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 RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS 
 
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 ' Surely even those who affect the greatest contempt for 
 Heraldry will admit that if Arms are to be borne at all, it 
 should be according to the laws of Arms.' — Planche. 
 
 Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged 
 
 LONDON 
 ELLIOT STOCK, 62 Paternoster Row 
 
 1900 
 
A 
 
 ^/ 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 Preface ...... 9 
 
 I. The Origin and Meaning of Arms and 
 Gentility. — The Rights and Prerogatives 
 OF the Sovereign .... 23 
 
 11. The Earl Marshal. . . . .62 
 
 III. The College and Officers of Arms . . 88 
 
 IV. The Granting of Arms , . . . iii 
 V. The Visitations . . . . .118 
 
 VI. Proof of the Existence of the Authority 
 
 OF THE Crown and College of Arms at 
 
 THE Present Date . . . .142 
 
 VII. Armorial Law in Scotland . . .155 
 VIII. Armorial Law in Ireland . . .172 
 
 IX. The Right to Bear Arms . . -199 
 
 X. Foreign Arms ..... 203 
 
 XI. Popular Fallacies . . . . .208 
 
 Index ....... 233 
 
 / 
 
 511 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Nowadays it is the fashion to proclaim oneself to 
 be democratic. That is unfortunate, and, more- 
 over, it is a piece of hypocrisy. For in very truth 
 there are but few of those of gentle birth who 
 are really either democratic or socialistic in their 
 ideas, or rather in that innermost private set of 
 ideas which they keep for their own especial 
 comfort. Those who are not of gentle birth 
 need not trouble themselves to use arms and 
 crests. 
 
 Years ago a writer penned these lines : ' There 
 is no subject more difficult to be dwelt on than 
 that of honourable descent ; none on which the 
 world are greater sceptics, none more offensive to 
 them ; and yet there is no quality to which every 
 one in his heart pays so great a respect.' 
 
 As time goes on this dogmatic statement re- 
 mains absolutely correct ; it might almost be said 
 that the two concluding phrases really gain in 
 weight and accuracy, day by day, the more that 
 
lo Preface 
 
 the world outwardly condemns and ignores such 
 a standpoint. 
 
 I have been called to account for asserting the 
 existence of ' caste ' in England. It does exist, 
 and it seems idle not to recognise the fact. And 
 yet the critics of the Press ignore it, or ridicule 
 the suggestion. Many of our journalists are un- 
 fortunately unacquainted with the class which 
 exists by privilege, which claims, asserts, pos- 
 sesses, and exercises privilege and its prerogatives. 
 Outsiders are quick enough to grasp the fact, 
 and a well-known American writer, Mr Julian 
 Ralph, in an article on ' English Characteristics ' 
 in Harper's Magazine^ tersely but truly sums the 
 whole matter up thus : — 
 
 ' In England you can trace caste from the 
 sorrowing Lady on the throne to the top-hat 
 and long coat of the simplest gentleman in the 
 West-End, or the same hat and short coat of 
 the humblest clerk in the City. From top to 
 bottom, the English love it all. Let no one 
 humbug I my reader with the assertion (born 
 of our republican wishes) that the lines of caste 
 grow looser, or that monarchy is under a death- 
 sentence in England. The youngest, most 
 sheltered oak in that land is not as firmly 
 rooted nor as sure of a long existence.' 
 
 Now armory is, and always has been, the pre- 
 rogative of the privileged class. Armorial bearings 
 are not necessary to any man. They are but the 
 
Preface 1 1 
 
 outward and visible sign of the technical rank of 
 'gentility,' the lowest hereditary rank. And so 
 long as the possession of arms is a matter of 
 privilege (even though this privilege is no greater 
 than is obtained by a payment to the Crown of 
 the fees upon a patent of arms), so long will a 
 certain (though it may be small) prestige attach 
 to the possession of arms. The world always 
 values anything to which prestige attaches, and 
 the possession of which is in any way a matter 
 of privilege. 
 
 The following is merely one instance of the 
 manner in which the unauthorised use of arms is 
 slowly but surely taking effect in lessening the 
 prestige of armory. At the beginning of this 
 century every peer and every gentleman used 
 his seal of arms in sealing a letter. This practice 
 was followed almost without exception. Those 
 who had no arms used wafers. A certain well- 
 known character, at that period, sorted his letters 
 in the following manner : — Those which bore seals 
 of arms he opened himself, because they were 
 likely to be from people of his own class ; those 
 which were wafered he sent unopened to his agent, 
 the probabilities being that they related to no more 
 than business matters. When adhesive envelopes 
 were introduced the use of armorial bearings on 
 correspondence continued, and the upper classes 
 had their stationery embossed with arms or crests 
 
12 Preface 
 
 And I think I am right in saying that this practice 
 continued to be pretty generally recognised until 
 about thirty years ago. Then came the era of 
 that abominable advertisement, ' What is your 
 crest, and What is your motto ? Send name and 
 county and three-and-sixpence, no charge if an 
 order for stationery be given.' The natural result 
 was that everybody could afford three-and-six- 
 pence, and this advertisement was taken advantage 
 of to an extent which it is almost impossible to 
 realise. The privileged classes found their 
 privilege of armory was being infringed by 
 people who, it was notorious, could have no 
 pretence to such privilege, and consequently the 
 highest classes ceased to value it, or, at any rate, 
 ceased to value that particular opportunity of 
 displaying their right to the privilege. The 
 result is that now one scarcely ever sees a crest 
 or coat-of-arms upon the notepaper of those who, 
 in slang phraseology, are members of ' the 
 smartest sets.' Peers still continue pretty 
 generally to use their coronets, simply because 
 the possession of a coronet is still recognised as 
 a matter of privilege, and the very few of ancient 
 ancestry who still possess ' badges ' use these 
 because it is now impossible to get a badge. 
 
 In olden time a knowledge of heraldry and 
 genealogy was a part of the ordinary education 
 of every gentleman. Armory and sport were the 
 
Preface " 13 
 
 prerogatives of aristocracy, and it is curious in this 
 respect to notice that these two accompaniments 
 of birth were so intimately interwoven that 
 ' Porny,' ostensibly a dictionary of heraldic terms, 
 contains many sporting words for which by no 
 stretch of imagination or research can a place be 
 found within the limits of armory. 
 
 But nowadays things are otherwise. Not only 
 does heraldry form no admitted part of one's 
 education, but, on the one hand, some boast with 
 gusto of a profound ignorance upon the subject ; 
 some others think it necessary to apologise for 
 any slight knowledge of it which they may possess. 
 It is difficult to understand such a state of affairs. 
 For armory is a subject which concerns every 
 gentleman, and a subject with which, sooner or 
 later, somehow or other, every gentleman has to 
 deal, even if his flirtation with the science be no 
 greater than the engraving or the wearing of the 
 signet ring upon his finger. 
 
 At the end of the seventeenth century the 
 powers of the Heralds to ruthlessly deface or 
 destroy false armory to a great extent ceased to 
 be exercised. The reasons of this cessation were 
 political. If at that time, and coeval with the 
 waning influence and importance of heraldry, the 
 use of arms had then equivalently declined, no 
 harm would have been done. The result would 
 have been that armory, like chivalry, would by 
 
1 4 Preface 
 
 now have been dead and would have passed away 
 into the Hmbo of antiquity. One is tempted 
 sometimes to wish that this had been the case. 
 •But it has not, and heraldry is now and still a 
 living, breathing, actual reality, and never before 
 within these realms has the use of armorial 
 bearings been so widespread and so extensive. 
 
 The average individual who ranks himself as, and 
 is accounted by his neighbours to be, a gentleman 
 by birth (I am not here employing the word in its 
 Exeter Hall translation, but rather with the defi- 
 nition which the term now colloquially carries), 
 invariably has a crest or coat of arms upon his 
 silver, his spoons and forks, perhaps on his china, 
 on his bookplate, on his seal, on his carriages, his 
 livery buttons, and his harness. In all prob- 
 ability he armorially decorates the monument 
 he erects to his father's memory. And yet whilst 
 the whole or a part of his armorial bearings must 
 catch his eye several times a day, he is content to 
 trust the decision or control concerning them to 
 the knowledge which he supposes to exist on the 
 part of his tailor, his stationer, his jeweller, or his 
 coach-painter. As a matter of fact, the ignorance 
 of these sort of tradesmen on the point is colossal 
 and profound. The average jeweller or coach- 
 painter has no more knowledge of heraldry than 
 one's greengrocer. It is leaning on a broken reed, 
 indeed, to trust your heraldry to such a person. 
 
Preface 1 5 
 
 Whilst it is hopeless to expect that a detailed 
 acquaintance with the intricate laws of armory will 
 ever again become universal, there are certain 
 fundamental facts that require no great effort of 
 memory to assimilate, and which it is desirable 
 should be known by every gentleman. 
 
 The use of arms is the assertion of one's gentility 
 in the same manner that the use of a coronet of 
 rank is the advertisement by the user of the fact 
 that he is a Peer. Tell the average man this, 
 and he will pooh-pooh it. But it remains a fact. 
 Why does an upstart put a crest on his livery 
 buttons and on his carriage ? Because he wishes 
 to do as his betters do. Why do his betters do 
 it ? Because their fathers did it before them, and 
 they are glad enough to show the world that 
 they had forefathers to copy, — forefathers who 
 were gentlemen. Hundreds of men sneer at the 
 whole thing, and say they don't care a button about 
 arms. They generally use them all the same, and 
 woe betide any one who questions their right to 
 what they may display. I have nine threats of 
 libel actions in my drawers at the moment for 
 indicating that different people are using arms 
 without a right thereto. And not one of the nine 
 can show the vestige of a right. I am not quite 
 sure whether the proportion of bogus arms in 
 use is greatest amongst High Sheriffs, Q.C.'s, 
 Jubilee Knights, Fellows of the Society of Anti- 
 
1 6 Preface 
 
 quaries, or City Aldermen. The proportion is 
 about 50 per cent, bad, all round. Why do people 
 object to have their arms described as bogus? 
 Because every one knows that the chief glory and 
 the great beauty of arms and crests are that they 
 are both hereditary, — because in the frantic struggle 
 to get into Society nine men out of ten will tell lie 
 upon lie to prove that their fathers were net 
 labourers or ' dans cette galere,' and will therefore 
 use bogus arms in the vain endeavour to show 
 that they and ' their people ' are not of the vulgar 
 crowd. That is snobbery, rank, utter, and absolute. 
 It takes a gentleman of birth and of ancestry to 
 admit ' in Society ' that his father swept a 
 crossing for a living, or that his mother took* 
 in lodgers or washing. So we get back to the 
 fact that the use of armorial bearings or of a 
 coronet is merely the assertion or advertisement 
 of gentility or Peerage rank. Every Peer uses his 
 coronet, every pseudo-gentleman sports arms in 
 some way or other. If it be snobbish to tell the 
 world that you are a Peer or a gentleman, well,' 
 then, snobbery must be somewhat of an aristo- 
 cratic failing. No one accuses a Peer of snobbery 
 for using his coronet to show that he is * My Lord.' 
 Why, then, is a man a snob for using a coat of 
 arms to show he is a gentleman ? The proudest 
 title in the world is that of an English gentleman. 
 Where is the snobbery in claiming it if a right to' 
 
Preface 1 7 
 
 it exists ? There are degrees of gentility of course, 
 and ancient gentility is much more estimable than 
 modern. But they are both gentility, the one 
 taking precedence before the other. But better 
 modern gentility, better even raw new gentility, 
 if it be genuine, than a bogus claim to ancient 
 ancestry. Manners have nothing to do with one's 
 gentility. ' Manners maketh man! George IV. 
 was the first gentleman in Europe, and no one 
 ever accused, him of good manners. Manners 
 are assumed, just as the motto (' Pour y parvenir ') 
 of the Manners family has been wittily translated 
 to mean ' In order to obtain,' or ' For what 
 you can get.' Gentility is merely hereditary rank, 
 emanating, with all other rank, from the Crown, 
 the sole fountain of honour. It is idle to make the 
 word carry a host of meanings it was never in- 
 tended to. Arms are the sign of the technical 
 rank of gentility ; the use of arms is the advertise- 
 ment of one's claim to that gentility. Arms mean 
 nothing more. By coronet supporters and helmet 
 can be indicated one's place in the scale of pre- 
 cedence ; by adding arms for your wife you assert 
 that she also is of gentle rank ; your quarterings 
 show the other gentle families you represent ; 
 difference marks will show your position in your own 
 family (not a very important matter) ; augmenta- 
 tions indicate the deeds of your ancestors which 
 the Sovereign thought worthy of being held in 
 
 B 
 
1 8 Preface 
 
 especial remembrance. By the use of a certain 
 coat of ar7ns, you assert your descent from the 
 person to whom those arms were granted^ con- 
 firmed, or allowed. That is the beginning and end 
 of armory. Why seek to make it mean more? 
 Why garb it in falsehood till it becomes ridiculous ? 
 Some will tell you an argent field means ' purity.' 
 The purity extends no further than the whiteness 
 of the shield. Purity and chastity are not 
 hereditary — armorial bearings are. Nor does a 
 crimson shield mean descent from Emperors. 
 One can inherit a field of gules without any 
 corollary of birth in the imperial purple. A bend 
 does not indicate warrior ancestors, nor did this 
 charge originate in the scarf of a military officer. 
 It first occurred because an extra strip of wood 
 across a shield was found to be a convenient way 
 of adding stability to such an article. And after- 
 wards somebody painted the strip of a different 
 colour. And a painted strip across a shield no 
 doubt was made use of long before military officers 
 put a sash over their shoulders, or, indeed, many 
 other clothes about their bodies. There is scarcely 
 a heraldic charge that has not at some time 
 or another had some fable or so-called ex- 
 planation attached to it. The pity is that many 
 of these puerilities are still believed. Small 
 wonder, then, that armory is viewed with con- 
 tempt by so many. But if armory be to you no 
 
Preface 1 9 
 
 more than a mere subject of contempt, leave it 
 alone ; don't abuse it by improper use. 
 
 But if the display of armorial bearings is the 
 assertion of gentility, is it not contemptibly 
 snobbish to use arms when no gentility exists, — to 
 steal the signs of another's gentility, and thereby 
 assert to the world that you are of gentle birth 
 when you are not ; to proclaim yourself to be 
 related to some noble family of your name, when 
 even the name of your grandfather is perhaps 
 unknown to you ? Yet this is done every day. 
 
 Here is the origin of many of the arms and 
 crests in use. A man who, as far as he himself 
 knows, is of no ancestry, begins to rise in the 
 Social Scale. He must do the same as his 
 betters, so he starts a crest or coat of arms. He 
 simply gets it put on his property by some 
 tradesman with whom he is dealing. Either his 
 tradesman selects it, or he chooses it himself over 
 the counter out of a book of illustrations, all of 
 which, by the way, already belong to other people. 
 From one article it is transferred to another, till all 
 his belongings are decorated with it. His son, one 
 generation further away from 'the people,' asks 
 about it. The father probably shuffles — he is 
 ashamed to own it only originated in a trades- 
 man's shop — and vaguely tells his son ' it came 
 to him from his father,' or ' he didn't know 
 much about it, but his people had used it,' or 
 
20 Preface 
 
 some other such gorgeous fairy tale, garnished 
 to suit the taste. So the son accepts, as one 
 of his articles of faith, the divine belief in his 
 own descent from gentle ancestors, for faith 
 is the substance of things hoped for, and the 
 evidence of things unseen. And he swears by 
 all his little tin gods, and by the sacred ashes 
 of his sainted forefathers, that the arms he 
 uses are his by right, and one has to call his 
 attention to the fact publicly in black and white 
 before he can be even induced to make the least 
 inquiry about the arms in question. That he 
 doesn't know who his forefathers were or where 
 may be their ashes are merely details. His son 
 in his turn, it may be, does take a fleeting interest 
 in the matter. There is usually an amateur 
 herald in a family about every third generation. 
 But he always starts his inquiries from the wrong 
 end. He takes his own right to the arms for 
 granted. When he finds that the arms were 
 registered 250 years ago to some family, this family 
 are at once claimed as ancestors. ' The arms are 
 the same, you know ; we must be descended from 
 them.' Prove to him that he is not, or that it is 
 unlikely, what then does he do ? Spin you a sweet 
 little story about missing registers, which perhaps 
 you may believe, and perhaps not. I have been 
 told of so many ' crucial ' parish registers that are 
 missing that the wonder is there is a solitary one 
 
Preface 2 1 
 
 left in the kingdom. Or he will swear his people 
 were omitted at the Visitations through the 
 stupidity of the Heralds. Probably they were 
 respectable yeomen who knew better than to 
 presume to bear arms — or he will tell you a story 
 of a mesalliance, a Gretna Green marriage, and a 
 disinheritance ; there have been more of such heirs 
 disinherited than have ever existed to quarrel with 
 their fathers. Or perhaps his ancestors dropped the 
 use of arms through religious scruples (whilst even 
 Quakers have accepted baronetcies, and been made 
 Lords - Lieutenants) ; or else he will abuse the 
 Heralds and Kings of Arms for granting his arms 
 — HIS, if you please — to some other family 250 
 years ago, which family were in no way related 
 to his people. Wherefore he thinks the Heralds 
 ought to be called to book. And all the time 
 the whole thing is merely a colossal delusion, for 
 it is quite possible he can't tell you even the 
 name of his own great-grandfather. 
 
 And there are dozens who will read and admit 
 everything I have said. ' Oh yes — quite true, I've 
 no doubt it exactly applies to my neighbour Smith,' 
 and it will never dawn on them that they them- 
 selves are in the same boat. A man's belief in his 
 own right to bear arms, and in his own gentility, is 
 absolute and profound. His father told him so. 
 Therefore he must be a gentleman. He needs 
 no more proof of his own gentility, or of his 
 
2 2 Preface 
 
 own right to bear arms, and though one might 
 move mountains, the pity of it is that many 
 will remain unconvinced of their errors to the 
 day of their death. So I suppose I must go 
 on preaching the gospel of true armory for yet 
 a while longer. 
 
THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS "^ 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND MEANING OF ARMS AND 
 GENTILITY — THE RIGHTS AND PREROGA- 
 TIVES OF THE SOVEREIGN. 
 
 If one may be permitted to use an expression 
 suitable to this utilitarian and commercial age, 
 armorial bearings are the hall-mark of one's 
 gentility. Nowadays it is somewhat difficult to 
 get this subject treated seriously. It is a very 
 prevalent fashion to sneer at the display of arms 
 as snobbish and as antiquated, and, of course, 
 following the example of the fox in the ancient 
 parable, those who have no arms affect and pro- 
 
 * In view of the correspondence in the Saturday Review and else- 
 where challenging my premises, the following pages (which, in a 
 very abbreviated form, have been partly published in the Genea- 
 logical Magazine) have been written. I have no doubt that had 
 they been written by an Officer of Arms, with access to the records 
 at the College, the case could have been proved even yet more 
 conclusively. My proofs are merely those to which, as an ordinary 
 member of the outside public, I could obtain access at the Record 
 Office, etc. 
 
24 - The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 claim an utter contempt for heraldry. People 
 of this class would have us believe such an 
 opinion to be universal. But in this country the 
 use of arms (apart from any question of right 
 to bear them) is purely voluntary. The Revenue 
 authorities require that those who use arms shall 
 pay an annual tax of one or two guineas, accord- 
 ing to the manner of using. From this voluntary 
 taxation the Revenue received during the year 
 1899 the sum of ^^75,347. In addition, some 
 thousands use arms or crests while successfully 
 evading the tax. So that it is fairly evident that 
 the estimation still placed upon arms by the 
 general public is considerable. 
 
 Arms are not a necessity ; consequently, as no 
 one is compelled to use them, I have yet to learn of 
 one single solitary position in life which neces- 
 sitates the use of a personal coat of arms. A man 
 can be born, can live, and can die perfectly happy 
 and contented without a coat of arms, good or 
 bad. There are millions who have done it. 
 There are millions who will do it in the future. 
 
 One of the most popular fallacies with regard to 
 arms is the supposition that the tax which is paid 
 annually by those who use armorial bearings 
 confers a valid right to arms. It does nothing 
 whatever of the kind. It is simply and solely a 
 method of taxation, and of itself neither gives nor 
 grants any tangible right to arms. I am quite 
 
Origin and Meaning of Arms, &c. 25 
 
 aware that the wording of the form of receipt for 
 the annual payments under this form of taxation 
 can, by reason of the imperfect English in which it 
 is expressed, be, perhaps, twisted into such read- 
 ing ; but the status of the whole affair can be 
 readily explained by reference to the somewhat 
 analogous taxation of men-servants, guns, dogs, 
 and game. By paying the taxes upon these 
 matters you do no more than satisfy the taxation 
 requirements of the Inland Revenue. You pay for 
 your licence to use a gun, but that does not give 
 you a gun, and all the dog licences in the world 
 will not create a pup to your use. The right to the 
 possession of either the dog or the gun must be 
 obtained, usually by payment and from some other 
 quarter. In the same way the payment for an 
 annual licence upon a carriage does not make you 
 the happy possessor of even the most humble 
 conveyance, and even after the payment for a 
 licence to employ a man-servant, you still have to 
 make your terms with the individual and pay his 
 wages. Up to the present the Inland Revenue 
 authorities at Somerset House have not yet 
 started an establishment for the supply of either 
 carriages, dogs, guns, or game, but they neverthe- 
 less exact the taxation which has been prescribed. 
 In precisely the same manner, whilst they exact 
 taxation for the use of armorial bearings, they do 
 not supply them, and the payment of the taxation 
 
26 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 does not create a right of possession to that in- 
 corporeal hereditament — a coat of arms. 
 
 Many would have us to think that a coat of 
 arms has no value and no meaning, and that there 
 is no ownership in arms. An equally prevalent 
 idea is that everybody has got a coat of arms, and 
 that it is only a question of ' finding it' A 
 more fallacious idea could hardly exist. Another 
 mistaken idea is that anybody can assume a crest 
 in the same haphazard manner in which one 
 designs a monogram. 
 
 Now this idea that crests are not hereditary and 
 may be assumed at pleasure is very deep-rooted. 
 Many will admit they have no right to arms, whilst 
 vehemently asserting and maintaining a claim to a 
 crest. Let me say at once and emphatically that 
 such an idea is utterly incorrect. There are many 
 coats of arms legally in existence to which no crests 
 have ever been assigned, but there is not a solitary 
 crest lawfully existing without its complementary 
 coat of arms. Unless there be an undoubted right 
 to arms, it is absolutely certain there can be no 
 right to a crest. A crest is essentially but a part 
 of a formal armorial achievement and cannot exist 
 alone. 
 
 An equally foolish and much more prevalent 
 idea is that every coat of arms commemorates 
 some glorious achievement of some unfortunately 
 forgotten ancestor. I daresay there are 50,000 
 
O^Hgin and Meaning of Arms, &c. 27 
 
 coats of arms in existence. I question if even 500 
 are truly capable of such explanation. Arms, in 
 ancient days, were used for purposes of distinction ; 
 they were therefore a pun on a man's name or on 
 the name of his lands, and were generally due to 
 some such cause. 
 
 Let me, if possible, make it clear what arms 
 are, and whence comes authority to bear them. 
 
 Many people trace the origin of armorial bear- 
 ings to the Greeks, and one writer takes them 
 back to the Chaldeans, because a Chaldean ex- 
 ample exists of an eagle drawn in the form in 
 which an eagle displayed is at present heraldically 
 depicted. I am not concerned herein to discuss 
 that or any kindred point. There is no doubt, of 
 course, that shields have been decorated in some 
 form or another from remote ages. Equally is it 
 certain that tribes and individuals have used 
 badges both for personal and tribal purposes. 
 But in spite of all that has been written on one 
 side and on the other, we are still without any 
 definite evidence that such a thing as a coat of 
 arms, in the sense we now understand the term, 
 had any existence whatsoever at the time of the 
 First Crusade. In the whole of the Bayeux 
 tapestry there is no design which can be properly 
 classed or considered as a coat of arms. To my 
 mind, this definitely proves that there was no such 
 thing as a coat of arms in existence at that time. 
 
28 The Ricrht to Bear Arms 
 
 '^> 
 
 Soon after this undoubtedly arms were in use, both 
 on the Continent and in these countries ; in fact, 
 their assumption appears to have been fairly coeval 
 throughout the whole of Europe. There is little 
 doubt that the Crusades exercised a vast influence 
 both in forming the rules of armory and in stimu- 
 lating the birth of the science. Apart from certain 
 questions of technique, which vary according to 
 the requirements and ideas prevalent in the 
 different countries in former times, armory is 
 much the same from one end of Europe to the 
 other. There are many of its forms and rules, 
 many of its terms, and practically all of its charges, 
 identical in all countries, and this undoubtedly 
 points to and almost incontrovertibly proves a 
 common origin of heraldic law. 
 
 * At all times and in all countries the condition 
 of society has been one of inequality. The broadly- 
 marked difference between the nobleman or gentle- 
 man and the rest of the community is one of the 
 most prominent features of mediaeval life, and the 
 source from which the less abrupt gradations of 
 
 ■* The wording of the following paragraph being very similar to 
 an extract from a well-known book, it may, perhaps, in the opinion 
 of some, be considered that I should acknowledge the extract by 
 quotation marks ; but a careful comparison will show that the 
 quotation is by no means exact, so the responsibility remains my 
 own. Where quotation marks are used, no alterations have been 
 made. I think it well to make this explanation, as otherwise the 
 odium attaching to ' X ' might be wrongly transferred to other 
 writers whose books I have similarly laid under contribution in a 
 slightly altered form. 
 
Origin and Meaning of A^nns, &c. 29 
 
 rank in modern society have been gradually de- 
 veloped. According to feudal ideas, the whole 
 land was, in the first instance, the property of the 
 Sovereign, from whom it was held under the 
 obligation of rendering stated military service, 
 with or without the further obligation of attend- 
 ance at his court and council. The immediate 
 vassals of the Crown, who were in the first in- 
 stance called Barons (as emphatically the King's 
 nien)^ enjoyed in some cases the office of Comes or 
 Dux, and had vassals, who held their lands from 
 them by a like military tenure, and with obliga- 
 tions of attendance at the courts of their superiors 
 similar to those by which the latter held their 
 lands from the Sovereign. By a constitution of 
 this kind, but with variations in detail, society 
 was held together in most parts of Europe. 
 The landholder was the nobleman or gentleman, 
 and the smallest tenant of land held by military 
 tenure participated in the privileges of nobility. 
 The gentry of England had many privileges re- 
 cognised by law. If a churl or peasant defamed 
 the honour of a gentleman, the latter had his 
 remedy in law ; but if one gentleman defamed 
 another, the combat was allowed. For similar 
 offences a gentleman was punishable with less 
 severity than a churl, unless the crime were heresy, 
 treason, or excessive contumacy. A churl might 
 not challenge a gentleman to combat, quia con- 
 ditiones impares. 
 
30 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 Side by side with feudalism grew up the use of 
 distinctive devices, by which on banner or shield 
 the performers of military service were distin- 
 guished. Like \he.jus iinaginuin of classic times, 
 the right to bear insignia gentilitia became from 
 the very evolution of heraldry the distinctive 
 privilege of the nobly born. ' Nobiles,' says Sir 
 Edward Coke, ' sunt qui arma gentilitia anteces- 
 sorum suorum proferre possunt' To use the words 
 of Camden : ' Nobiles dividuntur in minores et 
 majores. Nobiles minores sunt equites aurati, 
 armigeri, et qui vulgo generosi et gentlemen 
 vocantur.' Or in the language of Sir James 
 Lawrence {Nobility of the British Gentry^ p. 3, 
 4th edition, London, 1840): 'Any individual who 
 distinguishes himself may be said to ennoble 
 himself A prince judging an individual worthy 
 of notice gave him patent letters of nobility. In 
 these letters were blazoned the arms which were 
 to distinguish his shield. By this shield he was to 
 jf be known, or 7iobilis. '' A plebeian had no blazonry^ 
 on his shield, because he was ignobilis, or unworthy 
 of notice. . . . Hence arms are the criterion of 
 nobility. Every nobleman, in the true meaning of 
 the word, must have a shield of arms. Whoever 
 has a shield of arms is a nobleman. In every 
 country in Europe without exception a grant of 
 arms (or letters of nobility) has conferred gentility 
 on all the descendants ' [in the male line]. 
 
Origin and Meaning of Arms, &c. 31 
 
 Out of Great Britain, the term ' noble ' is still 
 habitually used in its original sense ; and the 
 prerogative of raising persons merely to * noble ' 
 rank is continually exercised by Continental Sove- 
 reigns. Nearly every foreign grant of arms is in 
 reality a grant of nobility, containing, iiiter alia, a 
 gift of certain arms. This was formerly the case 
 in England. The practice which has gradually 
 established itself in England of restricting the 
 words * noble ' and ' nobility ' to members of the 
 Peerage, whilst in itself incorrect, has also caused 
 much confusion and misunderstanding to arise in 
 the use and abuse of the word * gentleman,' which, 
 strictly speaking, is identical with, and only 
 another form of, the word ' nobleman.'V While the 
 stricter meaning of the word is in a measure 
 retained to the present day in the expression 
 'gentleman by birth,' it has often come to be 
 difficult for one who is not a genealogical expert 
 to know who is or who is not a ' gentleman ' — i.e., 
 a gentleman of coat-armour. The less abrupt 
 gradation of ranks, and a mistaken ' courtesy ' 
 adopted by society in general, have caused the 
 word ' gentleman ' to be applied in an idiotic 
 manner to any one whose education, profession, or 
 perhaps whose income, raises him above the lower 
 level of ordinary trade or menial service, or even to 
 a man of polite and refined manners and ideas. 
 Such an idea is absolutely wrong. I have myself 
 
32 The Right to Bear Anns 
 
 heard and seen a drunken chimney-sweep come 
 to blows in a public-house on being informed 
 he was not a gentleman. Nothing a man can 
 do or say can make him a gentleman without 
 formal letters patent of gentility — in other words, 
 without a grant of arms to himself or to his an- 
 cestors, either near or far removed. And once 
 the right to arms has been conferred, no action, 
 good or bad, can remove that gentility, except a 
 formal attainder from the Crown. Somebody once 
 remarked that it is 'a pity some gentlemen 
 are such blackguards.' — Quite so, but their black- 
 guardly conduct does not remove their gentility, 
 which is hereditary. 
 
 Now, I am quite aware that the word ' gentle- 
 man ' is at the present day wrongly used to carry a 
 wider meaning. There is no necessity to write me 
 long letters demonstrating the fact, and letters on 
 the subject in the Press are equally unnecessary. I 
 admit that the word colloquially is now used 
 differently, but I say such a usage is wrong, ab 
 initio, and all the wrongful use of the word that 
 takes place cannot alter its true meaning. The 
 following case in the Earl Marshal's court, which 
 hung upon the definition of the word, conclusively 
 proves my contention : — 
 
 *• 2\st Nov. 1637. — W. Baker, gent., humbly 
 sheweth that having some occasion of con- 
 ferrence with Adam Spencer of Broughton 
 
Origin and Meaning of Anns, &c. 33 
 
 under the Bleane, co. Cant., on or about 28th 
 July last, the said Adam did in most base and 
 opprobrious tearmes abuse your petitioner, 
 calling him a base, lying fellow, etc., etc. The 
 defendant pleaded that Baker is noe Gentle- 
 man, and soe not capable of redresse in this 
 court. Le Neve, Clarenceux, is directed to 
 examine the point raised, and having done so, 
 declared as touching the gentry of William 
 Baker, that Robert Cooke, Clarenceux King of 
 Arms, did make a declaration loth May 1573, 
 under his hand and seale of office, that George 
 Baker of London, gent., sonne of Christopher 
 Baker of Tenterden, sonne of J. Baker of the 
 same place, sonne of Simon Baker of Fever- 
 sham, CO. Cant., was a bearer of tokens of 
 honour, and did allow and confirm to the said 
 George Baker and to his posterity, and to the 
 posterity of Christopher Baker, these arms, etc., 
 etc. And further, Le Neve has received proof 
 that the petitioner, William Baker, is the son of 
 William Baker of Kingsdowne, co. Cant., who 
 was the brother of George Baker, and son of 
 Christopher aforesaid.' The judgment is not 
 stated. (The original Confirmation of Arms 
 by Cooke, lOth May 1573, may now be seen 
 in the British Museum. Genealogist for 1889, 
 p. 242). 
 
 In those times, to say that a man was ' no gentle- 
 man ' was understood to imply that he had no 
 right to bear arms — the badge and proof of the 
 social rank of a gentleman — and such a statement 
 was a real injury and insult. It is almost im- 
 
 C 
 
34 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 possible to place oneself into the mode of feeling 
 which obtained in the seventeenth century and 
 earlier ; the rank of gentleman {nobilis) in those 
 times was real, and not a mere claim to good 
 manners or a certain income, as we now unfor- 
 tunately consider it. 
 
 The word ' gentleman ' originally came from 
 gentle, — i.e., ' nobilis,' — a rank, as we read ' gentle ' 
 or ' simple ' ; but the moralisers have taken it up as 
 a weapon, and have etymologised and distorted it 
 into a qualitative term, and it is rammed down 
 one's throat that the only gentility of value is the 
 possession of an idealised code of manners. Such 
 may be desirable, but it is not gentility. Thus, 
 we of this generation, having had a false interpreta- 
 tion foisted upon us, are quite confused as to the 
 real meaning of the word ! 
 
 In an order made by Charles Brandon, Duke of 
 Suffolk, Earl Marshal (i 524-1 533) settling the fees 
 payable upon grants of arms, he uses the words, 
 ' Every byshoppe that shall be ennobled, £10' and 
 then follows the scale of fees for those of other 
 ranks. A reference to the grant of Arms to 
 Roger and Thomas Keys on page 51 will show 
 that the grant of ' nobility ' was definitely put into 
 actual words, as follows : — 
 
 ' We ennoble, and make and create noble, the said 
 Roger and Thomas, on account of their deserts 
 at our hands, together with the heirs, begotten 
 
Origin and Meaning of Arms, &c. 35 
 
 or to be begotten, and the descendants of the 
 said Thomas ; and in token of this fiobility^ we 
 give and grant by these presents for ever the 
 arms and coat of arms in these our present 
 letters depicted, etc' 
 
 Alexander Pope {Essay on Man, ep. iv., line 203) 
 wrote : — 
 
 ' Worth makes the man, and want of it the fellow.' 
 
 It will be noticed that he did not write it ' gentle- 
 man,' nor is it so expressed in ' manners makyth 
 man,' which I take to be earlier than Chaucer ; for 
 it is supposed to have been chosen by William of 
 Wykeham as the motto for Winchester College, 
 when he founded it in 1393. 
 
 That the word gentleman continues to be 
 wrongly used is simply due to the vanity of 
 plebeians, who are so small-minded that they 
 cannot bring themselves to admit they are not 
 gentlemen, and therefore try to prostitute the word 
 to carry only that lower qualification, which shall 
 but include those attributes which they conceive 
 themselves to possess. Presently we shall have 
 everybody saying they are ' dukes,' and that the 
 qualification therefor is no more than the posses- 
 sion of decent manners. The real right in the 
 case of a Gentleman equally as in the case of a 
 Duke is derived by patent from the Crown, and 
 the one is as much a matter of rank as the 
 other. 
 
36 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 In all European countries which recognise the 
 rule of a Sovereign (of course, dismissing for the 
 moment modern evolutions of dominion) arms are 
 unquestionably an honour and a matter of honour 
 in the prerogative of the Sovereign to confer. 
 
 Undoubtedly, in the infancy of the science, 
 people chose and assumed their own arms, and 
 instances are known where noblemen have con- 
 ferred arms on those of lower status. In 
 early days people chose and assumed a good 
 deal of their own mere motion. But in all 
 countries this right was soon appropriated and 
 annexed to the Crown at a time when the Crown 
 had and exercised authority on its own motion 
 and initiative, without waiting for any Parliament 
 or Convention to confer such authority upon it. 
 With the rest of Europe I am not attempting to 
 deal, though it is curious that within the last few 
 years, both in Russia and in Germany, a similar 
 movement and criticism have arisen with regard to 
 arms and titles equivalent to the reformation in 
 this respect which has been going on in England 
 within the last ten or fifteen years. It will be 
 sufficient for my purpose to demonstrate the 
 evolution of the present authorities in the British 
 Empire. That contains quite enough abuses 
 without going further afield. 
 
 A coat of arms is an estate of inheritance, and it 
 is a principle of law that no man can of himself 
 
Origin and Meaning of Ar^ns, &c, 2t7 
 
 create or grant an estate of inheritance to him- 
 self. 
 
 Because people five hundred years ago were not 
 always brought to book for inventing arms for 
 themselves, there are those at the present day who 
 would foster the idea that this method may still 
 be pursued. A criticism of a bogus coat of arms 
 produces nearly always, first, the statement that 
 ' these arms have been used by my ancestors for 
 centuries, or for very many generations,' which is 
 usually untrue, or else some wild assertion that the 
 arms were in existence, and have been continually 
 used since a time before the existence of the 
 College of Arms. These statements are always un- 
 truths. I myself have never known a single one 
 for which documentary evidence is forthcoming, 
 and the personal knowledge of no man runs to 
 such a period, in a large proportion of the cases 
 of the use of unauthorised arms, the facts generally 
 turn out to be that the arms were ' found ' for 
 3s 6d, or some such sum, at an heraldic stationer's, 
 perhaps ten or perhaps twenty years ago, or 
 were perhaps supplied gratis with a ' guinea 
 box of stationery.' It was then afterwards ascer- 
 tained that they were quoted in Burke's General 
 Armory as belonging to a family of the same 
 name, which family were promptly claimed as 
 ancestors. * The arms are the same, you know ; 
 we must be descended from them.' A suggestion 
 
^S The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 that the arms or the necessary proofs of descent are 
 not registered at the College of Arms as a rule pro- 
 duces a sneer concerning a payment of fees to the 
 heralds. When it is pointed out that the College of 
 Arms acts under the authority of the Earl Marshal, 
 the sneer is transferred to him. Certainly I have 
 never heard it actually carried back to her Majesty, 
 but logically, of course, there is no reason why it 
 should not be, for the Earl Marshal acts under the 
 direct authority of the Sovereign. Consequently, 
 it is just as well to make it perfectly plain that the 
 authority really does exist in the person of the 
 Sovereign, and in the next place, that it has been 
 by the Sovereign, within certain limits, definitely, 
 legally, and in all due form, delegated to the Earl 
 Marshal and the Officers of the Corporation of the 
 College of Arms in and for England, Wales and 
 the Colonies, to Lyon King of Arms in and for 
 Scotland, and to Ulster King of Arms in and for 
 the kingdom of Ireland. 
 
