Heraldry played a very important part in marking the last resting place of the deceased from an early date. In the church at Boxgrove near Chichester in Sussex southern England can be seen numerous instances of the Coats of Arms of medieval persons who are entombed there. In Chichester Cathedral itself there are many other examples of Heraldry, including the tomb of Bishop Robert Sherburne, image above, indeed it would be hard to find a church or cathedral dating prior to 1800 where no arms appear. At Speldurst in Kent, the burial place of the great Waller family there is a collective memorial to the Wallers with their Coats of Arms, showing the shield in miniature hanging from the walnut...
When the two methods used by the English Heralds to control arms, the Visitations and the Court of Chivalry, had been removed there existed no means of controlling arms for 219 years in England and Wales. The ordinary Courts of law had no recognition of Coats of Arms except in what was known as “ names and arms clauses”. These were clauses in a will whereby the person that died willed that the beneficiary should take the name and the Coat of Arms of the deceased as one of the conditions of inheriting his estate. The Probate Court then dealt with the matter and required the person to comply with the deceased wishes as a matter of interpreting and carrying...
The Court of Chivalry became very unpopular, and in 1521 the virtual abolition of the office of High Constable struck a blow at its jurisdiction. In that year Cardinal Wolsey, the powerful minister of Henry VIII, brought about the trial, condemnation and execution of the High Constable, the Duke of Buckingham. Wolsey was of humble origin, the son of a butcher in the town of Ipswich. He hated Buckingham and caused his ruin. When the Emperor Charles V heard of this event he exclaimed “ A butcher’s cur has pulled down the finest buck in England.” After 1521 no High Constable was appointed, except on the day of a Coronation of a King or Queen. The disappearance of the High...
In December 1954 there occurred in England an event of Heraldic importance that is unlikely to have occurred anywhere but England. This was the revival of the Court of Chivalry which had not sat for 219 years. The nature of the Court of Chivalry has been very misunderstood. Its name has been given as that of a Court Military or Court Martial and from this it was assumed that the Court of Chivalry was the origin of the courts martial. This is incorrect and is based on an erroneous translation of the Latin name of the old court, Curia Militaris ( where Miles means knight), and so the correct translation is Court of Knighthood i.e. Court of Chivalry. The Court...
A Pursuivant, or more correctly a pursuivant of arms, is a junior officer of arms. Most pursuivants are a attached to the official heraldic authorities.There are four Pursuivants; Rouge Croix, Blue Mantle, Rouge Dragon and Portcullis. Of the four Pursuivants, Rouge Croix probably derives his title from the red cross of St. George. He was instituted by Henry V. Henry V and Edward III have both been credited with the creation of the Blue Mantle. , the origin of the name coming from the description of the royal arms of France, azure semee de lis ( blue background with a sprinkling of lilies or fleur de lis). Edward III assumed the arms of France in right of his mother as...
