St Catherine's Day

  Today is the feastday of St Catherine of Alexandria, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The famous wheel of her martyrdom appears on many coats of arms worldwide but seems in Scottish Heraldry to be quite rare..

In Volume One of the PRAABS (The Lyon Register) we find two very constrasted brothers, the sons of Rev Patrick Turner, Minister of Dalkeith. The elder, the bloodthirsty soldier Sir James Turner (1615-1686), of whom Daniel Defoe wrote: “ It is impossible to give the details of the cruelties and inhuman usage the poor people suffered from this butcher, for such he was rather than a soldier.”

There is, as usual, no exemplification of the arms in Volume One so here is a rough sketch:

His brother, Rev Archibald Turner (1629-1681), Minister of St Giles, matriculated the same arms with a crescent for difference. 

When in 1886 Sir William Turner, then Professor of Anatomy, later Principal of Edinburgh University, matriculated arms he used the Catherine Wheel and three drops of blood, now guttés de sang in a different arrangement, he also changed the motto but kept the heart crest:

 

In 1956, Major General William Turner, a grandson of Principal Turner through his second son with issue, matriculated again with a bordure Gules:

Another use of the Catherine wheel is in the arms granted in 1784 to James Coulthard of Scotby, Cumbria: Sable three Catherine wheels Argent.

From our files 100 years ago

  From the Lyon Register one hundred years ago, the splendid arms of Arthur Hope Drummond Dickson (November 1925). The probable artist is Graham Johnston who was Herald Painter at the time. The diapering in the chief is particularly fine:

Argent three mullets Gules a chief Azure within a bordure engrailed Ermines charged with three lions'heads erased of the Second langed of the Third.

Scotland Qualifies for World Cup

 Congratulations to the Scottish football team on a glorious victory last night against Denmark and thus qualifying to play in next year's World Cup.

Mull of Kintyre

  Kintyre Pursuivant Extraordinary, Susan Flintoff VR was presented by Mark Dennis with a Scottish snuff mull engraved by Dario Batzella bearing her badge of office as Kintyre - thus creating a mull of Kintyre, the last having been created some 425 million years ago.

Swearing-in of Kintyre Pursuivant Extraordinary

  This evening, the Lord Lyon held a Head Court in Court One of the Court of Session during which he administered the oath of office to Susan Flintoff VR, Kintyre Pursuivant Extraordinary.

Feast of St Margaret

 We mark the feastday of Queen St Margaret with the lovely arms of the High School of Stirling's Former Pupils Association, granted in 1958 when the Herald Painter was Nora Mary Gordon.

The parent arms of the High School of Stirling were granted in 1909 and show a markedly different artistic style. The Herald Painter at the time was Graham Johnston.

Portrait of Rothesay Herald

  A portrait depicting Rothesay Herald, Sheriff George Way of Plean CStJ was unveiled today at Edinburgh's New Club. The painter was Mark Dennis, Advocate, Armorist, former Ross Herald Extraordinary and the designer and creator of the Elizabeth Sword.

The frame is ensigned with a small shield of Plean's coat of arms, painted by Nina Macpherson. The second quarter cotains the arms of the late Romilly Squire, granted to Plean as arms of affection.

Lyon given an Award

  The 70th Annual Dinner of the American-Scottish Foundation was held in the University Club, New York. The Lord Lyon was presented with the 2025 Wallace Award for promoting Scottish/American relations. Guest of Honour was the Foundation's Patron The Duke of Hamilton and Brandon.