 I should be sorry to commit myself to any definite 
 statement as to the earliest instance of the assertion 
 by the Crown of its authority over and control of 
 armorial matters. Most writers content them- 
 selves with a reference to the writ of Henry V., 
 which I quote on page 44, But certainly the Crown 
 must have been recognised as the authority at a 
 much earlier date, for in 10 Edward II. (131 7) a 
 licence is said to have been granted to Edmund 
 
Origin and Meaning of Arms, dfc. 39 
 
 Deincourt to transfer his name and arms to 
 Isabella, his heir presumptive. The only licence, 
 however, now upon the Patent Rolls to Edmund 
 Deincourt which I have been able to find, relates 
 to the disposal of his lands. It refers in the 
 preamble to the name and arms, but these are not 
 thereinafter specifically dealt with, and if this really 
 be the licence in question, the concession of the 
 permission for the change must be presumed in- 
 ferentially from the preamble and from the licence 
 to settle the estates. But another and d^ previous 
 licence is referred to in the licence of 13 17, and 
 this other I have been unable to find. 
 
 Per contra, Lord Hoo had made a grant of name 
 and arms without the King's licence, and this was 
 adjudged void. I have not the exact date of this, 
 but Lord Hoo died February 13, 1454-5. 
 
 Here, however, is the very earliest instance I 
 can find of the existence and exercise of authority 
 and control in relation to Coat- Armour. I refer to 
 the well-known Scrope v. Grosvenor case. This 
 is extremely important, for it affords conclusive 
 evidence that even at that date (1390) there was 
 such a matter as law and order in the use of arms. 
 Apparently one person had a remedy against 
 another ; an appeal lay to the Marshal and 
 Constable, who sat as judges with authority, not 
 only to adjudicate between two disputants but 
 with authority to assign arms ; and, more than 
 
40 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 all, the case shows plainly that the right of appeal 
 was to the King personally, who not only decided 
 the case, but of his own motion quashed the arms 
 assigned by the Constable to Sir Robert Gros- 
 venor. The case can be found summarised 
 in Part V. of the Herald and Genealogist 
 (June 1863). As every one knows, after a pro- 
 tracted hearing before the Constable and the 
 Deputy of the Marshal, the famous coat ' Azure, 
 a bend or' was allowed to Sir Richard le Scrope 
 as his rightful arms. The Constable in his 
 judgment assigned to Sir Robert Grosvenor the 
 Arms ' Azure, a bend or, with a plain bordure 
 argent' Sir Robert Grosvenor at once appealed 
 to the King. 
 
 The final judgment recites the original sentence 
 by the Constable, and condemnation of Sir 
 Robert Grosvenor in the costs, w^ith reservation 
 of the taxation of the same. The King, con- 
 sidering the great and frivolous delays in the 
 cause, and that the Commissioners have fully 
 suspected and diligently examined all the acts 
 produced, and the witnesses in the first as well as 
 in the second instance, with full and mature 
 deliberation, had with his uncle the Duke of 
 Acquitaine and Lancaster and other learned 
 persons, declared the sentence and judgment pro- 
 nounced by the Constable as aforesaid to have 
 been in all points good and lawful — that is to 
 
Origin and Meaning of Arms, &c. 41 
 
 say, that the arms, * Azure, a bend or,' do appertain 
 to the said Sir Richard le Scrope, and doth ratify 
 and confirm the same, adjudging the said arms 
 to Sir Richard and his heirs, and laying and 
 imposing upon Sir Robert Grosvenor and his 
 heirs perpetual silence in respect of the bearing 
 of such arms entire or with difference, and con- 
 demning him, the said Sir Robert and his party, 
 in the costs and expenses of the said Sir Richard, 
 the taxation whereof the King reserves to him- 
 self or his Commissioners. And whereas the 
 said Constable hath of his courtesy awarded and 
 ordained to the said Sir Robert, to bear the 
 arms, * Azure, a bend or, with a plain bordure 
 argent,' the King, nevertheless, considering the 
 premises, and that such bordure is not a suffi- 
 cient difference in arms between two strangers 
 [in blood] in one kingdom, but only between 
 cousin and cousin in blood ; considering also that 
 the said Sir Robert hath in his libel of appeal 
 demanded generally that the said sentence should 
 be cancelled and annulled, and also that in his 
 two objective informations to the Commissioners 
 he had alleged that the award and ordinance of 
 the said arms with a plain bordure was erroneous, 
 inasmuch as he had never demanded such arms, 
 requiring that such award and ordinance so 
 made should be cancelled and annulled ; and 
 considering further that the said Richard hath 
 
42 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 preferred the same requisition ; the King there- 
 fore cancels and annuls the said definitive 
 sentence accordingly. Given and promulgated 
 as the King's definitive judgment, in the great 
 chamber called the Chamber of Parliament with- 
 in the Royal Palace of Westminster, the 27th 
 of May, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 
 Here is another instance a year or two later : — 
 
 * P' Thoma Comite Marescallo et Notyxgh'.* 
 
 ' R' Om'ibz ad quos etc. sal't'm. Sciatis q'd cum 
 dil'c'us et fidelis Consanguineus n'r Thomas 
 Comes marescallus et Notyngh' h'eat iustu' 
 titulu' hereditatiuu' ad portand' p' cresta sua 
 vnu' leopardum de auro cum vno labello albof 
 qui de iure asset cresta filii n'ri primogeniti 
 si quern procreassem.' Nos ea considerac'o'e 
 concessim' p' nob' et heredibz n'ris eidem 
 Thome et heredibz suis q'd ip'i p' ditferencia 
 in ea p'te deferre possint et deferant vnu, leo- 
 pardum et in loco labelli vna' coronam de 
 argentof absqz impedimento n'ri vel heredu' 
 
 * Patent Roll (339), 17 Ric II., Pt. i, mem. 2. 
 
 t It is worthy of note, by the way, that whilst the label is blazoned 
 ' white,' the crown is blazoned argent. The Royal labels are always 
 white, and if the distinction is adhered to, it of course does away 
 with the apparent impossibility of depicting the label upon the 
 ' unicorn argent.' It has been stated that the white label is 
 reserved for the Royal Family. Whilst the existence of such a 
 rule is not asserted at the College of Arms, it is a significant fact 
 that no official exemplification of a ' white ' label exists to any 
 arms other than the Royal Arms, and I myself do not know of 
 an instance of an 'argent' label. 
 
Origin and Meaning of Arms, &c. 43 
 
 n'ror' sup'd'c'or'. In cuius etc. T. R. apud 
 Westm' xii die Januar [17 Ric. II.]. 
 
 ' p' br'e de priuato sigillo.' 
 
 The translation of the foregoing is as follows : — 
 
 ' The King to all to whom, etc., Greeting: Know that, 
 whereas our well-beloved and faithful kinsman, 
 Thomas, Earl Marshal and Earl of Nottingham, 
 has a just hereditary title to bear for his crest a 
 leopard or, with a white label,"^ which would be 
 of right the crest of our eldest son if we had 
 begotten a son. We, for this consideration, 
 have granted for us and our heirs to the said 
 Thomas and his heirs that for a difference in 
 this behalf they shall and may bear a leopard, 
 and in place of a label a crown argent,"^ without 
 hindrance from us or our heirs aforesaid, — In 
 witness, etc. Witness the King at West- 
 minster, the 1 2th day of January [17 Ric. II.]. 
 
 ' By writ of Privy Seal.' 
 
 I am told of a general armorial edict as early as 
 the reign of Richard II. Whether such an edict 
 ever existed or not I cannot say, for I have been 
 unable to learn anything whatsoever about its 
 existence or its tenor. But I imagine no one will 
 be so foolish as to question the fact that sufficient 
 power and authority were vested in the person of 
 King Henry V. to make and enforce such regula- 
 tions as he thought necessary. 
 
 Certain is it that in the year 141 8 he issued a 
 writ, of which a copy follows : — 
 
 * /did., t, p. 42. 
 
44 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 Writ of Henry V. regulating Coat- Armour, 
 
 1418* 
 
 'Rex Vicecomiti salutem, etc. Quia, prout in- 
 formamur, diversi homines, qui in viagiis 
 nostris ante haec tempora factis, Arma & 
 Tunicas Armorum vocat, Coat-Armours in 
 se susceperunt, ubi nee ipsi nee eorum Ante- 
 cessores hujusmodi Armis ac Tunicis Armorum 
 temporibus retroactis usi fuerint, & ea in pre- 
 senti viagio nostro in proximo, Deo dante, 
 faciend' exercere proponant ; & quanquam 
 Omnipotens suam gratiam disponat prout vult 
 in naturalibus, equaliter Diviti & Pauperi ; 
 volentes tamen quemlibet Ligeorum nost- 
 rorum predictorum juxta status sui exigentiam 
 modo debito pertractari & haberi : Tibi pre- 
 cipimus, quod, in singulis locis intra Ballivam 
 tuam, ubi per breve nostrum nuper p'monstris 
 faciendis p'clamari demandavim' publico ex 
 parte n'ra proclamari fac' quod nullus cujus- 
 cunque status, gradus, seu conditionis fuerit, 
 hujusmodi Arma sive Tunicas Armorum in 
 se sumat, nisi ipse jure antecessorio, vel ex 
 donatione alicujus ad hoc sufficientem potes- 
 tatem habentis, ea possideat aut possidere 
 debeat. Et quod ipse Arma sive Tunicas illas 
 ex cujus dono obtinet die monstrationis sue, 
 personis ad hoc per nos assignatis seu assig- 
 nandis manifeste demonstret, exceptis illis qui 
 nobiscum apud bellum de Agincourt arma 
 portabant, sub poenis non admissionis ad pro- 
 ficiendum in Viagio predicto sub numero ipsius 
 cum quo retentus existit, ac perditionis vadio- 
 * Close Roll, 5 Henry V., mem. 1$. 
 
Origin and Meaning of Arms, &c. 45 
 
 rum suorum ex causa predicta perceptorum, 
 necnon rasura & ruptura dictorum Armorum 
 & Tunicarum, vocat' Coat-Armours, tempore 
 monstrationis sue predicto, si ea super ilium 
 monstrata fuerint seu inventa. Et hoc nulla- 
 tenus omittas. T. R. apud Civitatem Nov, 
 Sarum, secundo die Junii. 
 
 ' Per ipsum Regem. 
 
 ' Consimilia Brevia diriguntur Vicecomitibus 
 Wilts, Sussex, Dorset, sub eadem data.' 
 
 Of the foregoing, the following may be taken as 
 an exact translation : — * 
 
 ' The King to the Sheriff, greeting, etc. — Whereas, 
 as we are informed, [of] divers men who, on 
 our journeys heretofore made, assumed unto 
 themselves Arms and Coats of Arms, called 
 Coat-Armours, in cases where neither they nor 
 their ancestors in times gone by used such 
 Arms and Coats of Arms, and propose to make 
 use of them in our present journey, now, God 
 willing, just about to be made ; and, although 
 the Almighty distributes his favours in nature 
 according to his will, equally to the rich man 
 and to the poor ; nevertheless we, willing that 
 each of our lieges aforesaid should be held and 
 considered as his rank demands, charge you to 
 cause to be publicly proclaimed on our behalf, 
 in all places within your Bailiwick, where by 
 our writ we have lately commanded proclama- 
 tions to be made for the holding of musters, 
 
 * Similar writs are addressed to the Sheriffs of Wilts, Sussex, and 
 Dorset. 
 
46 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 that no one, of whatsoever rank, degree or 
 condition he may be, shall assume such Arms 
 or Coats of Arms, unless he possesses or ought 
 to possess the same in right of his ancestors, or 
 by the gift of some person having adequate 
 power for that purpose. And that he shall 
 plainly show forth, on the day of his mustering, 
 by whose gift he holds those Arms or Coats of 
 Arms, to the persons for this purpose by us 
 assigned or to be assigned, those excepted who 
 bore arms with us at the battle of Agincourt, 
 under pain of not being admitted to take part 
 in the journey aforesaid in the train of him by 
 whom he may have been retained, and of the 
 loss of the wages received by him on the said 
 account, together with the stripping off and 
 breaking up of the Arms and Coats called 
 Coat-Armours aforesaid, on his mustering 
 aforesaid, if they shall have been displayed or 
 found on him. And this you are in no wise 
 to omit. Witness the King at the City of 
 New Sarum, 2 June [5 Hen. V.]. 
 
 ' By the King himself.' 
 
 It is on this writ that I take my stand for 
 the statement that the authority was vested in 
 and assumed and asserted — arrogated, if you 
 like — by the King. There cannot be anything 
 clearer or more definite than the clause ending : 
 Et quod ipse arma sive tunicas illas ex cujus dono 
 obtinet die monstrationis sue personis ad hoc per 
 nos assignatis seu assignandis manifeste demon- 
 
Origin and Meaning of Arms, &c. 47 
 
 stret exceptis illis qui nobiscum apud bellum de 
 Agincourt arma portabant' 
 
 Since the date of that proclamation, the sole 
 power and authority concerning arms has re- 
 mained with and has been asserted by the Crown. 
 The continuity has never lapsed ; there has been 
 no interregnum ; there has been no waiving of 
 the control ; and though in modern times the 
 enormous powers formerly exercised by the 
 officers of arms have not been rigidly or objec- 
 tionably enforced, the power and authority has 
 remained, and still exists in its absolute entirety. 
 
 There are those of that certain class of mind 
 which is quite content to accept anything as gospel 
 for which there is Shakesperean authority. For 
 their benefit I quote the following, for it is not 
 unlikely that Shakespeare had this writ in mind, 
 or perhaps it was a matter of common knowledge 
 in his day that use of arms at Agincourt was 
 accepted as proof of gentility, when he put these 
 words into King Henry's mouth on the eve of 
 that great battle (Act IV., scene iii.) : — 
 
 ' We few, we happy few, we band of brothers ; 
 For he to-day that sheds his blood with me 
 Shall be my brother ; be he ne'er so vile, 
 This day shall gentle his condition.' 
 
 After the restoration Charles II. issued a 
 warrant, a copy of which is now preserved in the 
 College of Arms, in the course of which he re- 
 
48 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 asserted that matters of names and arms were 
 matters in the sole prerogative of the Crown. I 
 append a copy of that part of it which relates to 
 my subject. The Warrant is dated June 6th, 
 1679, and recites that the Duke of Newcastle had 
 represented that his son and heir-apparent, Henry, 
 Earl of Ogle, had married Elizabeth, Lady Percy, 
 sole daughter and heir to Jocelin, late Earl of 
 Northumberland, deceased, and had ' earnestly 
 besought us to grant our Royal assent, leave 
 and allowance That he the said Henry, Earl of 
 Ogle, and the descendants of his body by the 
 said Eliz., Lady Percie, may assume and take 
 the Surname of Percie and bear the Armes of 
 Percie quarterly with his own Paternall Armes, 
 neither of which may regularly be done according 
 to the law of Armes without y^ speciall dispensacon 
 and Licence of us, as we are by Our Supream power 
 and Pi'erogative the onely Fountain of Honour 
 Know ye therefore that we of our Princely Grace 
 and Speciall Favour, at y^ humble request of the 
 said Duke of Newcastle and Earl of Ogle, have 
 given and Granted, and do by these presents give 
 and grant, unto him the said Earl of Ogle and to 
 the heirs and descendants of his body to be be- 
 gotten on y^ sd. Eliz. Lady Percie now his wife, 
 and to every of them full power, licence and 
 authority to assume and take,' etc., etc. 
 
 The Patent goes on to recite the permission 
 given, and ends with a clause requiring the 
 
Origin and Meaning of Arms, &c. 49 
 
 warrant to be duly registered in the College of 
 Arms. 
 
 The Sovereign, of his or her direct initiative and 
 mere motion, in ancient times occasionally directly 
 intervened in armorial matters. At the present 
 day the same practice is still carried out. The 
 Kings of Arms in England, for example, have 
 no power in themselves to grant the lawful arms 
 of one family to another family, and in England 
 and Ireland a Royal Licence under the Privy 
 Seal and actual sign-manual of the Sovereign 
 is necessary if it is wished to assume the arms 
 of another family. In one or two cases, e.g., in 
 the granting of arms to a Colony, the Sovereign 
 has, even in the present reign, granted arms direct 
 by means of a Warrant merely commanding such 
 arms and warrant to be recorded in the Heralds' 
 College. This is then done, and such arms exist 
 simply on the strength of the Warrant, no formal 
 Patent being issued by the Kings of Arms. A 
 similar course is adopted when arms are assigned 
 to the different members of the Royal Family. 
 Probably it is news to many that the Royal Arms 
 as such are not hereditary, in the ordinary sense 
 of the word, and a separate warrant issues for each 
 individual But all such Royal Warrants relating 
 to Arms are always required to be, and are, recorded 
 in the College of Arms. The following is an ex- 
 ample of an ancient grant of arms direct from the 
 
 Sovereign : — 
 
 D 
 
50 The Right to Bear A7^ms 
 
 Me'"* q'd ista billa lib'ata fuit d'no Cancellar' 
 Angl' XIX'' DIE Maii Anno xxvij exequend'.* 
 
 ' Placeat supp'mo d'no n'ro Regi de gr'a v'ra 
 sp'ili graciose co'cedere fidelibus ligeis v'ris 
 Rogero Keys cl'ico et Thome Keys fr'i sue 
 vr'as litteras patentes tenorem subsequentem 
 in debita forma co'tinentes Rex etc. Om'ibz 
 ad quos p'sentes I're p'uen 'int sal' t'm. Cum 
 p'ncipis cuius-cu'qz intersit et deceat suos 
 subditos p'cipue illos qui sibi s'uicia impendent 
 honoribz p'uilegiis et dignitatibz p'miare et 
 decorare ut ad h'mo'i s'uicia impend' citius 
 animent' et fiant p'm'ciores hinc est q'd nos 
 co'sideraco'em h'entes ad grata et laudabilia 
 s'uicia que dilectus cl'icus noster Rogerus Keys 
 multiplicit' ac diu'simode nobis ta' in op'ac'o'is 
 n'ris edificac'o'is Collegii nostri Regalis b'te 
 Marie de Eton iux'* Windesor' q'm alias 
 impendit et impendet infutur' volentes qz 
 eid'm Rogero ac Thome Keys fr'i suo et suis 
 sup' p'dict' honoribz p'iuilegiis et dignitatibz 
 gr'am n'ram impartire eosd'm Roger' et 
 Thoma' tanq' b'n' merit' 'se nobis h' at' necnon 
 ab eod'm Thoma p'creatos et procreand' et 
 descendentes ab eod'm nobilitamus nobiles q' 
 facimus et creamus. Et in signu' h'mo'i 
 nobilitat' arma et armor' insignia in hiis p'ntibz 
 n'ris I'ris depictaf cum libertatibz immunitatibz 
 
 * In the Museum of the P.R.O. (central stand). This of course 
 is not the actual document making the grant. The formal grant, 
 however, is known to have been issued, and was no doubt issued in 
 the terms prayed. 
 
 fThe arms in question were depicted per chevron gules and 
 sable, three keys erect, wards upwards, or. 
 
Origin and Meaning of Arms, &c. 51 
 
 priuilegiis Franchesiis juribz et aliis insigniis 
 viris nobilibz debit' et consuet' imp'p' dam, 
 et concedimus p' p'sentes. In cuius rei testi- 
 moniu' has Tras nostras fieri fecim' patent' T 
 meip'o etc' 
 
 Of the foregoing document the following is a 
 translation : — 
 
 Memorandum that this bill was delivered to 
 THE Lord Chancellor of England on the 
 19TH DAY OF May in the 27TH year. 
 
 ' May it please our supreme lord the King of your 
 especial grace graciously to grant to your faith- 
 ful Heges Roger Keys, clerk, and Thomas Keys, 
 his brother, your letters patent in due form, of 
 tenor as follows : — 
 
 ' The King, etc., to all to whom these present 
 letters shall come, greeting. Whereas it behoves 
 and becomes every prince to reward and adorn 
 with privileges and dignities all his subjects, 
 especially those who render him services, that 
 they may be the better encouraged to perform 
 such services, and may be rendered the more 
 prompt therein, we, having regard to the good 
 and praiseworthy services of divers kinds ren- 
 dered to us on many occasions by our beloved 
 clerk, Roger Keys, both in the work of building 
 our Royal College of the Blessed Mary of Eton 
 by Windsor, and, in other ways, and which he 
 will continue to render us, desirous of bestowing 
 our favour on the said Roger and Thomas Keys, 
 his brother, and his [? family] as regards the 
 said honours, privileges and dignities, we en- 
 noble, and make and create noble, the said Roger 
 
52 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 and Thomas, on account of their deserts at our 
 hands, together with the heirs, begotten or to 
 be begotten, and the descendants of the said 
 Thomas ; and in token of this nobihty, we give 
 and grant by these presents for ever the arms 
 and coat of arms in these our present letters de- 
 picted,* with the Hberties, immunities, privileges, 
 franchises, rights and other distinctions due and 
 accustomed to noblemen. In witness whereof 
 we have caused these our Letters to be made 
 Patent. 
 
 ' Witness myself, etc' 
 
 A specific Royal Warrant is also necessary in the 
 case of each and every ' augmentation of honour ' 
 to a coat of arms or crest. Up to the present 
 time (and certainly for more than the last century) 
 every such Royal Warrant has contained a clause 
 making the grant conditional, and only operative 
 upon its being recorded in the College of Arms. 
 In fact, the Warrant nowadays is usually more in 
 the nature of a specific authority to the Officers of 
 Arms to issue the grant of and duly record the 
 Royal concession of grace. Without such a 
 warrant any addition to a coat of arms is merely 
 an alteration of it, and not an augmentation. 
 
 A very common little failing, by the way, is this : 
 When a family have been illegally making use of 
 arms for some time, and are then, for some reason 
 or other, induced or required to place their armorial 
 
 * Ibid., t, p. 50- 
 
Origin and Meaning of Arms, &c. 53 
 
 matters upon a legal footing, and a patent of arms 
 is obtained under the hands and seals of the Kings 
 of Arms, the coat of arms which has previously 
 been in use is never granted to the person intact. 
 If a desire for a coat similar to the one in use be 
 preferred, some alterations and additions to it are 
 of course introduced, varying according to the 
 discretion of the Officers of Arms and the circum- 
 stances of the case, in order to render it a different 
 and new coat of arms, and to satisfy the require- 
 ments of one of the rules of the College that no 
 two coats of arms which may be granted by its 
 officers shall be alike. The usual tale which one 
 is told — if the fact of the grant being modern by 
 any chance transpires — is, if you please, that the 
 alterations and additions are ' augmentations.^ 
 Some of the older grants simply made additions 
 to the coats which had been previously used, and 
 this, to an ordinary individual, might lend some 
 semblance to the idea. But to the propagators 
 of such cheerful little fables I would add this 
 fact to their knowledge : An * augmentation ' re- 
 quires, as explained above, a special Warrant from 
 the Sovereign. The ' augmentations ' legitimately 
 existing are very few in number, and are very well 
 known. A complete list of all augmentations, which 
 it has long been an ambition of mine to publish, 
 would occupy but little space. I have notes of 
 most, if not of all, but I have no sufficient means 
 
54 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 of ensuring that my list would be complete to 
 warrant my putting it into type. 
 
 Here I only refer to the matter of augmentations 
 to illustrate the direct action of the Sovereign, and 
 for this purpose I append copies of the grant by 
 King Henry VIII. of the Howard augmentation to 
 commemorate the victory at Flodden Field, — of 
 the Royal Warrant from Her Majesty Queen 
 Victoria authorising and granting the Speke 
 augmentation, — and of the Letters Patent which, 
 following upon the Royal Warrant therein referred 
 to, granted the augmentation to the Family of 
 Ross-of-Bladensburg. 
 
 The Howard Augmentation of Arms.* 
 
 To Commemorate the Victory of Flodden. 
 
 (Being a part of the Letters Patent conferring the 
 Dukedom of Norfolk.) 
 
 ' R' om'ibz ad quos etc., Sal't'm .... Et ut 
 ilia victoria impost'um h'eat' in memoria & 
 cunctis videat' p'petta fuisse conducio'e 
 regimine & gub'naco'e d'c'i Consanguinei n'ri 
 de ub'iori gr'a n'ra dam' & concedim' p'fato 
 Duci & hered' suis temporibz futuris imp'p'm 
 in signu' illius victorii q'd ip'e Dux & hered' sui 
 p'd'c'i portent & gerant in medio bende armor' 
 p'prii no'is p'fati Ducis. videl't scuto de haward 
 integram medietatem sup'ioris partis leonis 
 rubei sagitta ore confossi depictat' q' rectis 
 coloribus Armor' regni Scocie, que d'c'us idem 
 * Patent Roll, 621, 5 Hen. VIII,, Pt. ii., mem. 13. 
 
Origin and Meaning of Arms, &c. 55 
 
 Jacobus nup' Rex Sector' portavit h'end' 
 tenend' & gerend' d'c'am medietat' sup'ioris 
 partis leonis rubei sagitta ore confossi depictat'q' 
 modo & forma p'dict' p'fato Duci & hered' suis 
 p'd'c'is imp'p'm .... 
 
 ' T. R' apud Westm' primo die Februarii. 
 
 Translation of the foregoing Grant of the Aug- 
 mentation of Arms : — 
 
 ' The King to all to whom, etc., greeting .... 
 And in order that that victory [the Battle of 
 Flodden] may hereafter be had in memory, 
 and that it may appear to all that it was 
 achieved by the generalship, guidance and 
 governance of our said cousin, of our more 
 ample grace we give and grant to the aforesaid 
 Duke and his heirs as a sign of the said victory 
 for all time to come, that the said Duke and 
 his heirs aforesaid shall carry and bear in the 
 middle of the bend of the arms of the proper 
 name of the said Duke, to wit on the shield of 
 Howard, a demy lion gules, pierced in the 
 mouth with an arrow, depicted in the colours 
 proper to the arms of the Kingdom of Scot- 
 land, which the said James, late King of 
 Scots bore, to have and hold the said demy lion 
 gules, pierced in the mouth with an arrow, 
 and depicted in the manner and form afore- 
 said to the said Duke and his heirs aforesaid 
 for ever .... 
 
 * Witness the King at Westminster, the first 
 day of February [15 14].' 
 
56 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 Grant of Augmentation of Arms and Supporters 
 TO THE Father of Captain Speke, the 
 Discoverer of the Sources of the Nile.* 
 ' Victoria R. — Whereas we, taking into our 
 Royal consideration the services of the late 
 John Hanning Speke, Esquire, Captain in 
 our Indian Military Forces, in connection 
 with the discovery of the Sources of the 
 Nile, and who was, by a deplorable accident, 
 suddenly deprived of his life before he has 
 received any mark of our Royal favour ; and 
 being desirous of preserving in his family the 
 remembrance of these services by the grant of 
 certain honourable armorial distinctions to his 
 family arms : — 
 
 ' Know ye that we, of our princely grace and 
 special favour, have given and granted, and 
 by these presents do give and grant unto 
 William Speke, of Jordans, in the parish of 
 Ashill, in the county of Somerset, Esquire, the 
 father of the said John Hanning Speke, our 
 Royal Licence and Authority that he and his 
 descendants may bear to his and their armorial 
 ensigns the honourable augmentation foUow- 
 mg : that is to say — On a chief a representation 
 of flowing water superinscribed with the word 
 Nile ; and for a crest of honourable augmenta- 
 tion a crocodile ; also the Supporters following : 
 that is to say — On the dexter side a Crocodile, 
 and on the sinister side a Hippopotamus, pro- 
 vided that the same be first duly exemplified 
 according to the Law of Arms, and recorded in 
 our College of Arms, etc. 
 
 * This is reproduced from the Appendix to Woodward & Burnett's 
 Treatise on Heraldry. 
 
Origin and Meaning of Arms, &c. 57 
 
 ' Given at our Court of St James's, the 26th 
 day of July 1867, in the thirty-first year of our 
 Reign. 
 
 ' By Her Majesty's Command, 
 
 ' Gathorne Hardy.' 
 
 The Patent granting the Augmentation to com- 
 memorate THE Battle of Bladensberg. 
 
 ' UO all ant) singular to whom these present 
 shall come Sir Isaac Heard Knight Garter 
 Principal King of Arms and George Harrison 
 Esquire Clarenceux King of Arms of the South 
 and West Parts of England from the River 
 Trent Southwards send Greeting Whereas His 
 Royal Highness the Prince Regent by Warrant 
 under His Majesty's Royal Signet and the 
 Sign Manual of His Royal Highness in the 
 Name and on the Behalf of His Majesty bearing 
 date the Twenty-fifth day of August last did 
 signify unto the Most Noble Charles late 
 Duke of Norfolk Earl Marshal and Hereditary 
 Marshal of England deceased that taking into 
 consideration the highly distinguished Services 
 of the late Robert Ross Esquire Major General 
 of His Majesty's Forces and Lieutenant Colonel 
 of the 20th Regiment of Foot deceased upon 
 divers important occasions and the signal 
 Intrepidity displayed by him in the brilliant 
 action with the Enemy on the Plains of Maida 
 in Calabria and throughout the recent arduous 
 and Splendid Achievements of His Majesty's 
 Arms in the Peninsula particularly at the 
 memorable Engagement at Corunna and in the 
 several brilliant and decisive Actions with the 
 
58 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 Enemy at Vittoria in the Pyrenees and at 
 Orthes and more especially the Ability Promp- 
 titude and Energy with which on the 14th day 
 of August 1 8 14 with the Troops under his 
 command he accomplished the Capture of the 
 City of Washington in America after having 
 on the same day defeated the Army of the 
 United States at the Village of Bladensberg 
 although greatly superior in Force and strongly 
 posted with Cannon And considering also that 
 the said Major General unfortunately but 
 gloriously fell at the head of His Majesty's 
 Troops under his Command on the 12th day 
 of September following in an arduous attempt 
 to gain possession of the Town of Baltimore 
 And being desirous to commemorate these 
 important Services His Royal Highness had 
 been pleased to give and grant His Majesty's 
 Royal Licence and Permission that the follow- 
 ing honourable Armorial Ensigns may be placed 
 on any Monument to be erected to the memory 
 of the said Major General Ross viz* "Per fess 
 embattled in Chief a dexter Arm embowed and 
 encircled by a Wreath of Laurel the Hand 
 grasping the Colours of the United States of 
 America the Staff broken On a Canton a repre- 
 sentation of the Gold Cross with which His 
 Majesty was pleased to honour the said Major 
 General in testimony of His Royal Approbation 
 of his Services in base the Arms of Ross of 
 Ross Trevor '' with this Motto " Bladensberg." 
 And for Crest in addition to that of Ross the 
 following Viz* " Out of a Mural Crown a dexter 
 Arm grasping the Colours as in the Arms " 
 
Origin and Meaning of A7^ms, &c. 59 
 
 And His Royal Highness did further grant and 
 ordain that the said honourable Armorial 
 Distinctions may be borne and used by Eliza- 
 beth Catherine Ross Widow and Relict of 
 the said Major General during her Widowhood 
 and by his Descendants and that she and they 
 may henceforward be called " Ross of Bladens- 
 BERG " as a Memorial to them and to His 
 Majesty's beloved subjects in general of the 
 Loyalty Ability and Valour of that highly 
 distinguished Officer whose valuable Life was 
 thus gloriously devoted to the Service of his 
 Country Provided the said honourable Armorial 
 Distinctions be first duly exemplified according 
 to the Laws of Arms and recorded in the 
 Heralds' Office otherwise the said Royal Licence 
 and Permission to be void and of none effect 
 And forasmuch as Henry Thomas Howard 
 MoLYNEUX Esquire Deputy with the Royal 
 Approbation to his Brother the Most Noble 
 Bernard Edward Duke of Norfolk Earl 
 Marshal and Hereditary Marshal of England 
 did by Warrant under his hand and seal bear- 
 ing date the twentieth day of April instant 
 authorize and direct us to exemplify such 
 honourable Armorial Distinctions accordingly 
 Know ye therefore that We the said Garter 
 and Clarenceux in obedience to the said 
 Royal Command in pursuance of the said 
 Warrant and by Virtue of the Letters Patent of 
 our several Offices to each of Us respectively 
 granted do by these Presents exemplify 
 the honourable Armorial Distinctions follow- 
 ing that is to say Per fess embattled Argent 
 
6o The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 and Or in Chief issuant a dexter Arm 
 embowed vested Gules Cuff Azure encircled by 
 a Wreath of Laurel the hand grasping a Flag 
 Staff broken in bend Sinister therefrom flowing 
 the Colours of the United States of America 
 proper in Base the Arms of Ross of Ross 
 Trevor on a Canton of the third pendent from 
 a Ribband a Representation of the Cross pre- 
 sented by Command of His Majesty to the 
 said late Major General in testimony of his 
 Royal Approbation of his Services with the 
 Motto " Bladensberg " And for a Crest of 
 honourable Augmentation in addition to the 
 Crest of the Family of Ross of Ross Trevor the 
 following that is to say On a Wreath of the 
 Colours Out of a Mural Crown Or a dexter 
 Arm grasping the Colours as in the Arms as 
 the same are in the Margin hereof more plainly 
 depicted the said Arms and Crest to be placed 
 on any Monument to be erected to the Memory 
 of the said late Major General Robert Ross 
 and to be borne and used for ever hereafter by 
 his Descendants and the said Arms to be borne 
 and used by her the said Elizabeth Catherine 
 Ross during her Widowhood according to the 
 Tenor of the said Royal Warrant and the Laws 
 of Arms In Witness whereof We the said 
 Garter and Clarenceux Kings of Arms have 
 to these Presents subscribed our Names and 
 affixed the Seals of our several Offices this 
 twenty-sixth day of April in the Fifty- sixth year 
 of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George 
 the Third by the Grace of God of the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King 
 
Origin and Meaning of Arms, &c. 6i 
 
 Defender of the Faith etc. and in the year of 
 our Lord One thousand eight hundred and 
 sixteen. 
 
 ' Isaac Heard Garter Principal King 
 * of Arms. 
 
 ' George Harrison Clarenceux King 
 'of Arms.' 
 
 One last proof of the presently operative direct 
 action of the Sovereign : — Each successive Duke 
 of Norfolk is personally invested by the Sovereign, 
 who, on his succession, hands to each Earl Marshal 
 the baton or staff, which is the outward symbol of 
 his office. The present Earl Marshal was so in- 
 vested in January 1869. 
 
 So much in proof of the direct action and inter- 
 ference of the Crown. I have shown the authority 
 to exist, I have shown the continuity of such direct 
 action \ty the Crown from early times into the 
 present reign. 
 
 But it is only in very special circumstances that 
 the Crown directly exercises its prerogative. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE EARL MARSHAL 
 
 The Crown has delegated in England much of 
 its authority — in fact, most of the details of the 
 granting and control of armorial bearings — to the 
 Earl Marshal and the officers of the College of 
 Arms. 
 
 Anciently the offices of High Constable and 
 Marshal, though held by different people, were 
 much interwoven. 
 
 Briefly, the duties attached to the office of High 
 Constable were these : — He held the chief com- 
 mand in the army and had cognisance of all 
 military offences ; he regulated all matters of 
 chivalry, such as tilts and tournaments and feats of 
 arms ; he was the supreme judge in the Court of 
 Chivalry, in which he sat in conjunction with the 
 Earl Marshal. In 13 Richard II. (1389-90) a 
 statute was passed to check the encroachments of 
 their Court upon the other courts of law, and its 
 jurisdiction was restricted to 'contracts and deeds 
 
The Earl Marshal 63 
 
 of arms,' and ' things which touch war, and which 
 cannot be discussed or determined by the common 
 law.' 
 
 Camden disposes of this subject thus : — ' Profit- 
 less questions have also arisen which of these two 
 was chief In early times the Constable took pre- 
 cedence, but as judges they were equal. The follow- 
 ing writ is relied upon to show that the Constable 
 was principal, but it may only convey that either 
 could initiate an action, and the Constable in this 
 does do.' 
 
 A Writ out of the Court of Chifalry. 
 
 * Jehan, filz, frere, & Uncle au Roys, Due de Bed- 
 ford, Conte de Richmond & de Kendall, & Con- 
 nestable d'Angleterre, a nostre trescher cousin 
 Jehan, Due de Northfolk, Mareschal d'Angle- 
 terre Saluz. Nous vous mandons & ehargeons 
 que vous facez arrestre & venir devant nous ou 
 nostre Lieutenant a Westminster, a la quinsieme 
 du Saint Hillari, prochain venant, William 
 Clopton, du Counte de SufF, Esquier, pour 
 adonques respondre devant nous ou nostre 
 Lieutenant en la Courte de Chivalree a Robert 
 Dland, Esquier, du Counte de Nieholl, de ceque 
 le dit Robert adonques luy surmettra par voie 
 darmes, touchant ce, qu'il fauxment & 
 eneontre honeste & gentilesse d'armes, ad- 
 mis & appose le seel de ses armes a 
 un fauc & forge fait, as dammages du dit Robert, 
 de C^ & plus : a ce qu'il di remandantz par 
 devers nous a dit jour ou iceste nostre mande- 
 
64 The Right to Bea7' Anns 
 
 ment, cous ce que vous en aurez faitz. Donne 
 soubz le seal de nostre office, le xxiij jour de 
 November, Pan de regne nostre Seigneur le 
 Roy Henry Sisme, puis le Conquest d'Angle- 
 terre, cestisme.' 1428. — (Camden's Remaines, 
 by Phillipot, 1674, p. 240). 
 
