Taken from The Primrose Hackle: Annual Newsletter of The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin, and Halton Regiment), 2022
The Galley of Lorne is one of three of the regiment’s most important symbols, the others being the Boars Head and the cap badge. While it is common knowledge that the Galley is a symbol of Clan Campbell, there is not much else that is widely known about it.
The Galley of Lorne is currently displayed in three important locations. On the sporrans and belt buckles of the regiment, and it also makes up the only charge (symbol) on the regiment’s Camp Flag. Permission for wear of the Galley of Lorne was granted by the Duke of Argyll in 1970. This replaced the dexter (right) facing Boars Head that was worn on the leather sporran, which had been in place from the time the regiment became kilted in 1955.
The Galley of Lorne in heraldic terms is referred to as a Lymphad, which is a charge that is primarily used in Scottish heraldry, found particularly on the west coast of Scotland. The Lymphad will be displayed with a forecastle, a stern castle, and only one mast.
The Lymphad can be found on a number of arms, but to fully understand its origins and the way the name Lorne is associated with Clan Campbell we need to go all the way back to the 6th Century AD, to the Galic Kingdom of Dal Riata, which splintered into various kin groups, one of which was called Cenel Loairn, which included modern-day Lorne and Mull in Scotland. The land would be named Lorn after them.
During the Viking Age Lorn would become part of the Kingdom of the Isles and would at one point be part of the Kingdom of Norway. The Kingdom of the Isles would be captured by Somerled, a Gaelic Norseman who was the brother-in-law to the King, the lands were divided between his sons and Lorn passed to his son Dubgall, who Clan MacDougall is descended from.
The Kingdom of the Isles would not become part of Scotland until 1266 after Norway surrendered the land for a large sum of money. Somerlad had other sons from which the MacDonalds and MacRorys descend. Around the end of the 13th Century, the Scottish throne would be contested between Robert the Bruce and John Balliol. The MacDoubgalls backed Balliol, while the Campbells, MacDonalds, and MacRorys backed Robert the Bruce. After Robert I won the throne, the MacDouglls lands were divided between the MacDonalds and MacRorys with the MacRorys holding Lorn. The head of the MacDonald Clan would soon after be known as Lord of the Isles. The Campbells would receive the shrieval authority over Lorn in 1326. The next Scottish King would revert the lands to the MacDougalls until the last MacDougall Lord of Lorne would die without any legitimate sons. The Lordship of Lorne would pass to the Stewarts who would surrender it in favour of the Lordship of Innermeath. Five years later in 1468 the Lordship would be granted to Colin Campbell, the 1st Earl of Argyll, and have remained with the Clan Campbell since.
It was at this point that the Campbell Arms were quartered (joined to form four parts) with Lorne.
The Lymphad can be found in a number of other arms from the west coast of Scotland, including the Lord of the Isles which would eventually pass from the MacDonalds to the Scottish Crown to be held by the oldest son of the King. The current holder is The Prince of Wales.
Right: The arms of the Duke of Rothesay (The Prince of Wales), for use in Scotland.
The Lymphad is a heraldic depiction of a birlinn, an oared ship that was used extensively on the west coast of Scotland, and that where of a design believed to be of extensive Viking influence. If we were to picture a dragon’s head on one side of the galley, we could easily see its Viking origins. The birlinn was used extensively throughout the medieval period. The Lord of the Isles would maintain the largest fleet in the area. It is not surprising that this would be included in their arms.
Besides the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Argyll, the Lymphad can be found in many arms of families with connections to the area. The arms of New Zealand contain three Lymphads in pale (in a vertical line). More recognizably, the arms and flag of the Province of New Brunswick also contain a Lymphad.
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