New Flag for the Swiss Guard

The Swiss Guard is the Pontifical Swiss Guard of the Holy See stationed at the Vatican in Rome.  The dress uniform is of blue, red, orange and yellow with a distinctly Renaissance appearance, often, probably mistakenly, thought to have been designed by Michelangelo. Their flag carries the arms of the current pope, Pope Francis Bergoglio, the founding pope, Pope Julius II Della Rovere, whose canting "rovere"/oak tree can be seen, and at the centre, the current commandant's arms. The new commander, Christoph Graf, will be sworn in on the 6th May, the anniversary of the Sack of Rome, when the flag will be used for the first time.

Get knitting!

The Heraldry Society of Scotland had a great talk last week on the Coats of Arms of Speakers of the House of Commons by Robert Harrison, who works in the House of Lords. Robert is not ashamed to show off his own coat of arms, as you can see:

Detectives wanted!

Yet again, there has been a theft, on Monday night, from the Thistle Chapel. The thief stole the stall-plate of Alexander Hugh Bruce, 6th Lord Balfour of Burleigh KT GCMG GCVO PC DL JP (1849 – 1921). Here is a picture of it so let us all keep an eye out on Ebay and in local cruio shops.

School heraldry: St Ninian's High School, Eastwood

One of Scotland's top state schools, St Ninian's celebrated its 30th birthday in 2014. Significantly, on its foundation, the Headmaster immediately applied to the Lyon Court for a grant of arms and they are rather splendid: 

"Azure a Celtic cross cantoned between in dexter chief a dove volant descendant and in sinister chief a book expanded Argent binding and fore-edges Gules in dexter base a crozier head contournée and in sinister base a crozier head Argent."

Hamilton Palace reconstructed

Hamilton Palace was demolished in the 1920s, largely because the coalmines which had provided successive dukes with much of their wealth were causing dangerous subsidence. Now much of the old drawing room, which had been dismantled and packed off to America, has been reassembled in the National Museum of Scotland.

Now the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) has created a virtual reconstruction of the Palace HERE.

Bank of Scotland Museum of the Mound

Two minutes' walk from Waverley Station is a fascinating museum you should not miss if you are in Edinburgh: the Bank of Scotland's Museum of the Mound. As well as a very interesting display of coinage and banknotes and as a history of Scotland's oldest bank, there is some good heraldry on display.

The bank's coat of arms, which dates from 1701, is a saltire (St Andrew's cross) for Scotland with gold circles or bezants in between the arms of the cross to suggest coins.

The last one is a very witty roll of winners of the Bank's gold competition with the bank's motto "Tanto uberior" - "so much more plentiful"

Tournament Melée

Here is a poster, painted by Mark Dennis, of a tournament melée as it might have appeared before King Robert the Bruce and Queen Elizabeth to celebrate the first birthday of their son, Prince David (late King David II) on 5th March 1325.

You can identify some of the participants from the key below: