continued.
Volant also occurs upon record in the 28th Edward III., and Vaillant,
le Roy Vaillant Heraud, and le Roy Vailland, are likewise mentioned in 1395.
Henry V. instituted the office of Garter King of Arms ; but at what
particular period is rather uncertain, although Mr. Anstis has clearly
proved that it must have taken place after the 22nd May, and before
the 3rd September, in the year 1417.
Stephen Martin Leake, Esq., who filled the office, sums up its duties
in the following words : " Garter was instituted by King Henry V., A.D.
1417, for the service of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, which was
made sovereign within the office of arms over all other officers, subject
to the Crown of England, by the name of Garter King of Arms of Eng-
land. In this patent he is styled Principal King of English Arms, and
Principal Officer of Arms of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, and
has power to execute the said office by himself or deputy, being an
herald. By the constitution of his office, he must be a native of Eng-
THE HERALDS AND OFFICERS OF ARMS 35
land, and a gentleman bearing arms. To him belongs the correction
of arms, and all ensigns of honour, usurped or borne unjustly, and also
to grant arms to deserving persons, and supporters to the nobility and
Knights of the Bath ; to go next before the sword in solemn proceed-
ing, none interposing, except the constable and marshal ; to administer
the oath to all the officers of arms ; to have a habit like the registrar
of the order ; baron's service in the court ; lodgings in Windsor Castle ;
to bear his white rod with a banner of the ensigns of the order thereon
before the Sovereign ; also when any lord shall enter the Parliament
chamber, to assign him his place, according to his dignity and degree ;
to carry the ensign of the order to foreign princes, and to do, or pro-
cure to be done, what the Sovereign shall enjoin, relating to the order ;
with other duties incident to his office of principal King of Arms, for
the execution whereof he hath a salary of one hundred pounds a year,
payable at the Exchequer, and an hundred pounds more out of the
revenue of the order, besides fees."
Bath King of Arms was created nth George I., in conformity with
the statutes established by His Majesty for the government of the Order
of the Bath, and in obedience to those statutes was nominated and
created by the Great Master of the Order denominated Bath, and in
Latin, Rex armorum Honoratissimi Ordinis Militaris de Balneo. These
statutes direct that this officer shall, in all the ceremonies of the order,
be habited in a white mantle lined with red, having on the right shoulder
the badge of the order, and under it a surcoat of white silk, lined and
edged with red ; that he shall wear on his breast, hanging to a golden
chain about his neck, an escocheon of gold, enamelled with the arms
of the order, impaling the arms of the Sovereign, crowned with the
Imperial crown. That at all coronations he shall precede the com-
panions of the order, and shall carry and wear his crown as other
Kings of Arms are obliged to do. That the chain, escocheon, rod,
and crown, shall be of the like materials, value, and weight, with those
borne and used by Garter Principal King of Arms, and of the -like
fashion, the before specified variations only excepted : and that besides
the duties required of him in the several other articles of the statutes,
he shall diligently perform whatever the Sovereign or Great Master
shall further command. On the i4th January 1725, His Majesty was
further pleased by his Royal sign-manual, to erect, make, constitute,
and ordain the then Bath King of Arms, Gloucester King of Arms, and
principal Herald of the parts of Wales, and to direct letters patent to
be made out and pass the Great Seal, empowering him to grant arms
and crests to persons residing within the dominions of Wales, either
jointly with Garter, or singly by himself, with the consent and at the
pleasure of the Earl Marshal, or his deputy for the time being, and for
36 A COMPLETE GUIDE TO HERALDRY
the future that the office of Gloucester should be inseparably annexed,
united, and perpetually consolidated with the office of Bath King of
Arms, of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, and Gloucester
King of Arms, and principal Herald of the parts of Wales. And also that
he, for the dignity of the order, should in all assemblies and at all
times have and take place and precedency above and before all other
provincial Kings of Arms whatsoever."
This armorial jurisdiction, however, was subsequently, as has been
previously explained, annulled.
