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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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