 ' That other great officer of state, the Marshal of 
 England, was termed simply Lord Marshal, until 
 the title of Earl Marshal was bestowed on Thomas 
 Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham, by King Richard 
 II. in 1386. The patent, dated 12th January in 
 that year, increased the powers attached to the 
 dignity ; he is therein authorised to preside in the 
 Court of Chivalry, to summon the heralds to assist 
 him, etc., etc. ; previously he had only sat in con- 
 junction with the Constable (Pat. Roll, 9 Richard 
 II., Part i., memb. 38 ; Dallaway, p. 93).' 
 
 The foregoing quotation I take verbatim from 
 The Earl Marshal's Court of England, by George 
 Grazebrook, F.S.A.* The information may be 
 perfectly accurate, but I have failed to find the 
 patent in question upon the Patent Rolls. The 
 reference given is manifestly an incorrect one. 
 There is a grant of the Marshalship to Thomas, 
 Earl of Nottingham, 30 June, 4 Ric. II., in place of 
 Thomas, Earl of Kent, and 10 Feb. 1397 the Earl 
 of Nottingham was constituted Earl Marshal. 
 
 The Earl Marshal accompanied the Royal Court 
 in its journeyings, and his jurisdiction extended 
 
 * I gratefully acknowledge having taken many extracts from this 
 book. 
 
The Earl Marshal 65 
 
 for twelve leucas (miles), to the ' verge ' of the 
 Court.* This was confirmed by patent (Pat. Roll, 
 13 Edward III., Part ii., memb. 33 ; and 36 Edward 
 III., Part iii., memb. 23). His Court took cognisance 
 of all matters relating to honour, arms, and pedigree, 
 and directed the proclamations of peace and war ; 
 it was the Curia Militaris or Court of Chivalry ; 
 during times of war it was with the army, and in 
 times of peace sat in the Aula Regis or King's 
 Court ; and when the ancient Aula Regis came 
 to be divided among new branch courts, the 
 Marshals appointed deputies — in the King's Bench, 
 the Marshal of the Marshalsea, or Marshal of the 
 King's Bench. In the Exchequer, the deputy was 
 named Marshal of the Exchequer, or Clerk of the 
 Marshalsea of the Exchequer. Appeals from the 
 Earl Marshal's Court could be carried into the 
 King's Bench {Dallaway, 95, 289). Francis 
 Thynne, Lancaster Herald, writing under date 3rd 
 March 1605 (Hearne's Curious Discourses, ii., p. 
 1 56), says : ' The Earl Marshal's Court had power 
 to imprison and commit to the Marshalsea. The 
 Constable and Earl Marshal have a law by them- 
 selves, and the common law takes cognisance of it 
 and concurs ; and just in the same way it concurs 
 in ecclesiastical law.' — See the judgment by Mr 
 Justice Needham, sitting with the Justices Ashton, 
 Moyle, and Prisott. Mr Justice Needham pro- 
 
 * Verge ^ i.e.^ the 1 2-mile compass or radius. 
 
 E 
 
66 . The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 nounced, ' Le comen Ley prendera conizance de 
 Ley de le Conestable et Marshal : car en appelle 
 de morte est bone justificacione que le morte, luy 
 appelle de Treasone devant le Conestable et 
 Marshal par qui ils combateront la, er le defendant 
 vanquisht le morte al mort : Et c'est bone justifica- 
 tione al comen Ley : Et Ashton et Moyle con- 
 cesserunt que comen Ley prendra notice del Ley 
 del Conestable et Marshal : Tamen Prisott contra : 
 Mes puis ques les trois disont, ut supra : Prisott 
 non negavit' The above decision seems to have 
 been given before 1461. Many great causes, 
 bearing entirely on heraldic matters, have come 
 before this Court. Dallaivay, pp. 79, 80, notices as 
 the most remarkable, Harding and St Loe, 1312 ; 
 XWarburton and Georges, 1321 (Coker's History of 
 Dorset,"^. 25) ; Sitsilt and Fakenham, 1333 (Collins' 
 Peerage^ vol. iii., p. 108) ; Scrope and Grosvenor, 
 1389 (Dugdale's MSS., Ashmol. Mus. Oxon. ; Sir 
 N. Harris Nicolas published the Roll in 1832 ; 
 Herald and Genealogist^ vol. i.) ; also Hugh, Lord 
 Maltby, against Hamond Beckwith, for having 
 assumed his arms, 1339. A mandate was issued, 
 1 8th January 1339, summoning Beckwith to pro- 
 duce ' such evidence and records of arms as we shall 
 allow, and to appear before us on 14th October.' 
 Beckwith proved his right to the satisfaction of the 
 Court, and received a certificate confirming to him 
 the right to bear the disputed arms. The severest 
 
The Earl Marshal 6^ 
 
 punishment which could be inflicted by this Court 
 was degradation from the honour of knighthood. 
 This was entirely, I suppose, social and heraldic — 
 there seems to have been no fine or money 
 — and it was decreed with the utmost reluc- 
 tance. Only three instances of such jurisdic- 
 tion of the Court remain on record : Sir Andrew 
 Barclay, 1322; Sir Ralph Grey, 1464; and Sir 
 Francis Michell in 162 1. In 1568, Thomas, Duke 
 of Norfolk, then Earl Marshal, issued statutes and 
 regulations as to the process of his Court. These 
 may be found at length in Vincent's Precedents 
 (Coll. of Arms), p. 52, {Dallaway^ p. 267), and are 
 printed by Edmondson, i, 143. In the College of 
 Arms are a good many abstracts of cases that came 
 before this Court, with the judgments upon them ; 
 these were the notes taken by various heralds for 
 their private use. Here is an example : — (3) 30th 
 Nov. 1637. — Sir Richard Blount v. Sir Francis 
 Moore, for using the arms of Moore of Barcaster. 
 It appears that Sir Francis had no right, but was 
 descended from the Moores of Barfield, co. Berks, 
 whose coat he may lawfully bear. 
 
 In January 1667 Sir Edward Walker, Garter, 
 entered a complaint against Henry Parker, painter- 
 stainer, in the Earl Marshal's Court, for the 
 offence of marshalling a funeral, when Parker was 
 committed to the Marshalsea. Under a writ of 
 Habeas Corpus he was then brought before the 
 
68 The Rio-Jit to Bear Arms 
 
 ^i> 
 
 King's Bench, which declared the sufficiency of 
 the Earl Marshal's Court, and sent him back to 
 prison. After his submission, Parker was again 
 brought up at the King's Bench, and that Court, on 
 2nd February 1668, declared he might go at liberty, 
 being no prisoner of theirs. 
 
 I have now shown the origin of the authority 
 of the Earl Marshal and how this authority 
 and control were exercised. Though the Earl 
 Marshal's Court no longer sits, its authority has 
 never been abrogated, nor has the authority of the 
 Earl Marshal been in any way curtailed. That in 
 many directions this power and authority is not 
 enforced at the present day, as it might be, is to be 
 regretted. And having dealt with the office of Earl 
 Marshal, the next step is to show how the authority 
 has come into the hands of His Grace of Norfolk. 
 
 I append a copy of the Letters Patent heredit- 
 arily vesting the office of Earl Marshal in the 
 Howard family. By virtue thereof the Duke of 
 Norfolk presently holds the office of Earl Marshal, 
 and exercises the jurisdiction appertaining to his 
 office. 
 
 De con' Digxtat' et Offic' Henrico D'no 
 Howard.* 
 
 ' Carolus Secundus Dei gratia Anglic, Scotie 
 Francie et Hibernie Rex fidei Defensor etc. 
 Archiepiscopis Ducibus Marchionibz Vice- 
 * Patent Roll, 24 Charles II., No. 3142. 
 
The Earl Marshal 69 
 
 comitibz Episcopis Baronibus Justiciariis Baro- 
 nettis Militibus Armigeris Prepositis liberis 
 hominibus ac omnibus Officiariis ministris et 
 Subditis n'ris quibzcunqz ad quos presentes 
 litere prevenerint salutem Cum 
 
 [Here follows grant of the Earldom of Norwich.] 
 
 ' Cumqz precharissimus Avus noster Jacobus 
 nuper Rex Anghe beate memorie per literas 
 suas patentes geren' dat' vicesimo nono die 
 Augusti Anno Regni sui decimo nono dederit 
 et concesserit Thome nuper Comiti Arundel 
 Surr' et Norfolcie Avo dicti Henrici Domini 
 Howard dictum officium Comitis Mariscalli 
 cum omnibz et singulis suis pertinentiis pro 
 termino vite sue prout per easdem Hteras 
 patentes plenius apparet Et postea dictus Avus 
 noster per ahas literas suas patentes geren' dat' 
 primo die Augusti Anno Regni sui vicesimo 
 recitando ipsum informatum fuisse quod Idem 
 Comes Arundel et Surr' Comes suus maris- 
 callus in nonnullis causis coram ipso in Curia 
 mariscair adtunc dependent' Judicialiter pro- 
 cedere protraxit ex quibusdam dubiis divulgat' 
 Comitem, Mariscallum, ministrum tantum fuisse 
 ad precepta et judicia constabularii exequenda 
 tametsi idem Avus noster non tantum de 
 absoluta potestate Comitis mariscalli vacante 
 constabulario nunquam dubitavit verum etiam 
 eundem Comitem Mariscallum Constabulario 
 existente una cum eodem Constabulario fore 
 Judicem Tamen in huiusmodi moment! causa 
 absqz deliberac'one extraordinaria prius exhibita 
 procedere non volebat Ideoqz per semet ipsum 
 
The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 et concilium suum privatum satisfactionem 
 amplam per multas et dilucidas probation es 
 accipiens eosdem Constabular' et Comitem 
 Mariscallum conjunctos Judices insimul et 
 seperatim in utriusqz eor' vacac'oe fore idem 
 avus noster per dictas literas suas patentes 
 authorizavit voluit et mandavit eidem Thome 
 Comiti Mariscallo quod deinceps in omnibus 
 causis quibuscumqz unde curia Constabular' et 
 Mariscalli cognitio spectabat adeo judicialiter et 
 definitive procederet prout aliqui constabular' 
 sive Mariscalli huius Regni aut iunctim aut 
 divisum procedebant Quodqz Idem Comes 
 Mariscallus honorabiles processus eiusdem Curie 
 omnibz mediis cum addic'one jurium quorum- 
 cumqz eidem spectant' Necnon Recordorum et 
 president' Antiquorum assistantia restituere et 
 stabilire conaretur prout per eisdem literas 
 patentes inter alia plenius liquet et apparet 
 Que quidem litere patentes ultimo menc'onat' 
 et declarac'o in eisdem fact' quatenus menc'o 
 fit in eisdem Uteris patentibz de absoluta potes- 
 tate Comitis Mariscalli vacante Constabulariat' 
 aut quod Constabularius et Comes Mariscallus 
 essent conjuncti Judices insimul vel separatim 
 in utriusqz eorum vacatione intelligend' sunt 
 solum modo respectu et relatione habit' ad 
 curiam Constabular' et Mariscalli et in causis 
 unde curie predict' cognitio spectabat Et 
 sic per presentes declaramus et volumus in- 
 telligi et quod non extendant ad vel exponi 
 debeant de alia authoritate quacumqz ad 
 officium constabularii solummodo spectant' 
 Sciatis insuper quod nos fidelitatem obsequium 
 et benemerita dicti Henrici Domini Howard 
 
The Earl Marshal 71 
 
 intime contemplantes de ampliori gratia n'ra 
 speciali ac ex certa scientia et mero motu n'ris 
 dedimus et concessimus ac per presentes pro 
 nobis heredibus et successoribus n'ris damns et 
 concedimus eidem Henrico Domino Howard 
 officium Mariscalli Anglie unacum nomine et 
 honore comitis Mariscalli Anglie Ipsumqz 
 Henricum Dominum Howard Comitem Maris- 
 callum Anglie creamus ordinamus et consti- 
 tnimus per presentes Eique Nomen Stilum 
 Titulum Statum Authoritatem Jurisdicc'onem 
 Dignitatem et honorem Comitis Mariscalli 
 Anglie dedimus, Imposuimus et prebuimus ac 
 per presentes damns imponimus et prebemus 
 unacum omnibus et singulis dignitationibus 
 precedentiis preheminenciis Jurisdicc'onibus 
 proficuis com'oditatibus emolumentis advan- 
 tages officiis et nominac'onibus officiarior' 
 omnibusqz aliis privilegiis Juribus potestatibus 
 authoritatibz ceterisque suis pertinentiis 
 quibuscunqz tam in Curiis n'ris quam alibi 
 eidem officio Comitis Mariscalli Anglie quali- 
 tercunqz sive quomodo-cunqz spectantibus 
 aut de jure pertinentibus Ac ulterius per 
 presentes ipsum Henricum Dominum Howard 
 in eodem officio Comitis Mariscalli Anglie et 
 ceteris premissis eidem officio ut prefertur 
 pertinentibus investimus et stabilimus et 
 corroboramus in tam amplis modo et forma 
 prout Henricus Dominus Maltravers nuper 
 Comes Arundel Surrey et Norfolcie pater dicti 
 Henrici Domini Howard vel Thomas Comes 
 Arundel Surrey et Norfolcie Avus dicti Henrici 
 Domini Howard vel Thomas nuper Dux 
 Norfolcie Avus dicti Thome Comitis Arundell 
 
72 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 Surrey et Norfolcie vel Thomas quondam Dux 
 Norfolcie avus dicti Thome Ducis Norfolcie 
 vel Johannes Mowbray quondam Dux Norfolcie 
 vel aliquis alias Comes Mariscallus Anglie ante 
 hec tempora officium illud habens sive exercens 
 habuit sive exercuit seu de jure habere sive 
 exercere potuit habend' tenend' exercend' et 
 occupand' predictum officium ac omnia et 
 singula authoritates Jurisdicc'ones potestates 
 com'oditates proficua et cetera premissa 
 quecunqz eidem officio qualitercunqz pertinent' 
 sive de jure spectant' eidem Henrico Domino 
 Howard et heredibus masculis suis de corpore 
 suo legittime procreatis et procreandis per se 
 vel per sufficientem deputatum suum aut per 
 sufficientes deputatos suos Et ulterius de 
 vberiori gratia nostra speciali dedimus et 
 concessimus et per presentes pro nobis heredibus 
 et successoribus nostris damus et concedimus 
 prefato Henrico Domino Howard et heredibus 
 masculis de corpore suo sic ut prefertur 
 exeuntibus Quod ipsi et quilibet eor' deputat' 
 rac'one dicti officii habeant gerant et deferant 
 tam in presentia nostra heredum et successorum 
 nostrorum quam alibi Baculum Aureum ad 
 utrumqz finem de Nigro annilatum et cum. 
 signo armor' nostror' et heredum et successor' 
 nostror' in superiore fine dicti baculi et cum 
 signo armorum comitis Mariscalli Anglie pro 
 tempore existent' in inferiori fine ejusdem 
 baculi sculpt' et ornat' licite et impune absqz 
 impetic'one nostri heredum et successor' 
 nostror' vel justiciarior' seu alior' ministror' 
 nostror' quor'cumqz heredum vel successorum 
 nostror' Et ut idem Henricus Dominus 
 
The Earl Marshal 73 
 
 Howard et heredes masculi de corpore suo 
 exeuntes ut Comites Mariscalli Anglie juxta 
 nominis sui decentiam honorificentius se habere 
 ac onera ipsis incumbentia manutenere sustinere 
 et supportare valeant ac quilibet eorum manu- 
 tenere sustinere et supportare valeat de vberiori 
 gratia nostra speciali ac ex certa scientia et 
 mero motu n'ris dedimus et concessimus'ac per 
 presentes pro nobis heredibus et successoribus 
 nostris damus et concedimus prefato Henrico 
 Domino Howard et heredibus masculis de 
 corpore suo exeuntibus unum alium an'ualem 
 redditum viginti librar' legalis monete Anglie 
 de exitibus et revenc'o'ibz hanaperii cancellarie 
 nostre heredum et successor' nostror' pro- 
 venient' sive crescent' per manus custodis sive 
 clerici eiusdem hanaperii aut ahorum occupa- 
 torum sive receptorum proficuor' et exituu' 
 ejusdem hanaperii pro tempore existent' ad 
 Festa Annunciac'onis beate Marie Virginis et 
 Sancti Michaelis ArchangeH per equales 
 portiones annuatim solvend' Et si contingat 
 prefatum Henricum Howard obire sine herede 
 masculo de corpore suo legitime procreato tunc 
 volumus et per presentes pro nobis heredibus 
 et successoribus n'ris concedimus statuimus 
 et ordinamus quod officium predictum remaneat 
 heredibus masculis de corpore Thome nuper 
 Comitis Arundeir Surrey et Norfolcie Avi dicti 
 Henrici Domini Howard legitime procreatis 
 Quodqz heredes masculi de corpore dicti 
 Thome successive habeant et teneant Officium 
 Comitis Mariscalli Anglie cum suis pertinentiis 
 universis Et Comites Mariscalli Anglie 
 vocentur et nuncupentur Baculumqz Aureum 
 
74 The Right to Bear Aimts 
 
 sic ut prefertur de Nigro annilatum gerant tam 
 in presentia n'ra heredum et successor' nostror' 
 quam alibi idemqz officium exerceant per 
 se vel per deputatum aut deputatos suos 
 sufficientes habeantqz similem an'ualem 
 redditum viginti librar' de revenc'o*ibz dicti 
 hanaperii nostri heredum et successor' nostror' 
 provenient' solvend' iisdem modo et forma et ad 
 similes anni terminos Eademqz privilegia pre- 
 heminencias ceteraque premissa quecumqz 
 eidem officio spectantia seu annexata in tam 
 amplis modo et forma prout dictus Henricus 
 Dominus Howard et heredes masculi sui pre- 
 dict' virtute harum literar' patentium fruuntur 
 et gaudent seu frui et gaudere debeant et si 
 contingat quod nullus fuerit heres masculus de 
 corpore dicti Thome Comitis Arundell' Surry 
 et Norfolcie Avi dicti Domini Henrici Howard 
 legittime procreatus tunc et pro defectu talis 
 exitus volumus et concedimus et per presentes 
 pro nobis heredibus et successoribus nostris 
 statuimus et ordinamus quod officium predic- 
 tum remaneat heredibus masculis de corpore 
 Thome nuper Comitis Suffolcie Quodque 
 heredes masculi de corpore dicti Thome 
 Comitis Suffolcie successive habeant et teneant 
 dictum officium Comitis Mariscalli Anglie cum 
 suis pertinentiis universis et Comites Mariscalli 
 Anglie vocentur et nuncupentur Baculumque 
 Aureum sic ut prefertur de Nigro Annilatum 
 gerant tam in presentia nostra heredum et 
 successor' nostror' quam alibi Idemqz officium 
 exerceant per se vel per deputatum aut depu- 
 tatos suos sufficientes habeantqz similem annu- 
 alem redditum viginti librarum de revenc'oni- 
 
The Earl Mai^shal 75 
 
 bus dicti hanaperii nostri heredum et succes- 
 sorum nostror' provenient' solvend' iisdem 
 modo et forma et ad similes anni terminos 
 eademque privilegia preheminentias ceteraque 
 premissa quecunque eidem officio spectantia 
 seu annexata in tarn amplis modo et forma prout 
 dictus Henricus Dominus Howard et heredes 
 iiiasculi sui predict' virtute harum literarum 
 patentium fruuntur et gaudent seu frui et 
 gaudere debeant Et si contingat quod nulius 
 fuerit heres masculus de corpore dicti Thome 
 nuper Comitis Suffolcie legitime procreatus 
 Tunc et pro defectu talis exitus volumus et 
 concedimus et per presentes pro nobis here- 
 dibus et successoribus nostris statuimus et 
 ordinamus quod officium predictum re- 
 maneat heredibus masculis de corpore Domini 
 Willielmi Howard nuper de Naworth in Comi- 
 tatu Cumbrie legitime procreatis qui quidem 
 Willielmus Dominus Howard fuit filius natu 
 minimus dicti Thome nuper Ducis Norfolcie 
 Quodque heredes masculi de corpore dicti 
 Willielmi successive habeant et teneant dictum 
 officium Comitis mariscalli Anglie cum suis 
 pertinentiis universis Et Comites mariscalli 
 Anglie vocentur et nuncupentur Baculumqz 
 Aureum sic ut prefertur de Nigro Annilatum 
 gerant tam in presentia nostra heredum et 
 successorum nostrorum quam alibi idemque 
 officium exerceant per se vel per deputatum 
 aut deputatos suos sufficientes habeantque 
 similem annualem redditum viginti librarum 
 de revenc'onibus dicti hanaperii nostro here- 
 dum et successorum nostrorum provenient' 
 solvend' iisdem modo et forma et ad similes 
 
76 The Right to Bear Anns 
 
 anni terminos eademque privilegia prehemi- 
 nentias ceteraque premissa quecunque eidem 
 officio spectantia sive annexata in tarn amplis 
 modo et forma prout dictus Henricus Dominus 
 Howard et heredes masculi sui predict' virtute 
 harum literarum patentium fruunfur et gaudent 
 seu frui aut gaudere debeant Et si contingat 
 quod nullus fuerit heres masculus de corpore 
 dicti Willielmi legitime procreatus Tunc et 
 pro defectu talis exitus volumus et concedimus 
 et per presentes pro nobis heredibus et succes- 
 soribus nostris statuimus et ordinamus quod 
 officium predictum remaneat perdilecto et fideli 
 consanguineo nostro Carolo Comiti de Notting- 
 ham et heredibus masculis de corpore suo legi- 
 time procreatis et procreandis Ouodque idem 
 Carolus Comes Nottingham et heredes masculi 
 de corpore suo procreati successive habeant et 
 teneant dictum officium Comitis Mariscalli 
 Anglie cum suis pertinentiis universis Et 
 Comites Mariscalli Anglie vocentur et nuncu- 
 pentur Baculumque Aureum sic ut prefertur 
 de Nigro Annilatum gerent tarn in presentia 
 nostra heredum et successor' nostror' quam alibi 
 idemque officium exerceant per se vel per 
 deputatum suos sufficientes habeantque simi- 
 lem Annualem redditum viginti librarum de 
 revenc'onibus dicti hanaperii nostri heredum 
 et successorum nostror' provenient' solvend' 
 iisdem modo et form' et ad similes anni terminos 
 eademque privilegia preheminentias ceteraque 
 promissa quecunque eidem officio spectantia 
 sive annexata in tam amplis modo et forma 
 prout dictus Henricus Dominus Howard et 
 heredes masculi sui predicti virtute harum 
 
The Earl Marshal "]'] 
 
 literarum patentium fruuntur et gaudent seu 
 frui et gaudere debeant, volumus etiam ac per 
 presentes concedimus prefato Henrico Domino 
 Howard quod habeat et habebit has literas 
 ■ nostras patentes sub magno sigillo nostro 
 Anglie debito modo fact' et sigillat' absque fine 
 seu feodo magno vel parvo nobis in hanaperio 
 nostro seu alibi ad usum nostrum proinde 
 quoque modo reddend' solvend' vel faciend' Eo 
 quod expressa mentio de vero valore annuo vel 
 de certitudine premissorum sive eorum alicujus 
 aut de aliis donis sive concessionibus per nos seu 
 per aliquem progenitorum sive predecessorum 
 nostrorum prefato Henrico Domino Howard 
 ante hec tempore fact' in presentibus minime 
 fact' existet aut aliquo statuto actu ordinatione 
 provisione proclamatione sive restricc'oe in 
 contrarium inde antehac habit' fact' edit' 
 ordinat' sive provis' aut aliqua alia re causa vel 
 materia quacunque in ahquo non obstante 
 In cujus rei testimonium has literas nostras 
 fieri fecimus patentes Teste meipso apud West- 
 monasterium decimo nono die Octobris Anno 
 Regni nostri vicesimo quarto. 
 
 ' Per breve de privato sigillo.' 
 
 Translation of the foregoing Grant to Henry, 
 
 Lord Howard, of the hereditary office of Earl 
 
 Marshal : — 
 
 ' Charles the Second, by the Grace of God, King 
 of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, 
 Defender of the Faith, etc., to the Archbishops, 
 Dukes, Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts, Bishops, 
 Barons, Justices, Baronets, Knights, Esquires, 
 
yS The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 Officers, and free men, as all our officials, 
 servants and subjects whomsoever, to whom 
 these present letters shall come, Greeting. — 
 Whereas . . . 
 
 [Here follows the grant of the Earldom of Norwich.] 
 
 ' And whereas our very dear grandfather, James, 
 late King of England, of blessed memory, by 
 his letters patent bearing date the 29th day 
 of August, in the nineteenth year of his reign, 
 had given and granted to Thomas, late Earl of 
 Arundel, Surrey, and Norfolk, grandfather of 
 the said Henry, Lord Howard, the said office of 
 Earl Marshal, with all and singular its appur- 
 tenances for the term of his life, as by the said 
 letters patent more at large appears : And 
 afterwards our said grandfather by other his 
 letters patent, bearing date the first day of 
 August in the twentieth yQ2iX of his reign, 
 reciting that he had been informed that the 
 same Earl of Arundel and Surrey, his Earl 
 Marshal, postponed proceeding judicially in 
 certain causes then pending before him in the 
 Marshal's Court, by reason of certain doubts 
 spread abroad that the Earl Marshal was only 
 attendant upon the precepts and judgments of 
 the Constable, although our same grandfather 
 never doubted not only the absolute power of 
 Earl Marshal, when the office of Constable was 
 vacant, but also that the said Earl Marshal, 
 when the Constable was in office, was a judge 
 together with the said Constable. Neverthe- 
 less, in a matter of such moment, he was 
 unwilling to proceed without special delibera- 
 tion first had, and therefore, having received 
 
The Earl Marshal 79 
 
 ample satisfaction for himself and his Privy 
 Council by means of many and very clear 
 proofs, that the said Constable and Earl Mar- 
 shal are judges conjointly, acting together or 
 separately in the vacancy of either of their 
 offices, our said grandfather by his said letters 
 patent, authorized, willed, and commanded the 
 said Thomas, Earl Marshal, that thenceforward 
 in all causes whatsoever, the cognisance 
 whereof belongs to the court of the Constable 
 and Marshal, he should proceed judicially 
 and definitively in the same manner and 
 degree as any Constables or Marshals of this 
 Kingdom have proceeded either jointly or 
 severally ; and that the said Earl Marshal 
 should endeavour to reconstruct and establish 
 the honourable processes of the said Court, by 
 all manner of means, together with all rights 
 whatsoever thereunto belonging, with the 
 assistance of records and ancient precedents, as 
 among other things in the said letters patent 
 more fully appears and is set forth. Which 
 said letters patent last mentioned, and the 
 declaration made therein, in so far as mention 
 is made in the same letters patent of the 
 absolute power of the Earl Marshal while the 
 office of Constable is vacant, or that the 
 Constable and Earl Marshal are conjointly 
 judges together or separately, while the office 
 of either of them should be vacant, are to be 
 understood only in respect and relation to the 
 Court of the Constable and Marshal, and in 
 causes the cognisance whereof belongs to the 
 Court aforesaid. And thus by these presents 
 we declare and will it to be understood, and 
 
8o The Right to Bear A^nns 
 
 that they do not extend to, nor ought they to 
 be interpreted of, any other authority whatso- 
 ever to the said office of Constable belonging. 
 Know, moreover, that we, closely considering 
 the fidelity, good service, and deserts of the 
 said Henry, Lord Howard, of our further 
 special grace, and of our certain knowledge and 
 mere motion, have given and granted, and by 
 these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, 
 do give and grant to the said Henry, Lord 
 Howard, the office of Marshal of England, 
 together with the name and honour of Earl 
 Marshal of England, and by these presents we 
 create, ordain, and constitute him, the said 
 Henry, Lord Howard, Earl Marshal of Eng- 
 land, and have given, bestowed, and conferred, 
 and by these presents do give, bestow, and confer 
 to and upon him the Name, Style, Title, Rank, 
 Authority, Jurisdiction, Dignity, and Honour 
 of Earl Marshal of England, together with all 
 and singular the dignities, precedencies, pre- 
 eminences, jurisdictions, profits, commodities, 
 emoluments, advantages, offices, and nomina- 
 tions of officers, and all other privileges, rights, 
 powers, authorities, and all other things what- 
 soever thereunto appertaining, both in our 
 courts and elsewhere, to the said office of 
 Earl Marshal of England, in any manner or 
 wise belonging or of right appertaining. And 
 further, by these presents we invest, establish, 
 and confirm him, the said Henry, Lord 
 Howard, in the said office of Earl Marshal of 
 England, and the other things aforesaid to the 
 same office as aforesaid appertaining, in the 
 same ample manner and form as Henry, Lord 
 
The Eai4 Marshal 8i 
 
 Maltravers, late Earl of Arundel, Surrey, and 
 Norfolk, father of the said Henry, Lord 
 Howard, or Thomas, Earl of Arundel, Surrey, 
 and Norfolk, grandfather of the said Henry, 
 Lord Howard, or Thomas, late Duke of Nor- 
 folk, grandfather of the said Thomas, Earl of 
 Arundel, Surrey, and Norfolk, or Thomas, 
 formerly Duke of Norfolk, grandfather of the 
 said Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, or John 
 Mowbray, formerly Duke of Norfolk, or any 
 other Earl Marshal of England, having or 
 exercising the office before this time, has had 
 or exercised or of right could have or exercised 
 the same, to have, hold, exercise, and occupy 
 the office aforesaid, and all and singular the 
 authorities, jurisdictions, powers, commodities, 
 profits, and. other things aforesaid whatsoever 
 to the said office in any way belonging or of 
 right appertaining to him, the said Henry, 
 Lord Howard, and the heirs male of his body 
 lawfully begotten and to be begotten, by 
 himself or by his sufficient deputy or deputies. 
 And, moreover, of our further especial grace, 
 we have given and granted, and by these 
 presents for ourselves, our heirs and successors, 
 do give and grant to the aforesaid Henry, Lord 
 Howard, and the heirs male of his body issuing 
 as aforesaid, that they and their deputies by 
 reason of the said office, shall have, bear, and 
 carry, both in the presence of us, our heirs and 
 successors, and elsewhere, a golden rod, ringed 
 with black at either end, bearing at the upper 
 end the arms of ourselves, our heirs and 
 successors, and at the lower end the arms of 
 the Earl Marshal of England for the time 
 
 F 
 
82 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 being, carved and adorned, lawfully, with 
 impunity, and without hindrance from us, our 
 heirs and successors, or the justices, or other 
 servants whomsoever of us, our heirs or 
 successors. And that the said Henry, Lord 
 Howard, and the heirs male from his body 
 issuing, and every one of them may be able 
 with the greater honour to maintain, sustain, 
 and support the burdens incumbent upon them 
 in accordance with the dignity of their name, 
 of our further special grace, certain knowledge 
 and mere motion, we have given and granted, 
 and by these presents for us, our heirs and suc- 
 cessors, do give and grant to the aforesaid 
 Henry, Lord Howard, and the heirs male of 
 his body, one other annual rent of j^20 of 
 legal money of England from the issues and 
 revenues of the hanaper of our Chancery, and 
 the Chancery of our heirs and successors issuing 
 and arising, by the hands of the keepers or 
 clerk of the said hanaper, or other the holders 
 or receivers of the profits and issues of the said 
 hanaper for the time being, to be paid annually 
 at the Feasts of the Annunciation of the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary and Saint Michael the Archangel 
 in equal portions. And if the aforesaid Henry 
 Howard happen to die w^ithout an heir male 
 of his body lawfully begotten, then we will, and 
 by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, 
 we have granted, decreed and ordained that the 
 office aforesaid shall remain to the heirs male of 
 the body of Thomas, late Earl of Arundel, 
 Surrey, and Norfolk, grandfather of the said 
 Henry, Lord Howard, lawfully begotten, and 
 that the heirs male of the body of the said 
 
The Earl Marshal Z^^ 
 
 Thomas successively shall have and hold the 
 office of Earl Marshal of England with all its 
 appurtenances, and shall be called and known 
 as Earls Marshal of England, and shall carry 
 the golden rod thus ringed with black as afore- 
 said, both in the presence of us, our heirs and 
 successors, and elsewhere, and shall exercise the 
 same office themselves or by their sufficient 
 deputy or deputies, and shall have a like annual 
 rent of twenty pounds from the revenues of the 
 said hanaper of us, our heirs and successors, to 
 be paid in the same manner and form and at 
 like terms of the year, and the same privileges, 
 pre-eminences and other things aforesaid what- 
 soever to the said office belonging or annexed, 
 in such ample manner and form as the afore- 
 said Henry, Lord Howard, and his heirs male 
 aforesaid, by virtue of these letters patent, 
 occupy and enjoy, or ought to occupy and enjoy 
 the same ; and if it happen that there shall be 
 no heir male lawfully begotten of the body of 
 the said Thomas, Earl of Arundel, Surrey, and 
 Norfolk, grandfather of the said Lord Henry 
 Howard, then and in default of such issue, we 
 will and grant, and by these presents for us, 
 our heirs and successors, decree and ordain, 
 that the office aforesaid shall remain to the 
 heirs male of the body of Thomas, late Earl of 
 Suffolk ; and that the heirs male of the body of 
 the said Thomas, Earl of Suffolk, successively 
 shall have and hold the said office of Earl 
 Marshal of England with all its appurtenances, 
 and shall be called Earls Marshal of England, 
 and shall carry the golden rod ringed with 
 black as aforesaid, both in the presence of us, 
 
84 The Right to Bear Anns 
 
 our heirs and successors and elsewhere, and 
 shall exercise the same office themselves or by 
 their sufficient deputy or deputies, and shall 
 have a like annual rent of twenty pounds out of 
 the revenues of the said hanaper of us our heirs 
 and successors, to be paid in the same manner 
 and form as is aforesaid and at like terms of the 
 year, and the same privileges, pre-eminences, 
 and other things aforesaid whatsoever to the 
 said office belonging or annexed, in such ample 
 manner and form as the said Henry, Lord 
 Howard, and his heirs male aforesaid by virtue 
 of these letters patent occupy and enjoy, or 
 ought to occupy and enjoy the same. And if 
 it happen there shall be no male heir of the 
 body of the said Thomas, late Earl of Suffolk, 
 lawfully begotten, then and in default of such 
 issue we will and grant, and by these presents 
 for us, our heirs and successors, decree and 
 ordain that the office aforesaid shall remain to 
 the heirs male of the body of Lord William 
 Howard, late of Naworth, in the county of 
 Cumberland, lawfully begotten, which said 
 William, Lord Howard, was youngest son of 
 the said Thomas, late Earl of Norfolk, and that 
 the heirs male of the body of the said William 
 successively shall have and hold the said office 
 of Earl Marshal of England with all its appur- 
 tenances, and shall be called and known as 
 Earls Marshal of England, and shall carry the 
 golden rod ringed with black as aforesaid both 
 in the presence of us, our heirs and successors 
 and elsev\^here, and shall exercise the same office 
 themselves or by their sufficient deputies, and 
 shall have a like annual rent of twenty pounds 
 
The Earl Marshal 85 
 
 from the revenues of the said hanaper of us, 
 our heirs and successors, to be paid in the same 
 manner and form, and at Hke terms of the year, 
 and the same privileges, pre-eminences, and 
 other things whatsoever above said to the said 
 office belonging or annexed, in such ample 
 manner and form as the said Henry, Lord 
 Howard, and his heirs male aforesaid by virtue 
 of these letters patent occupy and enjoy, or 
 ought to occupy and enjoy the same. And if 
 it happen that there be no heir male of the 
 Dody of the said William lawfully begotten, 
 then and in default of such issue we will and 
 grant, and by these presents for us, our heirs 
 and successors, decree and ordain that the office 
 aforesaid shall remain to our well-beloved and 
 faithful cousin Charles, Earl of Nottingham, 
 and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten 
 and to be begotten, and that the said Charles, 
 Earl of Nottingham, and the heirs male of his 
 body shall have and hold the said office of 
 Earl Marshal of England, with all its appurte- 
 nances, and shall be called and known as Earls 
 Marshal of England, and shall carry the golden 
 rod, ringed with black as aforesaid, both in the 
 presence of us, our heirs and successors, and 
 elsewhere, and shall exercise the same office 
 themselves or by their sufficient deputy or 
 deputies, and shall have a similar annual rent 
 of twenty pounds from the revenues of the 
 said hanaper of us, our heirs and successors, to 
 be paid in the same manner and form, and at 
 like terms of ihe year, and the same privileges, 
 pre-eminences, and other things aforesaid what- 
 soever to the said office appertaining or annexed, 
 
86 The Right to Bear Anns 
 
 in such ample manner and form as the said 
 Henry, Lord Howard, and his heirs male afore- 
 said, by virtue of these letters patent, occupy 
 and enjoy, or ought to occupy and enjoy the 
 same ; we will, also, and by these presents 
 grant to the aforesaid Henry, Lord Howard, 
 that he may and shall have these our letters 
 patent under our Great Seal of England, made 
 and sealed, without fine or fee, great or small, 
 to be paid or made on that account to us into 
 our hanaper or elsewhere to our use. It being 
 understood that express mention of the actual 
 annual value, or of the definitiveness of the 
 things aforesaid or of any of them, or of other 
 gifts or grants made heretofore by us, or by any 
 of our progenitors or predecessors to the afore- 
 said Henry, Lord Howard, by no means stands 
 made in these presents ; and any statute, act, 
 ordinance, provision, proclamation, or restric- 
 tion to the contrary, hitherto had, made, pub- 
 lished, ordained or provided, or any other 
 thing, cause or matter whatsoever notwith- 
 standing. — In witness whereof we have caused 
 these our letters to be made patent, witness 
 myself at Westminster, the nineteenth day of 
 October, in the twenty-fourth year of our 
 reign. 
 
 ' By writ of Privy Seal.' 
 
 As I have already stated, His Grace the present 
 Duke of Norfolk, by virtue of the foregoing Letters 
 Patent, is now Earl Marshal. 
 
