Editing Cadency (section)

=== Scotland ===
The system is very different in Scotland, where every male user of a coat of arms may only use arms recorded, or "matriculated", in the Public Register with a personal variation, appropriate to that person's position in their family, approved  by the heraldic authority for Scotland, the [[Lord Lyon]].  This means that in Scotland no two men can ever simultaneously bear the same arms, even by accident, if they have submitted their position to the Scottish heraldic authorities (which not all do in practice, in Scotland as in England); if they have not done so, the matter falls under statute law and may result in proceedings in the Lyon Court, which is part of the Scots criminal justice system.  To this extent, the [[Law of Arms|law of arms]] is stricter in Scotland than in England where the only legal action possible is a civil action in the Court of Chivalry, which sits extremely rarely and is not an integrated part of the English justice system.

Scotland, like England, uses the [[label (heraldry)|label]] of three points for the eldest son (or female heir presumptive)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Innes of Learney |first=Sir Thomas |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/1647789 |title=Scots heraldry; a practical handbook on the historical principles and modern application of the art and science |date=1956 |publisher=Oliver and Boyd|location=Edinburgh |pages=96 |language=en |oclc=1647789 }}</ref> and a label of five points for the eldest son of the eldest son, and allows the label to be removed as the bearer of the plain coat dies and the eldest son succeeds.
[[Image:Differencing (Scottish heraldry).svg|thumb|Differencing system in Scottish heraldry]]

For cadets other than immediate heirs, Scottish cadency uses a complex and versatile system, applying different kinds of changes in each generation.  First, a [[bordure]] is added in a different [[tincture (heraldry)|tincture]] for each brother.  In subsequent generations the bordure may be divided in two tinctures; the edge of the bordure, or of an [[ordinary (heraldry)|ordinary]] in the base coat, may be changed from straight to indented, engrailed or invected; [[charge (heraldry)|charge]]s may be added.  These variations allow the family tree to be expressed clearly and unambiguously. The system outlined here is a very rough version that gives a flavour of the real thing.

In the Scots heraldic system (which has little to do with the clan system), only one bearer of any given surname may bear plain arms.  Other armigerous persons with the same surname usually have arms derived from the same plain coat; though if actual kinship cannot be established, they must be differenced in a way other than the cadency system mentioned above.