclean of Duart field: Or, lymphad Sable, sails furled, oars in saltire, flags Gules. MacNeil of Barra field: Or, lymphad Sable, sails furled, oars in action, flags Gules. Cluny Macpherson field: per fesse (divided horizontally) Or and Azure, lymphad Or on the Azure, Azure on the Or (i.e.counterchanged), sails furled, oars in action, flags Gules. The Captain of Clan Ranald field: Or, lymphad Sable, sail furled, oars in saltire, flags Gules. Shaw of Rothiemurchus field: Or, lymphad Azure, sail furled, oars in saltire (azure), flags Gules. Despite the English surname, Shaw, the arms have a "Highland", Gaelic appearance.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (, for, , Scottish Gaelic, Council of the Western Isles) is the local government council for ''Na h-Eileanan Siar'' (the Outer Hebrides) council area of Scotland.

External links

References

{{Reflist Scottish heraldry