Concerning the heralds Berry remarks : " In former ages, when
honour and chivalry were at their height, these officers were held in
great estimation, as appears by the ceremonies which attended their
creations, which was by the Sovereign himself or by special commission
from him, and, according to Gerard Leigh, was after the following
manner : The King asked the person to be so created whether he were
a gentleman of blood or of second coat-armour ; if he was not, the
King gave him lands and fees, and assigned him and his heirs proper
arms. Then, as the messenger was brought in by the herald of the
province, so the pursuivant was brought in by the eldest herald, who,
at the prince's command, performed all the ceremonies, as turning the
coat of arms, setting the manacles thereof on the arms of the pursuivant,
and putting about his neck the collar of SS, and when he was named,
the prince himself took the cup from the herald, which was gilt, and
poured the water and wine upon the head of the pursuivant, creating
him by the name of our herald, and the King, when the oath was
administered, gave the same cup to the new herald.
Upton sums up the business of a herald thus : That it was their
office to create under officers, to number the people, to commence
treaties of matrimony and of peace between princes, to visit kingdoms
and regions, and to be present at martial exploits, &c., and they were
to wear a coat of their master's arms, wearing the same in conflicts
and tournaments, in riding through foreign countries, and at all great
entertainments, coronations of kings and queens, and the solemnities
of princes, dukes, and other great lords.
In the time of King Richard II. there belonged to the King of
Arms and heralds the following fees, viz. : at the coronation of the
King, a bounty of ^100 ; when the King first displayed his banners,
100 marks ; when the King's son was made a knight, 40 marks ; when
the prince and a duke first display their banners, 20 ; if it be a
marquis, 20 marks ; if an earl, .10 ; if a baron, 5 marks of silver
crowns, of 15 nobles; and if a knight bachelor, newly made a
banneret, 3 marks, or 10 nobles ; when the King is married, the said
Kings of Arms and heralds to have .50 ; when the Queen -has a child
THE HERALDS AND OFFICERS OF ARMS 37
christened, a largess at the Queen's pleasure, or of the lords of the
council, which was sometimes ;ioo, and at others 100 marks, more
or less ; and when she is churched, such another largess ; when
princesses, duchesses, marchionesses, countesses, and baronesses have
a child christened, and when they are churched, a largess suitable to
their quality and pleasure ; as often as the King wears his crown, or
holds Royal state, especially at the four great festivals of Christmas,
Easter, Whitsuntide, and All Saints, to every one of the three Kings of
Arms present when the King goes to the chapel to mass, a largess at
the King's pleasure ; when a maiden princess, or daughter of a duke,
marquis, earl, or baron is married, there belongs to the said Kings of
Arms, if present, the upper garment she is married in ; if there be a
combat within lists, there belong to the Kings of Arms, if present, and
if not to the other heralds present, their pavilions ; and if one of the
combatants is vanquished, the Kings of Arms and heralds who are
present shall have all the accoutrements of the person so vanquished,
and all other armour that falls to the ground ; when subjects rebel,
and fortify any camp or place, and afterwards quit the same, and fly,
without a battle, there appertain to the said Kings of Arms and heralds
who are present all the carts, carriages, and tools left behind ; and, at
New Year's Tide, all the noblemen and knights of the court used to
give the heralds New Year's gifts. Besides the King's heralds, in former
times, divers noblemen had heralds and pursuivants, who went with
their lords, with the King's heralds, when attending the King.
The fees of the King's heralds and pursuivants of arms have since
varied, and, besides fees upon creations of peers, baronets, and knights,
they have still donations for attendance at court upon the festivals of
Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide, All Saints, and St. George's Day ; fees
upon installation of Knights of the Garter and Bath, Royal marriages,
funerals, public solemnities, &c., with small salaries paid from the
Exchequer ; but their ancient fees from the nobility, upon certain
occasions, have been long discontinued, and their principal emolument
arises from grants of arms, the tracing of genealogies, and recording
the same in the Registers of the College of Arms."
The present heralds are six in number, viz. :
Windsor Herald, which title was instituted 38th of Edward III.,
when that monarch was in France.
Chester Herald, instituted in the same reign.
Richmond Herald, instituted by King Edward IV.
Somerset Herald, instituted by King Henry VIII. about the time when
that monarch created his son Henry Fitzroy Duke of Somerset.
York Herald, instituted by King Edward III. in honour of his son,
whom he created Duke of York.
38 A COMPLETE GUIDE TO HERALDRY
Lancaster Herald, also instituted by Edward III. when he created his
son Duke of Lancaster.
The heralds were first incorporated as a college by Richard III.
They were styled the Corporation of Kings, Heralds, and Pursuivants
of Arms.
