A consequence of the COVID-19 lockdown is that the great majority of schools, colleges and universities have closed as far as physical premises are concerned. This has naturally forced a major surge in online learning as institutions scramble to keep their curricula going on a remote basis.

Heraldry has doubtfully ever been considered a core subject, and indeed neither the College of Arms nor the Lyon Court are considered essential businesses. Both have closed their offices to the public. The latter has attempted to compensate, and perhaps keep children busy, by releasing a rudimentary online course in Scottish heraldry.

The content is rather basic and most hobbyists will not learn anything new from it, but it is pleasing to see that an effort has been made. As I and others have noted, the proliferation of knowledge in this subject online has been rather slow and haphazard, relying mainly on a small smattering of hobbyists who use whatever reference materials they can obtain – typically those which are out of copyright and thus septuagenarian or older. The present circumstances may finally see some progress on this front, though of course it is still much too early to tell.