James Balfour Paul

Sir James Balfour Paul KCVO CStJ FSAS
Sir James Balfour Paul
Lord Lyon King of Arms
In office 1890–1927
Preceded by	George Burnett
Succeeded by	George Swinton
Personal details
Born	(1846-11-16)16 November 1846 Edinburgh
Died	15 September 1931(1931-09-15) (aged 84) Edinburgh
Resting place	Dean Cemetery
Nationality	Scottish

30 Heriot Row, Edinburgh

The grave of Sir James Balfour Paul, Dean Cemetery

Sir James Balfour Paul (16 November 1846 – 15 September 1931) was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926.

Life

James Balfour Paul was educated at Royal High School and University of Edinburgh.

He was admitted an advocate in 1870. Thereafter, he was Registrar of Friendly Societies (1879–1890), Treasurer of the Faculty of Advocates (1883–1902), and appointed Lord Lyon King of Arms in 1890. He was created a Knight Bachelor in the 1900 New Year Honours list, and received the knighthood on 9 February 1900. Among his works was The Scots Peerage, a nine-volume series published from 1904 to 1914.

He tried two interesting heraldic cases in Court of the Lord Lyon, the first being in 1909, when Sir Colin Macrae claimed the right to use the coat of arms as Chief of the Name of Clan Macrae, which was opposed by Colonel John MacRae-Gilstrap. The second was action brought against Mrs. Fraser Mackenzie by Colonel James Stewart-Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth, in connection with the bearing of arms in right of her father. In the second case, the Lyon's ruling was upheld on appeal by the House of Lords.

Shortly before his retirement in 1926, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in the 1926 New Year Honours list. He was also admitted an Esquire and then a Commander of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and was a member of the Royal Societies and University (Edinburgh) Clubs. He was also Secretary of the Order of the Thistle. He gave the Rhind Lectures in 1898, on heraldry.

Birth, marriage, direct family, and relatives

James Balfour Paul was born in Edinburgh, the second son of the Reverend John Paul of St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh and Margaret Balfour (1807–1860) (granddaughter of James Balfour; 1705–1795; of Pilrig), at their home, 13 George Square, Edinburgh.

James Balfour Paul resided at 30 Heriot Row, Edinburgh. He married, in 1872, Helen Margaret Forman (1851–1929), daughter of John Nairne Forman (1806–1884) of Staffa (WS) and Jane Mitchell (maiden; 1810–1882). They had four children:

1. Their oldest, Lieutenant Colonel John William Balfour Paul DSO (1873–1957) was a Scottish soldier and officer of arms in the Court of the Lord Lyon.
2. Their second oldest, Arthur Forman Balfour Paul (1875–1938), became an architect and partner of Robert Rowand Anderson.
3. Their third oldest, Cuthbert Balfour Paul (1876–1926), became a surgeon.
4. Their youngest, Millicent Jane Balfour Paul (1880–1972), married Alfred Stevenson Balfour, who became a Captain in Royal Indian Marines, and served as aide-de-camp to Governor of Madras. See 1919 New Year Honours (OBE) § Civil Division.

• James Balfour Paul was a nephew of Robert Paul (1788–1866), a church elder, banker, and director of the Commercial Bank of Scotland.
• Rev. William Paul (1754–1802) was his paternal grandfather. Sir William Moncreiff (1706–1767), 7th Baronet, was his great-grandfather.
• He was a second cousin of Sir Frederick Spencer Arnold-Baker (1885–1963), a British lawyer – they had the same great-grandfather, Rev. James Nairne (1750–1819).
• He was a first cousin once removed of Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Edward Nairne kcb (1836–1899) of the British military who served in British India. Paul's great-Grandfather, Rev. James Nairne, was a grandfather of Nairne.

Sir James is buried with other family in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh, in the north section immediately east of the opening in the wall between the original cemetery and the north extension.

Published works

• The History of the Royal Company of Archers, the Queen's Body-Guard for Scotland. 1875. Retrieved 4 March 2025 – via Google Books (Oxford). OCLC 8039728, 931821817.

→ See Royal Company of Archers

• As editor: Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scotorum (Latin) translation → [The Register of the Great Seal of Scotland]. 1882–1883. OCLC 38665920 (all editions).

1. "ᴀ.ᴅ. 1424–1513". 1882 – via Internet Archive (UCLA).
2. "ᴀ.ᴅ. 1513–1546". 1883 – via Internet Archive (UCLA).

