Sir Thomas Innes of Learney GCVO WS (26 August 1893 – 16 October 1971) was a Scottish officer of arms who was Lord Lyon from 1945 to 1969.
Sir Thomas Innes of Learney GCVO WS (26 August 1893 – 16 October 1971) was a Scottish officer of arms who was Lord Lyon from 1945 to 1969.
The Scottish Noblesse means nobility in Scotland, including both those with peerage titles as well as those without. The concept was prominently advocated for by Sir Thomas Innes of Learney during his tenure as Carrick Pursuivant of Arms and later Lord Lyon King of Arms.
The concept of noblesse as opposed to "nobility" is old: in 1901 a Canadian heraldist Edward Marion Chadwick discussed the difference between the two in France: "pairie" is similar to English peerage, while noblesse consists of gentlemen commoners. "The King ... was the fountain of hereditary title, but not the fountain of noblesse", and noblesse can be obtained without any royal act.