XVIth-century Scottish Armorials

Abstract

In Russia the heraldry of Scotland has been overlooked. Among its heraldic sources, armorials occupy a special place. The appearance of the coats of arms of the Scots is noted in the earliest Scottish «Balliol Armorial» of the 14th century. The next Scottish armorial should be considered the «Bruce Roll» of 1332. Some of the monuments of the codification of Scottish heraldry of the 14th–15th centuries are represented by foreign armorials. Among them, the most representative collection is the «Armorial de Gilles Le Bouvier, dit Berry» of 1448–1457. The «Scots Roll» of 1455–1458 has its place in Scottish heraldry. The 16th century was the «Golden Age» of Scottish armorials. In particular, this is the «secondary» armorial of 1520 on the ceiling of the cathedral in Aberdeen. «The Lindsay Armorial», the author of which was the head of the heraldry of Scotland – the king of arms Lord Lyon, deserves special attention. The peculiarity of the «Lindsay Armorial» is the coats of arms of the Scottish queens from the Stuart family. Their presence is associated with the desire to show the queens of Scotland equal to the English and European ones. Representative paired portraits of kings with their spouses are also present in the «Forman’s Armorial» of 1562. It is possible that R. Forman ordered it together with two other armorials, the «Lambeth Armorial» and the «London Armorial». Among the Scottish armorials of the 16th century, there is also an organized one – the «Slains Armorial» of 1565. The «Seton Armorial» of 1591 contains 422 coats of arms, and the «Hague Armorial» of 1590–1592 contains 971 coats of arms. In the 16th century, Scottish heraldry was repeatedly the subject of legislative initiatives that expanded its rights and powers. In 1672, the wearing of coats of arms not approved by it was declared illegal. Scottish armorials have all the features of European armorials of the 16th century. They are fully integrated into the field of European heraldic tradition and at the same time are examples of Scottish identity.