Tea at Trianon: Lord Lyon King of Arms

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, January 12, 2025

Lord Lyon King of Arms

The remnants of chivalry. From The Herald:

The Lord Lyon King of Arms holds a unique place in the world of heraldry, perhaps even more unique than his counterparts south of the border. Where in England, Garter and the two provincial Kings of Arms – Clarenceux and Norroy & Ulster – have powers to grant new arms, under the warrant of the Earl Marshal, in Scotland that authority lies with the Lord Lyon, delegated from the Sovereign. In addition to the granting of arms, the Lord Lyon concerns himself with state ceremonial in Scotland, in the same way the Earl Marshal does for England, and with confirming pedigrees, recognising clan chiefs, and presiding as judge over disputes that vary from internal clan successions, the claimants to various titles, and of course infringements on heraldic matters.

That word judge is important, for the Lord Lyon holds a position as a Great Officer of State, one in which he is a judge in a criminal court, as opposed to the Court of Chivalry which is a civil court, and has rarely met in the course of its existence.

When I met with the Lord Lyon over the Christmas period I found a man who is deeply engaged in his craft and acutely aware of the responsibilities he holds. He busies himself – tirelessly, it seems – with the promotion and education of heraldry to a younger generation. He makes many appearances, from school visits to the Highland Games, in the public promotion of his office and heraldry itself. He fully understands the principle that you must be seen to be believed, and it is due to his efforts, and those of his officers of arms, that Scots heraldry is booming, with more and more young people becoming interested and involved at many levels. (Read more.)