Concerning Pursuivants of Arms, Berry remarks that these officers,
who are the lowest in degree amongst officers of arms, " were, as the
name implies, followers, marshals, or messengers attendant upon the
heralds. Pursuivants were formerly created by the nobility (who had,
likewise, heralds of arms) with great ceremony in the following manner.
One of the heralds, wearing his master's coat, leading the person to be
created pursuivant by the left hand, and holding a cup full of wine and
water in his right, came into the presence of the lord and master of him
who was to be created, and of whom the herald asked by what name
he would have his pursuivant called, which the lord having mentioned,
the herald then poured part of the wine and water upon his head, calling
him by the name so assigned to him. The herald then took the coat
of his lord, and put it over his head athwart, so that part of the coat
made for the arms before and behind, and the longer part of it on both
sides of the arms of the person created, and in which way the pur-
suivant was always to wear it. This done, an oath of fidelity was ad-
ministered to the new-made pursuivant, and the ceremony concluded."
This curious method of the wearing of the tabard by a pursuivant
has long since been discontinued, if indeed it was ever generally adopted,
a point on which I have by no means been able to satisfy myself.
The appointment of heralds and pursuivants of arms by the nobility
has long been discontinued, and there are now only four pursuivants
belonging to the College of Arms, viz.:
Rouge-Croix, the first in point of antiquity of creation, is so styled
from the red cross of St. George, the Patron Saint of England.
Blue-Mantle, so called by King Edward III., in honour of the French
coat which he assumed, being blue.
Rouge-Dragon, so styled from the red dragon, one of the supporters
of the Royal arms of King Henry VII. (who created this pursuivant),
and also the badge of Wales, and
Portcullis, also instituted by Henry VII., and so named from that
badge, or cognisance, used by him.
The duties of a pursuivant are similar to those of a herald ; he
assists in all public processions, or ceremonies, such as Royal marriages,
funerals, installations, &c., and has certain fees for attendance upon
such occasions. Pursuivants likewise receive fees upon creations of
peers, baronets, and knights, and also donations for attending court
upon the principal festivals of Christmas, Easter, Whit-Sunday, All
THE HERALDS AND OFFICERS OF ARMS 39
Saints, and St. George's Day, and a small salary payable out of the
Exchequer. They wear a tabard of damask silk, embroidered with the
Royal arms, like the heralds, but no collar of SS.
Of the Heraldic Executive in Scotland, Lyon King of Arms (Sir
James Balfour Paul), in his book " Heraldry in relation to Scottish
History and Art," writes : " At one period the Lyon was solemnly
crowned at his inauguration, and vested with his tabard and baton of
office." The ceremony was a very elaborate one, and is fully described
by Sir James Balfour in a MS., now in the Advocates' Library. There
is also an account of the coronation of Sir Alexander Durham, when
Laurie, the minister of the Tron Kirk, preached from the text, " What
shall be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour ? " The
crown was of gold, and exactly similar to the Imperial crown of Scotland,
save that it had no jewels. Now the Lyon's crown is the same as the
English King of Arms. The crown is only worn at Royal coronations.
At that of Charles I. at Edinburgh in 1633, the Lyon carried the vessel
containing the sacred oil. In addition to his strictly armorial appoint-
ment, the Lyon is also a King of Arms of the Most Ancient and Most
Noble Order of the Thistle.
Heralds and pursuivants formed an important part from very early
times not only of the Royal Household, but also of those of the higher
nobility, many of whom had private heralds. Of these officers there
is a very full list given by Dr. Dickson in the preface to the Lord
Treasurer's Accounts. Of heralds who were or ultimately became part
of the King's Household we meet with Rothesay, Marchmont, Snowdon,
Albany, Ross, and Islay ; Ireland, Orkney, and Carrick are also men-
tioned as heralds, but it is doubtful whether the first and last were ever
more than pursuivants. Of the latter class of officers the following
were in the Royal establishment: Carrick, Bute, Dingwall, Kintyre,
Ormonde, Unicorn ; but we also find Aliszai or Alishay, Dragance,
Diligens, Montrose, Falkland, Ireland, Darnaway, Garioch, Ettrick,
Hales, Lindsay, Endure, Douglas, and Angus. Of the latter Garioch
was created by James IV. for his brother John, Earl of Mar ; Hailes
in 1488, when Lord Hailes was made Earl of Bothwell ; while Lindsay
and Endure were both evidently attached to the Lindsay family, as
were Douglas and Angus to the noblemen whose titles they bore. In
1403 Henry IV. of England granted a pursuivant under the title of
Shrewsbury to George, Earl of March, for services rendered at the
battle of that name, but we do not find that the office was continued.