 Every Royal Warrant of the present day relating 
 to arms, a change of name, precedence or any- 
 
 *\ 
 
The Earl Marshal Z"] 
 
 thing of that nature, is addressed " to our right 
 trusty and well -beloved Cousin and Councillor, 
 Henry, Duke of Norfolk, K.G., Earl Marshal and 
 Hereditary Marshal of England, TO WHOM THE 
 COGNIZANCE OF MATTERS OF THIS NATURE 
 DOTH PROPERLY BELONG." 
 
 Each Earl Marshal, moreover, personally re- 
 ceived from the actual hands of the Sovereign his 
 baton or rod of office, as he succeeds to the inherit- 
 ance of his office. 
 
 In addition to his other duties, he nominates 
 the English Officers of Arms. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE COLLEGE AND OFFICERS OF ARMS 
 
 In the earliest times the Kings, Heralds, and 
 Pursuivants of Arms were not public officials ; 
 many powerful nobles, and certainly most 
 members of the Royal Family, attached individuals 
 to their persons to attend to their armorial require- 
 ments. Such heralds had then little or no 
 authority over the general public ; but certainly in 
 the reign of Richard III., if not at a much earlier 
 date, the Royal Officers of Arms were erected into 
 a close Corporation by Royal Charter, and there- 
 after, as now, formed the Corporation of the College 
 of Arms. 
 
 Now the date of the incorporation of the various 
 Officers of Arms is nearly always quoted as the first 
 year of the reign of Richard III. Certainly there 
 is a charter bearing the date the 2nd March, i 
 Richard HI., which will be found hereafter re- 
 printed in full. The original charter is now in the 
 British Museum. This certainly does erect the 
 Officers of Arms into a corporate body, and if 
 
The College and Officers of Arms 89 
 
 nothing else can be found, is in itself of full and 
 ample extent for that end ; but, I believe, it really is 
 principally as an actual matter of fact, no more than 
 the grant of the messuage in Coldharbour ; and the 
 fact that it contains a clause erecting the Officers 
 of Arms into a close corporation, is by no means 
 proof that they were not at that date already a 
 corporate body ; for a supplementary charter, or a 
 charter of confirmation, at that date, nearly always 
 regranted everything that existed before. My own 
 opinion is that the Officers of Arms must have been 
 a corporate body at a much earlier date, for I am 
 given to understand that there are records at the 
 College of Arms as far back as the reign of 
 Richard IL, which can be explained in no other 
 way than by the supposition that they were already 
 acting as a corporation. / At the same time no 
 King of Arms or Herald seems to have officiated 
 in the Scrope v. Grosvenor case. But I can find 
 no record on the Patent Rolls of any charter before 
 the one of Richard III., so that there is no alter- 
 native but to take one's stand upon that charter, 
 and consequently I reprint it. But there can be 
 no doubt that the Officers of Arms, whether 
 incorporated or not, were accustomed to meet in 
 chapter long before the reign of Richard III. 
 
 The Officers of Arms still remain members of 
 the Royal Household. The charter of Richard 
 III., and the subsequent confirmations of it, can be 
 
90 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 found set out in Noble's History of the College of 
 Arms. As they are there set out they are not 
 absolutely without mistake ; but to all intents and 
 purposes they are correct. They deal rather with 
 the constitution of the officers into a corporate 
 body, and the privileges as such conferred upon 
 them, than with the point I am concerned to 
 emphasize, namely, their absolute control of all 
 armorial matters in England. 
 
 The following is a copy of the earliest known 
 Charter : — 
 
 LiTERiE DE InCORPORATIONE HeRALDORUM.* 
 
 ' Rex, omnibus ad quos, etc., salutem. 
 
 ' Sciatis quod nos, de gratia nostra speciali, ac ex 
 carta scientia & mero motu nostris, necnon 
 certis considerationibus nos specialiter moven- 
 tibus, concessimus pro nobis & hasredibus 
 nostris, quantum in nobis est, dilectis nobis, 
 Johanni Writhe, alias dicto Garter regi armo- 
 rum Anglicorum, Thomae Holme, alias 
 dicto Clarensu regi armorum partium 
 Australium, Johanni More, alias dicto 
 Norrey regi armorum partium Borialium, 
 Richardo Champney, alias dicto Gloucester 
 regi armorum partium Walliae, & omnibus 
 aliis heraldis, prosecutoribus, sive parsevandis 
 armorum, quod ipsi & successores sui scilicet, 
 le Garter rex armorum Anglicorum, rex armo- 
 rum partium Australium, rex armorum Boria- 
 
 * Enrolled on Patent Roll, i R. III., Pt. 3, mem. 5, and printed 
 in Kymev' s Fcedera^ vol. xii., p. 215. 
 
The College and Officers of Arms 91 
 
 lium, rex armorum partium Walliae, ac omnes 
 alii heraldi, prosecutores, sive pursevandi 
 armorum, qui pro tempore fuerint, imper- 
 petuum sint unum corpus corporatim in re, 
 & nomine, habeantque successionem per- 
 petuam, necnon quoddam sigillum commune 
 pro negotiis & aliis agendis eorumdem habere 
 & excercere valeant imperpetuum, ac quod 
 ipsi & successores sui per nomina le Garter 
 regis armorum Anglicorum, regis armorum 
 partium Australium, regis armorum partium 
 Borialium, regis armorum Walliae, and aliorum 
 heraldorum, prosecutorum, sive pursevandorum 
 armorum imperpetuum, nuncupenter. 
 
 ' Et quod ipsi & eorum successores per eadem 
 nomina sint personae habiles & capaces in 
 lege, ac nomen illud habeant & gerant im- 
 perpetuum. 
 
 ' Et quod iidem Garter rex armorum Anglico- 
 rum, rex armorum partium Australium, rex ar- 
 morum Borialium, rex armorum partium 
 Walliae, ac alii heraldi, prosecutores, sive pur- 
 sevandi armorum, & successores sui, per 
 hujusmodi nomen, terras, tenementa, haeredita- 
 menta, & possessiones, ac bona & catalla 
 qusecumque perquirere & habere possint. 
 
 ' Ac pro terris, tenementis, redditibus, & 
 possessionibus, juribus, rebus, bonis, catallis 
 quibuscumque ; in quibuscumque actionibus, 
 causis, demandis, querelis, & placitis, tarn 
 realibus & personalibus quam mixtis, cujus- 
 cumque generis fuerint vel naturae, in quibus- 
 cumque curiis, coram quibuscumque justiciariis 
 aut judicibus, spiritualibus vel secularibus^ 
 placitare & implacitari, ac respondere & res- 
 
92 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 ponderi valeant imperpetuum, prout & in 
 eodem modo quo caeteri liegias nostrse per- 
 sonae habiles & capace sin lege placitare & 
 implacitari, respondere & responderi po- 
 terunt & consueverunt. 
 
 ' Quodque prsedicti Garter rex armorum Angli- 
 corum, rex armorum partium Australium, rex 
 armorum partium Borialium, rex armorum 
 Wallise, & alii heraldi, prosecutores, sive 
 pursevandi armorum, & eorum successores, 
 & eorum libitum invicem commorentur, ac 
 ad dies, loca, & tempora congrua & opor- 
 tuna, quotiens & quando eis placuerit, ad 
 tractandum, communicandum, & concordan- 
 dum inter se ipsos, & una cum aliis, pro 
 consilio & avisamento, pro bono statu, 
 eruditione, & regimine, facultatis suae 
 praedictse convenire possint. 
 
 * Et, ut ipsi quendam locum sive mansionem 
 congruum in ea parte habeant, de gratia 
 nostra speciali et ex mero motu. 
 
 'Dedimus & concessimus eisdem, Garter Regi 
 Armorum Anglicorum, Regi Armorum Partium 
 Australium, Regi Armorum Partium Borialium, 
 Regi Armorum Walliae, & aliis Heraldis, 
 Prosecutoribus sive Pursevandis Armorum, 
 unum Mesuagium cum Pertinentis in Londonia 
 in Parochia Omnium Sanctorum Parva vocat 
 Coldearber. 
 
 ^ Habendum & Tenendum Mesuagium illud 
 cum Pertinentiis eisdem Garter regi armorum 
 Anglicorum, regi armorum partium Australium, 
 regi armorum partium Borialium, regi ar- 
 morum Walliae, & heraldis, prosecutoribus, 
 sive persevandis armorum, & successoribus 
 
The College and Officers of Arms 93 
 
 suis ad usum duodecim principalium & pro- 
 borum eorundem pro tempore existentium 
 imperpetuum, absque compoto seu aliquo alio 
 inde nobis vel haeredibus nostris reddendo vel 
 
 faciendo. 
 
 'Etulterius de uberiori gratia nostra con- 
 cessimus & licentiam dedimus, pro nobis & 
 h^redibus nostris praedictis, quantum in nobis 
 est, pr^fatis Garter regi armorum Anglicorum, 
 reg'i armorum partium Australium, regi armo- 
 rum partium Borialium, regi armorum Wallise, 
 & aliis heraldis, prosecutoribus, sive pur- 
 sevandis armorum, & successoribus suis, quod 
 ipsi terras, tenementa, redditus, & posses- 
 siones, qu^ de nobis non tenentur in capite, ad 
 valorem viginti librarum per annum, ultra 
 reprisas, & ultra messuagium pr^dictum, 
 cum pertinentiis, a quibuscumque personis 
 secularibus vel regularibus adquirere possmt. 
 
 ' Habenda & tenenda eis & successoribus suis 
 imperpetuum, ad intentionem inveniendi unum 
 capellanum idoneum ad celebrandum smgulis 
 diebus, in messuagio pr^dicto, vel extra, ad 
 libitum regum armorum prsedictorum, pro 
 salubri statu nostro & Ann^ consortis nostrae, 
 & Edwardi principis Walli^, primogeniti nostri, 
 dum vixerimus : & pro animabus nostris cum 
 ab hac luce migraverimus, ac pro bono statu 
 omnium benefactorum regum armorum supra 
 nominatorum dum vixerint, & pro animabus 
 suis cum ab hac luce migraverint, ac^ pro 
 animabus omnium fidelium defunctorum, juxta 
 discretiones & ordinationes pr^dictorum Gar- 
 ter regis armorum Anglicorum, regis armorum 
 partium Australium, regis armorum partmm 
 
94 - 'The Right to Bear Ar7ns 
 
 Borialium, regis armorum Wallias, & aliorum 
 heraldorum, prosecutorum, sive pursevandorum 
 armorum, & successorum suorum. 
 
 ' Et haec omnia absque impetitione, impedi- 
 mento, perturbatione, aut gravamine nostri 
 vel haeredum nostrorum, justitiariorum, vice- 
 comitum, escaetorum, coronatorum, ballivorum, 
 seu ministrorum nostrorum quorumque. 
 
 ' Et absque aliquibus aliis Uteris regis paten- 
 tibus, seu aliquibus inquisitionibus super aliquo 
 brevi de ad quod dampnum, aut aliquo alio 
 mandato regio in ea parte quovismodo prose- 
 quendo, habendo, faciendo, capiendo seu retor- 
 nando. 
 
 ' Et absque fine seu feodo inde nobis vel 
 haeredibus nostris, fiendo seu solvendo ; statute 
 de terris & tenementis ad manum mortuam non 
 pronendis edito, aut eo quod expressa mentio 
 de vero valore annuo messuagii prsedicti, aut 
 caeterorum prsemissorum, sive eorum alicujus, 
 vel de aliis donis sive concessionibus per nos aut 
 aliquem progenitorum, sive prsedecessorum 
 nostrorum, regum Angliae, praefatis Johanni 
 Writhe, Thomae Holme, Johanni More, & 
 Richardo Champneys, aut eorum alicui, ante 
 haec tempora factis in presentibus m.inime facta 
 existit, aut aliquo statuto, actu, ordinatione, 
 sive restrictione in contrarium factis, editis, sive 
 ordinatis, aut aliqua alia re, causa, vel materia 
 quacumque, non obstante. 
 
 ' In cujus, etc. 
 
 ' Teste rege, apud Westmonasterium, secundo 
 die Martii. [i Ric. III.] 
 
 ' Per breve de privato sigillo.' 
 
The College and Officers of Arins 95 
 
 Hereafter follows the Translation of the foregoing 
 Charter of Incorporation to the Heralds : — 
 
 * The King to all to whom, etc., Greeting. 
 
 ' Know that we, of our especial grace, certain 
 knowledge and mere motion, and for certain 
 other considerations specially moving us, have 
 granted for us and our heirs, as far as in us lies, 
 to our beloved John Writhe, otherwise called 
 Garter King of Arms of England, Thomas 
 Holme, otherwise called Clarenceux King of 
 Arms of the Southern parts, John More, other- 
 wise called Norroy King of Arms of the Northern 
 parts, Richard Champney, otherwise called 
 Gloucester King of Arms of the parts of Wales, 
 and to all other heralds and pursuivants of 
 arms, that they and their successors, to wit, 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 the 
 parts of Wales, and all other heralds and pur- 
 suivants of arms, for the time being, shall be in 
 perpetuity a body corporate in fact and name, 
 and shall preserve a succession unbroken, and 
 have authority to have and use a common seal 
 in their business and other transactions for 
 ever, and that they and their successors shall for 
 ever be called by the names of Garter King of 
 Arms of England, King of Arms of the Southern 
 parts, King of Arms of the Northern parts. King 
 of Arms of Wales, and other heralds and pur- 
 suivants of arms. 
 
 ' And that they and their successors by the 
 said names shall be persons able and capable in 
 
g6 The Right to Bear Ar77is 
 
 law, and shall have and bear that name for 
 ever. 
 
 ' And that the said 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 the other 
 heralds and pursuivants of arms, and their 
 successors by this name, shall have power to 
 acquire and hold lands, tenements, and here- 
 ditaments, and property, goods and chattels of 
 every kind. 
 
 ' And they shall have power to plead or be 
 impleaded, themselves to be defendants or to 
 make others defendants, for lands, tenements, 
 rents and possessions, rights, properties, goods 
 and chattels of what sort soever, in whatsoever 
 actions, causes, demands, quarrels and pleas, 
 real, personal and mixed, of whatsoever kind or 
 nature they may be, in whatsoever courts, 
 before whatsoever justices or judges, spiritual 
 or secular, as, and in the same manner as, our 
 other lieges, persons able and capable in law, 
 have been allowed and accustomed to plead 
 and be impleaded, to be themselves defendants 
 and to make others defendants. 
 
 ' And that the aforesaid Garter King of Arms, 
 the King of Arms of the Southern parts, the 
 King of Arms of the Northern parts, the King 
 of Arms of Wales, and the other heralds and 
 pursuivants of arms and their successors, and 
 any of them in turn, shall dwell together, and 
 may meet together, on days and at times and 
 places suitable and convenient, as often and 
 whenever they please, to treat, hold communi- 
 cation and agree among themselves and with 
 
The College and Officers of Arms 97 
 
 other persons, for counsel and advice with a 
 view to the efficiency, erudition and regulation 
 of their faculty aforesaid. 
 
 ' And in order that they may have some 
 place or mansion suitable for this purpose, of 
 our especial grace and mere motion we have 
 given and granted to them, the said 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 the other heralds and pursuivants of arms, 
 a messuage with its appurtenances in London, 
 in the Parish of All Saints, the Little called 
 Coldearber. 
 
 ' To have and to hold the said messuage with 
 its appurtenances to them, the said 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 the heralds and pursuivants of arms and 
 their successors, to the use of twelve principal 
 and honest men among them for the time 
 being for ever, without any account or other 
 thing to be made or returned thereof to us or 
 our heirs. 
 
 'And further, of our more ample grace, we 
 have granted and given licence, for us and our 
 heirs aforesaid, as far as in us lies, to the afore- 
 said 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 the other heralds and 
 pursuivants of arms, and their successors, that 
 they may have power to acquire lands, tene- 
 ments, rents and possessions, not held of us in 
 
 G 
 
98 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 chief, to the value of twenty pounds per 
 annum, beyond outgoings, and in addition to 
 the messuage aforesaid with its appurtenances 
 from any persons whatsoever, secular or 
 regular. 
 
 ' To have and to hold to them and their 
 successors for ever, for the purpose of providing 
 a suitable chaplain to officiate every day, in the 
 messuage aforesaid or outside, at the pleasure 
 of the Kings of Arms aforesaid, for the health- 
 ful state of us and of Anne, our consort, and of 
 Edward Prince of Wales, our first-born son, 
 during our lives ; and for our souls when we 
 shall have quitted this world, and for the 
 welfare of all the benefactors of the Kings of 
 Arms above named during their lifetime, and 
 for their souls when they shall have quitted this 
 world, and the souls of all the faithful, who are 
 departed, at the discretions and by the arrange- 
 ments of the aforesaid 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 the other 
 heralds and pursuivants of arms, and their 
 successors. 
 
 ' And all these things without let, hindrance, 
 disturbance or annoyance from us or our heirs, 
 our justices, sheriffs, escheators, coroners, bailiffs 
 or ministers whomsoever. 
 
 ' And without any other royal Letters Patent 
 or other Inquisitions upon any writ of " ad 
 quod damnum," or any other royal mandate in 
 this behalf in any wise to be issued, had, made, 
 taken or returned. 
 
 * And without fine or fee thereon to us or our 
 
The College and Officers of Arms 99 
 
 heirs to be made or paid, the Statute of Mortmain 
 notwithstanding, and the fact that express men- 
 tion of the true annual value of the messuage 
 aforesaid, or of the other premises, or of any 
 one of them, or of the other gifts or grants 
 heretofore made by us or any one of our pro- 
 genitors or predecessors, Kings of England, to 
 the aforesaid John Writhe, Thomas Holme, 
 John More and Richard Champneys, or any 
 one of them, is by no means set forth in these 
 presents and any statute, act, ordinance, or 
 restriction to the contrary, made, published or 
 ordained, or any other thing, cause or matter 
 whatsoever notwithstanding. 
 
 ' In witness whereof, etc., etc. 
 
 ' Witness the King at Westminster, the 
 second day of March, [i Ric. III.] 
 
 ' By writ of Privy Seal.' 
 
 There have been other charters, etc., confirming 
 the powers and privileges, notably a charter dated 
 1 8th July 1555 (Pat., i & 2 Philip and Mary, Part ii., 
 memb. 35) ; and by the express command of Queen 
 Elizabeth a set of ordinances and statutes were 
 drawn up by Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, Earl 
 Marshal, bearing date i8th July, 10 Eliz. (1568). 
 
 The next step is the appointment of the Officers 
 of Arms. The Earl Marshal (by his patent) enjoys 
 the privilege — or has to endure the penalties — of 
 nominating persons to hold such appointments as 
 these become vacant ; but the officers individually 
 
lOO The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 and actually hold office by specific Letters Patent 
 under the Great Seal of England, issued separately 
 to each officer as he is appointed. The following 
 is a copy of the Letters Patent, of the earliest 
 instance I can conveniently lay my hands upon, 
 creating a King of Arms, followed by the Letters 
 Patent which appointed William Henry Weldon, 
 Esquire, to his office of Norroy King of Arms, the 
 most recent appointment of this kind which the 
 Crown has made. The following is a copy of the 
 Letters Patent appointing John Wrythe to the 
 Office of Garter : — 
 
 ' Rex * omnibus ad quos etc. Salutem. Sciatis quod 
 cum non sit nouu', set iam diu ab antiquis 
 te'poribus usitatu', quod inter ceteros officiales 
 & Ministros quos Principu' lateribus pro ecru' 
 magnificencia atq' gloria, adherere decet eoru' 
 quibus officii Armoru' cura co'mittitur copia' 
 habere debeat^ ut nee te'pus belloru' neq' pacis 
 sine co'uenientibus & aptis Alinistris debeat 
 preteriri. Nos igitur co'siderationis acie' in 
 laudabilia seruicia que dilectus nobis Johannes 
 Wrythe alias nuper dictus Norrey, Rex Armoru^ 
 parciu' Borialiu' Regni nostri Anglie, in hiis 
 que ad officium illud spectare intelligantur, 
 exercuit dirigentes eund' propterea, & non 
 minus ob solerciam et sagacitatem quas in eo 
 satis habemus exploratas, in principalem Haral- 
 dum & Officiorum incliti nostri Ordinis Garterii^ 
 Armorumque Regem Anglicorum, ex gracia 
 nostra speciali ereximus, fecimus, constituimus, 
 * Pat., i8 Ed. IV., Part ii., m. 28. 
 
The College and Officers of Arms loi 
 
 ordinauimus, creauimus, et coronauimus ; ac 
 per presentes erigimus, facimus, constituimus, 
 ordinamus, creamus, & coronamus, ac ei officium 
 illud, nee non nomen le Garter, Stilum titulum 
 libertates & pre-eminencias huiusmodi officio 
 conveniencia et concordancia, ac ab antiquo 
 consueta, damus et concedimus, ac ipsum in 
 eisdem realiter inuestimus. Habend' occupand' 
 et exercend' Officium illud, ac nomen, stilum, 
 titulum & preeminencias predict' eidem Johanni 
 pro termino vite sue, cum omnibus iuribus, 
 proficuis commoditatibus & emolumentis eidem 
 officio qualitercumque debit' pertinen' siue 
 spectan' Et ulterius concessimus et per presentes 
 concedimus prefato Johanni in Regem Armorum 
 Anglicorum ut prefertur erect' Quadraginta 
 libras per annum racione et causa officii illius. 
 Percipiend' eidem Johanni singulis annis 
 durante vita sua pro vadiis, & feodis officii pre- 
 dicti, de parua customa nostra, in portu ciuitatis 
 nostre London, per manus custumariorum siue 
 collectorum custume predicte, in portu pre- 
 dicto pro tempore existen' ad terminos Sancti 
 Michaelis et Pasche per equales porciones, una 
 cum tali Liberata Vesture, qualem, et eisdem 
 modo et forma prout aliquis alius huius- 
 modi Rex Armorum siue principalis Haraldus 
 tempore Domini Edwardi nuper Regis Anglie 
 tercii progenitoris nostri habuit et percepit 
 Habend' & percipiend', annuatim Liberatam, 
 huiusmodi eidem Johanni singulis annis ad 
 terminum vite sue ad magnam Garderobam 
 nostram per manus custodis eiusdem pro 
 tempore existentis Eo quod expressa mencio 
 de vero valore annuo premissorum, seu alicuius 
 
I02 The Right to Beai' Arins 
 
 eorum, aut de aliis donis siue concessionibus 
 eidem Johanni per nos ante hec tempora fact' 
 in presentibus minime fact' existit Aut aliquo 
 statute, actu, ordinacione, prouisione, seu re- 
 strictione in contrarium fact' edit' ordinat' seu 
 prouis' Aut aliqua alia re, causa vel materia 
 quacumque non astant' In cuius etc. Teste R. 
 apud Westm' sexto die Julii per ipsum Regem 
 & de data predict.' 
 
 The following is a translation of the foregoing 
 Patent to Garter King of Arms : — 
 
 ' The King to all to whom, etc.. Greeting. Know 
 ye that as it is no new thing, but a thing now 
 long accustomed from of old time, that, among 
 the other officers and servants whom, for their 
 magnificence and glory, it behoves Princes to 
 have around them, there should be plenty of 
 those to whom the care of Arms is committed, 
 so that the times neither of war nor peace 
 should pass by without suitable and apt servants : 
 We, therefore, taking into our keen observation 
 and in consideration of the praiseworthy ser- 
 vices rendered by our well-beloved John Wry the, 
 otherwise lately called Norrey, King of Arms 
 of the Northern parts of our Kinrdom of 
 England, in those things which are understood 
 to belong to the aforesaid office, for this reason, 
 and not less on account of the shrewdness and 
 sagacity which we have had ample proof to 
 be in him, we, of our especial grace, have 
 erected, made, constituted, ordained, created and 
 crowned, and by these presents do erect, make, 
 constitute, ordain, create and crown him Prin- 
 
The College and Officers of Anns 103 
 
 cipal of the Heralds and OflBcers of our illus- 
 trious Order of the Garter, and King of Arms 
 of England, and we give and grant to him the 
 said office, with the name of le Garter^ and the 
 style, title, liberties and pre-eminences to this 
 office appertaining and agreeable, and of old 
 time accustomed, and we actually invest him 
 with the same. 
 
 * To have, occupy and exercise the said office, 
 and the name, style, title and pre-eminences 
 aforesaid to the said John for the term of his 
 life, with all rights, profits, commodities and 
 emoluments to the said office in anywise due, 
 appertaining or belonging. And further, we 
 have granted, and by these presents do grant, 
 to the aforesaid John, erected to be King of 
 Arms of England as aforesaid. Forty pounds 
 per annum by reason and on account of the 
 said office, to be received yearly by the said 
 John every year during his life, as the wages 
 and fees of the office aforesaid from our lesser 
 customs in the port of our City of London, by 
 the hands of the customers or collectors of the 
 Customs aforesaid in the said port for the time 
 being, at the terms of St Michael and Easter, in 
 equal portions, together with such livery of 
 raiment as any other such King of Arms or 
 principal Herald had or received in the time of 
 our Lord, Edward the Third, late King of Eng- 
 land, our progenitor. To have and receive this 
 livery each year to the said John for the term 
 of his life at our Great Wardrobe by the hands 
 of the Warden thereof for the time being ; it 
 being understood that express mention of the 
 actual annual value of the things above men- 
 
I04 The Right to Bear Anns 
 
 tioned, or of any one of them, or of other 
 grants heretofore made by us to the said John, 
 is by no means made in these presents, and any 
 statute, act, ordinance, provision or restriction 
 to the contrary, made, pubHshed, ordained or 
 provided, or any other thing, cause or matter 
 whatsoever notwithstanding. 
 
 ' In witness whereof, etc., etc. 
 
 ' Witness the King at Westminster, the 6th 
 of July [i8 Edw. IV.]. By the King, and on 
 the day aforesaid.' 
 
 Here is a copy of the warrant for the prepara- 
 tion of the present Norroy's Patent : — 
 
 ' Victoria R. * 
 
 ' Victoria by the Grace of God of the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen 
 Defender of the Faith To Our right trusty and 
 well-beloved Councillor Farrar Lord Herschell, 
 G.C.B., Our Chancellor of that part of Our said 
 United Kingdom called Great Britain Greet- 
 ing : We Will and Command that under the 
 Great Seal of Our said United Kingdom re- 
 maining in your custody you cause these Our 
 Letters to be made forth patent in the form 
 following : — 
 
 ' Victoria by the Grace of God of the United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Queen 
 Defender of the Faith To all to whom these 
 presents shall come Greeting : Whereas it hath 
 been of ancient times accustomed that amongst 
 
 * Copy from the original Royal Warrant now (March 15, 1898) in 
 the Enrolment Office at the Law Courts. 
 
The College and Office7^s of Arms 105 
 
 other Officers and Ministers whom it is meet 
 should be attendant upon the persons of 
 Princes suitable to their high dignity and glory 
 there should be more especially proper Officers 
 to whom the care and office of arms in times of 
 war and peace may be committed And whereas 
 the Office of Norroy King of Arms and principal 
 Herald of the North parts of that part of Our 
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 
 called England is become vacant by the pro- 
 motion of George Edward Cokayne, Esquire, 
 late Norroy to the Office of Clarenceux King of 
 Arms Know Ye therefore that We of Our 
 especial grace certain knowledge and mere 
 motion and for divers other good causes and 
 considerations Us hereunto especially moving 
 Have advanced made ordained constituted and 
 created And by these presents for Us Our 
 heirs and successors Do advance make ordain 
 constitute and create Our trusty and well- 
 beloved William Henry Weldon, Esquire, 
 Windsor Herald, a King of Arms and a prin- 
 cipal Herald of the North parts of that part of 
 Our said United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland called England And We have given and 
 by these presents Do give unto him the name 
 of Norroy which We do give and grant unto 
 the said William Henry Weldon with the style 
 title liberties pre-eminences and commodities 
 suitable agreeable and belonging and anciently 
 accustomed to the said office And him We 
 have really crowned and invested and by these 
 presents do crown and invest therewith To 
 have enjoy occupy and exercise the said Office 
 and the same style title pre-eminences and 
 
io6 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 commodities aforesaid unto him the said 
 Wilham Henry Weldon during his good be- 
 haviour in the said office with all rights profits 
 commodities and emoluments whatsoever to the 
 same Office in anywise belonging and apper- 
 taining Giving moreover and granting unto 
 the said William Henry Weldon Norroy all and 
 singular other things which are incumbent 
 upon the said Office of Norroy King of Arms or 
 are known to be appertaining of right or by 
 custom in times past to be done transacted and 
 executed And further Of our more abundant 
 grace We do give and by virtue of these pre- 
 sents grant unto the said William Henry Weldon 
 Norroy authority power and licence with the 
 consent of the Earl Marshal of England or his 
 Deputy for the time being in writing under 
 their hands and seals from time to time first 
 given or signified of granting and appointing 
 to eminent Men Letters Patent of Arms and 
 Crests jointly and together with Garter and 
 Clarenceux Kings of Arms or one of them or 
 by himself alone without them at the will and 
 pleasure of the Earl Marshal or his Deputy for 
 the time being according to their Ordinances 
 or Statutes from time to time issued or to be 
 issued respectively in that behalf and not 
 otherwise nor in other manner so as that if the 
 said William Henry Weldon Norroy shall act 
 any of the premises to the contrary, this Our 
 present grant and all things herein contained 
 shall cease and be utterly and altogether void 
 and of none effect or force whatsoever More- 
 over We have given and granted and by these 
 presents for Us Our heirs and successors Do 
 
The College and Officers of Arms 107 
 
 give and grant unto the said William Henry 
 Weldon advanced by Us a King of Arms and a 
 principal Herald of the North parts aforesaid 
 Twenty pounds nineteen shillings and eight 
 pence sterling by the year by reason and in 
 consideration of the same Office and for the 
 exercise thereof To have and receive the same 
 unto him the said William Henry Weldon 
 Norroy yearly and every year during his good 
 behaviour in the same Office at the Office of 
 the Chamberlain of Our Household for the 
 time being the same to commence from the 
 seventh day of March One thousand eight 
 hundred and ninety-four being the day of the 
 promotion of the said George Edward Cokayne 
 and be computed and paid by the day after the 
 rate of Twenty pounds nineteen shillings and 
 eight pence by the year unto and for the Feast 
 of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary 
 from thence next ensuing and the subsequent 
 payments quarterly at the four most usual days 
 of payment in the year by even and equal 
 portions Together with such Liveries and 
 Clothing as and in the same manner and form 
 as any other person being a King of Arms or 
 Herald of Arms in that part of Our United 
 Kingdom aforesaid had and received in the 
 time of Edward the third Our progenitor 
 heretofore King of England or afterwards To 
 have and receive such liveries and clothing 
 unto him the said William Henry Weldon 
 yearly during his good behaviour in the said 
 office at the Great Wardrobe of Us Our heirs 
 and successors by the hands of the Keeper of 
 
io8 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 the same Wardrobe of Us Our heirs and suc- 
 cessors for the time being In witness, etc. 
 
 ' Witness, etc. 
 
 ' Given at Our Court at St James's the tenth 
 day of March One thousand eight hundred and 
 ninety-four in the fifty-seventh year of Our 
 reign. 
 
 ' By Her Majesty's Command, 
 
 (Signed) H. H. Asquith.' 
 
 In the reign of George III. there were many 
 Warrants issued of one kind and another bearing 
 on the authority of the Crown in Armorial Matters, 
 or on the devolution of its authority to the Officers 
 of Arms. One in particular has a very especial 
 bearing upon the subject. After the reconstruction 
 of the Order of the Bath, the genealogist of that 
 Order had admitted and recorded pedigrees and 
 arms without proof thereof being previously made 
 in the College of Arms. The officers of the 
 College entered a protest against this practice, and 
 on the complaint in due course being laid before 
 the King, he referred the entire matter to the Law 
 Officers of the Crown for their consideration and 
 report. The Royal Warrant which was issued after 
 the delivery of their report contains the following 
 crucial and decisive words : — 
 
 ' And whereas it was by the said Chapter ' [of the 
 Order of the Bath] * resolved that as it appeared 
 to the Chapter to be the opinion of the Law 
 Officers of the Crown that the Heralds {that is 
 
The College and Officers of Arms 109 
 
 to say^ the Kings ^ Heralds and Pursuivants of 
 our College of Arms) have the original cogniz- 
 ance of pedigrees and Coat- Armour^ and that 
 the Genealogist cannot properly receive any 
 evidence of Pedigree or Coat-Armoiir^ to be 
 entered in his Books in pursuance of the 
 Statutes, except from the College of Arms^ the 
 Chapter therefore humbly recommended to 
 us that we would be pleased to command,' etc., 
 etc. 
 
 And then follow minute instructions to be ob- 
 served in the future, agreeably to the foregoing 
 opinion, as to the methods of procedure within 
 the Order of the Bath. These instructions, which 
 are lengthy, deal only with methods of procedure, 
 and relate to no part of my argument : and I 
 only quote from the Warrant to show the opinion 
 of the law officers of the Crown after they had 
 officially investigated the point. 
 
 There is another Warrant, I believe, of the reign 
 of George IV., which is of a similar character, but 
 this, unfortunately, I have not seen. 
 
 If further confirmation is needed, one only re- 
 quires to notice the formal notification in the London 
 Gazette of any change of name and arms by Royal 
 Licence. In such an instrument it will be seen that 
 the final clause runs somewhat as follows : ' Know 
 Ye that We of Our Princely Grace and Special 
 favour have given and granted and do by these 
 Presents give and grant unto him the said A. B. 
 
no The Right to Bear A7nns 
 
 our Royal Licence and Authority that he may 
 take and henceforth use the surname of C in 
 addition to and after that of B, and that he may 
 bear the Arms of C quarterly with his own family 
 Arms, and that such surname and Arms may in 
 like manner be borne and used by his issue, 
 the said Arms being first duly exemplified accord- 
 ing to the Laws of Arms and recorded in Our 
 College of Arms otherwise this our Licence and 
 Permission to be void and of none effect.' 
 
 For the benefit of any one who has never had the 
 opportunity of perusing a Royal Warrant of this 
 character, I may repeat that such warrants are 
 addressed ''to our Right trusty and well-beloved 
 Cousin and Councillor^ Henry^ Duke of Norfolk^ 
 K.G., Earl Marshal and Hereditary Marshal of 
 England, TO WHOM THE COGNIZANCE OF MATTERS 
 OF THIS NATURE DOTH PROPERLY BELONG.' 
 
 The Corporation of the College of Arms consists 
 of three Kings of Arms (Garter, Clarenceux, and 
 Norroy), six Heralds (Somerset, Lancaster, Rich- 
 mond, York, Chester, and Windsor), and four 
 Pursuivants (Rouge Croix, Rouge Dragon, Blue- 
 mantle, and Portcullis). 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE GRANTING OF ARMS 
 
 By virtue of the Powers conferred by their 
 several Letters Patent upon the Kings of Arms, 
 arms have been assigned and granted by Patents 
 under their hands and seals since the fifteenth 
 century. I append copies of Letters Patent 
 making such grants — an ancient and a modern 
 instance. Here is the former : — 
 
 * XTO all and Singulare as well nobles and gent as 
 others to whome these pntes shall come be 
 seen heard read or understanded Sr Gilbart 
 Dethicke Knight als * garter principall Kinge of 
 Amies, Rob* Cooke esquyer als Clarencieulx 
 Kinge of Armes of the southe partes and 
 William Flower esquyer als Norroy Kinge of 
 Armes of the northe partes of England send 
 greetinge in O"" Lord god everlastinge foras- 
 much as aunciently from the begininge the 
 valiaunt and vertuouse actes of excellent per- 
 sonnes have been commendid to the world and 
 posteritie with sondry monumentes and re- 
 membraunces of their good deseartes : Ermong- 
 * alias. 
 
112 The Right to Bea7'- A7nns 
 
 est the which the chiefest and most usuall hathe 
 been the bearinge of signes in shyldes called 
 Armes beinge none other thinge then de- 
 monstraciones and tokens of prowesse and 
 valior diuerslye distributid accordinge to the 
 quallities of the personnes meritinge the same 
 To thentent that suche as by their vertues do 
 adde and shewe forthe to the aduauncment 
 of the comunne weall the shyne of their good 
 lyfe and conversacon in dayly practyse of 
 thinges worthy and commendable beinge the 
 very trewe and perfect tokens of a right noble 
 disposition may therfor recieue dewe honor in 
 their lyves and also deryve and continewe the 
 same successively in their posteritie for eur 
 
 Hub wberas Me tbe sayb Kinges of 
 
 Armes are credibly enfourmid by diuerse honest 
 and discreet personaiges that William Camborne 
 alias Paynter of deverell within the Parishe of 
 Gwynior within the Countye of Cornewall gent 
 hathe of longe tyme vsed him self so vertuously 
 and discreetly that he well deseruith and 
 meriteth to be in plases of honor admitted 
 reputed and taken in the number and company 
 of other gent %\\ COW'BX^ZXViCOW WbCrOf and 
 for A further consideraco' of the Worthinesse 
 of the same Willm Camborne whose Auncestors 
 he'tofore haue borne Armes as apere* on p . . . 
 shewd vnto vs for the same, not knowinge in 
 what manne' or dewe forme he ought [to] beare 
 them w^out preiudice of any other and nowe at 
 his instant request We the sayd Kinges of 
 Armes by power and aucthoritie to vs com- 
 mitted by letters patentes vnder the great scale 
 of England haue rectyfied confirmed assigned 
 
The Granting of Aims 113 
 
 geven and graunted to the sayd William Cam- 
 borne these Armes and Creast folowing viz, — 
 azure iij blockes argent one either of theim an 
 anlett sables Vppon a heaulme one a torce 
 siluer and azure iij broken broad arrowes gold 
 knit with a lase geules mantled geules dubled 
 argent as mor playnly appeareeth depicted in 
 this margent which Armes and creast and 
 euery part and peel therof we the sayd Garter 
 Clarencieulx and Norroy Kinges of Armes do 
 by these pntes ratefye confirme assigne geve 
 and graunt vnto the sayd William Camborne 
 als Paynf" and to his posteritie for euer and he 
 the sayd Armes and creast to vse beare and 
 shewe at all tymes and for euer heerafter at his 
 liberty and pleasure w*^out the impediment lett 
 or interruption of eny p'sonne or p'sonnes %\\ 
 WttUCSSC wherof we the Kinges of Armes 
 aforsayd haue signed these p'ntes with o' handes 
 and sett therunto o" seuerall scales of Armes 
 the [22""^] daye of [July] Anno Dni 1569.' 
 
