Scottish Heraldry: A (Surprisingly?) Egalitarian Tradition

This lecture will draw on a wealth of evidence – ranging from Humbie Kirkyard to Robert Burns – to make the case that Scottish Heraldry has always been a surprisingly egalitarian tradition. From its emergence in the late medieval period down through the centuries, heraldry in Scotland has not solely been the preserve of peers and nobles, but has been open to, and embraced by, all ‘vertuous and well-deserving Persones’ for over 350 years.

Professor Gillian Black is Professor of Scots Private Law at the University of Edinburgh, and a Commissioner at the Scottish Law Commission. After qualifying as a solicitor in 2002, she took up a lectureship at Edinburgh Law School in 2005 and completed her PhD on “Publicity Rights in Scots Law” in 2009. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and remains on the non-practising roll of the Law Society of Scotland.

She was appointed Linlithgow Pursuivant Extraordinary in September 2021 and advanced to Carrick Pursuivant in 2024.