In Scotland heralds appear at an early date, though none are men-
tioned as attending the coronation of Alexander III. in 1249; nor is
there any account of any such officers accompanying that sovereign when
he did homage to Edward I. at Westminster in 1278. In the next
40 A COMPLETE GUIDE TO HERALDRY
century, however, armorial bearings were quite well known in Scotland,
and there is an entry in the Exchequer Rolls on zoth October 1337
of a payment of ^32, 6s. Scots for the making of seventeen armorial
banners, and in 1364 there is another to the heralds for services at the
tournaments ; while William Petilloch, herald, has a grant from David II.
of three husbandlands in Bonjedward, and Allan Fawside gets a gift
of the forfeited estate of one Coupland, a herald (temp. Edward Baliol). 1
The first mention of a herald, under his official designation, which I
have met with in our records occurs in 1365, when there is a confirma-
tion under the Great Seal by David II. of a charter by Dugal M'Dowille
to John Trupour or Trumpour " nunc dicto Carrie heraldo." Sir James
Balfour tells us that the Lyon and his heralds attended the coronation
of Robert II. at Holyrood on 23rd May 1371, but whether or not this
is true and I have not been able to verify it it is certain that a
Lyon Herald existed very shortly after that date, as in the Exchequer
Rolls mention is made of the payment of a certain sum to such an
officer in 1377 ; in 1379 Froissart says that a herald was sent by
Robert II. to London to explain that the truce had been infringed
without his will and against his knowledge, and on 8th April 1381 a
warrant was issued in London for a licence to " Lion Heraud " of the
King of Scots, authorising him to take away a complete suit of armour
which he had bought in that city. It is not, however, till 1388 that
we find Lyon accorded the Royal style. In that year a payment is
made lt Leoni regi heraldorum" but at the audit following the battle of
Otterburn he is called defunctus, which suggests that he had been slain
on that well-fought field. The Lyon appears in several embassies about
this period both to England and France, and one Henry Greve, designed
in the English Issue Rolls as " King of Scottish Heralds," was at the
Tower of London in 1399, either at or immediately after the coronation
of Henry IV. From 1391 onwards there is frequent mention of one
Douglas, "Herald of the King," and in 1421 he is styled "Lyon
Herald/'
Of the German officers of arms they, like the English, are divided
into three classes, known as Wappenkonige, Herolde y and Persevanten.
These, like our own officers, had peculiar titles ; for example Suchenwirt
(an Austrian ducal herald), Lub-den Frumen (a Lichtenstein pursuivant),
Jerusalem (a herald of the Limmer Palatinate), Romreich (an Imperial
herald). About the middle of the sixteenth century, the official names
of the heralds fell into disuse ; they began to make use of their ancestral
names with the title of Edel and Ehrenvest (noble and honourable), but
this did not last long, and the heralds found themselves thrown back
1 Robertson's Index to " Missing Charters."
THE HERALDS AND OFFICERS OF ARMS 41
into the old ways, into which the knightly accoutrements had already
wandered.
The official dress of an officer of arms as such in Great Britain is
merely his tabard (Figs. 13, 14, 15). This garment in style and shape
has remained unchanged in this country from the earliest known period
of which representations of officers of arms exist ; but whilst the tabard
itself has remained unaltered in its style, the arms thereupon have
constantly changed, these always being the arms of the Sovereign for
the time being. The costume worn with the
tabard has naturally been subject to manychanges,
but it is doubtful if any attempt to regulate such
costume was ever officially made prior to the
reign of Queen Victoria. The tabard of a pur-
suivant is of damask silk ; that of a herald, of
satin ; and that of a king of arms, of velvet.
The initial letter on page i is a portrait
of John Smert, Garter King of Arms, and is
taken from the grant of arms to the Tallow
Chandlers' Company, dated 24th September
1456. He is there represented as wearing be-
neath his tabard black breeches and coat, and
a golden crown. But Fig. 15 is actually a
representation of the first Garter King of Arms,
William Bruges, appointed 5th January 1420.