 The following is a copy of the wording of a very 
 recent grant of arms. I have no permission to 
 reproduce it, consequently I trust I may be excused 
 for having omitted the names : — 
 
 'To All and Singular to whom these Presents 
 shall come Sir Albert William Woods 
 Knight, Garter Principal King of Arms and 
 Walter Aston Blount Esquire Clarenceux 
 King of Arms of the South East and West 
 Parts of England from the River Trent South- 
 wards Send Greeting : Whereas William F 
 of Park in the Parish of in 
 
 H 
 
114 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 the County of Berks Gentleman hath repre- 
 sented unto the Most Noble Henry Duke of 
 Norfolk Earl Marshal and Hereditary Marshal 
 of England that it appears upon an examination 
 of the Records of the College of Arms that 
 Armorial Ensigns have not been duly recorded 
 to him and being unwilling to use any without 
 lawful authority He therefore requested the 
 favour of His Grace's Warrant for Our granting 
 and assigning such as may be proper to be 
 borne by him and his descendants and by the 
 other descendants of his father Samuel F 
 of Hal] in the Parish of in 
 
 the County of Worcester Gentleman deceased 
 That the Memorialist having intermarried with 
 Martha daughter of Thomas P of 
 
 in the said County of Worcester 
 Gentleman deceased further requested that 
 arms for P might be assigned in the 
 
 same Patent to be borne and used by his said 
 Wife according to the Laws of Arms And 
 Forasmuch as the said Earl Marshal did by 
 Warrant under his hand and seal bearing date 
 the Twenty - eighth day of September last 
 authorise and direct Us to grant and assign 
 such Armorial Ensigns accordingly Know ye 
 therefore that We the said Garter and Clar- 
 ENCEUX in pursuance of His Grace's Warrant 
 and by virtue of the Letters Patent of Our 
 several Offices to each of Us respectively granted 
 do by these Presents grant and assign unto the 
 said William F the Arms following for 
 
 F that is to say Per Cheveron dove- 
 
 tailed Gules and Argent in Chief two Lions 
 heads erased of the last and in Base a Sala- 
 
The Granting of Arms 115 
 
 mander in flames proper And for the Crest On 
 a Wreath of the Colours Upon a Mount Vert 
 an Antelope Argent seme of Estoiles Sable 
 armed and unguled or resting the dexter fore- 
 foot upon a Fountain proper as the same are 
 in the margin hereof more plainly depicted to 
 be borne and used for ever hereafter by him 
 the said William F and his de- 
 
 scendants and by the other descendants of his 
 father the said Samuel F deceased 
 
 And by the authority aforesaid We do further 
 grant and assign the Arms following for P 
 that is to say Erminois an Eagle displayed in 
 chief an Escallop between two Fleurs-de-lis and 
 in Base a Fleur-de-lis between two Escallops 
 all Azure as the same are more plainly impaled 
 with the Arms of F to be borne by her 
 
 the said Martha Wife of the said William 
 F the whole with due and proper 
 
 differences according to the Laws of Arms In 
 Witness whereof We the said Garter and 
 Clarenceux Kings of Arms have to these 
 Presents subscribed Our names and affixed the 
 Seals of Our several Offices this Twenty-fourth 
 day of January in the Forty-eighth year of the 
 Reign of Our Sovereign Lady Victoria by the 
 Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland Queen defender of the 
 Faith etc. and in the year of Our Lord One 
 thousand eight hundred and eighty-five. 
 
 ' (Signed) Albert W. Woods Garter 
 
 '(Signed) Walter Aston Blount 
 Clarenceux.' 
 
ii6 The Rip'ht to Bear Anns 
 
 "t. 
 
 A Patent of Arms in England usually grants 
 arms (and as a consequence confers gentility) 
 to a man ' and his descendants according to 
 the laws of arms.' Often ' the other descendants 
 of his Father ' are added, as in the above instance : 
 and occasionally, but very exceptionally, the limi- 
 tation has been still further widened. Such arms 
 then equally descend to all legitimate descendants 
 in the male line of those persons to whom the 
 arms are granted. Daughters of the house being 
 heiresses and co-heiresses in blood have a right to 
 the arms during their lifetime, and transmit the 
 right to them as quarterings (but only as quarter- 
 ings) to their descendants. Daughters not being 
 heiresses have the right only during life, and can 
 in no way transmit a right to those or any 
 other arms. Daughters, whether heiresses or not, 
 neither inherit nor transmit the crest. Unless an 
 undoubted right to arms exist in the direct male 
 line, all rights to quarterings, etc., become dor- 
 mant, unless or until a lawful right to arms in the 
 m,ale line has been established. The son of a 
 plebeian father is plebeian and ' ignobilis,' no 
 matter even if his mother were a Peeress in her 
 own right. 
 
 From an order made by Charles Brandon, Duke 
 of Suffolk, Earl Marshal, as to the granting of 
 arms to various ranks in the Church, the following 
 extract is taken : — 
 
The Granting of Arms 117 
 
 ' And also to temporall men, which be of good 
 and honest reputacion, able to mayntayne the 
 state of a gentleman, and that none shall enter- 
 prise to beare anie signs or tokens of arms, etc., 
 withoute they be authorised so to do by 
 Clarenceulx King of Arms [therefore this was 
 addressed to his province], uppon paine of im- 
 prisonment and to fyne at the King's pleasure : 
 provided that after the said King of Arms, his 
 Marshal of Armes shall not geve or graunt 
 armes to any vyle or dishonest occupation in 
 any wyse.' 
 
 There is then the following lists of the charges 
 for all Patents of Arms : — 
 
 'Every byshoppe that shall be ennobled, ^10 ; 
 abbots and pryors of great possessions, £\o ; 
 abbots and pryors of meane possessions, £^^ 
 13s 4d ; deanes and archdeacons, ^6, 13s 4d ; 
 men of the Church having benefices, 100 M., or 
 about by the year, £(i ; every Crafte being in 
 corporation, £\o ; every temporall man having 
 100 M. by the yeare in land or fees, £^^ 13s 6d ; 
 all other being of substance under the same 
 valour in lands or goods, £(> ; of them which 
 be worth in moveable goods 1000 M. or above, 
 £(i ; of them that be worth in land and goods 
 1000 M., /5.' 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE VISITATIONS 
 
 Having dealt with the granting of arms by the 
 specific patents of arms of ancient or modern times, 
 each of which definitely contains the limits and 
 limitations to which it is confined, and in and to 
 which the arms therein granted devolve, the most 
 crucial incident in the history of British armory is 
 to be found in the Visitations which took place 
 throughout the whole of England in the sixteenth 
 and seventeenth centuries. 
 
 The Visitations were perambulations throughout 
 the country performed by the Officers of Arms 
 acting under a Royal Commission, in virtue of 
 which they enrolled and confirmed the arms 
 legally in use at that period by the landowning 
 and arms-bearing families then in existence, to- 
 gether with pedigrees. The arms submitted to 
 them were allowed and confirmed, or respited for 
 proof, or else rejected. The definite production of a 
 specific grant for the arms in question was not ne- 
 cessarily insisted upon by the Heralds, who allowed 
 and confirmed arms as borne by right when the 
 right to these was established to their satisfaction. 
 
The Visitations 1 1 9 
 
 There were three principal Visitations throughout 
 the whole of the kingdom. Of course the actual 
 years vary in different localities, but roughly they 
 ^^ took place about the years 1580, 1620, and 1666. 
 There were some number of counties visited also 
 about the year 1680. 
 
 Copies of many of the Commissions issued to 
 the Kings of Arms were -printed in the Minutes 
 of Evidence taken in the Shrewsbury Peerage 
 Case. But the earliest Commission was issued 
 20 Henry VI 1 1. (1528-9) to Thomas Benolte, 
 Clarenceux, and empowered him to visit his pro- 
 vince as often as he should deem it necessary, and 
 to convene before him or his deputy all persons 
 that do or pretend to bear arms, or are styled 
 esquires or gentlemen, and to require them to pro- 
 duce and show by what authority they claimed the 
 same. It further gave him powers to enter all 
 houses, castles, and churches, and to survey all 
 arms or other devices of persons within his pro- 
 vince, and he was to pull down or deface all arms 
 unlawfully assumed, whether on plate, jewels, paper, 
 parchment, windows, tombs, or monuments, and to 
 make infamous, by proclamation, all offenders ; 
 and his commission included full powers to destroy 
 all examples of heraldry falsely assumed, wherever 
 it could be discovered, and ' to make infamous ' by 
 proclamation all and all manner of persons that un- 
 lawfully or without just authority, vocation, or due 
 
I20 The Riorht to Bear Anns 
 
 %i> 
 
 calling had usurped or taken upon him or them any 
 manner of title of honour, dignity, or worship, as 
 esquire, gentleman, or other. 
 
 The next Commission seems to have issued in 
 1555 to Thomas Hawley, Clarenceux, containing 
 similar directions and powers, whereby it was 
 also provided that all such as disobey the same 
 should answer thereunto, upon lawful monition to 
 him or them given, before the High Marshal of 
 England. 
 
 In the 5th and 6th of Philip and Mary (1558) 
 another Commission, with the same authority, was 
 issued to William Harvey, Clarenceux, who was 
 further empowered to levy fines against delinquents 
 at his will and pleasure. 
 
 I append an exact copy of a Commission issued 
 by Queen Elizabeth. The majority are in almost 
 identical terms. 
 
 ' Com'iss' p' Willo Flower al's Norrie ar' rege 
 
 ARMOR DE con' AP VIL'aM. 
 
 ' Elizabeth by the grace of God Quene of England 
 Fraunce and Ireland defender of the fayth etc. 
 To our trusty and welbeloved servaunte Wilm 
 Flower esquier als Norrey King of armes of the 
 east west and northe parties of our realme of 
 England from the ryver of Trente northwarde 
 and to all other our loving subjects greating: 
 Forasmuche as God of his greate clemencie and 
 goodness bathe subjected to our impere and 
 gov'naunce the nobilitie people and comons of 
 
The Visitations 121 
 
 this our realme of England Wee mynding of 
 our royall honour and absolute power to us 
 comytted to visit survey and vewe throughout 
 all our realme of England and all our d'nions 
 as well for a due order to be kepte and observed 
 in all things touching thoffice and dueties 
 app'teyning to armes as also for reformacon of 
 dyv'se and sondry abuses and discords dayli 
 rising and growing for want of ordinarie 
 visitacons surveys and views in tymes con- 
 venient according to the auncient fourme and 
 lawdable custome of the lawes of armes and 
 that the nobylitie of this our realme may be 
 p'served in ev'y degree as appteyneth as well in 
 honor as in wourshipp. And that ev'y p'son 
 and p'sons bodyes polytique corporate and 
 others may be the better knowen in his or 
 theire estate degree and misteries without con- 
 fusion or disorder. Have therefore constituted 
 deputed ordeyned and appoynted for us and in 
 our name our said welbeloved servaunt Will'm 
 Flower al's Norrie King of Armes in the said 
 east west and northe parts of our realme of 
 England from the said ryver of Trent north- 
 warde to visite all the said p'vynce and the 
 parts and members thereof appteyning to 
 thoffice and charge of the said Norrie Kyng of 
 armes from tyme to tyme as often and when as 
 he shall thinke most necessarie and convenient 
 for the same and not only to enter into all 
 churches castells howses and other places at his 
 discrecon to p'use and take knowledge survey 
 and viewe of all mann' of armes cognisaunces 
 crests and other like devises with the notes of 
 theire descents pedegrees and marriages and 
 
122 The Right to Bear Ajnns 
 
 the same to enter and recorde into a register 
 or booke of armes according to suche order as is 
 p'scribed and set furthe in the office chardge 
 and othe taken by our said servaunte at his 
 creacon and coronacon and also to correcte 
 cumptrolle and refourme all mann' of armes 
 crests cognizaunces and devises unlawfull or un- 
 lawfully usurped borne or taken by any p'son 
 or p'sons within the same p'vince cont*ry to the 
 due order of the lawe of armes and the same to 
 rev'se put downe or otherwise deface at his 
 discrecon as well in coote armors helmes 
 standerd pennons and hatchmets of tents and 
 pavilions as also in plate Jewells pap' parchement 
 wyndowes gravestones and monuments or else- 
 where wheresoev' they be sett or placed 
 whether they be in shelde schoocheon lozenge 
 square rundell or otherwise howsoev' cont^'rie to 
 the autentiq' and auncient lawes customes rules 
 privileges and orders of armes. And further 
 wee by these p'sents do geve and graunte to 
 the said Norrie full power and aucthorytie to 
 reprove comptroll and make infamous by 
 p'clamacon to be made at the assises or gen'l 
 sessions within the same his p'cincte to be had 
 and kepte or at suche other place or places as 
 he or they shall thincke moste mete and con- 
 venient all and all mann' of p'son or p'sons that 
 unlawefuUy and without just aucthorytie 
 vocacon or due calling doo or have done or 
 shall usurpte or take upon hym or them any 
 name of tytle of honour or dignitie as esquier 
 gentleman or other. And likewise to reforme 
 and comptroll all suche as at any funeralls or 
 interments shall use or weare any morninge 
 
The Visitations 123 
 
 apparell as gownes hoods tippetts or suche like 
 cont'ry to the order lymitted and p'scrybed in 
 the tyme of the moste noble prince of famous 
 memorie King Henry the seaventh our grand- 
 father otherwise or in any other sorte then to 
 theire estates and degrees dothe or shall 
 app'teyne. And further-more by these p'sents 
 wee p'hybite and forbidd that no paynter 
 glazier goldsmyth graver or any other artificer 
 whatsoev' hee or they be within that sayd 
 p'vynce of the said Norrye shall take upon 
 them to paynte grave glass devise or set furth 
 by any wayes or means any mann' of armes 
 crests cognisaunces pedegrees or other devises 
 p'teynyng to the office of armes otherwise or in 
 any other forme or manner that they may law- 
 fully do and shalbe allowed by the said Norrie 
 his deputie or deputies according to the 
 auncient lawes and statutes of armes. And we 
 forbid and likewise straitely com'and all our 
 sheriffs com'issaries archedeacons officials 
 scrivenours clerks wryters or other whatsoev' 
 they be to call name or write in any assises 
 sessions courte or open place or places or els to 
 use in any wryting the addicon of a esquier or 
 gentleman onlesse they be hable to stand unto 
 and justifie the same by the lawe of armes and 
 the lawes of our realme or els be asserteine 
 thereof by advertisement in wryting from the 
 said Norrie Kinge of armes or his deputy or 
 deputies attorney or attorneys. And further 
 we straightly com'aunde and chardge that no 
 other p'son or p'sons shall intromitt or medle 
 in any thing or things touching or conc'nying 
 the office of armes within the said p'vynce 
 
124 ^^^^ Right to Bear Arms 
 
 wythout the speciall lycence auctorytie of the 
 sayd Norrie in wryting under the seale of the 
 said offyce had an obteyned from the sayd 
 Norrie all which sayd power p'hemynence 
 jurisdiction and aucthorytie above specified for 
 us our heires and successors we do geve and 
 graunte by these p'sents to the sayd Will'm 
 Flower al's Norryie during the naturall lief of 
 the said Norrie in as large and ample mann' 
 fourm in ev'y thinge and thinges as any his 
 predecessours or any other bearinge the name 
 or title of Norrie have or had did or mighte do 
 by force of any I'res patents graunted by any of 
 our predecessors or as of righte he or they 
 oughte or might have used to do by force of 
 his said office with all mann' of p'ffitts advaun- 
 tages and emoluments thereto belonging. 
 Wherefore we will and straightly com'aunde 
 and chardge all and singular justices sheriffs 
 maiors baylieffes and all other officers ministers 
 and constables and all ev'y our loving subjects 
 that in the execucon of the p'misses they 
 effectually employ theire best ayde assistaunce 
 furtheraunce and counsaill to our said servaunt 
 his deputie or deputyes so often and when as 
 he or any of them shall requier the same in all 
 that you conveniently may as you tender our 
 favour and will answer to the cont*rye at your 
 p'ills. And further by these p'sents we do 
 aucthoryze our said s'vaunte to nominate and 
 appoynte under the seale of his said office so 
 many deputies and attorneys as shalbe thought 
 by him expedyent for the better execucon of 
 all and singular the p'misses. And if theare 
 fortune to fall out in this our visitacon any 
 
The Visitations 125 
 
 mann' of scruple doubte question or any mis- 
 demeaner of any p'son or p'sons whatsoev' that 
 canne not be conveniently disised or ended by 
 our said s'vaunte or such deputie deputies! or 
 attorneys as he under the seale of his said office 
 shall name and appoynte. Then our mynde 
 and pleasure is that our said servaunte his 
 deputie deputies or attorneys named as is afore- 
 said shall com'aunde such p'rson or p'rsons 
 whome the said question doubte or misdemeano"" 
 shall conc'ne under a c'tain payne and at a 
 c'tain day to appeare before the earle marchall 
 of England for the tyme being before whome 
 the said sruple question or misdemeano" shalbe 
 harde and ordered according to the lawe and 
 custome of armes in that case p'vyded and of 
 auncient tyme used any statute lawe p'clamacon 
 custome or usage to the cont*ry in any wise 
 notwithstanding. In witnes whereof we have 
 caused these our I'res to be made patents. 
 Wytnes ourself at Westm' the x*^ day of July. 
 
 After the issue of such a Commission the Kings 
 of Arms themselves, in some cases (and in others 
 the Heralds or Pursuivants whom they appointed 
 their deputies) proceeded to the counties and 
 commenced their Visitations. 
 
 The Officer of Arms concerned exhibited his 
 Commission from the Sovereign to the High Sheriff 
 of the county, and the High Sheriff directed the 
 bailiff of each hundred to furnish the Officers of 
 Arms with a list of all persons in that hundred 
 using arms or calling themselves esquires or 
 
126 The RiorJit to Bear Arms 
 
 'i> 
 
 gentlemen. Therefore the real responsibility for 
 the due issuing of the summons to every indi- 
 vidual rested not with the Officer of Arms, who 
 was probably a stranger in the locality, but with 
 the local officials, who could surely be trusted to 
 know the names of those in their own particular 
 jurisdiction who came within the limits laid down ; 
 and it should be remembered that in those days 
 the lines of social demarcation were much more 
 clearly defined than is nowadays the case. 
 
 The Officer of Arms then issued a summons 
 either direct to everyone upon his list to attend 
 at an appointed place, and there and then prove 
 their right to arms, or else issued his orders to 
 the bailiff of the hundred, deputing this work of 
 summoning to him ; consequently if there were 
 any omissions in the lists of those summoned, the 
 fault lay with the local officials, and not with the 
 Officer of A rms. 
 
 The summonses issued by the Marshal or 
 deputies of a King of Arms were in the following 
 form : — 
 
 ' Com Gloucester. 
 
 ' To the Bailiff of the Hundred of Crowthorne 
 and Minety. 
 
 ' These are to require you, and in his Majesty's 
 name to charge and command you, that 
 forthwith, upon sight hereof, you warn those 
 Baronets, Knights, Esquires, and Gentlemen, 
 
The Visitations 127 
 
 whose names are within written, personally to 
 appear before us, Thomas May, Esq., Chester 
 Herald, and Gregory King, Rouge-dragon, 
 Officers at Arms, Deputies and Marshals to 
 Clarenceux King of Arms for the county of 
 Gloucester, at the Swan Inn, in Cirencester, on 
 Wednesday, the sixteenth day of August next, 
 by nine o'clock in the morning, where we 
 intend to sit for registering the descents and 
 arms of all the gentry within the said hundred, 
 and that they bring with them such arms and 
 crests as they use and bear, with their pedi- 
 grees and descents, and such other evidence 
 and matter of record and credit as (if need 
 require) may justify the same ; that we 
 knowing how they use and challenge their 
 titles, and by what right and authority they 
 bear, or pretend to bear arms, we may 
 accordingly make entrance thereof, and register 
 the same in the College of Arms, or else to 
 proceed as his Majesty's commission under the 
 great seal of England injoyneth on that behalf. 
 And those persons who may not conveniently 
 bring such their ancient evidences and writings 
 as will serve to prove the antiquity of their 
 race and family, but shall be desirous to have 
 us come to their houses, upon signification of 
 such their desires, for the furtherance of his 
 Majesty's service, we, or one of us, will repair 
 unto them so soon as conveniently we may. 
 And if there should be any of the degrees and 
 qualities above mentioned omitted within your 
 liberties in these our directions, that you like- 
 wise insert their names, and warn them also to 
 appear on the day, and at the place above 
 
128 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 mentioned. Accordingly hereof charge them 
 not to fail, as they will avoid the peril that may 
 ensue. Of the particulars you are to make a 
 true and perfect return, together with this 
 your warrant, and what you have done therein, 
 at the time and place above appointed. 
 
 ' Given under our hands and seals this 
 twentieth day of July, in the thirty-fourth year 
 of the reign of our most gracious Sovereign 
 Lord, Charles the Second, by the grace of God, 
 of England, France, and Ireland (King), 
 Defender of the Faith, etc., annoque domini 
 1682. 
 
 * Thomas May, Chester. 
 
 ' Gregory King, Rouge-dragon.' 
 
 The following is a copy of a Summons issued 
 direct to a gentleman to appear before a Deputy 
 to a King of Arms. 
 
 ' Workingham parish, Co. Berks. 
 
 ' To Mr Henry Staverton. 
 
 'Sir, 
 
 ^You are personally to appear before Elias 
 Ashmole, Esq., Windsor herald of arms, on 
 Saturday, being the nth of March next, by 
 eight of the clock in the morning, at the signe 
 of Bear of Redding, there to enter your descent 
 and armes, and to bring with you such arms 
 and crest as you bear. Whereof you are not 
 to fail, as you will answer the same before the 
 Lords Commissioners for the office of Earl 
 Marshal of England.' 
 
The Visitations 129 
 
 There were three courses open to a man on 
 receipt of a summons. As has been seen, he was 
 bound and was made to attend, or else suffer most 
 unpleasant consequences, but it was then at his 
 pleasure either to prove to the satisfaction of the 
 Herald that the arms he bore were his by right, or, 
 failing this, to there and then rectify them by 
 means of a grant or confirmation. If neither of 
 these courses was adopted, the man was required 
 to sign a declaration disclaiming any right to arms. 
 
 What proofs the Heralds required the produc- 
 tion of to establish this legal right I am utterly 
 unable to say, nor can I find that anyone else is at 
 the present time exactly aware upon what lines 
 the Heralds worked. One can only surmise. But 
 I fancy it can be taken for granted that all arms 
 shown to have been in use prior to the battle of 
 Agincourt were accepted, as then existing by 
 right, without question. With regard to other 
 arms, there were ancient * rolls of arms ' in 
 existence, and the arms of important families were 
 matters of everyday household knowledge. In 
 cases of this kind, there is little doubt that if such 
 arms were to be allowed unaltered, or only with 
 the addition of recognised marks of cadency, strict 
 proof was required of the descent from these 
 distinguished families. In the cases of less im- 
 portant families using arms, which in no way 
 interfered with the rights of other people, one's 
 
 I 
 
130 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 experience leads one to suppose that the claimants 
 were treated more easily and the arms admitted 
 (that is, they were recorded and confirmed with 
 little or no alteration) upon the strength of usage 
 for a certain period. What this needful period of 
 usage was none of my inquiries have so far ob- 
 tained for me any definite knowledge, and for this 
 reason I am inclined to think that there can be 
 little doubt that the Officers of Arms making the 
 Visitations had a wide latitude and liberty of 
 action allowed them, and consequently judged 
 each case upon its own particular merits. This 
 seems to me to be the only conclusion which is 
 possible. There were then, of course, cases of 
 arms entered and confirmed at the Visitations, for 
 which prior and specific grants could be produced, 
 and there were the arms in use before the battle of 
 Agincourt, but arms for which usage only could 
 be quoted, exist, and are legal now, not by virtue 
 of this usage, but on the strength of their being 
 recorded, or of their confirmation at the Visitations. 
 
 But it should be borne in mind that of the large 
 number of coats of arms allowed and confirmed at 
 the Visitations, a very large number, probably the 
 great majority, were only legalized then, were 
 rectified at that time, were then altered or amended 
 or granted or confirmed as the Heralds thought 
 necessary, and only legally date from that period. 
 Though a common enough belief, it is absolutely 
 
The Visitations 131 
 
 incorrect to suppose that the arms then entered 
 were all then registered and admitted by virtue 
 of sufficiently ancient usage. There were precious 
 few of that character in existence. It is im- 
 perative that the true status and character of these 
 Visitations should be thoroughly understood. 
 They were in no sense or degree a recognition or 
 admission that a man had a right to choose his 
 own arms, or assume such distinction without a 
 grant or warrant from the Crown or its officers. 
 Visitations were primarily for the protection of 
 those who lawfully possessed the rights that they 
 might show how and whence they had obtained it^ 
 and for the preservation of their evidences of right. 
 But at the same time, the Crown, of its grace and 
 concession, put forward an opportunity for those 
 who were using arms without authority to render 
 such arms legal by having them rectified and 
 recorded by the Heralds. If a man did not em- 
 brace the opportunity, the arms he used remained 
 as they were before — that is, bogus, not merely un- 
 recorded. The arms were illegal ; the opportunity 
 of making them legal was ignored, therefore the 
 fault lay with the individual himself, not with the 
 Heralds. The descendants of such people must 
 blame their ancestors for being so foolish as to let 
 the opportunity pass. I fail to see what more 
 the Officers of Arms could possibly have done to 
 prevent a man losing his opportunity. For arms 
 
132 The Right to Bear Amiis 
 
 are legal by virtue of their recognition and regis- 
 tration by the Crown, not by virtue of their usage. 
 
 When a coat of arms was formally entered as 
 correct in the official Visitation Books, its legality 
 was thereby admitted, and was never afterwards 
 questioned. 
 
 The Heralds on their Visitations had full powers 
 to do many things, and among other punitory 
 measures, to inflict fines and penalties ; but on 
 this point they seem to have been peculiarly 
 forbearing. I have not so far been able to trace 
 one instance, and I believe that at the College of 
 Arms they have no record of a money fine levied 
 by the Heralds on a Visitation. Such penalties, 
 however, could be inflicted in other ways, although 
 they appear to have been very sparingly applied. 
 A monition before the Earl Marshal would entail 
 heavy expenses as well as costs. In Harl. MS., fol. 
 69, among a quantity of heraldic matter, copies of 
 Warrants and Summonses for the guidance of 
 the Heralds on their Visitations, is the following 
 form : — 
 
 ' To M'^ R. B. of N., gentleman, these to be 
 delivered. 
 
 'M' R. B., for asmuch as yo" Refused to make 
 yo'' apparance before me at N., where I 
 latelie sate for the Registringe of the gentle- 
 men w*hin the Wapentake of A., according to 
 such warning as was given yo"* by the Baylife 
 
The Visitations 133 
 
 of the same Wapentake I am of dutie to pro- 
 ceede as my Commission appointeth in such 
 Cases of Contempt. These are therefore to 
 Require yo"" and in the Queen's Ma*^^'" name to 
 Charge and Comaund yo'' to appeare personally 
 before the Right honourable George Earl of 
 Shrewsbury, Earl Marshal of England on the 
 first day of October next ensuing to answer 
 unto and yeild a Reason of that yo' Disobed- 
 yence and Contempte : hereof faile yo"" not as 
 yo" will avoyd the forfeiture of X" to her Ma*^"' 
 use, and the further peryll and trouble that 
 may ensue.-:-Written at B. the 19th daye of 
 N. An" 1 591 
 
 ' By me Rougecrosse Marshall 
 
 for Clarencieulx King of Armes.' 
 
 If a man, when summoned, was unable to prove 
 his arms, and declined to rectify them at the time, 
 he was then required over his own signature to 
 disclaim all and any right to bear arms, and these 
 lists of disclaimers were published in the county 
 towns at the conclusion of the Herald's Visitation. 
 
 To those who disclaimed, nothing beyond the 
 publication of their names was done. They had 
 each signed the declaration that they were not 
 entitled to bear arms. Here is what one writer 
 says : — ' Lists of these Disclaimers, with their own 
 signatures, now appear attached to Visitations pre- 
 served in the College of Arms, and are considered 
 as absolute renunciations of heraldic honours, and 
 binding upon their posterity.' Edmondson, i. 160, 
 
134 ^'^^ Right to Bear Arms 
 
 says the same thing : — ' Were obh'ged, under their 
 own hands, to disclaim all pretence or title there- 
 unto for the future.' Considerable pressure was 
 probably brought to bear on these persons, for 
 they had to ' Prove their arms, or then put them 
 in order, or else sign a renunciation, or be cited 
 before the Earl Marshal,' and if they chose the 
 alternative of renunciation and signed, there was 
 an end of the matter (and certainly of any pre- 
 scriptive usage they might have put forward for 
 consideration), for ever as far as they and their 
 actual descendants were concerned. 
 
 The Form of a Disclaimer can best be shown by 
 the reproduction of an actual instrument : — 
 
 'Cheshire. 3 Sept. 1663. 
 
 ' We, whose Names are here underwritten, being 
 duly summoned by William Dugdale, Esq., 
 Norroy King of Arms, in his Visitation of the 
 County Palatine of Chester, as well for the 
 approving and justifying our bearing of Arms, 
 as the taking upon us the Names and Titles 
 of Esquires or Gentlemen ; not being able to 
 shew any good Right to either of those Titles^, 
 nor knowing at present of any Arms belonging 
 to us, do hereby disclaim all such Attributes 
 and Arms ; and do promise henceforth to for- 
 bear to make use of either, until such time as 
 we can by lawful Authority do the same. 
 
 'Robert Morrey, 
 
 'Jonathan Crosse, |.„f Chester.' 
 
 'James Knoll, 
 
 ' Richard Heath, etc.. 
 
The Visitations 135 
 
 Though the list of disclaimers in each county is 
 frequently a lengthy one, I have found no instance 
 of any man who possessed an undoubted right to 
 arms disclaiming the right. If a man had been 
 known to possess arms, I do not think that he 
 would for one moment have been allowed to 
 * disclaim.' The Heralds, acting under their Royal 
 Commissions, had and exercised sufficient powers 
 to compel a proper compliance with the regulations 
 laid down. The fees required by the Heralds for 
 registering the pedigree and arms did not amount 
 to much, and so that no injustice should be done in 
 the case of any gentleman who possessed arms by 
 lawful right, but who was yet too poor to pay the 
 small amount of fees demanded, these fees were ex- 
 cused hun, and the record of the arms was duly made 
 without charge. This can be proved by reference 
 to several Visitations. Further, if any man desired 
 to record a pedigree and did not want arms, the 
 pedigree appears to have been recorded ; for one 
 instance, at any rate, I call to mind in a Visitation 
 of London where the Herald entered the pedigree 
 and added the laconic remark, ' He hath no arms 
 and standeth in contempt thereof Nor were the 
 Heralds hard in requiring the proof to be imme- 
 diately forthcoming, for many arms are entered as 
 exhibited and respited for further proof In some 
 case no further proof was ever made, and the arms 
 still stand in the Visitation Books as exhibited and 
 
136 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 ' respited for further proof, but no proof made.' In 
 fact, the Heralds, considering the enormous powers 
 conferred upon them, seem to have strained every 
 point in favour of the claimant which they could 
 possibly do consistently with the due and proper 
 execution of their duties. 
 
 My experience has led me to this opinion, that 
 where nowadays we hear these glowing and gran- 
 diloquent accounts of arms on ancient monuments 
 and of long usage, which arms are not recorded in 
 the Visitations, the explanation can usually be found 
 by consulting the list of disclaimers. It stands to 
 reason that, if a family were then using the arms 
 of another family of the name with whom they 
 could show no relationship, or using arms which 
 were spurious, the Heralds had no alternative but 
 to disallow the arms precisely as would be done at 
 the present time ; and if the arms were wrong 
 then, usage for the two centuries which have since 
 elapsed has conferred no right whatsoever upon 
 those of the descendants who are still making use 
 of them. 
 
 The Herald, of course, entered the arms and 
 pedigrees which were submitted, confirmed, or 
 admitted, in a rough draft-book. When he re- 
 turned to London a fair copy was made, and the 
 pedigrees and arms were checked by the records 
 contained in the College. The whole was care- 
 fully corrected, and the corrected and authoritative 
 
The Visitations 137 
 
 copy was delivered into the custody of the College 
 of Arms in conformity with the requirements of the 
 Royal Commission. In spite of many categorical 
 statements in print and elsewhere to the contrary, 
 these official records in their entirety remain in the 
 custody of the Corporation of the College of Arms, 
 which they have never left. Many of the rough 
 draft-books, however, are now elsewhere. The 
 officers who made them seem to have thought, and 
 probably rightly, that after the official, and exa- 
 mined, and corrected, and authentic copy was 
 duly lodged, the uncorrected, badly-written, ridicu- 
 lously-drawn rough draft became their personal 
 property. The College did not trouble about these 
 drafts, and many are now at the British Museum 
 and other libraries. But it is well to warn those 
 who think they are authentic that they are nothing 
 of the kind. They are crammed full of mistakes 
 and interpolations. Many of the latter are of 
 quite recent date. They have never been kept 
 under proper control, and in most cases it has been 
 open to every reader (who felt so inclined) to add 
 
 just whatsoever pleased him best, and instances 
 are known where not only isolated details, but even 
 
 entire pedigrees, have been mischievously added. 
 
 Some of the Visitations, more or less incorrectly, 
 some very incorrectly, have been printed and pub- 
 lished, but these printed Visitations have only been 
 taken from the incorrect copies and rough drafts 
 
138 The Right to Bem^- A^^ms 
 
 and not from the official records. These published 
 books are not sufficiently correct for much reliance 
 to be placed upon them. A popular idea seems to 
 be that if a descent can be shown from anyone 
 whose names appear upon a Visitation pedigree, 
 the right to the arms recorded with that pedigree 
 follows as a matter of course. 
 
 Certainly it would, if the arms were undoubtedly 
 old and were then merely registered ; but in cases 
 where the arms were then put in order, only an 
 application at the Heralds' College will definitely 
 show how far this confirmation carried. 
 
 Another point with regard to the pedigrees 
 entered at the Visitations should be borne in mind, 
 and it is this. The pedigrees then entered, and 
 particularly those in the earlier Visitations, were 
 not complete pedigrees of the families, and were 
 not put forward as such. They were merely 
 sufficient of each pedigree to establish the right of 
 the claimant in question to the arms he bore. 
 
 Bearing in mind that the summoning was done 
 by the local officers, or else upon lists supplied by 
 local officials, who surely knew their own neigh- 
 bourhood, it may with safety be said that after the 
 third Visitation it is inconceivable that any large 
 land-owning or any arms-bearing family existing 
 during the whole period covered by the three 
 Visitations should have been omitted from each one 
 of the three, and it must not be forgotten that in 
 
The Visitations 139 
 
 the comparatively few cases where the right to 
 arms must have undoubtedly existed by prescrip- 
 tion (which, I take it, meant use at or before the 
 date of the battle of Agincourt), such prescription 
 needed to have originated before the date of the 
 very first Visitation. Therefore it is a safe con- 
 clusion that after the end of the third Visitation 
 the whole of England had been swept clean, and 
 that every coat of arms continuously in use, 
 properly or improperly, during the period had been 
 by then either allowed or condemned. Since the 
 Visitations it has been absolutely impossible in 
 England to obtain, and utterly useless to put 
 forward, any prescriptive right to arms whatsoever. 
 Arms are good or they are bad as they are re- 
 corded or unrecorded. I have yet to learn of 
 any instance in England of an unrecorded and un- 
 disclaimed coat of arms in uninterrupted use to the 
 present day, which honestly dates from before the 
 period of the Visitations. 
 
 That no further Visitation has since been made 
 is infinitely to be regretted. It is the saddest 
 thing one can find to chronicle in the history of 
 British armory. But the reason is not difficult to 
 understand. By the time the next Visitation 
 became due, His Majesty James II. was held to 
 have abdicated the throne, and William III., by 
 Act of Parliament and by the strength of his own 
 right arm, reigned in these Kingdoms three. The 
 
140 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 real strength and basis of his support were due in 
 the greater proportion to the middle and trading 
 classes. 
 
 The upper classes and the aristocracy, those 
 whom Visitations concerned, were to an appre- 
 ciable, if not to a large, extent in sympathy with 
 the exiled King. Many were still Catholics. 
 King William was by no means sure of his throne, 
 and hesitated to issue a Commission to be fulfilled 
 * in the name of the Crown ' with the drastic 
 powers of entry, confiscation, and defacement, which 
 the Heralds had enjoyed under the previous Com- 
 missions. Consequently the matter remained in 
 abeyance. George I. came to the throne by Act 
 of Parliament in due course, and the matter was 
 again broached. Recognising the value and need 
 for the Visitations, it was proposed that another 
 Commission should issue, without the whole of these 
 powers to which so many of the gentry objected. 
 The Heralds, however, were of the opinion that a 
 Visitation of this kind would be of little value. 
 Now, when (owing to the absence of what would 
 have been most valuable records) it is so evident 
 that anything would have been better than nothing, 
 one thinks that they were wrong in coming to such 
 a decision, but one can understand the manner in 
 which they looked at the matter. George I. was 
 anxious to conciliate the ancient gentry of his 
 realms, and thought it wiser to let the old powers 
 
The Visitations 141 
 
 and authority lie dormant ; and Culloden and 
 Lord Derwentwater's rebellion amply showed that 
 the Hanoverian Kings were far from possessing 
 the loyal allegiance of many of the better-born 
 amongst their subjects. 
 
