Coat of arms of Edinburgh
| Arms of Edinburgh | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Details | |
| Armiger | The City of Edinburgh Council |
| Adopted | 1732 |
| Crest | An anchor tethered about with a cable all Proper |
| Escutcheon | Argent, a castle triple-towered and embattled Sable, masoned of the First and topped with three fans Gules, windows and portcullis shut of the Last, situate on a rock Proper |
| Supporters | A woman richly attired with her hair hanging over her shoulders, and a doe, both Proper |
| Motto | Nisi Dominus Frustra ("without the Lord, [all is] in vain") |
The arms of the city of Edinburgh, more properly the arms of the city council, were registered with the Lord Lyon King of Arms in 1732, having been used unofficially for several centuries previously. The central symbol is a heraldic castle, representing Edinburgh Castle.
The castle represents Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh's principal landmark. The crest, an anchor, represents the Lord Provost's position as Admiral of the Firth of Forth. The dexter supporter, a "woman richly attired with her hair hanging over her shoulders" represents the fact that Edinburgh Castle was historically known as the "Castle of the Maidens" probably due to it being used to protect princesses and noblewomen in times of war. The sinister supporter, a doe, recalls the city's patron saint St Giles who spent much of his life in solitude in the forests of Provence with only a doe for company.
The motto Nisi Dominus Frustra means "Except the Lord in Vain", a shortened version of a verse from Psalm 127: "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."
From the 14th century, if not earlier, Edinburgh, like Scotland's other royal burghs, used armorial devices in many ways, including on seals. The coat of arms was formally granted by the Lord Lyon King of Arms in 1732, and recorded in Volume 1 of the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland.
In Scotland, it is a statutory requirement to register armorial bearings with the Lord Lyon, who is responsible for regulating the system of Scottish heraldry, in a process known as "matriculation". In 1732, an action was begun against Edinburgh Town Council for failing to matriculate its burgh arms; whereupon the Council obtained a legal opinion "that the town would not be bound in law to matriculat". Edinburgh asked the Convention of Royal Burghs to make this a test case. The Convention approved expenditure to defend the action and the Town Treasurer's Accounts recorded an entry for legal fees, but no record exists of any subsequent action, suggesting that the case was dropped.
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