Finlaggan Pursuivant
Encyclopedia
Private Officer of Arms
A private officer of arms is one of those heralds and pursuivants appointed by great noble houses to handle all heraldic and genealogical questions.-History:...
of the Clan Donald
Clan Donald
Clan Donald is one of the largest Scottish clans. There are numerous branches to the clan. Several of these have chiefs recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms; these are: Clan Macdonald of Sleat, Clan Macdonald of Clanranald, Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, Clan MacDonald of Keppoch, and Clan...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
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The office of Finlaggan Pursuivant is held by Thomas Miers, who was appointed at a ceremony in Edinburgh on 25 July 2009. Mr Miers succeeds the Hon. Adam Robert Bruce
Adam Bruce
-Career:Formerly a solicitor in Edinburgh, Adam Bruce now works in the environmental power industry, having been UK Chief Executive of Airtricity and the Chairman of the British Wind Energy Association, now RenewableUK. He is currently Global Head of Corporate Affairs at Mainstream Renewable Power...
(b. 1968) following his appointment as Unicorn Pursuivant
Unicorn Pursuivant
Unicorn Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a current Scottish pursuivant of arms in Ordinary of the Court of the Lord Lyon.The title was created after 1381, and derived from the unicorn...
. Bruce was appointed by Godfrey James Macdonald, 8th Baron Macdonald of Slate, Chief
Scottish clan
Scottish clans , give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs recognised by the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which acts as an authority concerning matters of heraldry and Coat of Arms...
of the Name and Arms of Macdonald and High Chief of Clan Donald. This post was revived in 2005, after 510 years, in a ceremony attended by Ross Herald of Arms in Ordinary
Ross Herald
Ross Herald of Arms Extraordinary is a current Scottish herald of arms Extraordinary of the Court of the Lord Lyon. The office is however held in Extraordinary after the retirement of the last holder in Ordinary....
from the Court of the Lord Lyon
Court of the Lord Lyon
The Court of the Lord Lyon, also known as the Lyon Court, is a standing court of law which regulates heraldry in Scotland. Like the College of Arms in England it maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, as well as records of...
and the four MacDonald chiefs.
The herald
Herald
A herald, or, more correctly, a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is often applied erroneously to all officers of arms....
ic title, comes from Finlaggan
Finlaggan
Finlaggan is a historic site on Eilean Mòr in Loch Finlaggan. Loch, island, and castle lie around two km to the northwest of Ballygrant on Islay.Finlaggan was the seat of the Lords of the Isles and of Clan Donald...
, near Port Askaig
Port Askaig
Port Askaig is a port village on the east coast of the island of Islay, in Scotland.-Transport:Port Askaig serves as the main port of Islay, sharing passenger services to the Scottish mainland with Port Ellen...
in Islay
Islay
-Prehistory:The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead was found in a field near Bridgend dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far...
, the centre of the realm of the Macdonald Lords of the Isles until they lost power in 1493.
Bruce was inducted as Finlaggan Pursuivant on Saturday, 11 June 2005 at Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
. He was sworn in during the re-creation of an ancient ceremony in front of a hundred Macdonald clansfolk and their supporters by Lord Macdonald with the assistance of Ranald MacDonald of Clan Ranald
Clan MacDonald of Clan Ranald
Clan Macdonald of Clanranald is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald one of the largest Scottish clans. The founder of the Macdonalds of Clanranald is Reginald, 4th great-grandson of Somerled. The Macdonalds of Clanranald descend from Reginald's elder son Allan and the MacDonells of...
, Ranald MacDonell of Glengarry
Clan MacDonnell of Glengarry
Clan MacDonell of Glengarry is a branch of Clan Donald taking its name from Glen Garry where the river Garry runs eastwards through Loch Garry to join the Great Glen about 16 miles north of Fort William...
and Sir Ian Godfrey Bosville Macdonald, 17th Baronet of Sleat
Clan MacDonald of Sleat
Clan Macdonald of Sleat, sometimes known as Clan Donald North and in Gaelic Clann Ùisdein , is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald — one of the largest Scottish clans. The founder of the Macdonalds of Sleat is Ùisdean, 6th great-grandson of Somhairle, a 12th century Rì Innse Gall...
