The Pride of Lyons
Speaker: Mark Dennis, Advocate and Armorist
For at least seven hundred years Scotland has always had two kings: our Sovereigns, of course, but also their ‘familiar daylie servitour’, their Lord Lyon, King of Arms. Still one of the great officers of state, our Lyons have managed royal and national ceremony, acted as ambassadors and headed the heraldic executive through the rise and fall of dynasties, interregna, and both foreign and civil wars. Their stories are as varied and volatile as the times in which they served. This talk may be seen as a genial ‘photo safari’ of our Lyons across the broad savannah of Scots history from the, relative, safety of the 21st century.
Council Chamber, Town House, Broad Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1LP 
16/03/2022 6:30pm Registration, 7pm Start, 8pm to 9pm Reception
Book here
Mark Dennis
Mark Dennis is a lawyer. Born and raised in California’s wine country, he met the woman he would marry when they were doing graduate degrees in England. They returned to California where he practised law and she was a research biochemist. In 1994 she was head-hunted by St Andrews University, and the daring decision was taken to relocate the family to Scotland. Mr Dennis requalified at the Scots Bar as an Advocate and has served as a tribunal judge for over twenty years. Indulging a life-long interest, he has written and lectured extensively on Scots heraldry and is a proficient heraldic artist. Now vice president, he was chairman of The Heraldry Society of Scotland from 2008-2014. In 2009 he was made an Officer of Arms as Ormond Pursuivant, and retired from the Lyon Court at age 70 in 2020 as Ross Herald Extraordinary.