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College of Arms
The College of Arms (or Heralds' College) is the heraldic authority for England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and some Commonwealth realms; the heraldic authority for Scotland is the Court of the Lord Lyon. The College is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms who act on behalf of the Crown in matters of heraldry, including the granting of new coats of arms; genealogical research; and the recording of pedigrees. The College is also responsible for matters relating to the flying of flags on land, and maintains the official registers of flags and other national symbols. It is also involved in the planning of ceremonial occasions such as coronations, state funerals, the annual Garter Service, and the State Opening of Parliament. The officers of arms accompany the monarch on many of these occasions.
King Richard III of England founded the College by royal charter in 1484. The College has been located in the City of London since its foundation, and has been at its present site on Queen Victoria Street since 1555. There are thirteen officers or heralds, who are appointed by the monarch: three Kings of Arms, six Heralds of Arms, and four Pursuivants of Arms. There are also seven officers extraordinary, who take part in ceremonial occasions but are not part of the College. The entire corporation is overseen by the Earl Marshal, a hereditary office always held by the Duke of Norfolk.
King Richard III's interest in heraldry was indicated by his possession of two important rolls of arms. While still Duke of Gloucester and Constable of England for his brother (Edward IV) from 1469, he in the latter capacity supervised the heralds and made plans for the reform of their organisation. Soon after his accession to the throne he created Sir John Howard as Duke of Norfolk and Earl Marshal of England, who became the first Howard appointed to both positions.
In the first year of his reign, the royal heralds were incorporated under royal charter dated 2 March 1484, under the Latin name "Le Garter regis armorum Anglicorum, regis armorum partium Australium, regis armorum partium Borealium, regis armorum Wallæ et heraldorum, prosecutorum, sive pursevandorum armorum." Translated as: "the Garter King of Arms of England, the King of Arms of the Southern parts, the King of Arms of the Northern parts, the King of Arms of Wales, and all other heralds and pursuivants of arms". The charter then goes on to state that the heralds "for the time being, shall be in perpetuity a body corporate in fact and name, and shall preserve a succession unbroken." This charter titled "Literæ de incorporatione heraldorum" is now held in the British Museum. There has been some evidence that prior to this charter, the royal heralds had already in some ways behaved like a corporation as early as 1420. Nevertheless, the charter is the earliest surviving document to affirm the chapter as a corporate body of heralds. The charter outlines the constitution of the officers, their hierarchy, the privileges conferred upon them and their jurisdiction over all heraldic matters in the Kingdom of England.
The King empowered the College to have and use only one common seal of authority, and also instructed them to find a chaplain to celebrate mass daily for himself, Anne Neville, the Queen Consort, and his heir, Prince Edward. The College was also granted a house named Coldharbour (formerly Poulteney's Inn) on Upper Thames Street in the parish of All-Hallows-the-Less, for storing records and living space for the heralds. The house, built by Sir John de Pulteney, four times Lord Mayor of London, was said to be one of the greatest in the City of London.
The defeat and death of Richard III at Bosworth field was a double blow for the heralds, for they lost both their patron, the King, and their benefactor, the Earl Marshal, who was also slain. The victorious Henry Tudor was crowned King Henry VII soon after the battle. Henry's first Parliament of 1485 passed an Act of Resumption, in which large grants of crown properties made by his two predecessors to their supporters were cancelled. Whether this act affected the status of the College's charter is debatable; however, the act did facilitate the de facto recovery of Coldharbour to the crown. Henry then granted the house to his mother Lady Margaret Beaufort, for life. This was because it was supposed that the house was granted personally to John Writhe the Garter King of Arms and not to the heralds as a corporation. As a result, the heralds were left destitute and many of their books and records were lost. Despite this ill treatment from the King, the heralds' position at the royal court remained, and they were compelled by the King to attend him at all times (albeit in rotation).
Of the reign of King Henry VIII, it has been said that: "at no time since its establishment, was [the college] in higher estimation, nor in fuller employment, than in this reign." Henry VIII was fond of pomp and magnificence, and thus gave the heralds plenty of opportunity to exercise their roles in his court. In addition, the members of the College were also expected to be regularly despatched to foreign courts on missions, whether to declare war, accompany armies, summon garrisons or deliver messages to foreign potentates and generals. During his magnificent meeting with Francis I of France at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520, Henry VIII brought with him eighteen officers of arms, probably all he had, to regulate the many tournaments and ceremonies held there.
Nevertheless, the College's petitions to the King and to the Duke of Suffolk in 1524 and 1533 for the return of their chapter house were rejected, and the heralds were left to hold chapter in whichever palace the royal court happened to be at the time. They even resorted to meeting at each other's houses, at various guildhalls and even a hospital. Furthermore, Henry VIII's habit of raising ladies in the situation of subjects to queens, and then awarding them many heraldic augmentations, which also extended to their respective families, was considered harmful to the science of heraldry. The noted antiquarian and heraldist Charles Boutell commented in 1863, that the: "Arms of Queen Anne Boleyn are the first which exemplify the usage, introduced by Henry VIII, of granting to his Consorts 'Augmentations' to their paternal arms. It is a striking illustration of the degenerate condition of Heraldry under the second Tudor Sovereign."