• Handbook to the Parliament House. Edinburgh: William Green, publisher. 1884. OCLC 315621609, 1079302250.
• Heraldry in Relation to Scottish History and Art, Being the Rhind Lectures on Archaeology for 1898. Edinburgh: David Douglas, publisher. 1890. Retrieved 4 March 2025 – via HathiTrust. LCCN 01-25112; OCLC 5455166 (all editions).
• Ordinary of Arms Contained in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland (1st ed.). Edinburgh: William Green & Sons. 1893 [1903; 2nd ed.]

→ See Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland

1. Via Internet Archive (UC Libraries) (1st ed.). 1893.
2. Via Internet Archive (Duke University). 1903.

Note: "Ordinary" (as in "ordinary of arms") is a systematic catalog of coats of arms, organized by their primary design elements rather than by the name of the armiger (the person or entity bearing the arms) → See wikipedia article, "Ordinary of arms".

• Memoir and Remains of John M. Gray in 2 vols. (1895)
• As editor: The Scots Peerage Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland Containing an Historical and Genealogical Account of the Nobility of That Kingdom. With Armorial Illustrations. Edinburgh: David Douglas, publisher. 1904–1914 – via HathiTrust. LCCN 05-33339; OCLC 1430137 (all editions).

→ See John Philip Wood

1. Vol. 1. 1904 – via Google Books (Stanford).
2. Vol. 1. 1904 – via Internet Archive (Robarts).
3. Vol. 1. 1904 – via Internet Archive (Allen County Public Library).
4. Vol. 2. 1905 – via Google Books (Michigan).
5. Vol. 3. 1906 – via Internet Archive (Allen County Public Library).
6. Vol. 4. 1907 – via Internet Archive (Allen County Public Library).
7. Vol. 5. 1908 – via Google Books (Michigan).
8. Vol. 6. 1909 – via Internet Archive (Allen County Public Library).
9. Vol. 7. 1910 – via Internet Archive (Allen County Public Library).
10. Vol. 8. 1911 – via Internet Archive (Allen County Public Library).
11. Vol. 9. 1914 – via Google Books (Michigan).

• As editor: Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland (11 Vols. → Paul edited Vols. 2–11). 1900–1916.

Vol. 1 edited by Thomas Dickson.
1. Vol. 1: AD 1473–1498. 1877 – via Google Books (Cal Berkeley).
   James Balfour Paul, editor, henceforth.
2. Vol. 2: AD 1500–1504. 1900 – via Google Books (Cal Berkeley).
3. Vol. 3: AD 1506–1507. 1901 – via Google Books (Oxford).
4. Vol. 3: AD 1506–1507. 1901 – via Google Books (Stanford).
5. Vol. 4: AD 1507–1513. 1902 – via Google Books (Oxford).
6. Vol. 5: AD 1515–1531. 1903 – via Google Books (Harvard).
7. Vol. 6: AD 1531–1538. 1905 – via Google Books (Minnesota).
8. Vol. 7: AD 1538–1541. 1907 – via Google Books (Stanford).
9. Vol. 8: AD 1541–1546. 1908 – via Google Books (Harvard).
10. Vol. 9: AD 1546–1551. 1911 – via Google Books (Michigan).
11. Vol. 10: AD 1551–1559. 1913 – via Google Books (Michigan).
12. Vol. 11: AD 1559–1566. 1916 – via Google Books (Princeton).

• "Ancient Artillery, With Some Notes on Mons Meg". The Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 50: 191–201. 30 November 1916. Retrieved 4 March 2025. ISSN 0081-1564 (journal); doi:10.9750/PSAS.050.191.201 (article); OCLC 9783847762 (article).

→ See Mons Meg.

• As editor: Diary of George Ridpath Minister of Stitchei, 1755-1761. Edinburgh: Scottish History Society. 1922. OCLC 898923826.

→ See George Ridpath.

Coat of arms

Coat of arms of James Balfour Paul Blazon

Crest Not shown → A lion sejant guardant gules, his dexter paw resting upon an escutcheon as in the arms; and in an escroll over the same this Escutcheon Parted per pale, on the dexter side: argent, a lion sejan full-faced gules, holding in the dexter paw a thistle slipped vert, and in the sinister a shield of the second, on a chief azure, a Saint Andrew's Cross of the field (official coat of Lord Lyon King of Arms) on the sinister, or, a chevron indented sable between two lions rampant in chief, and an escutcheon in base gules (Balfour Paul) Motto Not shown → Pro rege et republica ("For King and Commonwealth") Other elements Not shown → Behind the shield are placed in saltire two batons representing that belonging to his office and round the shield is placed a gold collar of SS, and a triple chain also of gold, and depending from it the proper badge of Lyon King of Arms

Heraldic tinctures and hatching for the coat-of-arms of James Balfour Paul

Class:	Metals		Colors
Tincture:	Argent	Or	Gules	Purpure	Sable	Azure	Vert
Hatching:
Non-heraldic  equivalent:	Silver/ White	Gold/ Yellow	Red	Purple	Black	Blue	Green

Bibliography

References

• Athenæum (The). Journal of English and Foreign Literature, Science, the Fine Arts, Music and the Drama. London: Printed by John Edward Francis, Athenæum Press. 1828–1921. OCLC 1403770997 (all editions), 317934190, 1090932253, 930266785.

