Arms

Durie Coats of Arms

Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as "Durie arms".

By their very nature, Arms can only belong to one person at a time. There is no such thing as "family Arms" or a "Clan crest" and no-one has the right to display Arms in Scotland without having these granted and registered by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, essentially the senior judge in the Scottish court of Heraldry, and with quasi-regal powers.

Not only is it illegal to bear Arms that have not been specifically awarded by the Lord Lyon, it is also illegal to invent Arms or to use existing or invented Arms.

No two people can bear the same Arms, but as heritable property they are inherited by the petitioner's heir, normally his eldest son, and by his eldest son in turn. The father's Arms can be matriculated in favour of the son upon death and succession, but this is not automatic - the matriculation process must be gone through before there is "achievement" of Arms.

Younger children inherit only a right to matriculate the Arms with a slight difference added, and they must petition separately for this to be done.

On the other hand, most individuals of Scottish descent, and who are "worthy and virtuous" can be granted Arms. These are based on the Arms of the chief of that name, even when there is distant or no blood relationship.

Scottish Arms are therefore more traditional and use mediaeval charges and patterns of charges, unlike English and other Arms. Scottish heraldry differs in many other respects from English and other European heraldries.

The earliest recorded Durie Arms

TODO

The Badge or "Crest"

While most Duries will not have Arms, we can all wear the Chief's badge to indicate our fealty and our membership in the family. These are derived from the crest that tops the helmet in the chief's Arms - in this case, a crescent. Note that badges, which are normally made of metal, are not coloured. They can be worn as cap badges (the original use) and as kilt-pins, brooches, belt buckles etc.