. He took an oath of office to "bear fealty and true service to the high chief of Clan Donald, and the chiefs and high council of the clan". The four chiefs, each dressed in a kilt
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
of his family's tartan
Tartan
Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...
, ceremonially anointed the new pursuivant by sprinkling wine on his head to mark his new position.
The ceremony was conducted in front of a monument to the Massacre of Glencoe
Massacre of Glencoe
Early in the morning of 13 February 1692, in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution and the Jacobite uprising of 1689 led by John Graham of Claverhouse, an infamous massacre took place in Glen Coe, in the Highlands of Scotland. This incident is referred to as the Massacre of Glencoe, or in...
and was led by Portsoy
Portsoy
Portsoy is a burgh in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly in the county of Banffshire. The original name of the town was Pert Soaidh, which translates as 'The wooded place of the warriors...
resident Charles Burnett
Charles Burnett (officer of arms)
Charles John Burnett is a Scottish antiquarian and former officer of arms.Burnett was born in 1940 and educated at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen, and the University of Edinburgh...
, Ross Herald of Arms at the Court of the Lord Lyon
Court of the Lord Lyon
The Court of the Lord Lyon, also known as the Lyon Court, is a standing court of law which regulates heraldry in Scotland. Like the College of Arms in England it maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, as well as records of...
dressed in a tabard
Tabard
A tabard is a short coat, either sleeveless, or with short sleeves or shoulder pieces, which was a common item of men's clothing in the Middle Ages, usually for outdoors. It might be belted, or not...
of the Royal Arms as used in Scotland. Bruce was given a baton of office and donned specially-woven £6,000 gold tabard emblazoned with the arms of Lord Macdonald – a red spread-eagle with a black galley on the breast. Bagpipers provided musical accompaniment.
Mark Dennis, an advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
and heraldist in St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
, designed the ceremony for this occasion, a task made difficult since no records exist of exactly how a pursuivant may have been appointed. He also designed the Finlaggan tabard.
Bruce's installation as Finlaggan marks the revival of the ancient practice of senior clan chiefs having their own private pursuivant
Pursuivant
A pursuivant or, more correctly, pursuivant of arms, is a junior officer of arms. Most pursuivants are attached to official heraldic authorities, such as the College of Arms in London or the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh. In the mediaeval era, many great nobles employed their own officers of...
s to look after matters of clan heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
and genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
. Finlaggan joins that of Slains Pursuivant
Slains Pursuivant
Slains Pursuivant of Arms is a private officer of arms appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of Hay – presently the Earl of Erroll, Lord High Constable of Scotland. It is believed that the Hay family had an officer of arms since the time that the office of Lord High Constable was forfeited by...
to the Earl of Erroll
Earl of Erroll
The Earl of Erroll is an ancient 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 and Lord Slains , both in the Peerage of Scotland. The Earls of Erroll also hold the hereditary office of Lord High Constable...
, Garioch Pursuivant
Garioch Pursuivant
Garioch Pursuivant of Arms is a private officer of arms appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of Mar – presently Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar. From 1975 - 1986 the post was filled by John George Esq. From 1986 to 2008 the post was filled by David Lumsden, Baron of Cushnie Lumsden who...
to the Countess of Mar and Endure Pursuivant
Endure Pursuivant
Endure Pursuivant of Arms is a private officer of arms appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of Lindsay—presently the Earl of Crawford & Balcarres. The current Endure Pursuivant is the Earl's younger son, The Honorable Alexander Walter Lindsay....
of the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres
Earl of Crawford
The title Earl of Crawford is one of the most ancient extant titles in Great Britain, having been created in the Peerage of Scotland for Sir David Lindsay in 1398. It is the premier earldom recorded on the Union Roll.The title has a very complex history...
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