Herald :: Essays Papers

Herald The Webster’s dictionary defines a herald as an official at a tournament of arms with duties including the making of announcements and the marshaling of combatants. This simple definition just barely scraps the surface of what a herald actually is. The office of herald has changed immensely over the centuries, as they became more dignified figures in the chivalrous world. The earliest record of a herald just mentions him as a messenger in war. He was a medieval officer in charge of carrying messages to and from the commanders of opposing armies. As we will see, this simple office turns into a complicated job that is still around in today’s society. In the twelfth century, the herald’s job grew to consist of announcing and conducting tournaments. This included announcing the proclamation of each joust and the name of each combatant. It became essential for the herald to be able to recognize the arms of the local nobles and thus become familiar with their family lineage. This ability became useful in combat, seeing how the heralds could recognize the opposing armies’ leader from the coat painted on his shield. The shield was the obvious place to paint the coat of arms since it had the largest surface area. With this knowledge of the different coats, one of the original roles of heralds was to identify and catalogue the arms of the men who had gathered at tournaments. Thus, heralds made a living by the perilous favorite sport of the nobility. Throughout the thirteenth century heralds began to serve nobles on a more permanent basis. They even wore the coat of arms of their master. Then, in the fourteenth century, heralds achieved an established position and were dignified figures in the chivalric world. Heralds of this century were acknowledged experts in armory and in all matters of secular ceremony. These ceremonies included displays of jousts and tournaments, in the judgement of prowess, in the ceremonial attire of coronations and in knightings and funerals. Officials in tournaments even trusted heralds with the vital task of deciding whether or not a contestant had a valid claim to knighthood. Their job also included recording promotions to knighthood on the eve of battle, and to search after it was over among the dead to note the names and arms of those who had shown prowess in the field.