Royal Burgh of Falkland
“Discite Justitiam Moniti Non Temnere Christum”
“Learn righteousness and take heed not to despise Christ”
One of four Royal Burghs which is quite special since it was never represented in Parliament, or in the Convention of Royal Burghs until modern times, they are known to historians as the four inactive Royal Burghs of Fife.
King James II created Falkland a Royal Burgh in 1458.
The arms repeat the device on the Burgh seal of which a seventeenth century impression is on record.
The stag resting under the blue sky in the shade of a great oak tree refers to the Royal hunting Forest of Falkland, which was cut down by Cromwellian forces in 1652 to supply wood for the construction of a fort at Dundee; the Castle and later the Palace of Falkland were favourite holiday residences of Scottish Kings from James I to James VI.