About 140 Scottish "heads of name" are entitled to a full coat of arms, where the basic shield is embellished by a helmet, crest and motto, and is held by supporters. Coats of arms date back to medieval times when the head of a major landed family stood in direct feudal relationship to the king. The right to "bear arms" was granted by the king in return for loyalty and the provision of troops in time of royal need. The arms themselves denoted the bearer's status, and in battle were a form of recognition.

The office of Lord Lyon reaches back to the early days of the Kingdom of Scotland, and still exists as an official court of the kingdom, regulating the allocation and use of arms by individuals and institutions. The Lyon Court adjudicates over who has the right to be a head of name and therefore to have a full coat of arms. Lesser coats of arms are granted to individuals in junior relationship to a head of name, and it is quite common in Scotland for institutions -- counties, schools, professional associations and so on -- to ask for and be given coats of arms that they can use.

"Head of name" is a term which covers the whole of Scotland, Highland and Lowland. "Clan" derives from the Gaelic word for children, and is basically a Highland term. The Lyon court makes no distinction between heads of name of what are traditionally clans and those of Lowland families. Names from the south of Scotland such as Douglas or Kerr are not really clans in the way that McLeods or McDonalds are, but they all have equal status and right to bear arms. We Skenes are something of a halfway case -- from Aberdeenshire we are not fully Highland or Lowland.

Heads of name are all "of" somewhere. Agnew of Lochnaw or Rose of Kilravock are two examples of heads of name whose designation comes from old castle properties still owned by the family in question. In general, the designations of heads of name reinforce traditional Scottish connections between names and particular areas of land. But many heads of name are "of that ilk." This rather curious expression is the same as saying Moncrieffe of Moncrieffe, or Brodie of Brodie, or Skene of Skene -- to give three actual examples.

We Skenes are one of the 140 or so families traditionally recognised as entitled to a full coat of arms for our head of name, who is designated Skene of Skene. It is a function of the Lyon Court to give due recognition to our head of name, and to protect his use of the coat of arms he is granted.

To be Skene of Skene is to carry an "honour of Scotland," and the Lyon Court is a purely Scottish institution. Many Scottish heads of name are also bearers of a British title of nobility. I am not, and so am not a member of the House of Lords, a British institution that still has some political role.