He is represented as carrying a white staff, a
practice which has been recently revived, white
wands being carried by all the heralds at the
public funeral of the Right Hon. W. E. Glad-
stone. In Germany the wands of the heralds
were later painted with the colours of the escut-
cheons of the Sovereign to whom they were
attached. There was until recently no official hat for an officer of
arms in England, and confirmation of this is to be found in the fact
that Dallaway mentions a special licence to Wriothesley Garter
giving him permission to wear a cap on account of his great age.
Obviously, however, a tabard requires other clothing to be worn
with it. The heralds in Scotland, until quite recently, when making
public proclamations were content to appear in the ordinary elastic-
side boots and cloth trousers of everyday life. This gave way for a
brief period, in which Court dress was worn below the tabard, but
now, as in England, the recognised uniform of a member of the Royal
Household is worn. In England, owing to the less frequent cere-
monial appearances of the heralds, and the more scrupulous control
FIG. 15. William Bruges,
the first Garter King
of Arms, appointed 5th
January 1420. (From an
illuminated MS. in the
Museum at Oxford.)
42 A COMPLETE GUIDE TO HERALDRY
which has been exercised, no such anachronisms as were perpetuated
in Scotland have been tolerated, and it has been customary for the
officers of arms to wear their uniform as members of the Sovereign's
Household (in which uniform they attend the levees) beneath the
FIG. 16. A Herald. (Temp. Hen. VIII.)
tabard when making proclamations at the opening of Parliament or
on similar occasions. At a coronation and at some other full State
ceremonies they wear knee-breeches. At the late ceremony of the
coronation of King Edward VII., a head-dress was designed for the
officers of arms. These caps are of black velvet embroidered at the
THE HERALDS AND OFFICERS OF ARMS 43
side with a rose, a thistle, or a harp, respectively for the English,
Scottish, and Irish officers of arms.
A great deal of confusion has arisen between the costume and the
functions of a Herald and a Trumpeter, though the confusion has been
confined to the minds of the uninitiated and the theatrical stage. The
FIG. 17. A State Trumpeter. (Temp. Hen. VIII.)
whole subject was very amusingly dealt with in the Genealogical Magazine
in an article by Mr. G. Ambrose Lee, Bluemantle, and the illustrations
which he gives of the relative dresses of the Heralds and the Trumpeters
at different periods (see Figs. 16-19) are interesting. Briefly, the
matter can be summed up in the statement that there never was a
Trumpeter who made a proclamation, or wore a tabard, and there
never was a Herald who blew a trumpet. The Trumpeters nearly
44 A COMPLETE GUIDE TO HERALDRY
always accompanied the Heralds to proclaim their presence and call
attention to their proclamation.
In France the Heralds were formed into an incorporation by
Charles VI. in 1406, their head being Mountjoye, King of Arms, with
ten heralds and pursuivants under him. It will be noticed that this
incorporation is earlier than that of the College of Arms in England.
FIG. 18. A State Trumpeter and a Herald at the coronation of James I.
The Revolution played havoc with the French Records, and no College
of Arms now exists in France. But it is doubtful whether at any time
it reached the dignity or authority which its English counterpart has
enjoyed in former times.
Fig. 20 represents a French Herald of the early part of the fifteenth
century. It is taken from a representation of the Rally of the Parisians
against King Charles VI. in 1413, to be found in a MS. edition of
Froissart, formerly in the Royal Library at Paris.
All the heralds and Kings of Arms (but not the pursuivants) wear
the curious collar of SS about which there has been so much discussion.
THE HERALDS AND OFFICERS OF ARMS 45
The form has remained unchanged, save that the badge is the badge
for the time being of the Sovereign. The heralds have their collars of
SS of silver, whilst those of a King of Arms are of silver gilt, and
the latter have the further distinction that a portcullis is introduced
on each shoulder. The heralds and Kings of Arms usually place
these collars round their shields in representations of their arms.
Collars of SS are also worn by Serjeants-at-Arms, and by the Lord
Chief Justice.
The English Heralds have no equivalent badge to that which the
FIG. 19. Peace proclaimed at the Royal Exchange after the
Crimean War.
Scottish Heralds wear suspended from their necks by a ribbon. In
Ireland both Heralds and Pursuivants wear a badge.
In addition each King of Arms has his crown ; the only occasion,
however, upon which this is worn being at the ceremony of a coro-
nation. The crown is of silver gilt, formed of a circle upon which is
inscribed part of the first verse of the 5ist Psalm, viz. "Miserere mei
Deus secundum magnam misericordiam tuam " : the rim is surmounted