 But let it not for one moment be supposed that 
 the discontinuation of the Visitations meant that 
 the Crown abrogated its right or authority in 
 matters armorial. It did nothing of the kind ; and 
 pedigrees continued to be examined and recorded 
 as hitherto, when application was made — the 
 Crown issued its warrants to the Officers of Arms 
 — the Earls Marshal did the same — the Kings of 
 Arms continued to grant arms as they had done 
 theretofore. That the Crown's authority and pre- 
 rogative now exists and is still exercised, I have 
 already shown by the quotation of Royal Warrants 
 dating down to the reign of Queen Victoria. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 PROOF OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE AUTHORITY 
 OF THE CROWN AND COLLEGE OF ARMS AT 
 THE PRESENT DATE. 
 
 I HAVE not the shadow of a doubt but that 
 many of my readers will say or think : ' Oh, 
 but that's all ancient history ! nobody troubles 
 about the Crown or the College of Arms now ; 
 their laws and their day are all over and done 
 with.' They are 7iot, Here are two facts, and my 
 critics can date them 1898 — not 1498 nor 1698, 
 but 1898, — within a couple of years oi th.Q twentieth 
 century. When a man is about to be created a 
 baronet, he receives a notification from the Home 
 Office that, before his Patent can be signed or 
 sealed, he is required, by a Royal Warrant of 
 George HI., to prove that he is entitled to bear 
 arms by grant or inheritance, and also required 
 to record his pedigree at the College of Arms. 
 His right to bear arms will be judged, not by any 
 fancy formulae of his own, not by the peculiar ideas 
 of some heraldic writers w^ho glibly plead and 
 
Crown and College of Arms 143 
 
 advocate a kind of modern 'prescriptive' right, 
 but by the rules and laws I have endeavoured to 
 explain in the foregoing pages. And his patent 
 as a baronet will date, and therefore his precedence 
 amongst baronets will rank, after the date of the 
 certificate issued from the College of Arms to the 
 Home Office that the arms and pedigree have been 
 proved and are on record. Here is another little 
 fact. On June the lOth, in the year of grace 1898, 
 the case of Joicey-Cecil v. Joicey-Cecil was tried 
 in the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, 
 before Mr Justice Kekewich. This case afforded 
 an amusing illustration of the mode in which a 
 coat of arms is supposed to be ' found ' by 
 an ordinary seal engraver instead of through the 
 Heralds' College. The plaintiff in the case was 
 the wife of Lord John Pakenham Joicey-Cecil, and 
 is legal tenant for life in possession of the large 
 estates devised by the will of the late Colonel John 
 Joicey. The marriage took place in September 
 1896, the husband, then Lord John Pakenham 
 Cecil, thereupon assuming the name of 'Joicey- 
 Cecil.' The defendant, at present the only child 
 of the marriage, is the legal tenant in tail in 
 remainder to the estates. Colonel John Joicey 
 died in August 1881, having by his will devised 
 extensive estates in Northumberland to the use 
 of the plaintiff for life, for her separate use, with 
 remainder to the use of her first and other sons 
 
144 ^^^^ Right to Bear A^niis 
 
 successively in tail. Then followed a ' name and 
 arms clause,' providing that every person who, 
 under the will, should become entitled as tenant 
 for life or in tail to the estates, *and who shall 
 not then use and bear the surname and arms of 
 '* Joicey," shall, within one year after he or she 
 shall so become entitled to the said estates, or 
 (being an infant) within one year after he or she 
 shall attain the age of twenty-one years, and also 
 every person whom any woman so becoming 
 entitled shall marry, shall, within one year after 
 such woman shall so become entitled or shall 
 marry, whichever event shall first happen, take 
 upon himself or herself . . . the surname of 
 "Joicey," together with his or her own family 
 surname, and quarter the arms of "Joicey" with 
 his or her own family arms, and within one year 
 apply to the Crown for a licence to use and bear 
 the said surname and arms of "Joicey."' Then 
 followed a forfeiture clause on failure to comply 
 with the above conditions. The plaintiff and her 
 husband accordingly, shortly after their marriage, 
 obtained a Warrant from the Crown authorising 
 them to use the name of 'Joicey' in addition to 
 and before that of ' Cecil,' and also authorising the 
 husband to bear the arms of ' Joicey ' quarterly 
 with his own family arms. But the Warrant (or 
 Royal Licence) contained the invariable clause 
 requiring it to be first recorded and the arms 
 
Crown and College of Arms 145 
 
 exemplified in the College of Arms, otherwise 
 the Royal Licence to be void and of none 
 effect. Now the testator had been in the habit 
 of using a coat of arms and crest which appeared 
 in Burke's Armory (edition 1878) as belonging to 
 the families of 'Joyce/ 'Joice/ or 'Joys,' and in 
 a copy of that book in the possession of a 
 West-end seal engraver, the words 'Joicey omne 
 solum forti patria' were found written in manu- 
 script after the entry relating to the names ' Joyce, 
 Joice, or Joys' thus: — 'Joyce, Joice, or Joys, Or 
 Three Torteaux in bend between two bendlets 
 gules. Crest, a demi chevalier in armour brandish- 
 ing a scymitar all ppr. Joicey omne solum forti 
 patria.' These arms and crest were not recorded 
 in the College of Arms as belonging to any family 
 of the name of 'Joyce' or 'Joice' or 'Joys,' but 
 they were recorded as belonging to a family named 
 ' Ince,' in Lancashire. No person of the name of 
 'Joice' was, in fact, recorded in the College of 
 Arms as entitled to bear any arms at all. And 
 consequently the College of Arms point blank 
 refused, and rightly refused, to exemplify these 
 so-called arms of Joicey with the undoubted arms 
 of Cecil. Under these circumstances Lord John 
 Pakenham Joicey-Cecil applied to the College of 
 Arms for a grant of such arms as might be proper 
 to be borne by him and the plaintiff and their issue, 
 and one of the Heralds of Arms had prepared a pro- 
 
 K 
 
146 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 posed coat of arms to be quartered with the arms 
 of Cecil, and similar in some respects to the arms 
 used by the testator. In the meantime the 
 application, by special case, was made to the 
 Court for its opinion (i) whether the assumption 
 of the surname of 'Joicey' together with and 
 before that of ' Cecil ' was such a compliance with 
 the will as to avoid a forfeiture ; and (2) whether, 
 having regard to the fact that the arms borne by 
 the testator were not his own, but those of the 
 
 * Ince ' family, and had been wrongfully assumed 
 by him, and to the fact that there were no arms of 
 'Joicey' at that time recorded in the College of 
 Arms, the condition as to quartering the arms of 
 
 * Joicey ' contained in the will was incapable of 
 taking effect The special case now came on for 
 hearing. 
 
 Mr Justice Kekewich held that the will in 
 terms authorised the use of the name of ' Joicey ' 
 ' together with ' the name of ' Cecil,' and that the 
 circumstance that it was used before instead of 
 after * Cecil ' was immaterial ; also that the con- 
 dition as to quartering the arms of Joicey had, 
 under the circumstances, no operation and was 
 incapable of taking effect, inasmuch as the testator 
 had no right whatever to bear any arms. There- 
 fore the original condition was one which it was 
 impossible to comply with. The grant of the pro- 
 posed new coat of arms was therefore carried into 
 
Crown and College of Arms 147 
 
 effect. The case of Joicey-Cecil v. Joicey-Cecil 
 was tried June the loth, 1898. Does any one 
 require any further proof that, at the present day, 
 even the Common Law recognises the rightful 
 ownership of arms? 
 
 Upon the publication of the first edition of 
 this book, a review of it appeared in a periodi- 
 cal Literature^ and this review was promptly 
 followed by a letter from a correspondent, who 
 attempted to discuss my book, when it was ap- 
 parent to any one that he could not have read it. 
 The chief of several statements he made was 
 the following : — ' In the first place there is no 
 necessity to prove a claim to Arms in order to use 
 them, it having been ruled in a Court of Law many 
 years ago, that any man has the right to adopt any 
 heraldic device he likes, and that after using it 
 for a certain time it becomes bond-fide his own.' 
 
 Now I absolutely deny in toto the right of an 
 ordinary law court to attempt to adjudicate upon 
 an armorial matter. Nor can I find that any case 
 has ever been tried which rested upon such a 
 jurisdiction. The point has certainly come up as a 
 side issue in some number of cases, but which it is 
 that the said correspondent referred to I am at a 
 loss to know, for no such ruling as that referred to 
 has ever been made. Perhaps, however, the corre- 
 spondent of Literature may be referring, as I have 
 found others do, to a certain case which had some 
 
148 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 little connection with the matter. And as this case 
 is so frequently alluded to, let us examine it. It is 
 referred to in an article on 'Trade-marks and Crests' 
 in the Herald and Genealogist^ vol. 3, 1866. But 
 it will be seen that the case had really nothing to 
 do with the right to arms or crest. It merely 
 amounted to whether a bogus crest was to out- 
 weigh a genuine trademark. Needless to say, the 
 judgment was that it could not. The case was 
 that of Standish v. Whitwell (March 1866) before 
 the Vice-Chancellor Sir William Page Wood. 
 
 The circumstances of the case were as follows : — 
 
 The plaintiffs, carrying on business under the title 
 
 of The Eagle Coal and Iron Company, at West 
 
 Bromwich, in Staffordshire, have for the last 
 
 twenty years used for their mark an eagle with 
 
 outspread wings, and their iron, which had acquired 
 
 considerable reputation, had been commonly 
 
 known as Eagle Iron. The defendants, Messrs 
 
 Whitwell & Co., being iron manufacturers at the 
 
 Thornaby Ironworks, Stockton-upon-Tees, about 
 
 May 1865, adopted an eagle with outspread wings, 
 
 similar to that of the plaintiffs, accompanied with 
 
 their initials, ' W. W. & Co.,' as a distinctive mark 
 
 for the better qualities of iron which they began to 
 
 manufacture. 
 
 On discovering the sale of this Eagle Iron at a 
 lower price than their own, the plaintiffs com- 
 plained of the infringement of their trademark ; 
 
Crown and College of Arms 149 
 
 when the defendants stated that the Eagle was 
 their family crest, and that they had not been 
 aware that there was any Company already using 
 such a brand. In the correspondence that ensued, 
 the plaintiffs stated that after searching the 
 heraldry books, and the records of Heralds' College, 
 they had failed to find any such crest belonging to 
 the family of Whitwell. The defendants replied 
 that, 'whether registered at the Heralds' College 
 or not, the crest of an eagle had been used by their 
 family for thirty years, and, at least, two genera- 
 tions previously ; ' and they sent an impression 
 of the seal that exhibited it. 
 
 Such were the heraldic arguments on either side: 
 the plaintiffs believing or affecting to believe that 
 the, allegation of a ' family crest ' was a fraudulent 
 pretence invented for the purposes of the action ; 
 and the defendants, who adhered to more meek and 
 pacific language, representing such a view of their 
 conduct as a harsh and unjustifiable imputation. 
 
 The Vice-Chancellor appears to have coincided 
 with the latter view, for, whilst he regarded a 
 decree for an injunction as a matter of course, he 
 reprobated the imputations of frauds which the 
 legal advisers of the plaintiffs had in the first 
 instance advanced, and on that account disallowed 
 the plaintiffs the cost of their first affidavit, which 
 asserted this charge of fraud as to the use of the 
 crest by the defendants. 
 
150 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 The result from the heraldic point of view might 
 seem to be, that a trademark is a matter of much 
 greater sanctity in the eyes of the common law 
 than a crest, for the actual legality of the crest 
 as used by the defendants never came into the 
 question. The defendants merely pleaded that 
 they used the crest in good faith, and had done so 
 for thirty years. So that for the purposes of 
 the action the crest was accepted as legal, but 
 the case certainly cannot be held to have proved 
 that the Whitwell family had a lawful right 
 to an eagle for a crest. The contrary was the 
 result, for as a matter of fact the Whitwells at 
 once discontinued to use it. It simply is that the 
 gentleman's remedy does not lie in the Court of 
 Chancery, but whilst utterly denying the right of 
 an ordinary law court to adjudicate upon an 
 armorial matter, it will not be without interest, if, 
 for the sake of those who swear by the law courts, 
 I refer to a case which was tried in the year 
 1886. A certain Mary Anne Eliza Austen be- 
 queathed her property with certain remainders, 
 and the clause of the Will in question was as 
 follows : — 
 
 ' Provided always and I hereby declare my Will 
 to be that every person who under or by virtue of 
 this my Will shall become entitled as tenant for 
 life or tenant in tail male or in tail to the actual 
 possession or to the receipt of the rents and profits 
 
Crown and College of Arms 151 
 
 of the premises hereinbefore devised in strict settle- 
 ment and who shall not then use and bear the 
 surname and Arms of my late husband Major 
 Austen shall within one year after he shall so 
 become entitled or (being an infant) within one 
 year after he shall attain the age of twenty-one 
 years (unless in the said respective cases any such 
 person shall be prevented by death) take upon 
 himself and use in all deeds and writings which he 
 shall sign and upon all occasions the surname of 
 Austen together with his own family surname, and 
 also quarter the Arms of Austen with his own 
 family Arms and shall within the said one year 
 (unless prevented by death) apply for and en- 
 deavour to obtain a proper licence from the Crown 
 or take such other steps as may be requisite to 
 authorise him so to take use and bear the said 
 surname and Arms of Austen.' 
 
 Then followed an ordinary forfeiture clause. 
 Now, the said Major Austen had no right to the 
 arms he used, and consequently the College of 
 Arms declined to exemplify them to the devisee. 
 
 The question therefore arose whether the 
 plaintiff's failure to obtain the grant from the 
 Heralds' College operated as a forfeiture. The 
 case was tried on the 5th of May 1886, in the 
 High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, before 
 Mr Justice Chitty (Austen v. Collins). Judgment 
 was to the effect that the forfeiture did not operate 
 
152 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 on account of the devisee's failure to obtain the 
 grant on its being shown that he had made every 
 endeavour to comply with the terms of the direc- 
 tion. The case is important, but, like the Joicey- 
 Cecil case, to which I have already referred, the 
 judgment in itself merely upholds the College of 
 Arms in its definite refusal to recognise unauthor- 
 ised arms, but the pith of the matter for those who 
 swear by the words of an ordinary judge, lay in 
 certain very crucial remarks of Mr Justice Chitty 
 in pronouncing judgment. These remarks are 
 omitted in the ordinary law reports, and I quote 
 them verbatim from the Times report * on the 
 following day as follows : — 
 
 ' The rule, no doubt, was that for the purpose of 
 complying with the conditions of an ordinary name 
 and arms clause, a grant from the Heralds' College 
 must be obtained. There were divers statements 
 in the text-books to that effect, and those state- 
 ments had never been questioned. It was, more- 
 over, to be borne in mind that the law was that 
 a coat of arms descended as an estate of inherit- 
 ance (Comyns's Digest, sub lit. Court of Chivalry). 
 A man could not of himself create or grant an estate 
 of inheritance to himself It was, therefore, plain 
 that a mere voluntary assumption of a coat of arms 
 was not enough, but that a properly authorised 
 grant — Le., a grant by the Heralds' College — was 
 
 * See Times, May 6th, 1886. 
 
Crown and College of Arms 153 
 
 essential to a fair compliance with the condition of 
 an ordinary name and arms clause.' 
 
 I think I have now proved incontrovertibly 
 that in England from an early period — at least, as 
 far back as 141 8 — down to the present day, the 
 control of arms has been both theoretically and 
 in fact vested in the Sovereign. I have shown 
 the exercise and absolute continuity of that 
 authority ; I have shown how the Sovereign 
 in exceptional cases has reserved and still 
 exercises the prerogative to act direct ; I have 
 shown how the working, control and super- 
 vision has been and still is in England delegated 
 by the Sovereign to the Earl Marshal and 
 the Officers of Arms ; I have shown how by 
 grants and by the Visitations with the powers 
 of defacement and disclaimer this supervision 
 has been exercised. 
 
 By the due and proper recording of pedigrees 
 the proof of the right to bear arms can be estab- 
 lished and preserved for posterity and in per- 
 petuity. 
 
 The incontrovertible deductions and conclusions 
 from the foregoing are: (i) That to formally 
 establish the right to bear arms in England by 
 inheritance, legitimate male descent must be proved 
 to the satisfaction of the College of Arms, either from 
 some person to whom the right has been granted 
 by Patent, or from some person to whom the right 
 
154 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 was confirmed at the Visitations ; (2) that the 
 assumption and use of legal arms by a person 
 who is not included in the limitations recited 
 in the grant or confirmation thereof is theft ; 
 (3) that arms only originating from an unauthor- 
 ized source, or in the invention or imagination 
 of a man or of his ancestors, are illegal and void 
 of authority ; (4) that unless arms have been 
 sanctioned at some time or another by the Crown, 
 or its duly accredited Officers of Arms, they cannot 
 be and are not legal or valid. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 ARMORIAL LAW IN SCOTLAND 
 
 Let us now turn to Scotland. 
 
 Owing to a lack of records, it is difficult to trace 
 the continuity of the authority of the Crown to so 
 remote a period in Scotland as in England. I 
 don't think I can improve upon the form in which 
 the whole subject is discussed in the * Ordinary of 
 Scottish Arms' by Sir J. Balfour Paul, Lyon 
 King of Arms, I have no permission to repro- 
 duce so large an extract from Lyon's book, but I 
 trust I am not doing wrong in making the quota- 
 tion, which I do with all apologies, and thanks to 
 the writer for having so ably demonstrated the 
 facts of the case : — 
 
 ' The earliest Scottish Armorial in existence is 
 said to have been prepared by or under the 
 superintendence of Sir David Lindsay of the 
 Mount about 1542. It is impossible to say 
 whether it took from the first an official character, 
 but that there must have been some such recog- 
 nised record before the close of the sixteenth 
 century is clear from several references which are 
 
156 The Right to Bea7^ Arms 
 
 made to the Liber insigniorimi, or " Book of Arms," 
 in the Acts of the Scottish Parliament at that 
 period. In 1592 an Act was passed authorizing 
 the Lyon and his Heralds to hold Visitations 
 throughout the realm in order to distinguish the 
 arms of the various noblemen and gentlemen, and 
 *' thaireftir to matriculat thame in thair buikis and 
 registeris." It is unfortunate that this permission 
 to make Heraldic Visitations was never largely 
 taken advantage of; had it been, and had the 
 Registers indicated in the Act been properly kept, 
 it is unlikely that the Privy Council would have, 
 within the next forty years, practically authenti- 
 cated as an official record Sir David Lindsay's 
 MS. above referred to, which they did in the 
 following terms : — 
 
 " This Booke and Register of Armes, done by Sir 
 David Lindesay of the Month, Lyone King of 
 Armes, reg. Ja. 5, conteines 106 leaves, which 
 register was approvine be the Lordies of his 
 Majesties Most Honourable Privie Counsale at 
 Halierude hous 9 December 1630. 
 
 " Sir James Balfour, Lyone. 
 " Thomas Drysdale, Hay Herauld, 
 " Register:' 
 
 ' Whatever may have become of the official 
 Registers previous to the date of the commence- 
 ment of the present one, it is certain that many 
 collections of arms were from time to time made, 
 
Armorial Law in Scotland 157 
 
 both by the Officers of Arms and others. Sir 
 Robert Forman, Lyon (15 5 5- 1567), presented to 
 Queen Mary a roll containing 267 Scottish coats 
 of arms. In addition to the " Workman MS." 
 now in the Lyon Office, at least four other 
 Armorials belonging to the sixteenth century, and 
 relating to Scotland, are in existence, and were 
 shown at the Heraldic Exhibition held at Edin- 
 burgh in 1 89 1, while the seventeenth-century 
 collections are comparatively numerous. As time 
 went on, however, the absence of an authentic and 
 official Register of Arms was more and more felt. 
 In 1639 the Committee on Articles appointed the 
 Lyon to do diligence for cognoscing and matricu- 
 lating all arms, and to represent the same to the 
 Privy Council, that they might take some course 
 to prevent arms being assumed irregularly. In 
 1662 it was apparently found that the registration 
 of arms was more neglected than ever, though 
 Cromwell had appointed one, if not two, Lyons 
 during his administration of the Government. By 
 an Act passed in that year it was provided, inter 
 alia, that "... Considering what disorders 
 and confusions have arisen and are dayly occa- 
 sioned by the usurpation of Cadents, who against 
 all rules assume to themselffs the armes of the 
 Cheeff house of the familie out of which they are 
 descendit, and that other mean persones who can 
 nowayes deryve thair succession from the families 
 
158 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 whose names they bear, as they have just assumed 
 the name, doe therafter weare the coat of that 
 name to which they pretend without any warrand 
 or grund whatsumever, ... no younger brother 
 or caudent of any familie presume to carie the 
 armes of that famihe bot with sech distinctions as 
 shall be given by the Lyon King of Armes ; " and 
 it was likewise provided that all persons were to 
 have their arms examined and renewed by the 
 Lyon, and inserted in his Register. This Act, 
 however, did not remain long in the Statute-Book ; 
 considerable dissatisfaction appears to have been 
 created by it, possibly from the amount of the 
 fees which it entitled the Lyon to exact at the 
 funeral solemnities of the nobility and their wives, 
 and it was repealed in the following year, 1663. 
 It is not very clear whether the above-quoted 
 allusion to the Lyon Register can be taken as 
 implying that at that time there was such a record 
 in existence, or whether it merely means that a 
 Register was then to be commenced. But as the 
 present Register was certainly commenced within 
 the next ten years as new, it may fairly be inferred 
 that no official Register of Arms, with the excep- 
 tion of Sir David Lindsay's MS. mentioned above 
 as having been approved by the Privy Council, 
 was in existence at the period of the Restoration. 
 What had become of the old Registers, if such 
 there had been, has been a matter of some specula- 
 
Armorial Law in Scotland 159 
 
 tion : both water and fire have been held to be 
 answerable for their destruction. It is by some 
 thought that they may have formed part of that 
 cargo of records originally carried off to London 
 by Cromwell, and ultimately jettisoned from the 
 frigate Eagle or lost with the ship Elizabeth of 
 Burntisland, when, owing to the representations of 
 the Scottish Parliament, they were being restored 
 to their proper home. On the other hand, Arnot, 
 in his " History of Edinburgh," mentions that the 
 Lyon Office Records were burnt in a fire which 
 took place about 1670, and that the Act under 
 which the present Register was instituted was in 
 consequence passed shortly afterwards. As, how- 
 ever, there is no mention made of any such fire in 
 that Act, which merely alludes in general terms 
 to the many " irregularities of these late times," it 
 can hardly be regarded as authentic history, and 
 it is unnecessary to do more than allude to the 
 causes which have been thought likely to have 
 induced the Scottish Legislature to take the steps 
 they did for the formation of an entirely new 
 Register. It has been shown that an attempt had 
 already been made in 1662 to improve the Regis- 
 tration of Arms, but it had come to nothing. In 
 1672 the Parliament again addressed themselves 
 to the subject, and this time with success. They 
 had the advantage of a member who was himself 
 well acquainted with heraldry — Sir George Mac- 
 
i6o The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 kenzie of Rosehaugh — and he not improbably took 
 a special interest in drawing the Act, which took 
 its place on the Statute-Book as the Act of 1672, 
 cap. 47. It ratified generally the Act of 1592 so 
 far as it related to Visitations and the penalties 
 to be inflicted on persons using arms without 
 authority, and it ordered all persons of whatsoever 
 degree, who were in the habit of using arms, to 
 give in a description of such arms and of their 
 lineage to the Lyon Clerk, in order that they 
 might be distinguished with " congruent differ- 
 ences," and that the Lyon might enter them in his 
 books and registers, and might grant arms to 
 " vertuous and well deserving persones." The 
 Register now instituted was to be considered as the 
 true and unrepealable rule of all arms and 
 bearings in Scotland, and was ordered to remain 
 in the Lyon Office as a public Register of the 
 kingdom for all time coming. All persons who 
 used arms after the expiration of a year and a 
 day from the passing of the Act rendered them- 
 selves liable to a fine of one hundred pounds, 
 and the goods on which the arms were engraved 
 were to be escheat to the King.' 
 
 The Act reads as follows. I quote it in full, as 
 it definitely confirms the important point that 
 cadets in Scotland are not entitled to bear the 
 undifferenced arms of the head of their family. 
 And to those who cavil at the personal authority 
 
Armorial Law in Scotland i6i 
 
 of the Crown, it is wholesome to point out that in 
 Scotland, at any rate, the matter is governed by 
 common Parliament-made law, carrying, of course, 
 therewith the formal assent of the Crown. 
 
 * Copy of the Act concerning the Priviledges of 
 THE Office of Lyon King at Armes. 
 
 ' Our Soveraigne Lord Considering, that albeit by 
 the 125 Act of the 12 Parlia* holden by his 
 Maiesties grandfather in the yeir 1592 the 
 usurpation of Armes by any of his Maiesties 
 leidges without the authority of Lyon King of 
 Armes is expresly discharged ; And that in 
 order thereto, Power and Comission is granted 
 to the Lyon King of Armes or his Deputes, to 
 visite the whole Armes of Noblemen, Barrons 
 and Gentlemen, & to matriculate the same in 
 their Registers, and to fine in One hundreth 
 pounds all others who shall unjustlie usurp 
 armes ; As also to Escheit all such goods and 
 geir as shall have unwarrantable Armes in- 
 graven on them. Yet amongst the many 
 irregularities of these late times, very many 
 have assumed to themselvis Armes, who should 
 bear none, and many of those who may in law 
 bear have assumed to themselvis ye Armes of 
 their chieff, without distinctions, or Armes 
 which were not carried by them or their pre- 
 dicessors. Therefor His Maiestie with advice 
 and consent of his Estates of Parlia* Ratifies 
 and Approves the foresaid Act of Parliament : 
 And for the more vigorous prosecution thereof 
 Doth hereby Statute and Ordain that lettirs of 
 
 L 
 
1 62 The Rio-kt to Bear Arms 
 
 "^> 
 
 publication of this present Act be direct to be . 
 execute at the mercat cross of the heid Burghs 
 of the Shires, Stewartries, BailHaries of Royahy 
 & RegaUitie and Royal Burrowghs chargeing 
 all and sundry Prelates, Noblemen, Barons & 
 Gentlemen who make use of any Armes or 
 Signes armoriall within the space of one yeir 
 aftir the said publication, to bring or send ane 
 account of what Armes or Signes armoriall they 
 are accustomed to use ; and whither they be 
 descendants of any familie the Armes of which 
 familie they bear, and of what Brother of the 
 ffamilie they are descended ; With Testificats 
 from persones of Honour, Noblemen or Gentle- 
 men of qualitie anent the Verity of their having 
 and useing those Armes, and of their descent 
 as afoirsd, to be delivered either to the Clerk of 
 the Jurisdiction where the persones duells, or 
 to the Lyon Clerk at his office in Edinburgh, 
 at the option of the party, upon their receipts 
 gratis without paying any thing therefore : 
 Which Receipt shall be a sufficient exoneration 
 to them, from being obleidged to produce 
 again, to the effect that the Lyon King of 
 Armes may distinguish the sds Armes with 
 congruent differences, and may matriculat the 
 same in his Bookes & Registers, and may give 
 Armes to vertuous and well deserving Persones, 
 and Extracts of all Armes, expressing the 
 blasoning of the Arms undir his hand and seall 
 of office : For Which shall be payed to the 
 Lyon the soume of Tuentie merkes by Every 
 Prelate & Nobleman, and Ten Merks by Every 
 Knight & Baron, and five merkes by every other 
 persone bearing Armes, and noe more : And 
 
Armorial Law in Scotland 163 
 
 his Mat'® hereby Dispenses with any penalties 
 that may arise be this or any proceiding Act 
 for bearing Armes, befor the Proclamation to 
 be issued hereupon. And it is Statute & 
 Ordained with consent forsd that the sd 
 Register shall be respected as the true and 
 unrepeallable rule of all Armes & Bearings in 
 Scotland to remain with the Lyons office as a 
 publict Register of the Kingdome, and to be 
 transmitted to his Successors in all tyme 
 comeing : And that whosoevir shall use any 
 other Armes any manner of way, aftir the 
 expireing of year & day from the date of the 
 Proclamation to be issued hereupon in maner 
 forsd shall pay One hundred pounds money 
 toties quoties to the Lyon, and shall likewise 
 escheat to his Maiestie all the moveable Goods 
 & Geir upon which the fds Armes are engraven, 
 or otherwise represented. And his Maiestie 
 with consent forsd Declaires that it is onlie 
 allowed for Noblemen & Bishopes to subscrive 
 by their titles ; And that all others shall sub- 
 scrive their Christned names, or the initiall 
 letter thereof with there Sirnames, and may if 
 they please adject the designations of their 
 Lands, prefixing the word Of to the fds designa- 
 tions. And the Lyon King at Armes and his 
 Brethren are required to be carefull of informe- 
 ing themselvis of the contraveiners heirof, and 
 that they acquaint his Maiesties Councill there- 
 with, who are hereby impowered to punish 
 them as persones disobedient to and con- 
 traveiners of the Law. It is likewise hereby 
 Declaired that the Lyon and his Brethren 
 Heraulds are Judges in all such causes con- 
 
164 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 cerning the malversation of Messingers in their 
 office, and are to enjoy all other priviledges 
 belonging to their Office which are secured to 
 them by the Lawes of this Kingdome, and 
 according to former practice.' 
 
 Under a strict interpretation of the above Act, 
 this opportunity of ' matriculation ' of ancient 
 Scottish Arms might well be held to have long 
 since lapsed. I am in no way speaking for Lyon, 
 nor do I wish to in any way hamper his discretion, 
 but I believe it to be correct, and consequently it 
 cannot be too widely known that the present Lyon 
 King is by no means averse, if satisfactory evidence 
 can be produced, to still exercise his prerogative 
 and discretion, and matriculate at the present date 
 arms which can be shown to have been authori- 
 tatively borne prior to the passing of the above 
 Act. 
 
 In Scotland, Lyon King of Arms still exercises 
 his power of restraining the improper assumption 
 of arms : the late * Lyon ' caused a quantity of 
 unauthorised heraldry to be removed from the 
 windows of Glasgow Cathedral and from other 
 public buildings ; and quite recently the present 
 Lyon exercised a similar jurisdiction in the case 
 of a public building on which various coats of 
 arms were incorrectly displayed. Mr Grazebrook, 
 in his Heraldry of Worcestershire, p. 27, quotes 
 some delightful lines, published in Blackwood's 
 
Armorial Law in Scotland 165 
 
 Magazine in June 1865, on the subject of 'How 
 to make a Pedigree ' : 
 
 ' But I'll give you here a hint 
 
 Your ambitious views to stint — 
 There's a limit that a wise man will not pass ; 
 
 You may safely vaunt and vapour 
 
 While it's only done on paper. 
 But you'd better keep from panel and from glass ; 
 
 For if there you lay a brush, 
 
 It may put you to the blush, 
 Should the Lyon at your 'scutcheon make a dash : 
 
 If your arms, so well devised, 
 
 Are not " duly authorized," 
 All your quarters may some morning get a smash.' 
 
 When the writer in Blackwood penned these 
 lines, he evidently did not contemplate a time 
 when it would be no longer safe to ' vaunt and 
 vapour while it's only done on paper.' 
 
 The following is a copy of a typical wScottish 
 grant of Arms : — 
 
 * To all and sundry whom these presents do or 
 may concern, We, George Burnett, Esquire, 
 Doctor of Laws, Advocate, Lyon King of Arms, 
 
 send Greeting : Whereas, James S , 
 
 residing at Banchory, in the county of Kincar- 
 dine, Esquire, Fellow of the Society of Anti- 
 quaries of London, hath by petition of date the 
 tenth day of July current, represented unto Us, 
 that he is the only surviving son of the late 
 
 William of Streatham, in the county of 
 
 Surrey, Esquire, formerly of the city of Aber- 
 
1 66 The Rig-ht to Bear Arms 
 
 ^t> 
 
 deen, Master of Arts, Fellow of the Royal 
 Society of Edinburgh, Royal Academician, 
 Honorary Royal Scottish Academician, Pro- 
 fessor of the Theory of Fine Arts in King's 
 College, London, and Inspector of Government 
 
 Schools of Design, by Jane Bickerton B , 
 
 his wife, and grandson of the deceased William 
 
 , of Fonthill and Cuttlehill, both in the 
 
 county of Aberdeen, Esquire, Doctor of Medi- 
 cine, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 
 by Margaret Chalmers his wife ; and hath 
 prayed that We would grant Our Licence and 
 Authority to him and to his descendants, and 
 to the other descendants of his said grandfather, 
 to bear and use such ensigns armorial as ma}^ be 
 found suitable and according to the Laws of 
 Arms : Know ye, therefore, that We have 
 devised, and do by these presents assign, ratify, 
 
 and confirm to the said James S , 
 
 Esquire, and to the descendants of his said 
 grandfather, with such congruent differences as 
 may hereafter be matriculated for them, the 
 following ensigns armorial, as depicted upon the 
 margin hereof, and matriculated of even date 
 with these presents in Our Public Register of 
 all Arms and Bearings in Scotland, viz.,. Argent, 
 a cheveron embattled between three leopard's 
 faces sable. Above the shield is placed a helmet 
 befitting his degree, with a mantling gules 
 doubled argent, and on a wreath of his liveries 
 is set for crest, a lion rampant gardant sable 
 murally gorged argent, sustaining a flagstaff 
 proper, thereon hoisted a banner parted per 
 bend embattled or and gules, charged with a 
 leopard's face counterchanged, and in escrol 
 
Ainnorial Law in Scotland 167 
 
 over the same this motto, " Decide and Dare." 
 In testimony whereof these presents are sub- 
 cribed by Us, and the Seal of Our office is ap- 
 pended hereunto, at Edinburgh, the twelfth 
 day of July, in the year of our Lord one 
 thousand eight hundred and eighty-six. 
 
 ' (Sd.) George Burnett, Lyon.' 
 
 But, unlike English Arms, the unaltered Scottish 
 coat descends only to the Jieir male of the family, 
 or (as a quartering) through heirs female being 
 heirs portioners. The younger sons and cadets 
 (though they naturally inherit the inherent gentility 
 of the original creation) have no right to bear the 
 arms until they have been re-matriculated to them- 
 selves in Lyon Register, and such marks of 
 cadency added as Lyon King of Arms may see 
 fit to require. The re-matriculated and differenced 
 coat then descends in like manner to the heir male 
 of the person matriculating : the cadets of that 
 branch are again each in their turn required to 
 re-matriculate. So that in Scotland to prove a 
 right to arms it must be shown that you are the 
 heir male amongst the descendants of a grantee of 
 arms or of one who has matriculated. 
 
 The following is an example of a Patent of 
 Matriculation, by which a cadet of an ancient 
 family had the arms of the head of that family 
 matriculated to himself with due marks of 
 cadency : — 
 
1 68 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 Extract of Matriculation of the Arms of 
 Norman Hay Forbes, Esquire. 
 
 * Norman Hay Forbes, Esquire, Fellow of the 
 Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, 
 residing at Drumminor, Tunbridge Wells, in 
 the county of Kent, having, by petition to the 
 Lord Lyon King of Arms, of date the thirtieth 
 day of November ultimo, represented that he is 
 the second son of the late Frederick Murray 
 Hay Forbes, born in the year 1830, Major 
 Bengal Staff Corps, by Honoria his wife, 
 married the second day of January 1858, 
 daughter of the Reverend William Knox 
 Marshall, Bachelor of Divinity and Prebendary 
 of Hereford ; that the said Frederick Murray 
 Hay Forbes was the second son of Robert 
 Forbes of the Honourable East India Com- 
 pany's Civil Service, Bengal, born on the first 
 day of June 1808 by Frances Dorothea his wife, 
 married on the twenty-sixth day of March 
 1828, second daughter of Thomas Law Hodges 
 of Hemsted Park, near Cranbrook, in the 
 county of Kent ; that the said Robert Forbes 
 was the sixth son of James Ochonchar, seven- 
 teenth Baron Forbes, by Elizabeth his wife, 
 daughter of William Hunter of Polmood, in 
 the county of Peebles ; that the Arms of 
 William, eleventh Lord Forbes, were recorded 
 in the Public Register of All Arms and 
 Bearings in Scotland, in or about the year 
 1672 ; and the said petitioner having prayed 
 that the said Arms might be matriculated of 
 new in the said Public Register in his own 
 
Armorial Law in Scotland 169 
 
 name, with a suitable difference, the Lord 
 Lyon King of Arms, by interlocutor of this 
 date, granted Warrant and Bearings in Scot- 
 land in the name of the petitioner Norman 
 Hay Forbes, Esquire, Fellow of the Royal 
 College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the follow- 
 ing ensigns armorial, viz. : Azure three bears' 
 heads couped argent muzzled gules within a 
 bordure counter-company of the second and 
 first, charged with three crescents counter- 
 changed. Above the shield is placed a helmet 
 befitting his degree with a mantling azure 
 doubled argent, and upon a wreath of his 
 liveries is set for crest a stag's head -couped 
 proper, and in an escrol over the same this 
 motto, ' Grace me guide,' and in an escrol under 
 the shield is placed this motto, ' Lonach.' 
 
 ' Matriculated the fifteenth day of December 
 1897. 
 
 ' Extracted furth of the Public Register of 
 All Arms and Bearings in Scotland. 
 
 ' (Signed) J. W. Mitchell, 
 
 'Lyon Clerk.* 
 
 The following is another example : — 
 
 Extract of Matriculation of the Arms of 
 William John Home Mylne of Anvv^ell Grove 
 IN THE County of Hertford, Esquire. 
 
