Prof Gillian Black appointed Linlithgow Pursuivant Extraordinary
Tue 7 September 2021
Gillian Black, Professor of Scots Private Law at Edinburgh Law School, was appointed Linlithgow Pursuivant Extraordinary in September 2021.
The office of Linlithgow Pursuivant dates from the reign of King James V (1513-1542).
The Court of the Lord Lyon is a standing court of law which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland, as well as records of genealogies.
The Lyon Court is a public body, and the fees for grants of arms are paid to HM Treasury. It is headed by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, who must be legally qualified, as he has criminal jurisdiction in heraldic matters, and the court is fully integrated into the Scottish legal system, including having a dedicated prosecutor, known in Scotland as a procurator fiscal.
Gillian is a Commissioner at the Scottish Law Commission. After qualifying as a solicitor in 2002, she took up a lectureship at Edinburgh Law School in 2005 and completed her PhD on “Publicity Rights in Scots Law” in 2009. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and remains on the non-practising roll of the Law Society of Scotland.