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Arms
are heritable property, and on the original owner's death they descend
in terms of the destination, but usually to his eldest son, and in turn
to his eldest son, and so on for ever. A younger brother may inherit his
father's Arms if the elder brother dies first and leaves no heirs of his
own. Otherwise younger sons and their descendants inherit a right to
apply for a Matriculation of their ancestral Arms with a small mark of
difference added, appropriate to their place in the family.
A
descendant applying for Arms is called the Petitioner, and he should
submit a formal Petition to the Lord Lyon King of Arms, drawn up as in
the
fictitious specimen. In it he should set out his descent from the
ancestor who had recorded Arms and ask for the Arms to be "matriculated"
in his own name with a suitable mark of difference.
At the top, the Petitioner should state his Christian names in full and
his surname, followed by any rank, decorations, academic qualifications
and honours, profession or occupation, and "residing at...." followed by
his address in full. Beneath "HUMBLY SHEWETH" the Petitioner should set
out his ancestry, back to the ancestor who had recorded Arms. This
should be done in numbered paragraphs, one to each generation, in the
way shown in the specimen. Proof of each fact stated is required and
accompanied by a
Schedule of Proofs. Beneath the last paragraph of the ancestry, in a
separate paragraph, the Petitioner should set out the record of his
ancestor's Arms in the Public Register of All Arms Bearings in Scotland
in the way shown. Finally he should formally state his wish in the
wording shown on paragraph 5, and repeat this wish in the formal Prayer
at the end in the wording shown opposite.
The completed Petition should then be signed and dated and sent with its
accompanying Certificates of Birth and Marriage and the Schedule of
Proofs to the Lyon Clerk at the Court of the Lord Lyon. While the Arms
will resemble the ancestor's, the Crest and Motto can vary considerably
from the ancestor's, perhaps reflecting the Petitioner's own occupation
and outlook on life. The Lord Lyon will welcome the Petitioner's own
views, and will discuss them with the Petitioner.
When these matters have been agreed, the Petitioner will receive for his
approval a draft text for his Matriculation of Arms document, which is
his title deed to the Arms, and a note of the
fees due at
this point.
Once the draft text has been approved and the fees paid by the
Petitioner, the Lyon Clerk will in due course send him his Extract of
Matriculation. A copy of the Arms and the text of the document is placed
on record in name of the Petitioner in the Public Register of All Arms
and Bearings in Scotland, and the process is complete. |
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