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College of Arms
The College of Arms (or Heralds' College) is the heraldic authority for England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and some Commonwealth realms; the heraldic authority for Scotland is the Court of the Lord Lyon. The College is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms who act on behalf of the Crown in matters of heraldry, including the granting of new coats of arms; genealogical research; and the recording of pedigrees. The College is also responsible for matters relating to the flying of flags on land, and maintains the official registers of flags and other national symbols. It is also involved in the planning of ceremonial occasions such as coronations, state funerals, the annual Garter Service, and the State Opening of Parliament. The officers of arms accompany the monarch on many of these occasions.
King Richard III of England founded the College by royal charter in 1484. The College has been located in the City of London since its foundation, and has been at its present site on Queen Victoria Street since 1555. There are thirteen officers or heralds, who are appointed by the monarch: three Kings of Arms, six Heralds of Arms, and four Pursuivants of Arms. There are also seven officers extraordinary, who take part in ceremonial occasions but are not part of the College. The entire corporation is overseen by the Earl Marshal, a hereditary office always held by the Duke of Norfolk.
King Richard III's interest in heraldry was indicated by his possession of two important rolls of arms. While still Duke of Gloucester and Constable of England for his brother (Edward IV) from 1469, he in the latter capacity supervised the heralds and made plans for the reform of their organisation. Soon after his accession to the throne he created Sir John Howard as Duke of Norfolk and Earl Marshal of England, who became the first Howard appointed to both positions.
In the first year of his reign, the royal heralds were incorporated under royal charter dated 2 March 1484, under the Latin name "Le Garter regis armorum Anglicorum, regis armorum partium Australium, regis armorum partium Borealium, regis armorum Wallæ et heraldorum, prosecutorum, sive pursevandorum armorum." Translated as: "the Garter King of Arms of England, the King of Arms of the Southern parts, the King of Arms of the Northern parts, the King of Arms of Wales, and all other heralds and pursuivants of arms". The charter then goes on to state that the heralds "for the time being, shall be in perpetuity a body corporate in fact and name, and shall preserve a succession unbroken." This charter titled "Literæ de incorporatione heraldorum" is now held in the British Museum. There has been some evidence that prior to this charter, the royal heralds had already in some ways behaved like a corporation as early as 1420. Nevertheless, the charter is the earliest surviving document to affirm the chapter as a corporate body of heralds. The charter outlines the constitution of the officers, their hierarchy, the privileges conferred upon them and their jurisdiction over all heraldic matters in the Kingdom of England.
The King empowered the College to have and use only one common seal of authority, and also instructed them to find a chaplain to celebrate mass daily for himself, Anne Neville, the Queen Consort, and his heir, Prince Edward. The College was also granted a house named Coldharbour (formerly Poulteney's Inn) on Upper Thames Street in the parish of All-Hallows-the-Less, for storing records and living space for the heralds. The house, built by Sir John de Pulteney, four times Lord Mayor of London, was said to be one of the greatest in the City of London.
The defeat and death of Richard III at Bosworth field was a double blow for the heralds, for they lost both their patron, the King, and their benefactor, the Earl Marshal, who was also slain. The victorious Henry Tudor was crowned King Henry VII soon after the battle. Henry's first Parliament of 1485 passed an Act of Resumption, in which large grants of crown properties made by his two predecessors to their supporters were cancelled. Whether this act affected the status of the College's charter is debatable; however, the act did facilitate the de facto recovery of Coldharbour to the crown. Henry then granted the house to his mother Lady Margaret Beaufort, for life. This was because it was supposed that the house was granted personally to John Writhe the Garter King of Arms and not to the heralds as a corporation. As a result, the heralds were left destitute and many of their books and records were lost. Despite this ill treatment from the King, the heralds' position at the royal court remained, and they were compelled by the King to attend him at all times (albeit in rotation).
Of the reign of King Henry VIII, it has been said that: "at no time since its establishment, was [the college] in higher estimation, nor in fuller employment, than in this reign." Henry VIII was fond of pomp and magnificence, and thus gave the heralds plenty of opportunity to exercise their roles in his court. In addition, the members of the College were also expected to be regularly despatched to foreign courts on missions, whether to declare war, accompany armies, summon garrisons or deliver messages to foreign potentates and generals. During his magnificent meeting with Francis I of France at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520, Henry VIII brought with him eighteen officers of arms, probably all he had, to regulate the many tournaments and ceremonies held there.
Nevertheless, the College's petitions to the King and to the Duke of Suffolk in 1524 and 1533 for the return of their chapter house were rejected, and the heralds were left to hold chapter in whichever palace the royal court happened to be at the time. They even resorted to meeting at each other's houses, at various guildhalls and even a hospital. Furthermore, Henry VIII's habit of raising ladies in the situation of subjects to queens, and then awarding them many heraldic augmentations, which also extended to their respective families, was considered harmful to the science of heraldry. The noted antiquarian and heraldist Charles Boutell commented in 1863, that the: "Arms of Queen Anne Boleyn are the first which exemplify the usage, introduced by Henry VIII, of granting to his Consorts 'Augmentations' to their paternal arms. It is a striking illustration of the degenerate condition of Heraldry under the second Tudor Sovereign."