1. "Scottish History: Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland. Edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, F.S.A., Lord Lyon King of Arms. — Vol. III. ᴀ.ᴅ. 1506–1507. (Edinburgh, H.M. General Register House.)" (review). Issue No. 3854. 7 September 1901. pp. 314–315 – via Internet Archive (Robarts).
2. "Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland. – Vol. IV. 1507–1513. Edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, Lord Lyon King-at-Arms. (Edinburgh, H.M. General Register House.)" (review). Issue No. 3938. 18 April 1903. pp. 492–493 – via Google Books (Stanford).

See General Register House

• Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles. Armorial Families: A Directory of Some Gentlemen of Coat-Armour, Showing which Arms in Use at the Moment are Borne by Legal Authority. Edinburgh: T.C. & E.C. Jack. Retrieved 8 September 2017.

1. 3rd ed. Via HathiTrust (Cal Berkeley). 1899. p. 46.
2. 3rd ed. Via Internet Archive (Cal Berkeley). 1899. p. 46.

• "General Post Office Directory Directory, for Edinburgh and Its Environs". The Post Office Annual Directory. Under the Patronage of Sir Edward S[mith] Lees (1783–1846), Secretary to the General Post-Office for Scotland. Containing an Alphabetical List of the Nobility, Entry, Merchants, and Others, in Edinburgh, Leith, and Newhaven, With an Appendix, and a Street Directory. (27th ed.). National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 29 September 2016.

1. Via Internet Archive (National Library of Scotland). 1832–1833. p. 149.

• Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed, and Official Classes. London: Published by Kelly's Directories, Limited. LCCN 08-5253; OCLC 848314175 (all editions).

1. Via Internet Archive (Robarts Library) (29th ed.). 1903. p. 1156.

• Paul, James Balfour (1846–1931) (1900). Heraldry in Relation to Scottish History and Art, Being the Rhind Lectures on Archaeology for 1898. Edinburgh: David Douglas, publisher – via HathiTrust.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Retrieved February 5, 2018. LCCN 01-25112; OCLC 5455166 (all editions).

1. Via Royal Collection Trust.

See Royal Collection

2. Via Internet Archive (Cal Berkeley).

• Paul, James Balfour (1912). Some Pauls of Glasgow and Their Descendants. The Scanty Record of an Obscure Family (copy 35 of 35). Edinburgh: Thomas and Archibald Constable, Printers to His Majesty (King George V) at the Edinburgh University Press (printed for private circulation). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. OCLC 1157878350 (all editions).

1. Via Internet Archive (National Library of Scotland).

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Front matter: A letter from James Balfour Paul, dated 12 October 1930, to Dickson is pasted in. The letter is on preliminary blank leaf [iii] (counting from assumed [i] on the Half-Title Page – Some Pauls of Glasgow and Their Descendants. The author also penned an inscription on [v] to the National Library of Scotland.

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30 Heriot Row
12 October 1930
Dear Dickson,
Herewith the Paul book as requested. I am afraid it is sadly out of date now as the younger generation has grown and have made their own careers.
Yours sincerely,
J. Balfour Paul

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• Times (The) (1 January 1900). "New Year's Honours". No. 36027. London. p. 9. ISSN 0140-0460.
• Times (The) (16 September 1931). "Sir James Balfour Paul, Scottish Herald and Antiquary" (obituary). No. 45929. p. 17 (col. B) – via Wikisource. ISSN 0140-0460.

General references

• Douglas, Robert, Sir (1904–1914), Paul, James Balfour, Sir (ed.), The Scots Peerage (nine volumes ed.), Wood's, retrieved 4 January 2024{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) – Volume IX contains the index for the other eight volumes.

External links

• Arbuthnot, Sir William, 2nd Baronet of Kittybrewster (1950–2021) (ed.). The Genealogy of the Balfour Family. Archived from the original on 16 August 2002 – via Wayback Machine.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: editors list (link)

1. Alternate archive link. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020 – via Wayback Machine.