Slains Pursuivant of Arms is a

private officer of arms A private officer of arms is one of the heralds and pursuivants appointed by great noble houses to handle all heraldic and genealogical questions. History Since the development of heraldry in the Middle Ages and the rise of officers of arms, nobl ...

appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of Hay – presently 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 ...

. It is believed that the Hay family had an

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

since the time that the office of Lord High Constable was forfeited by the

Comyn family Clan Cumming ( gd, Na Cuimeinich ), also known as Clan Comyn, is a Scottish clan from the central Highlands that played a major role in the history of 13th-century Scotland and in the Wars of Scottish Independence. The Clan Comyn was once the mo ...

and passed to the Hays. The first mention of Slains Pursuivant is from around 1412 when the Earl of Erroll introduced Slains to a guild in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk revived the practice of appointing private officers. Slains Pursuivant is senior among these officers because his master ranks before all

peers Peers may refer to: People * Donald Peers * Edgar Allison Peers, English academician * Gavin Peers * John Peers, Australian tennis player * Kerry Peers * Mark Peers * Michael Peers * Steve Peers * Teddy Peers (1886–1935), Welsh international ...

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 ...

. The present holder of the office is John Malden.

Holders of the office since 1948

*1948–1970

Michael Maclagan Michael Maclagan, (14 April 1914 – 13 August 2003) was a British historian, antiquary and herald. He was Fellow and Tutor in Modern History at Trinity College, Oxford, for more than forty years, a long-serving officer of arms, and Lord Mayor of ...

*1970–1978 Peregrine Moncreiffe *1978–1981

Sir Crispin Agnew of Lochnaw Sir Crispin Hamlyn Agnew of Lochnaw, 11th Baronet, (born 13 May 1944) is a Scottish advocate, herald and former explorer. He is the chief of the ancient Agnew family, and the eleventh holder of the Agnew baronetcy, created in 1629. Agnew is th ...

*1981–2009

Peter Drummond-Murray of Mastrick William Edward Peter Louis Drummond-Murray of Mastrick (24 November 1929 – 13 April 2014) was a Scottish herald, Private Officer of Arms, stockbroker and banker. He was also active in Catholic philanthropy. Biography Educated at Beaumont Co ...

*2009–2016 John Stirling, WS, Solicitor *2016–present R John Malden

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Court of the Lord LyonThe Heraldry Society of Scotland
Offices of arms

Holders of the office since 1948

See also

References

External links