 * William John Home Mylne of Anwell Grove, in 
 the county of Hertford, Esquire, of Queen's 
 College, Oxford, Master of Arts, at present re- 
 siding at Weston-Super-Mare, in the county of 
 Somerset, having by Petition to the Lyon King 
 
170 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 of Arms, of date the twenty-second day of June 
 current, represented that he is the second son 
 of the late Robert WiUiam Mylne, Esquire, of 
 Anwell Grove aforesaid, and Hannah, his wife, 
 daughter of the late George Scott, Esquire, of 
 Ravenscourt Park, Hammersmith^ in the county 
 of Middlesex, in the Commission of the Peace 
 for the said county ; that the said Robert 
 William Mylne was grandson and representa- 
 tive of Robert Mylne, Esquire, of London, 
 Architect, whose Arms were matriculated in 
 the Public Register of all Arms and Bearings 
 in Scotland, on the eighth day of September 
 1767 ; and Mary, daughter of Robert Home, 
 his wife, which Robert Mylne was greatgrand- 
 son of Robert Mylne of Balfarge, his (then) 
 Majesty's Master Mason, whose Arms were also 
 matriculated in the said Public Register about 
 the year 1672 ; that in both these matricula- 
 tions the descent of the petitioner's family is set 
 forth from John Milne, Master Mason to King 
 James III., and the said Petitioner having 
 prayed that the said Arms might be matriculated 
 of new in his own name in the said Public 
 Register, with a suitable difference, the Lyon 
 King of Arms, by Interlocutor of this date, 
 granted warrant to the Lyon Clerk to matri- 
 culate of new in the Public Register of all Arms 
 and Bearings in Scotland, in the name of the 
 petitioner, William John Home Mylne, Esquire, 
 the following ensigns armorial, viz., Or, a cross 
 moline azure quartered pierced of the field 
 between three mullets of the second, within a 
 bordure gules for difference. Above the shield 
 is placed a helmet befitting his degree with a 
 
Armorial Law in Scotland 171 
 
 mantling azure doubled Or, and on a wreath of 
 his liveries is set for crest a pallas's head couped 
 at the shoulders, proper vested about the neck 
 vert, on the head a helmet azure beaver turned 
 up, and on top a pluniaish gules, and in an 
 escrol over the same this motto — " Tam Arte 
 Quam Marte." 
 
 ' Matriculated the 29th day of June 1891. 
 
 ' Extracted furth of the Public Register of 
 all Arms and Bearings in Scotland. 
 
 ' (Sd.) J. W. Mitchell, 
 
 'Lyon Clerk.' 
 
 It should be borne in mind that whilst a grant 
 in England carries to all descendants in the male 
 line^ a grant in Scotland only descends to the heir 
 male for the time being, or as a quartering to heirs- 
 general being heirs-portioners. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 ARMORIAL LAW IN IRELAND 
 
 I HAVE now shown how the Crown has asserted 
 its authority, and exercises its control concerning 
 armorial matters in England and in Scotland ; 
 there only remains Ireland to be dealt with. Theo- 
 retically, the laws of arms in Ireland are the same 
 as those of England ; but in Ireland, as in Scot- 
 land, the Earl Marshal exercises no jurisdiction, 
 and Ulster King of Arms has sole and supreme 
 authority under the Crown. 
 
 Although there was an officer with the title of 
 * Ireland King of Arms ' as early as the reign of 
 Richard IL, and though, at least, three other 
 persons were so designated, it is extremely doubt- 
 ful whether they exercised any heraldic jurisdiction 
 in that country. 
 
 Certain is it that no trace can now be found of 
 any official act in Ireland by any such officer, and 
 the earliest assertion of the armorial authority of 
 the Crown in Ireland that I am aware of was the 
 
Armorial Law in Ireland 173 
 
 appointment of the first Ulster King of Arms. 
 A copy of his Letters Patent will be found in 
 Rymer's Foedera. The powers therein granted to 
 him have been confirmed and re-granted to each of 
 his successors in their separate Letters Patent ; 
 and in the face of these Letters Patent, and 
 bearing in mind the powers which have been 
 attached to such Letters Patent in England, and 
 also the fact that the Crown is, and must be, the 
 supreme and sole fountain of honour, there can be 
 no question as to the entire authority in Ireland o 
 Ulster King of Arms. 
 
 I annex a copy and a translation of the Letters 
 Patent I refer to, creating the first Ulster King of 
 Arms. 
 
 * De constituendo Regem Armorum & Principalem 
 Heraldum Hiberni^.* 
 
 *Rex omnibus ad quos, etc. Salutem. 
 
 ' Sciatis quod, cum inter reliquos qui ad nostrae 
 Regise Majestatis Splendorum Ornatumq' spec- 
 tant Officiarios, non infimum ab antique inter 
 primae Classis Vires vindicant sibi locum 
 Heraldi, qui a Veteribus vocari Heroes soliti 
 sunt, quorum (scilicet) est Regum Lateribus 
 pro eorum Magnificentia & Gloria assistere, 
 Reipublicae consulere, Virtutes egregiaque Prin- 
 cipum Facinora, & amplissimos Triumphos 
 celebrare, fortia Virorum facta extollere Vitia 
 
 * Rymer's Foedera, vol. xv., pp. 305, 306 (Lon. 1713), Pat., 6 
 E. VI., Pt. iv., mem. 2. 
 
174 ^^^ Right to Bear Arms 
 
 exprehendere, & Armorum Curam suscipere, 
 deniq' Domi & Militiae Bonis omnibus usui esse. 
 
 * Nos Muneri huic tarn amplo Officioque 
 splendido Virum alioquin industrium praeficere 
 cupientes, 
 
 ' Perpendentesq' Fidelitatem, Rerum praxim 
 Prudentiam Probitatem ac Diligentiam dilecti 
 & fidelis servientis nostri Bartholomaei Butler 
 alias York, ac gratuitum acceptabile ejusdem 
 Bartholomsei Butler quotidianum & laude dig- 
 num servitium ac strenuain praecarissimo Patri 
 nostro Nobisq' antehac Operam impensam 
 habentes, Jure merito id poscente, ac caeteris aiiis 
 Causis & Considerationibus Nos moventibus. 
 
 ' De Gratia nostra special!, ac ex certa Scientia 
 matura Deliberatione & mero Motu nostris, 
 eundem Bartholomaeum Butler alias Yorke in 
 Regem Armorum & Principalem Heraldum 
 totius Regni nostri Hibernise ereximus fecimus 
 constituimus ordinavimus creavimus, Nomen 
 [Ulnester] ei imposuimus, & realiter coronavi- 
 mus, ac per Praesentes erigimus facimus consti- 
 tuimus ordinamus creamus, Nomen ei Ulnester 
 imponimus & realiter coronamus, ac Officium 
 illud, necnon Nomen Ulnester, Stilum Titulum 
 Dignitatem Libertatem Prseeminentiam Jura 
 Commoditates qusecumque, hujusmodi Officio 
 nunc & ab antiquo pertinentia dicto Bar- 
 tholomaeo Regi Armorum Ulnester damus & 
 concedimus per Praesentes, 
 
 ' Habendum tenendum occupandum gauden- 
 dum & exercendum Officium illud, ac Nomen 
 Stilum Titulum Commoditates & Praeeminentias 
 praedictas eidem Commoditatibus & Emolumen- 
 tis quibuscumq' praedicto Officio qualitercumq' 
 
Armorial Law in Ireland 175 
 
 nunc & ab antique spectantibus debitis sive 
 pertinentibus, 
 
 ' Dantes ulterius & per Tenorem Praesentium, 
 concedentes eidem Ulnester Auctoritatem Po- 
 testatem Libertatem Facultatem & Licentiam 
 Clarorum Virorum Arma & Insignia inspiciendi 
 discernendi corrigendi & ratificandi, 
 
 ' Necnon unicuiq' DifFerentias in eisdem 
 secundum Armorum Leges imponendi & ordin- 
 andi, 
 
 ' Literasq' Patentes Armorum' Claris Viris & 
 idoneis Personis donandi, 
 
 ' Ac caetera omnia & singula quae dicto in- 
 cumbunt Officio Regis Armorum sive inesse 
 dinoscuntur in Jure vel ex Consuetudine tem- 
 poribus retroactis faciendi exercendi & exe- 
 quendi, 
 
 ' Qui quidem Ulnester, ad hunc Statum voca- 
 tus, Nobis prsesentibus, aliisq' Regibus Heraldis, 
 ac quamplurimus Magnatis & Fidedignis Regni 
 nostri Angliae prsedicti, tunc coram Nobis 
 praesentibus, & specialiter per Nos ad hoc 
 vocatis adhibitis & solempniter requisiti, super 
 Sancta Dei Evangelia solempne praestitit Jura- 
 mentum, 
 
 ' Dedimus insuper & concessimus, ac per 
 Praesentes damns & concedimus eidem Bar- 
 tholomaeo, a nobis in Regem Armorum & 
 Principalem Heraldum totius Regni nostri 
 Hiberniae, ut praefertur, erecto, Quadraginta 
 Marcas bonae & legalis Monetae Angliae per 
 annum, aut tot & tantas Denariorum Hiberniae 
 Summas quae se extendant ad praedictum 
 Valorem Quadraginta Marcarum Angliae ratione 
 causa & excercitio ejusdem Officii pro Vadio & 
 
176 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 Feodo Officii praedicti percipiendarum eidem 
 Bartholomaeo singulis Annis durante Vita sua, 
 de Thesauro nostro ad Receptam Scaccarii 
 nostri Dublinensis, per manus Thesaurarii & 
 aliorum Officiariorum nostrorum ibidem pro 
 tempore existentium, ad Festa Paschse & Sancti 
 Michaelis Archangeli' aequis Portionibus annu- 
 atim solvendarum, una cum tali Liberatura & 
 Vestura, quali & in eisdem modo & forma prout 
 cseteri Reges Armorum & Principales Regni 
 nostri Angliae Heraldi habent seu habere debent. 
 
 * Habendas & percipiendas Liberaturam & 
 vesturam hujusmodi eidem Bartholomaeo annu- 
 atim, pro Termino Vitae suae, ad magnam 
 Garderobam. nostram Angliae per Manus Cus- 
 todis ejusdem pro tempore existentis ; 
 
 * Eg quod expressa mentio etc. aliquo Statuto, 
 etc. 
 
 ' In cujus rei, etc. 
 
 ' Teste Rege apud Westmonasterium primo 
 Die Junii [6 Edw. VI.] 
 
 * Per Breve de Privato Sigillo.' 
 
 Translation of the Letters Patent creating the 
 first Ulster King of Arms : — 
 
 ' The King to all to whom, etc., Greeting. Know 
 ye that, whereas, among the other officers, who 
 appertain to the splendour and adornment of 
 our Royal Majesty, the Heralds, called Heroes 
 by the ancients, claim from of old a place 
 not the least among the men of the first 
 rank, whose duty it is to attend Kings for 
 their magnificence and glory, to take counsel 
 
Armorial Law in Ireland 177 
 
 for the common weal, to celebrate the valour, 
 noble deeds and widespread triumphs of Princes, 
 to extol the brave doings and reprehend the 
 vices of men, to undertake the care of Arms, 
 and finally to be of service to all good men 
 both at home and in war. 
 
 ' We, desiring to appoint to this lofty func- 
 tion and splendid office, a man in other respects 
 worthy, 
 
 'And weighing the faithfulness, experience 
 of affairs, prudence, probity, and dihgence of 
 our well-beloved and faithful servant Bartholo- 
 new Butler, otherwise York, and the gratui- 
 tous, acceptable, and praiseworthy daily labours 
 of the said Bartholomew Butler, and the zealous 
 service heretofore rendered to our father and 
 to us, according to the claims of right and 
 merit, and all the other causes and considera- 
 tions moving us thereto, 
 
 ' Of our special grace, and of our certain 
 knowledge, mature deliberation and mere 
 motion, we have erected, made, constituted, 
 ordained, created and crowned the said Bar- 
 tholomew Butler, otherwise York, King of Arms 
 and Principal Herald of the whole of our King- 
 dom of Ireland, and given him the name of 
 Ulster, and by these presents do erect, make, 
 constitute, ordain, create, and actually crown 
 him such, and give him the said name of 
 Ulster, and by these presents give and grant 
 the name, style, title, dignity, liberty, pre- 
 eminence, rights and commodities whatsoever 
 to such office now and from of old time belong- 
 ing to the said Bartholomew, Ulster King of 
 Arms, 
 
 M 
 
178 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 'To have, hold, occupy, enjoy and exercise 
 that office and the name, style, title, commo- 
 dities and pre-eminences aforesaid to him, with 
 all profits and emoluments whatsoever to the 
 aforesaid office in any way now, and from of 
 old time, belonging, due or appertaining, 
 
 * Giving further, and by the tenor of these 
 presents, granting to the said Ulster, authority, 
 power, liberty, faculty and licence to inspect, 
 determine, correct and ratify the arms of 
 renowned men, 
 
 ' And also to impose and ordain differences 
 in the same in accordance with the laws of 
 Arms, 
 
 ' And to grant Letters Patent of Arms to 
 renowned men and suitable persons, 
 
 * And to do, exercise and discharge all other 
 things whatsoever which belong to the office of a 
 King of Arms, or are considered to be a part of 
 the same in right or by custom from times 
 gone by, 
 
 * Which the said Ulster, called to this rank, in 
 the presence of us and of other Kings Heralds, 
 and numerous magnates and liege subjects of 
 our Kingdom of England aforesaid, then present 
 before us, and for this purpose specially called, 
 summoned and solemnly cited by us, took a 
 solemn oath upon the Gospels. 
 
 'We moreover gave and granted, and by 
 these presents give and grant to the said 
 Bartholomew, erected by us, as aforesaid, to be 
 King of Arms and Principal Herald of the 
 whole of our Kingdom of Ireland, forty merks 
 of good and lawful money of England yearly, 
 or so much and so many sums of Irish money 
 
Armorial Law in Ireland 179 
 
 as shall amount to the value aforesaid of forty- 
 marks, by reason, cause and exercise of the 
 office aforesaid as wages and fee of the office 
 aforesaid, to be received by the said Bartholo- 
 mew every year during his life, out of our 
 treasure at the Receipt of our Exchequer in 
 Dublin by the hands of our Treasurer and 
 other officers there for the time being, to be 
 paid at the Feasts of Easter and St Michael the 
 Archangel in equal portions, together with 
 such livery and raiment as, and in the same 
 manner and form as, other Kings of Arms and 
 principal Heralds of our Kingdom of England, 
 have or ought to have, 
 
 ' To have and receive the livery and raiment 
 aforesaid to the said Bartholomew yearly for 
 the term of his life, at our great Wardrobe of 
 England by the hands of the Keeper of the 
 same for the time being, 
 
 ' Providing that express mention, etc., any 
 statute, etc. 
 
 ' In witness whereof, etc. 
 
 ' Witness the King at Westminster, the 
 first day of June. [6 Edw. VI.] 
 
 ' By writ of Privy Seal.' 
 
 The following is an example of a typical Irish 
 Grant of Arms : — 
 
 ^ To all and singular to whom these presents shall 
 come, I, Sir Arthur Edward Vicars, F.S.A., 
 Ulster King of Arms and Principal Herald of 
 all Ireland, Registrar and Knight Attendant of 
 
i8o The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 the Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick, send 
 greeting : Whereas, application hath been 
 made unto me by 
 
 of in the county of 
 
 Down, one of Her Majesty's Most Honourable 
 Privy Council in Ireland, one of the Justices of 
 Peace and present High Sheriff of the county 
 of i also one of the Justices of the 
 
 Peace for the said count}' of Down and for the 
 citv of Belfast, 
 
 setting forth that he is desirous that armorial 
 ensigns may be dul}" marshalled and assigned 
 unto him and his descendants by lawful 
 authority, and registered and recorded in the 
 office of Ulster King of Arms in Ireland, to the 
 end that the Officers of Arms there and all 
 others, upon occasion, may take full notice and 
 have knowledge thereof, and hath, therefore, 
 praved that I would grant and assign unto him 
 and his descendants such armorial ensigns as 
 he and they may lawfully use and bear : Know 
 ye, therefore, that I, the said Ulster King of 
 Arms, having taken the request of the said 
 applicant into consideration, am pleased to 
 comply therewith, and by virtue of the power 
 unto me, given by Her Majestj^s Roj^al Letters 
 Patent under the Great Seal of that part of the 
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 
 called Ireland, and by the authority of the 
 same, have given and granted, and by these 
 presents do give, grant, and assign unto the 
 said 
 
 and his descendants the Arms following, that is 
 to sav : — Argent, a saltire gules between, in 
 chief and in base a bugle horn stringed sable, 
 
Armorial Law in Ireland i8i 
 
 and in fess two sea-horses respecting one 
 another proper, for crest on a wreath of the 
 colours a falcon's head erased per saltire argent 
 and gules, and for motto, '' Deeds not Words," 
 the whole, as is more clearly depicted in the 
 margin, to be borne and used hereafter by 
 him the said 
 
 and his descendants for ever, with their 
 due and proper differences, according to the 
 laws of Arms, without the let, hindrance, 
 molestation, or interruption of any person or 
 persons whatsoever. In witness whereof, I 
 have subscribed these presents and affixed 
 hereunto my Official Seal, this thirteenth day 
 of May in the sixty-first year of the reign 
 of our Sovereign Lady Victoria, by the Grace 
 of God of the United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland Queen, Defender of the 
 Faith, and so forth, and in the year of our 
 Lord One thousand eight hundred and ninety- 
 eight. 
 
 ' (Sd.) Arthur E. Vicars, 
 
 ' Ulster King of Arms of All Ireland.* 
 
 But when we come to deal with the manner 
 in which armorial control has been exercised in 
 Ireland, it is impossible to speak with that cer- 
 tainty and precision that one can with regard to 
 England. Ireland has ever been in a troubled 
 state, and a certain proportion of her population 
 have always defied the rule of the 'Sassenach.' 
 Such defiance, of course, carries with it no authority 
 for the use of illegal arms, but it explains the some- 
 
1 82 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 what limited and haphazard and perfunctory manner 
 in which the English Crown asserted its control in 
 Ireland in any matter in former times ; for when 
 there were nobles and chiefs who defied and fought 
 in actual warfare for very regality and sovereignty, 
 the dictum of a Herald acting in the name of the 
 English King would have been considered of but 
 small moment in Ireland in ancient times ; and the 
 Irish official records of armorial matters are therefore 
 not so extensive by any means as could be wished. 
 In a series of articles which have been running for 
 some length of time in the Kilkenny Moderater, 
 under the heading of a ' Calendar of Documents 
 relating to Kilkenny,' by G. D. Burtchaell, M.A., 
 M.R.I.A., F.R.S.A.I.,* the opportunity is taken to 
 enumerate the Records of Ulster's Office, and 
 incidentally to give a brief history of armorial 
 matters in Ireland. From one of these articles I 
 have drawn largely. 
 
 Bartholomew Butler, the first Ulster, died in the 
 year 1566, and the following year was succeeded 
 by Nicholas Narbon, Richmond Herald. Soon 
 after Narbon's appointment a new method for 
 preserving pedigrees by means of funeral certi- 
 ficates was adopted in England. Heraldry was 
 fast losing its strictly military importance, owing 
 to the gradual decay of the feudal system, together 
 with the adoption of altered weapons and 
 
 * Secretary to the present Ulster King of Arms, 
 
Armorial Law in Ireland 183 
 
 methods of warfare. But it had become cus- 
 tomary to conduct funerals with a considerable 
 amount of heraldic pomp. The armorial bearings 
 of the deceased were depicted on escutcheons 
 attached to the bier, and in the case of those of 
 high rank upon banners and bannerolls borne by 
 friends and relatives of the dead. Hence the 
 Officers of Arms were required to attend at 
 funerals for the purpose of seeing that arms were 
 not improperly assumed by those who had no 
 right to them, as well as for the purpose of 
 marshalling the funeral procession. In England 
 funeral certificates were taken pursuant to the 
 ' Orders to be obseruide and kept by the Officers 
 of Armes made by the highe and mighty Prince 
 Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, Erie Marischall of 
 Englande Ano. 1568, the xviii. day of July, yn 
 the Tenth yere of the Reigne of Queene Elizabeth,' 
 wherein it is ordained that * Everie King of Armes, 
 heraulde, or pursuivante that shall serue at any 
 funerall . . . shall bring into the librari or Office 
 of Armes a trewe and certaine Certificate vnder 
 the hands of the Executors and Morners that shall 
 be present at the said funerall conteyninge the 
 daye of the deathe, the place of buriall of the 
 person deceased ; and also to whom he or she 
 married, what issewe they hade, what years they 
 were of at the tyme of the said buriall, and to whom 
 they were married, to the intent that the sayd 
 
184 The Right to Bear Anns 
 
 certificate may be regestrede and do remayne as a 
 perpetuall recorde in the sayd office for ever.' 
 
 I have not alluded to these Funeral Certificates 
 in dealing with the College of Arms in England, 
 because in England, through the existence of other 
 and better records, funeral certificates have played no 
 very important part. But in Ireland, owing to the 
 absence of other armorial records, they form a most 
 important series of records. In that country, im- 
 mediately upon Narbon's appointment, the follow- 
 ing order was made by the Lord Deputy and Privy 
 Council for regulating the use of Arms and the 
 conduct of funerals : — 
 
 ' H. Sidney. 
 
 ' To all noble estates and gentle, as well sp'uall as 
 temporall, of what estate, degree or condition 
 soever they or any of them be, and to all maiors, 
 portriffs, bayliffs, souraignes, sheriffs, constables, 
 and other officers, ministers, and subjects, greet- 
 ings : Forasmuch as Nicholas Narbon, otherwise 
 named Ulster, Principall Herald and Kinge of 
 Armes of this realme of Ireland, intenteth to re- 
 paire into all the pets of ye same to visite and 
 oversee the Armes, devises and conisances of 
 all nobles and gentlemen, and if any default be 
 found in any their coat armours, standards, 
 baners, pennons, or conisances or other token of 
 nobilitie and honnor contrarie to the laudable 
 usage of ye realme of England, he to reforme 
 the same in such due order as to the Lawe of 
 Armes doth appertaine, and to correct all false 
 
Armorial Law in Ireland 185 
 
 armorie and all such as without his consent doe 
 psume to beare armes or signe of nobilitie, ex- 
 cept they be Hneally descended of bloud and 
 name from such their anncestors as by the Lawe 
 of Armes they may of right beare and use. 
 Alsoe upon true certificatt to him made to re- 
 gister all the Armes, descents, and marriages of 
 all nobles and gentlemen of this realme of 
 Ireland, and alsoe to reforme all such as at 
 interments or funeralls use any other maners or 
 weare gownes, hoods, or tippets above their 
 estates or degrees, and all those that shall dis- 
 obey the same, to make answeare thereunto 
 before the High Marshall of Ireland, and alsoe 
 to see yt no paintor, graver, goldsmith, or any 
 other artificer doe sett forth or make or 
 devise any newe armes, or devise any con- 
 usance other than of antiquitie apptaineth 
 without the appointment of the said Vlster 
 King of Armes or his lawfuU deputie within 
 the ''said realme of Ireland. Wee, there- 
 fore, not onely will and require, but also com- 
 mand you, and every of you, that unto ye 
 Ulster King of Armes in the full execution of 
 that his office belongeth, and so by authoritie 
 to him given by ye Queen's Maiestie by her 
 Lres Pattents, as appeareth, that you doe give 
 and shew yor lawfull ayde and assistance when 
 he shall require you, as you will answeare to ye 
 contrarie. Robert Weston, Cane, Adam Dub- 
 lin, R. Trimleston, Willm. Fz. Wm., John 
 Plunkett, R. Dillon, Ni. Bagenall, Frances 
 Agard, Tho. Cusacke.' 
 
 Under this order Narbon held twelve Visitations 
 
1 86 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 in the course of the following six years. Unfor- 
 tunately the originals are lost, and only a portion 
 of those relating to the county and city of Dublin 
 and the surrounding counties remain. Those for 
 Cork and Limerick, which he is recorded to have 
 taken, are missing. Although there is no record 
 of a Visitation having been held for Kilkenny, there 
 are some grounds for supposing that there was. 
 Only half a dozen funeral certificates taken by 
 Narbon are known to exist, and they all relate 
 to persons belonging to Dublin. He held office for 
 over twenty years, and resigned in 1588. His 
 successor was Christopher Ussher, uncle to the 
 famous Archbishop. Hardly any of his official 
 acts are on record during the nine years he was in 
 office. On his death in July 1597, he was succeeded 
 by Daniel Molyneux, who held office for thirty-five 
 years. He was an eminent antiquary, and has left 
 behind him several collections of historical notes 
 chiefly relating to the monastic establishments 
 in Ireland, besides notes of pedigrees of many 
 families. These are now among the MSS. in the 
 library of Trinity College, Dublin. During his 
 time he appears to have attended to the proper 
 discharge of the duties of his office. He held 
 Visitations for the city and county of Dublin, and 
 also for the county of Wexford. But the difficulties 
 he had to contend with through unauthorised per- 
 sons taking upon themselves to emblazon arms for 
 
Armorial Law in Ireland 187 
 
 the nobility and gentry, as well as from the neglect 
 of funeral ceremonies, are shown by the following 
 letter from his Majesty, dated at Westminster 7th 
 April 1630. 
 
 ' The King to Lord Viscount Falkland, Deputy 
 General. 
 'Right trusty and well-beloved cousin and 
 counsellor, we greet you well. Whereas, com- 
 plaints hath been exhibited to us by our well- 
 beloved servant, Daniel Molyneux, Ulster 
 King of Arms and Principal Herald of that our 
 realme of Ireland, of divers and sundry abuses 
 and disorders concerning arms and armoury 
 there, occasioned partly through the boldness 
 of some mechanical persons who presume to set 
 forth Arms for the nobility and gentry without 
 direction from him, being the proper officer 
 appointed to attend that service, and partly 
 through the nobility and gentry themselves, 
 who have of late, as we are informed, wholly, 
 in a manner, laid aside all funeral rights and 
 ceremonies ; we could not but take the same 
 into our princely consideration, as a matter 
 requiring speedy redress and reformation, as 
 well in regard of the nobility and gentry 
 themselves whom so deeply in honour it con- 
 cerneth, and whose houses cannot but in a 
 short time grow into many perplexities and 
 confused disorders in their Arms and pedigrees 
 if all use of Arms be laid aside at obsequies and 
 funerals, and no entry made of the day of their 
 decease, matches, and issues ; as likewise in 
 regard of our servant, a chief part of whose 
 
1 88 The Riorjit to Bea7^ Arms 
 
 <> 
 
 maintenance and livelihood ariseth from such 
 fees and perquisites as usually grow due at 
 funerals and obsequies of the nobility and 
 gentry, which doth the rather fall into our com- 
 sideration at this time when the several ranks 
 of nobility are increased in that our kingdom, 
 and a new dignity of baronet there settled, it 
 seemed a thing very disproportionate that our 
 civility and the number of noblemen of all 
 degrees being enlarged, and a new dignity of 
 honour being also added, that the King of 
 Arms or Herald, who is the officer of honour, 
 should not likewise increase in matter of respect 
 and profit, at least not to be in worse respect 
 and meaner state than before. Our pleasure is 
 therefore, and we do hereby require and 
 authorise you, that taking to your assistance 
 such of the nobility and of our Council there 
 as you shall think fit, you enter into considera- 
 tion and set down a course for redressing of the 
 aforenamed abuses, taking for your direction 
 therein an order or decree set forth in print by 
 the Commissioners of the Earl Marshal's office 
 for reforming of the like enormities in this our 
 kingdom of England, dated the lOth day of 
 November in the sixteenth year of our late 
 dear father's reign, laying down some such 
 course and order for the redress of the former 
 enormities, and for the support of our Officers of 
 Arms there, as shall be thought fit and reason- 
 able to stand with the state and condition of 
 that our Kingdom, with proviso that he have 
 satisfaction for such funerals of the lords, 
 knights, and others of eminent place and quality 
 as of late have not made use of this office ; which 
 
Ar77torial Law in Ireland 189 
 
 course and order we require and authorize you 
 for the present, and all other our chief gover- 
 nor or governors of that our Realme to see 
 duly executed from time to time as occasion 
 shall be offered hereafter ; and for the better 
 preventing of many disorders and incon- 
 veniences for the time to come, and to the end 
 that the genealogies and pedigrees of the 
 nobility and gentry, for the furtherance and 
 advancing of our service as occasion shall be 
 offered hereafter, may be more ready and in 
 better order than heretofore they have been. 
 Our further pleasure is, and we do hereby 
 require and authorise you to see our servant 
 countenanced and furthered in the execution 
 of a Commission of Herald's Visitation through- 
 out the several places and quarters of that our 
 kingdom ; and if any whom it shall concern be 
 backward or refractory against the due execu- 
 tion of the forenamed Commission, our pleasure 
 is that you take special notice of them, hereby 
 requiring and authorising you to use such 
 means as in anywise they be made obedient to 
 this our command and pleasure to you signified 
 in that behalf.' 
 
 Richard St George resigned the office of Ulster 
 King of Arms in 1683, and Carney was appointed 
 to succeed him. The following year he was 
 knighted, being the first Ulster who received that 
 honour. He died 1692, and with him the practice 
 of entering funeral certificates almost entirely 
 ceased. This was chiefly owing to the custom of 
 
190 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 using armorial ensigns at funerals being gradually 
 abandoned. 
 
 The fees payable to the Officer of Arms were 
 regulated by the rank of the deceased person, and 
 by the Officers of Arms being personally in 
 attendance at the funeral. The fee for a gentle- 
 man was £'^^ which is the fee now fixed for 
 making a funeral entry in the Office of Arms. 
 When the arms of the deceased person are 
 entered, the right of his descendants to these 
 arms is established. When no arms are entered 
 it is presumed that the right to arms was not 
 proved. 
 
 The following are copies of two typical Funeral 
 Certificates now in Ulster's office. The original 
 of each is accompanied by a drawing of the Arms. 
 
 (i) ' Hugh Buye Magaghegan of Castletoune, in the 
 county of West-meath, deceased the loth of 
 June 1622. He had to wife Elenor, dr. of 
 Walter Tyrell of Clunmoyle, in the aforesaid 
 County, by whome he had issue — Arte, James, 
 Thomas, Richard, Rose, Neyle, Conly, Connell, 
 Mary, Margery, Elenor, Anne, & Elizabeth.' 
 
 (2) ' Bryan mac Dermott of Carrigg, in the county 
 of Roscoman, Esq^, eldest sonne of Bryan mac 
 Dermott, eldest sonne of Rory mac Dermott, 
 eldest sonne of Teige mac Dermott, eldest sonne 
 of Rory oge mac Dermott, eldest sonne of Rory 
 Keogh mac Dermott, tooke to wife Margarett, 
 daughter of Rickard Bourk of Derrymaclaghnye, 
 
Armorial Law in Ireland 191 
 
 in the county of Galloway, Esq^, by whome 
 hee had issue. Tirlagh, alias Terence, eldest 
 Sonne & heire, whoe tooke to wife Margarett 
 daughter of Feagh Bourke mac Davye of 
 Downeoman, in the county of Galloway, Esq^, 
 Connor, second sonne, died without issue, 
 Charles, 3rd sonne, whoe tooke to wife EUinor, 
 daughter of William O'Molloy of Croghan, in 
 the county of Roscoman, Esquire, Bryan, 4th 
 sonne, as yett unmarried, a Captaine beyond 
 seas, Teige, fifth sonne, as yett unmarried, & 
 some other sonns that died young without 
 issue, Honora, eldest daughter, died young, 
 Mary, second daughter, married to Patrick 
 Plunkett, second sonne of James Plunkett, 
 eldest sonne of S' Christopher Plunkett, 
 Margaret, 3rd daughter, married to Conn 
 O'Roirk of , in the county 
 
 of Letrim, gent., Vny, 4th daughter, as yett 
 unmarried, Honora, 5th daughter, alsoe as yett 
 unmarried. The said first mentioned Bryan 
 departed this mortall life at Athlone the 8th 
 of January 1636, and was interred in the Parish 
 Church of Clonemacknosie, in the county of 
 , being the proper buriall 
 place belonging to that Family. The truth of 
 the premisses is testified by the subscription of 
 Tirlagh, alias Terence m'Dermott, eldest sonne 
 and heire of the said Defunct, whoe hath re- 
 turned this certificate into my office to be there 
 recorded. Taken by me, Thomas Preston, Esq^, 
 Ulester King of Armes, this 17th of April 1637. 
 ' Terence Mac Dermott.' 
 
 But owing to the absence of Irish records — not 
 
192 The Right to Bea7^ Arms 
 
 necessarily records which could be looked for in 
 Ulster's Office, but parish registers, for example — 
 it is exceptionally difficult to prove an Irish 
 pedigree, and thereby strictly and unquestionably 
 establish, in the manner required in England, a 
 right to arms. 
 
 But for a long time the difficulty arising from 
 faulty records has been remedied, and succeeding 
 Ulster Kings of Arms have had the power (and 
 have continually and continuously exercised it) 
 of confirming by patent arms which have been in 
 use, but for which usage no sufficient legal sanction 
 or authority can be shown. Whether or not the 
 required length of usage has always been the same 
 I am unable to say, but at the present time Ulster 
 King of Arms will issue a confirmation, under his 
 hand and seal, to any one within his jurisdiction, 
 of any arms in use when these can be shown to 
 have been continuously borne for at least three 
 generations, or else for at least one hundred 
 years. Ulster is the only King of Arms who 
 still has authority to issue a ' confirmation ' of 
 previously unauthorised arms. But, of course, 
 he can only confirm those arms which come 
 within his Irish jurisdiction. Usually, some slight 
 alteration or addition is made to the coat of arms 
 and crest at the time of confirmation. The extent 
 and nature of this alteration are entirely within the 
 discretion of Ulster King of Arms, and vary 
 
Armorial Law in Ireland 193 
 
 according to the circumstances of the case ; but 
 I have known cases where the continuous use of 
 the arms has been proved back to the seventeenth 
 century, in which no alteration whatsoever has 
 been made. But, as I have said, the nature and 
 extent of the alterations rests with Ulster King of 
 Arms. A confirmation is equivalent in legality to 
 a grant ; and, like a grant, a confirmation recites 
 the limits within which the arms confirmed are to 
 descend. The limitations are usually to the 
 descendants of the father or grandfather, but 
 where proper and sufficient reason has been 
 shown, these limits have been extended on some 
 occasions in a very wide-reaching manner. 
 
 The following are copies of typical Irish Con- 
 firmations of Arms : — 
 
 ' To all and singular to whom these presents 
 shall come, I, Arthur Edward Vicars, Esquire, 
 F.S.A., Ulster King of Arms and Principal 
 Herald of all Ireland, Knight Attendant on the 
 Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick, send 
 greeting : Whereas, John Joseph Greene, 
 Esquire, Bachelor of Arts and of Medicine of 
 the University of Dublin, Surgeon-Major Army 
 Medical Staff, eldest son of John Greene of 
 Clare Street, in the city of Dublin, deceased, 
 grandson of Godfrey Greene of Green mount, 
 in the county of Kilkenny, and great-grandson 
 of John Greene of Greenville, in the said 
 county of Kilkenny, Esquire, who was son of 
 John Greene of the same place, Esquire, hath 
 
 N 
 
194 ^^^ Right to Bear Arms 
 
 made application to me setting forth that his 
 immediate ancestor, Godfrey Greene, Esquire, 
 was granted the castle, town, and lands of 
 Ballynemony, alias Mooretown Keating, and 
 other lands in the county of Tipperary, by 
 Letters Patent, bearing date the twenty-third 
 day of July in the thirtieth year of his late 
 Majesty King Charles II., and that the armorial 
 ensigns borne by the descendants of his said 
 ancestor, the last mentioned Godfrey Greene, 
 do not appear to have been recorded in this 
 ofhce, and praying that I would ratify and 
 confirm the same with such distinction as may 
 be proper to be borne by him and his 
 I descendants and the other descendants of his 
 1 aforesaid great-great-grandfather, John Greene 
 of Greenville, in the county of Kilkenny : 
 Know ye, therefore, that I, the said Ulster 
 King of Arms, having taken the request of 
 the said applicant into consideration, am pleased 
 to comply therewith, and, by virtue of the 
 power to me given by Her Majesty's Letters 
 Patent under the Great Seal of Ireland, and by 
 authority of the same, by these presents do 
 ratify and confirm unto the said John Joseph 
 Greene, Esquire, and his descendants, and to 
 the other descendants of his said great-great- 
 grandfather the Arms following, viz. : — Vert, 
 three bucks trippant or, each gorged with a 
 ducal coronet gules ; crest issuant from a 
 ducal coronet gules, a buck's head or ; motto, 
 " Nee timeo nee sperno." The whole as is 
 more clearly depicted in the margint, to be 
 borne and used for ever hereafter by him, the 
 said John Joseph Greene, Esquire, and his 
 
Armorial Law in Ireland 195 
 
 descendants and by the other descendants of 
 his aforesaid great - great - grandfather, John 
 Greene of Greenville, in the county of Kil- 
 kenny, Esquire, according to the Laws of Arms, 
 without the let, hindrance, molestation, or 
 interruption of any person or persons whatever. 
 In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed 
 my name this thirty-first day of December in 
 the fifty-seventh year of the reign of our 
 Sovereign Lady Victoria, by the Grace of God 
 of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith, and so 
 forth, and in the year of our Lord One 
 thousand eight hundred and ninety-three. 
 
 ' (Signed) Arthur E. Vicars, 
 ' Ulster King (Seal) of Arms of All Ireland.' 
 
