Christendom gradually acquired the character of an international profes-
sional corps comparable to the clergy, with distinct ranks and jurisdictions.
By 1276, England (for example) had been divided at the Trent River into
two territories or “marches of arms,” one to the north and one to the
south, each presided over by a “king of heralds” (or from ca. 1380 “king
of arms”) in the direct service of the ruler. A similar sort of division was
probably made in France and several adjacent countries in the same period.
Within his march, each king of heralds was given the task of overseeing all
matters that touched not only on tournaments and armorial bearings, but
eventually on knighthood, chivalry, and nobility. Apprentice heralds were
from about the same period given the title “pursuivant (of arms),” so that
the old generic designation “herald (of arms)” became the special title of
master heralds who were not yet kings, and the generic title for all three
grades became “officer of arms.”
From about 1330, officers of all three grades came to be given special
styles at the time of their appointment, and certain of these became the ti-
tles of regular offices. On the continent the styles of kings were normally
taken from the name of their march, which usually corresponded to a king-
dom or principality (Sicily, Guelders, Anjou, Guienne, and so forth), while
in England they initially represented the location of the march (Norroy
King of Arms north of the Trent, Surroy or later Clarenceux King of Arms
south of the Trent). The principal king of arms, however, came to bear a
special title, taken in France from the war cry of the real king (Montjoie),
in Scotland from the royal arms (Lyon), and in other countries increasingly
from the monarchical order of knighthood to which they were also at-
tached (Garter, Golden Fleece, and so on). The styles of the lesser officers
were commonly derived from the name of one of their master’s possessions
(Windsor Herald), dignities (Hastings Pursuivant), or badges (Blanche
Sanglier Pursuivant, Crescent Pursuivant), but might be fanciful in the
manner of the contemporary romances (Bonespoir Herald, Bien Alaunt
Pursuivant).
The formal jurisdictions of the royal officers remained only very
loosely defined and organized before the early fifteenth century. In 1406,
however, Charles VI of France increased the dignity of the heralds of his
kingdom by incorporating them in a “college” under the presidency of
Montjoie King of Arms, and in 1415 his rival, Henry V of England,
achieved a similar effect by creating the new office of Garter Principal King
of Arms of Englishmen, attached to the knightly Order of the Garter, which
since 1349 had been the institutional embodiment of the ideals of chivalry
in his kingdom. Henry also increased the authority of his officers of arms
in 1417 when he gave them the right to visit a number of counties, deter-
mine which of their inhabitants had the right to use armorial bearings, and
Heralds 167