In Part 1 of this series, I told of Frank Darroch's Precious Red Book. Part 2 describes how he applied for and was granted a registered Coat of Arms.
A Coat of Arms has great significance in Europe; the Brits even capitalize the phrase. The concept stems from warring tribes or clans in the Middle Ages. To keep a defeated people from revolting, conquerors would disarm them, then control who would possess weapons. They granted the right to display and bear arms only to those they trusted, such as knighted warriors. Given to the wrong people, the consequences were deadly. For rulers, granting arms was a strategic imperative, controlled through a central registry, and closely monitored. For bearers, a registered Coat of Arms symbolized power and influence.
In the 13th century, suits of armour made it difficult to differentiate knights in battle, so they painted their armorial ensign on their helmets and shields. They also embroidered it on the coat worn over their armour, hence the phrase “Coat of Arms”. It was, and still is, legal property and, as such, at risk of being misappropriated by others. Someone displaying a fraudulent ensign would have been prosecuted. Governments throughout Europe commissioned heralds to ensure each ensign was unique and registered to a specific owner.
In Scotland, the senior herald is called the Lord Lyon King of Arms. He is responsible for granting crests and maintaining the Scottish Public Registers of Arms and Genealogies. He is the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, which oversees disputes and enforces the laws of heraldry. This function is serious business in Scotland.
The Lyon Court, like all Scottish courts, has a public prosecutor to prosecute those who improperly usurp armorial bearings. The court has the power to fine and to ensure items bearing the offending Arms are removed, destroyed, or forfeited.[1]
The Court is the world’s oldest operating heraldic court, stemming from the reign of Robert the Bruce in 1318. Lest you think it is a relic of the past, a recent incident proves otherwise. The Trump Organization was branding commercial properties with a Coat of Arms registered to someone else. That is fine in the USA, but in the United Kingdom, it is heraldry theft. Most countries do not enforce these laws, but Scotland does. In 2011, the Trump Organization tried to use the misappropriated Coat of Arms at an Aberdeen golf course, but the Court of the Lord Lyon stepped in and required the corporation to apply for its own unique ensign.[2]
In fairness, the Trump Corporation may not have realized the need for heraldry registration, for the U.S. has no such registry. On the other hand, Scotland is serious about registration—hence the standoff between a U.S. corporation and the Court of the Lord Lyon.
In 1966, Frank went to Edinburgh to petition a grant, patterned after the crest carved on Mulmorich Darroch’s gravestone. He entered a legal process called a “prayer,” which is a request for the Lord Lyon to devise a Coat of Arms. Frank first had to prove he was a “virtuous and well-deserving person,” a requirement from the 1672 Lyon King of Arms Act.[3]
Next, Frank worked with Sir Thomas Innes (pictured above), to design the arms. The Lord Lyon has full discretion to devise any design he likes, but the process does factor in the applicant's desires. They jointly decided the crest would feature a Highlander in MacDonald Tartan (Darrochs are a sept of that clan). The first quarter depicts a quill pen crossed by a tuning fork, the instrument Frank’s ancestor, Archie Darroch, used to lead singing in church. The motto was determined to be Is Darach Mi Fhein, Gaelic for “Oak is myself.”
After a year of correspondence, Frank received a “Letters Patent from the Lord Lyon King of Arms granting arms to Franklin Wolverton Darroch.”[4] The crest was “differenced” (similar to, but distinct) from the Darroch Clan of Gourock, and Frank was designated a chieftain under that clan chief. A chief is the head of a whole clan, and a chieftain heads one branch.
The document declares Frank and his successors “to be taken, numbered, accounted and received as Nobles in the Noblesse of Scotland” signed and sealed by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. Frank was now a Noble.
When I first drafted this article, I had understood all Darroch descendants would have a claim on this Coat of Arms. Then I found the following on the Lord Lyon Court website:
"There is a widespread misconception that a family or a clan can have a family or clan Coat of Arms. Many heraldic and clan websites and other media suggest that a person has the right to use the family or clan Arms. This is completely incorrect. A Coat of Arms belongs only to one individual person and can only be used by that person and no one else. In order for a person to be able to use a Coat of Arms it is necessary for that individual person to apply for a personal Coat of Arms to be granted to him or her."
My heart sank, for this implies we descendants have no claim on Frank’s legacy. I sent a draft of this article to the Lord Lyon Office, however, and the Secretary clarified that “…the arms were granted to Frank with a declaration allowing all descendants of his great-grandfather [Archibald Darroch] bearing the surname Darroch to record their own version of the arms.”[7]
Archie Darroch is my third-great-grandfather, but I do not bear the Darroch name, so I cannot record my own version of the arms. Nonetheless, I have Darroch DNA in every cell of my body and am proud of it. Therefore, I still lay claim to the motto: Is Darach Mi Fhein—Oak is myself.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Lyon_King_of_Arms, retrieved February 8, 2018.
Joel Gunter, “Right to bear arms? Trump accused of plagiarising family crest,” May 31, 2017 (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40097665)
Lyon King of Arms Act 1672
Emails to Doug Robertson from Lorna Irving, Secretary to Lyon Office, on February 13-14, 2018 (emphasis mine).
See Frank’s full story in A Darroch Family in Scotland and in Canada, pp. 46-47 or at http://darroch.org/darroch_mulmorich.html.
Photograph of Sir Thomas Innes of Learney (1945-1969) courtesy of Boven at en.wikipedia.
Image of Frank Darroch's Coat of Arms and Motto, courtesy of darroch.org, 2018.
Photograph of Chieftain document by Steven Darroch, 2018.