 Here is another confirmation worded somewhat 
 differently : — 
 
 ' To all and singular to whom these presents shall 
 come, I, Sir John Bernard Burke, C.B., LL.D., 
 Ulster King of Arms and Principal Herald of 
 all Ireland, Knight Attendant on the Most 
 Illustrious Order of St Patrick, do hereby 
 certify and declare that the armorial bearings 
 above depicted, viz. : — Argent three bars gules, 
 on a canton of the second a mullet or ; crest, 
 a horse passant proper, charged on the shoulder 
 with a mullet or ; motto, " Fortiter et recte," 
 are confirmed and do of right belong and 
 appertain unto James Franklin Fuller, F.S.A., 
 descended from the family of Fuller of the 
 county of Kerry, being only son of Thomas 
 
196 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 Harnett Fuller, Esq. of Glashnacree, near 
 Kenmare, in the said county of Kerry, by his 
 wife Frances Diana (daughter of F. C. Bland, 
 Esq., D.L., of Derriquin Castle, by his wife 
 Lucurda Herbert), who is the son of Captain 
 Edward Fuller of Sackville and Beechmount, 
 also in Kerry, by his wife Elizabeth (daughter 
 of the Rev. John Blennerhassett by his wife 
 Louisa Goddard), who was the son of Thomas 
 Fuller, Esq., Treasurer of the County of Cork, 
 by his wife Ann (daughter of John Pincell, 
 Esq., by his wife Mary Leader of Mount 
 Leader), who was the son of William Fuller of 
 West Kerries, in the county of Kerry, by his 
 wife Jane (daughter of William Harnett of 
 Bally Neury, by his wife Miss Pellican of 
 Peloquin, a sister of the Rev. William Pellican, 
 Rector of O'Brennan), and his descendants and 
 the other descendants of his aforesaid grand- 
 father, with their due and proper differences, 
 according to the laws of Arms, without the let, 
 hindrance, molestation, or interruption of any 
 person or persons whatsoever. In witness 
 whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name 
 this day of July in the thirty-eighth year of 
 the reign of our Sovereign Lady Victoria, by the 
 Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the 
 Faith, and so forth, and in the year of our 
 Lord One thousand eight hundred and 
 seventy-four. 
 
 ' (Signed) J. Bernard Burke, 
 ' Ulster.' 
 
Armorial Law in Ireland 197 
 
 The fees upon a confirmation amount to very 
 little ; and by the large number of confirmations 
 which have been issued, a result is being now 
 rapidly obtained in Ireland equivalent to the results 
 and records in England consequent upon the Visita- 
 tions. But it should be borne in mind that such 
 confirmations are concessions of grace, consequent 
 on the troublous times in former days in Ireland, 
 and cannot be construed into anything in the 
 nature of the admission of a right to bear (or at 
 any time to have borne) arms which lack the sanc- 
 tion of the Crown. 
 
 That this opportunity of confirmation exists in 
 Ireland for those within the jurisdiction of Ulster 
 King of Arms, I think cannot be too widely known 
 or taken advantage of, and it seems to me an intense 
 misfortune that the point is not officially brought 
 prominently before the notice of those members of 
 the Irish landed gentry who are still making use 
 of arms without authority ; for it must stand to 
 reason that at some future date the Crown will 
 recognise that it is then by such concessions, con- 
 firming the use of arms which have been originally 
 improperly assumed at such comparatively recent 
 dates, that no valid excuse whatsoever could pos- 
 sibly be alleged for this illegal assumption. 
 
 Irish arms descend, as do arms in England, to all 
 legitimate descendants in the male line. So that in 
 Ireland to prove a right to armorial bearings by 
 
198 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 inheritance it is necessary to show legitimate male 
 descent from a person admitted to have had a right 
 to arms or to whom the right was granted — (i) in 
 a Visitation ; (2) in a funeral certificate ; (3) in a 
 confirmation ; or (4) from a person to whom the 
 right has been granted in a specific Patent and 
 Grant of Arms. 
 
 There is no annual tax for the use of arms in 
 that country. Doubtless this is but ' another 
 injustice to Ireland.' 
 
 The fees upon Patents of Arms in every case, 
 England, Scotland, and Ireland, have been fixed 
 and decided by the Treasury, and the Treasury 
 absorbs the whole of the fees in Scotland and in 
 Ireland, and a portion of the fees in England. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE EIGHT TO BEAR ARMS 
 
 To those who would still maintain that a man 
 may invent arms for himself, I would point out 
 (i) that Henry V. decreed that arms borne without 
 authority were to be stripped off and broken up. 
 Charles (Brandon), Duke of Suffolk, Earl Marshal 
 (i 524-1 534), ordered 'that none shall enterprise to 
 beare anie signs or tokens of arms, etc., withoute 
 they be authorised so to do.' Henry VHI., Philip 
 and Mary, Elizabeth, Charles I. and Charles H., 
 all in their Commissions commanding Visitations 
 to be made, and in other Warrants and Orders, 
 decreed that false arms were to be defaced ; the 
 Kings of Arms made those disclaim who would 
 not rectify their arms. Charles H. says of the 
 assumption of name and arms : — ' Neither of which 
 may regularly be done according to the law of 
 Armes without y speciall dispencacon and Licence 
 of us, as we are by Our Supream power and Pre- 
 rogative the only Fountain of Honour.' The Earl 
 Marshal's Court over and over again called people 
 
200 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 to book for illegal use of arms, the pi-esent Lyon 
 King of Arms has interfered to prevent the dis- 
 play of bogus arms on a public building, and the 
 ordinary Law Courts in 1898 set aside the con- 
 ditions of a will because the arms in question were 
 of no authority. And yet there are some who 
 * don't recognise the authority of the College ' and 
 the Officers of Arms. 
 
 In all that I have written on the subject I have 
 never mentioned or criticised in the slightest 
 degree a person who has made neither use, pretence, 
 nor display of arms or title. My sole object in 
 writing here and in the Saturday Review has been 
 to induce the users of illegal arms to DROP them. 
 I am far from wishing the granting of arms — the 
 signs of gentility — to be extended to people who 
 in other matters make no pretence to the attributes 
 of gentility. 
 
 How in the face of all the foregoing facts there can 
 still remain those who refuse to recognise the autho- 
 rity of the Crown and College of Arms in armorial 
 matters passes my comprehension. That there 
 are such I am well aware, that many of these ought 
 to know better I am equally aware, and that there 
 are those who, knowing the whole of the foregoing 
 facts, still advocate a kind of help-yourselves-to-any- 
 Arms-and-Crests-you-fancy sort of policy I am 
 also aware. But until the laws are altered. Arms 
 are, and will remain, matters of honour in the pre- 
 
The Right to Bear Arms 201 
 
 rogative of the Crown to grant and create, and it is 
 almost as much a matter of certainty that as long 
 as a sovereign exists within the Empire the 
 authority in England will continue to be delegated 
 to the Earl Marshal and the Officers of the College 
 of Arms. 
 
 Briefly, then, to sum up : to formally establish 
 the right to bear arms in England it is necessary 
 to prove to the satisfaction of the College of Arms 
 legitimate male descent from some person to 
 whom a grant of arms has been made, or from 
 some person to whom arms were confirmed at the 
 Visitations. In Ireland the same, or else from 
 some person whose right to arms has been 
 officially admitted, or to whose descendants arms 
 have been confirmed. Failing this, there is no 
 alternative if you desire to use arms, but to obtain 
 a grant of arms yourself, or, if you be under the 
 jurisdiction of Ulster King of Arms, and can pro- 
 duce the necessary evidence, a confirmation. In 
 Scotland, if you are the heir male of a grantee, or 
 of any one to whom arms have been matriculated, 
 you are entitled to bear these arms ; if you can 
 only establish a junior descent, you must have 
 the arms matriculated to yourself, even if it be 
 your father who was the grantee ; if you cannot 
 show any such descent, you must petition for a 
 grant. 
 
 If you cannot prove a right to arms, and if you 
 
202 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 cannot afford or are not in a sufficient position to 
 obtain a grant, then do refrain at least from using 
 unauthorised arms. 
 
 To those who profess an entire contempt for 
 heraldry, in all sincerity I offer one word of advice. 
 Such a standpoint is quite justifiable — it is almost 
 understandable. Do have the courage of your 
 own opinions, and leave Anns and Crests alone — 
 use none, — and SEE THAT YOUR WIFE DOES THE 
 SAME. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 FOREIGN ARMS 
 
 Perhaps it may be desirable to add a few notes 
 concerning the status of foreign arms in England. 
 
 A foreigner coming into this country is amen- 
 able to the laws of honour of his own country 
 and the authorities controlling them in that 
 country so long as he retains his original nationality. 
 Those foreign laws and the laws of armorial 
 registration and control vary considerably, but 
 there is one fundamental rule which is now, and 
 has been for some centuries, admitted practically 
 from one end of Europe to the other. With 
 countries outside Europe one need not trouble. 
 American heraldry is beneath notice (I do not 
 refer to the armory of American scions of English 
 gentle families) ; and the barbaric totemism of 
 semi-civilised countries, though perhaps the origin 
 of our own heraldry is hardly sufficiently evolved 
 to be considered as armory. The one fundamental 
 European rule is this — that arms are a matter of 
 
204 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 honour, and that the conferring of honour and 
 honours is a prerogative of sovereignty.* 
 
 All European countries recognise the sovereign 
 acts of every other de facto European sovereign, 
 so long as these acts are constitutional acts, 
 according to the constitutional law of the country 
 over which each particular sovereign reigns. 
 Now every de facto sovereign can grant arms to 
 his own subjects. No sovereign can lawfully grant 
 arms to another sovereign's subjects. ; Arms and 
 titles are precisely identical, and it requires the 
 consent or definite documentary recognition of the 
 sovereign of the grantee to render lawful and 
 valid a grant of either arms or title from a foreign 
 sovereign. In England this is conveyed by 
 means of what we know as a royal licence. The 
 formalities are somewhat the same in Germany, 
 which, after our own, is probably the country the 
 most carefully controlled. These royal licences 
 are but very rarely granted in England ; but two 
 or three cases of arms come to my mind — e.g., 
 Thornton, which was a grant of an augmentation 
 of arms and a title by the King of Portugal 
 to an actual English subject. For the same 
 reason no grant of arms can be made by the 
 English College of Arms to an American citizen. 
 
 The universal sovereignty of the Pope is ad- 
 mitted in some countries, and consequently arms 
 
 * I except the Republics of Switzerland and \^enice. 
 
Foreign Ar77ts 205 
 
 and titles granted by the Pope are recognised in 
 Spain and Italy, and perhaps in other countries. 
 They are also recognised by the present French 
 administration. No Papal grant has been officially 
 recognised in this country, that I am aware of, 
 since the Reformation. 
 
 A sovereign grants arms to a man and his 
 descendants, and, unless that grant be revoked 
 (which can only be done in England by attainder) 
 the right remains for ever, and cannot be disputed 
 (after proof of descent) in the country in which 
 the arms originated. But no sovereign can be 
 compelled to recognise in his own country honours 
 conferred by another sovereign, beyond the re- 
 cognition that courtesy demands should be ex- 
 tended to a foreigner and a foreign subject whose 
 credentials are in order. Directly the nationality 
 is changed and the status of foreigner is at an end, 
 that courtesy of necessity also comes to an end, 
 for as an English subject an immigrant becomes 
 entirely amenable to English law, and the English 
 law recognises no arms as legal in this country or 
 for English subjects save those recorded in the 
 official College and Offices of Arms. 
 
 The procedure for the registration of foreign 
 arms in this country is as follows : A certificate is 
 obtained that, prior to becoming an English subject, 
 the person in question, in the country from which 
 he came, was entitled to bear certain arms. This 
 
2o6 . The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 certificate must issue from the Government de- 
 partment (of the country of origin) which has the 
 control of such matters. I beHeve I am correct in 
 saying that there is now some Government de- 
 partment having proper control in almost every 
 European country. It is essential that the certifi- 
 cate should issue from the Government department, 
 and it has to be countersigned by the English 
 ambassador or minister resident in the country of 
 origin, which I take it is the guarantee that the 
 certificate is official and has been lawfully issued. 
 This certificate is then taken to the College of 
 Arms and recorded there. I am not positive 
 regarding all the formalities of the operation, 
 but the arms are not altered in any way, their 
 legality is fully admitted, and will never afterwards 
 be questioned. After their registration they will 
 be treated as an English coat of arms subject to 
 English heraldic law. I have often been flatly 
 contradicted on this point of registration, and 
 informed it is never done, and that such certificates 
 are never issued. It is done constantly. The 
 supporters granted in Germany to Baron Roths- 
 child, even (namely. Dexter, a lion or, and sinister, 
 a unicorn argent), were afterwards, when the 
 need arose, registered in England without question, 
 though I do not for one moment believe or suppose 
 that any Englishman would ever have been allowed 
 to obtain such a grant. 
 
Foreign Arms 207 
 
 A great many people emphatically assert that 
 the English College of Arms insist on regranting 
 or else confirming all foreign arms. Both state- 
 ments are incorrect. The College, nowadays, 
 never 'confirm' any arms at all. If a proper 
 certificate is produced, the arms are ' recorded,' and 
 are neither altered, regranted, nor confirmed. If 
 no certificate is forthcoming, the presumption is 
 that the applicant has no arms at all, and arms 
 are then granted in the ordinary way. 
 
 The descendant of a foreigner cannot be said to 
 lawfully possess in this country a legal right to 
 arms unless they are officially recorded. Failing 
 such a certificate as I describe, his right to arms 
 would not be admitted (for example, if creation as 
 a baronet compelled him to prove his right), but at 
 the same time one would hesitate to describe the 
 arms as ' bogus ' or ' spurious.' I myself should 
 call them ' foreign,' and mentally class them with 
 'foreign' titles. 
 
 At the same time I would warn any who are 
 interested in the point, that the proportion of the 
 so-called ' foreign ' arms in use in this country ' 
 which are spurious, or which are rank and im- 
 pudent assumptions, is as great as, if not greater 
 than, the proportion in the case of purely English 
 arms. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 POPULAR FALLACIES 
 
 Now, if it were possible to treat of Armorial 
 Bearings, and at the same time to refrain from 
 mentioning the College of Arms, I should do 
 so ; but it is not If arms are admitted to 
 have any attributes whatsoever, it is necessary to 
 consider what they really are, whence they 
 originate, and by what laws they are governed. 
 But the moment one mentions the College, for 
 some reason which I am at a loss to understand, 
 there is a prompt outbreak of correspondence in 
 the Press, violently abusing the College and its 
 officers, individually or collectively, past or present. 
 In 99 cases out of every lOO, the letters emanate 
 from would-be armigerous persons whose claims to 
 the arms they have assumed have, after investiga- 
 tion at the College of Arms, been rejected on the 
 score of their not being descended from the grantee. 
 If these letters were written with a full knowledge 
 of the whole bearings of the case in question, and 
 of the laws and regulations of the science of 
 
Popular Fallacies 209 
 
 armory, of the Crown, and of the Earl Marshal, no 
 one could complain, but they are always incorrect 
 deductions from cases of personal grievance gener- 
 alised into vague but sweeping complaints of the 
 whole College, and equally sweeping generalisa- 
 tions on the laws of armory. If any person thinks 
 he himself has a personal grievance against any 
 Officer of Arms in his public capacity, why on earth 
 doesn't he complain to the Earl Marshal? An 
 offending officer would be promptly required to 
 explain by the Earl Marshal, if he had not properly 
 fulfilled his duties and obligations as a servant of 
 the Crown. Instead of pursuing this obvious 
 method, the grumblers, probably knowing at heart 
 that they have no real ground of complaint, write a 
 very garbled version of their grievances to the papers. 
 It is no part of the duties of the Officers of 
 Arms to conduct correspondence in the news- 
 papers, and it has grown into a kind of etiquette 
 at the College that none of its officers shall take 
 part in a newspaper war. The result is that most 
 people believe the College of Arms to only exist 
 * on sufferance,' and by a policy of* lying low.' No 
 office, dignity, or privilege is held in this country 
 by more potent right, if Letters Patent or Royal 
 Warrants or Charters of Incorporation have any 
 meaning or any effect, and yet there are some 
 persons who ' don't recognise the authority of the 
 
 College.' 
 
 O 
 
2IO- The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 So that for the sake of the mistaken ones, who, 
 for one reason or another, write to uphold the use 
 of spurious and illegal arms, I propose to shortly 
 recapitulate some of the most prominent objections 
 which I recollect to have seen put forward, and 
 the reasons of their non-avail. With many, 
 silence carries assent ; consequently when no reply 
 emanates from an Officer of Arms to a newspaper 
 accusation, the public accepts the accusation as 
 * found proved.' The accusations are simply made 
 through lack of knowledge of the true facts. 
 
 In the first place, book after book, and so-called 
 authority after authority, are quoted in support of 
 this or that contention. There is no single printed 
 book whatsoever which is official or authoritative. 
 The laws of arms have never been codified, and they 
 exist, not in the manuals or handbooks of heraldry, 
 which are nearly all of them hopelessly wrong, 
 but in the laws and precedents which have to be 
 searched for, but which can be found amongst the 
 records of the College, and which are well known 
 by the Officers of Arms. Consequently it is no 
 good trusting to printed books. Many people seem 
 to think that books published under the names of 
 Officers of Arms must be official. They are 
 nothing of the kind, and no single one that I know 
 of has ever been put forward by its author as of 
 that character, not even the publications of the late 
 Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms. The 
 
Popular Fallacies 211 
 
 only book which possesses anything like an official 
 character is the ' Ordinary of Scottish Arms,' by 
 the present Lyon King of Arms, from the intro- 
 duction to which I have quoted. Though its 
 accuracy renders it worthy of being accepted as 
 official, it was not, however, published by the 
 Government or as a Government publication. 
 
 I have already dealt with arms which it has 
 been claimed were omitted at the Visitations, 
 though then borne by right. Personally I don't 
 believe such a case exists, and I cannot learn of 
 any such case having been ever proved before the 
 Chapter of the College. So that neither I nor any- 
 one else quite know what would happen if such a 
 case by any chance were proved. 
 
 In nearly every newspaper correspondence upon 
 the subject of armory, somebody or other states 
 that part of the records of the College are missing, 
 or are faulty, and that there are many genuine 
 grants which have been issued of which no record 
 has been kept. How this idea originated I am at 
 a loss to imagine, for I question if there is in 
 Europe any set of records more perfect and of 
 equal age. But if by any chance any genuine 
 grant of arms were to turn up which was not 
 registered at the College, the validity of it would 
 not be disputed by the College, and those arms 
 would be allowed to any descendant in the male 
 line of the grantee ; he would not be required to 
 
212 - The Right to Bear Anns 
 
 obtain a new grant of them ; but if no grant of 
 them can be produced, and when no official record 
 of such a grant exists, the natural presumption is 
 that the arms never were granted. Does any one 
 for one moment think that the House of Lords 
 would allow a peerage of which there was no 
 patent of creation, no wTit to which it could be 
 assigned, and no record amongst the records of the 
 House of Lords that such a peerage had been en- 
 joyed? The House of Lords does not presume 
 that its records and officers are at fault merely 
 because a certain family have assumed a titular 
 distinction of which there is no proper record. In 
 the same way, it is rather absurd to presume that 
 the Heralds' College should be wrong because 
 they possess no record of arms borne by a certain 
 family, which family can produce no official evi- 
 dence whatever of their authenticity. But the 
 most universal of all objections taken to the 
 College of x\rms or to its Officers has degenerated 
 into the sneer concerning a payment of fees, and 
 many people in their innocence prefer a bogus coat 
 of arms concerning which no fee has been paid 
 to the Crown, to a legal coat which they are 
 pleased to stigmatise as a ' bought ' one. 
 
 Surely a little reflection must dissipate such an 
 idea. A grant of arms, though doubtless of a 
 greatly lesser value, is technically a patent of gen- 
 tility in precisely the same manner as the letters 
 
Popular Fallacies 213 
 
 patent creating a peerage constitute a patent of what 
 we here in England commonly and colloquially call 
 nobility. Each of them is issued signed, not by 
 the Sovereign, but by the officers of the Sovereign 
 whom the Sovereign has delegated to attend to 
 such matters. Each of them are letters patent 
 signifying the will and pleasure of the Sovereign 
 to all and singular whom they may concern. 
 Each of them grants a definite honour. Each of 
 them distinctly recites the limits within which this 
 honour is to devolve. 
 
 But every Peerage patent that is issued carries 
 with it the obligation of certain fees which are 
 required to be paid to the public exchequer, and 
 various other payments which the Crown requires 
 to have made to those of its servants who are con- 
 cerned in the preparation and passing of the patent. 
 Surely the Crown has a right to say in what manner 
 its servants shall obtain their remuneration for the 
 due and proper fulfilment of their duties to the 
 Crown, whether actually upon the patent in 
 question or not. Every Peerage title created by 
 letters patent has involved the payment of these 
 fees by somebody. They are the reimbursement 
 of the Crown of the cost to the Crown in pre- 
 paring and issuing and creating and controlling 
 titles and their necessary letters patent. Lord 
 Wolseley is the only instance of a peer who has 
 objected to pay these fees that I, or I fancy any- 
 
214 1^^^ Right to Bear Arms 
 
 one else, have ever heard of. Even he paid them 
 (though under protest), because the Crown insisted 
 that he should. 
 
 When a Patent of Arms is applied for, certain 
 fees are payable : objection is sometimes taken to 
 their payment, and a coat of arms granted by 
 patent gets stigmatised as a ' bought ' one in 
 consequence of the necessity of this payment. 
 But the cases of a Patent of Arms and a Patent 
 of Peerage are identically the same, inasmuch as 
 on the issue of either patent certain fees are 
 required to be paid. These fees upon a Patent 
 of Arms, as in the case of a Patent of Peerage, 
 are merely the reimbursement of the Crown of 
 the cost to the Crown of granting this honour 
 of gentility and of the concession of arms to 
 the applicant. The Crown considers it necessary 
 that its College of Arms shall be maintained for 
 the due and proper registration and control of 
 Armorial Bearings, and if the Crown chooses that 
 the remuneration of its officers for the work and 
 duties which the Crown requires them to perform 
 shall be made out of a portion of the fees paid upon 
 grants of arms, that is the concern of the Crown 
 and not of the applicant for its grace and con- 
 cession. That my contention is theoretically and 
 absolutely correct can easily be proved by reference 
 to the revenue of the Lyon Office in Scotland. 
 In Scotland the Crown appoints certain officers 
 
Popular Fallacies 215 
 
 to do its work, and now pays them what it con- 
 siders to be adequate salaries for the due per- 
 formance of their duties. The natural consequence 
 is that the whole of the fees paid upon grants or 
 matriculations [with the exception of the actual 
 payments made to the handicraftsmen who paint 
 and engross the patents], are paid either in the 
 form of stamp-duty directly to the revenue of the 
 Crown, or are handed over by the Lyon Office to 
 H.M. Exchequer. What are known as the ' fees 
 of honour ' of a Scottish Herald, formerly a portion 
 of his remuneration, which are collected by virtue 
 of various Royal Warrants, are now paid into the 
 Treasury. When the point was raised in the House 
 of Commons some little time ago, it was shown that 
 the salaries and expenses of Lyon Office were 
 practically equivalent to the amount received in the 
 stamp-duty upon the patents, so that it is self- 
 evident and incontrovertibly evident that in Scot- 
 land, at any rate, the fees paid upon patents of 
 arms are merely the reimbursement to the Crown 
 of the cost to the Crown of issuing and regulating 
 these concessions and grants of arms. Were a 
 similar system adopted in England it would be 
 similarly evident that the same identical contention 
 would hold good ; and the mere fact that instead 
 of receiving adequate salaries from the Treasury 
 the officers of the College of Arms are remuner- 
 ated by a proportion of their fees, merely ensures 
 
2i6 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 that those officers who do any particular piece of 
 work shall obtain the payment for doing it. 
 
 It is a popular idea that an appointment in the 
 Heralds' College is a sure and easy way to wealth. 
 This is far from being the case. The salary of a 
 Pursuivant is about thirteen pounds, and of a Herald 
 about sixteen pounds a year. For this they have 
 many duties to perform for which these sums are a 
 ridiculously small recompense, and the Crown has 
 decided that the remainder of their remuneration 
 shall come from a proportion of the fees paid on 
 patents of arms. 
 
 Though it has really nothing whatever to do 
 with the public, I may perhaps here say that by 
 far the larger proportion of the incomes of the 
 Heralds and Pursuivants is not due to any salary 
 or proportion of fees (which together amount to 
 comparatively little), but comes from an entirely 
 different source. 
 
 It is no part of a Herald's official duties to the 
 Crown to work out a pedigree or collect genea- 
 logical evidences. This work might be performed 
 outside the College, and there is nothing to pre- 
 vent this beyond the fact that it would seldom be 
 done half so well by an outsider. It is from this 
 unofficial work that the Officers of Arms derive the 
 greater part of their incomes, and when all is said 
 and done, the sums total of these incomes fall far 
 short of what many a man in another calling in 
 
Popular Fallacies 217 
 
 life, but in a similar social position, would expect 
 with the experience, training, knowledge and 
 education necessary, and in consideration of the 
 labour involved. 
 
 Consequently, if a coat of arms granted by 
 patent is to be stigmatised as ' bought ' from the 
 Crown, then of a surety every Peerage granted by 
 patent is equally ' bought,' and it should be borne 
 in mind that with the exception of the very few 
 ancient coats of arms allowed on sufficient proof 
 as existing by right at the Visitations, every single 
 coat of arms of legal authority has been ' bought ' 
 or paid for at some time or another. A payment 
 made two hundred and fifty years ago is liable to 
 be ignored or forgotten, but the fact that the 
 payment was made even so long ago places an 
 ancient coat of arms upon an identical footing 
 with a modern one as far as the question of pur- 
 chase is concerned. 
 
 A spurious coat of arms upon which no pay- 
 ment has been made is in precisely the same 
 position as a bogus baronetcy, and is equally open 
 to criticism. So that if modern arms are to be 
 stigmatised as ' bought,' the same remark must 
 apply to ninety-nine out of every hundred of the 
 coats of arms, ancient or modern, now legally in 
 use, and to every Peerage created by patent. 
 
 If a family whose origin is plebeian desire to 
 legally acquire gentility, a start must be made at 
 
2i8 The Rio^ht to Bear Arms 
 
 <b 
 
 some time. Consequently we see men nowadays, 
 and not necessarily very wealthy men, but men 
 claiming to live according to the habits and customs 
 of gentle people, who ' honestly acquire, and pay 
 the fees upon, a grant of arms which " they and their 
 posteritie " can " have, occupie, and injoye " as their 
 own and their children's : they have not robbed 
 anyone, or stolen it with secrecy, after choosing 
 the prettiest coat ; there is no occasion for shame, 
 or the fear of being found out. No ! The consti- 
 tuted authority has granted and confirmed it, and 
 recorded their names in the indelible Book of 
 Chivalry. The first step has been honestly taken 
 in planting the family tree.' 
 
 Another frequent newspaper objection is that 
 the Officers of Arms, when it has been necessary to 
 obtain a new grant of arms, require too great an 
 alteration to be made in the design which has been 
 hitherto illegally in use. Now no two coats of 
 arms which may be granted are ever allowed to 
 interfere one with another. Each new grant must 
 be sufficiently different and distinct for anyone 
 versed in armory to be able to recognise the 
 difference. It is outrageous to suppose that a 
 family of no ancestry (merely because for a certain 
 short length of time they have made improper use 
 of a purloined coat of arms) shall be allowed to 
 obtain a grant the design of which might encroach 
 upon and infringe the duly recorded and granted 
 rights of some other family. 
 
Popular Fallacies 219 
 
 Those who make the loudest objection on this 
 point are usually those for whom really the very 
 least consideration is due. They are always those 
 who know little of armory and its laws, who know 
 less of the Heralds' College and its laws, and still 
 less of the thousands of genuine Armorial Bearings 
 properly recorded with which their own ideas are 
 bound to clash. 
 
 On the other hand, there are those who seem to 
 consider that they and their families have vested 
 interests in certain and particular charges. It is 
 hopeless to attempt to argue with such people, 
 and I fail to see what cause of annoyance or 
 ground for complaint can exist when the altera- 
 tions are sufficient in number and prominence to 
 prevent anyone with a knowledge of armory mis- 
 taking the one coat for the other. There are some 
 people who could hardly tell the difference between 
 the Royal Arms and, say, the Arms of the City of 
 London. It is no crime to be ignorant of 
 Heraldry. But at the same time it is hopeless to 
 attempt to always introduce sufficient variance to 
 be recognised by a person of this class. Those 
 who have no personal interest in these two con- 
 tentions, and have no argumentative axe to grind, 
 I fancy are ready enough to admit that between 
 these two schools of complainants the Heralds' 
 College hold the balance very fairly. 
 
 Still yet another class contend, and one notori- 
 
2 20 The Rip'ht to Bear Ar^ns 
 
 'ib 
 
 ous newspaper correspondent contends somewhat 
 viciously, that failing a direct proof of descent no 
 new coat of arms should be granted in any way 
 resembling the legitimate arms of any other 
 family of the name. This is an academic point 
 capable of much argument on either side, but at 
 the same time it should be borne in mind that 
 many openly assert that it should be possible to 
 tell a man's name from the arms he bears. In 
 ancient times this was nearly always possible, and 
 such an idea is the very foundation of the whole of 
 Scottish Armory. Such an idea has also been 
 admitted to a large extent from the very earliest 
 times in English Armory, so that whilst there is 
 much to be said in favour of the contention which 
 I have referred to, and whilst I admit it has my 
 thorough sympathy, to establish such a position 
 now would be to upset the whole of the present 
 and past regulations. 
 
 A common enough complaint is that a modern 
 coat of arms is not artistically or heraldically as 
 ' good ' a coat as an ancient one. I frankly admit 
 it. But by a warrant of a former Earl Marshal 
 certain distinctions must very properly be made 
 between any new grant and any existing arms 
 with which it might clash. A simple coat of arms 
 such as " Azure, a bend or," or " Gules, a lion ram- 
 pant argent," it is now impossible to obtain. Such 
 have all been long ago appropriated, and it is 
 
Popular Fallacies 221 
 
 because they have been appropriated for so long 
 that a simple coat has become what it is, ' the sign 
 of an ancient house.' As a natural consequence, 
 that, of course, is one great reason. why 'simple* 
 coats are so urgently desired. It is due to nothing 
 more or less than the dishonest snobbishness 
 which desires to pose before the world as possessing 
 more ancient ancestry than it does. But if the 
 perennial grumblers on this point would leave the 
 designing of arms entirely to the Officers of Arms, 
 instead of insisting, as the majority of the appli- 
 cants do, that the new arms are to be as like the 
 old improperly appropriated coat as the laws of 
 the College will admit (such insistance being 
 usually dictated by the desire to hide the fact 
 that the genuine arms are not those previously in 
 use), it would be found that new arms were very 
 much simpler than sometimes turns out to be 
 the case. 
 
 Another argument is made much of, and it is 
 this, that the Heralds will not admit descent from 
 an armigerous family, and a consequent right to their 
 arms, without the production of proof which it is 
 frequently now almost or quite impossible to supply. 
 There are unquestionably and unfortunately a 
 few such cases in which the legal proof, which it is 
 necessary to provide, places the family in a pitiable 
 position. But it must stand to reason that unless 
 a thing is incontestably proved^ it cannot be 
 
222 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 accepted without prejudice to the rights of other 
 people. When all is said and done, the fact 
 remains, and must remain, that the hard posi- 
 tion in which these few families now find them- 
 selves is solely due to the negligence of their own 
 ancestors in failing to properly record their pedi- 
 grees when the necessary proofs were readily 
 accessible and when the facts still remained 
 matters of their own everyday knowledge. But 
 of the many cases in which this excuse is put 
 forward, there are but few indeed in which it has 
 the semblance of truth. 
 
 I don't know whether it is generally known that 
 even in the Law Courts a man's sworn testimony 
 as to the name and identity of his father and of his 
 grandfather are, failing evidence to the contrary, 
 accepted as legal evidence. It is much the same in 
 the College of Arms, and any man is allowed to 
 enter a large proportion of the facts concerning his 
 own pedigree from his grandfather, on his own 
 solemn affirmation, without the formality of the 
 production of actual documentary proofs. The 
 Heralds, of course, take the precaution of checking 
 the information so recorded, so that the risk of false- 
 hood being deliberately palmed off" upon them is, 
 through their precautions, reduced to a minimum. 
 But at the same time the opportunity so afforded, if 
 properly taken advantage of, is such that the rights 
 of no family need lapse from any pecuniary reason. 
 
Popular Fallacies 22 
 
 a 
 
 The cost of recording such a pedigree is trivial, 
 and if members of arms-bearing families would 
 only continue from time to time to enter up these 
 short pedigrees there would be no grievances, 
 and there would be none of the great expense of 
 collecting the evidences and proving a long 
 pedigree which occasionally causes a genuinely 
 armigerous family to allow their descent and 
 right to arms to be questioned or disputed. 
 
 Though it has been necessary to write as above, 
 I wish distinctly to say that in the course of my 
 articles in the Saturday Review I have as far as 
 possible, and as far as I have known, refrained 
 from holding up to criticism cases which hung 
 upon any such supposition. 
 
 But as a matter of fact the cases where this sort 
 of thing is usually said, and where an unproved 
 descent is asserted, nearly all turn out upon in- 
 vestigation to be simply unvarnished untruths. 
 
 A great many people when it comes to argu- 
 ment are fond of setting up a lot of ninepins to 
 knock down, which said ninepins are not being 
 played in that particular game. Now a very 
 specious ninepin of this character in the game of 
 argument is the false issue by which it is sought to 
 set forth that the Heralds officially say that the 
 use of arms is illegal unless the pedigree is fully 
 entered up to date in the College of Arms. 
 People really ought to credit the Heralds with a 
 
224 ^^^^ Right to Bear Arms 
 
 little common-sense. Arms are granted to certain 
 people and their descendants according to the 
 laws of arms for ever. Only attainder can take 
 away that right. It is the descent from the grantee 
 which the Heralds, when speaking officially, quite 
 rightly refuse to admit until it is proved. It is 
 hardly to be supposed they would record or certify 
 the right to the arms of the said grantee unless 
 the descent were proved and recorded. They 
 dare not admit such a right unless it is sufficiently 
 proved for it to be impossible, as far as human 
 judgment can go, for it to be subsequently shown to 
 be wrong. But no Herald was ever so foolish as to 
 say that the right did not exist without the pedigree 
 being recorded. It simply is that they will not 
 certify that it does exist unless the descent is 
 proved. There is a wide difference betw^een the 
 two. And the specious misstatement so frequently 
 put forward which I refer to above I can only term 
 a piece of utter and wilful misrepresentation. 
 
 But it is too much to suppose that Officers of 
 Arms will accept a mere statement of descent as 
 proof of a right to arms. The Psalmist in his 
 haste remarked that all men are liars, and he 
 spoke with no experience of armorial bearings or 
 of the temptation they afford to depart from the 
 truth. It has been wittily remarked that the 
 Psalmist might equally have said it at his 
 leisure. 
 
Popular Fallacies 225 
 
 It should be clearly understood that if the 
 descent from a grantee exists, it is not the right to 
 the arms which is denied. It is the fact of the 
 descent which is not admitted until it is proved. 
 The right to arms follows the proof of descent, and 
 is then admitted, even officially, as a matter of 
 course. 
 
 Personally I think those with a right to arms 
 are very short-sighted not to record their pedi- 
 grees generation by generation. The cost of 
 doing this is little more than a matter of shillings 
 each time, and the proof being always on record, 
 the descent can never thereafter be disputed or 
 questioned. If the registration is left beyond 
 three generations the cost of proving the descent 
 increases rapidly. For three or less generations 
 it is trivial. 
 
 One constantly recurring complaint against the 
 College of Arms and the Officers of Arms relates 
 to what the public are pleased to term the enor- 
 mous cost of recording a pedigree and thereby 
 establishing a right to arms. 
 
 The entire cost of the matter in the case of a 
 long pedigree is heavy, but I think the public are 
 under a great misapprehension. The official fees 
 for the examination of a pedigree before the 
 Chapter of the College of Arms, and for the 
 recording of it in the books of the College, are 
 by no means great. Where, then, does the 
 
 P 
 
2 26 The Right to Bear Anns 
 
 cost come in ? In collecting the evidences by- 
 virtue of which the pedigree is proved. There is 
 no reason at all why this should be done by any 
 Officer of Arms, except that he will probably do the 
 work better and more cheaply than an outsider. 
 The documents and records, official and unofficial, 
 to which he has access in the College are much 
 more numerous than is popularly supposed. 
 
 And wherein lies the hardship of a small ex- 
 pense in proving a pedigree ? One never hears of 
 a peer grumbling because it is a matter of personal 
 expense to establish and prove his really inalien- 
 able right to succeed his father. Therefore, why 
 should a gentleman grumble because it is a trivial 
 matter of expense to him to prove and establish 
 his succession to the lower, but still hereditary 
 rank. Entering a pedigree at the College from 
 one's father or grandfather costs nothing like the 
 amount it costs a peer to prove the same thing in 
 the House of Lords. But if the obvious expediency 
 of entering these short pedigrees generation by 
 generation is ignored, then naturally the cost of 
 collecting the evidences mounts up rapidly. It is 
 just" the same in a Peerage case. 
 
 It seems to be a general idea that an utterly 
 unknown pedigree can be worked out for 200 
 years for a couple of pounds or so. To anybody 
 who has any such idea, I merely recommend that 
 they should honestly try to collect the evidences 
 
Popular Fallacies 227 
 
 themselves. They will then have some idea of 
 the cost of getting the facts together, from Parish 
 Registers, from Somerset House, and the Record 
 Office. They will have some idea of the hours 
 and hours of searching which in the end only too 
 often prove to be void of result. But it has all 
 been genuine and honest work, and somebody 
 must pay for it. But if you have got the necessary 
 evidences in your own possession, or have collected 
 them yourself, the cost of recording them in the 
 College of Arms will be little indeed. But I 
 would ask amateur genealogists to bear in mind 
 that the necessary evidences must include, as a 
 minimum, all certificates of baptism, marriage and 
 burial, and officially certified copies of the wills 
 (where they exist) of at least every male through 
 whom descent is alleged. It is no good thinking 
 an old family Bible, two or three letters, and an 
 impression of a seal, will substantiate a pedigree 
 from the Visitations to the present day. 
 
 If arms were anything in the nature of a necessity, 
 the whole of the complaints I refer to regarding 
 the so-called 'rights' of unrecorded arms, etc., 
 might perhaps have weight as arguments for 
 increased facilities. Arms not being a necessity, 
 but a matter of privilege, emanating from the 
 Crown through its officers, and a privilege which, 
 within certain limits, the Crown is willing should 
 be obtained on certain terms, it must stand 
 
228 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 to reason that if people decline to comply with 
 and recognise those terms and conditions, they 
 cannot lawfully possess the privilege. 
 
 Another grievance is, and it is a common 
 enough assertion, that arms are now granted 
 to all and sundry who will pay the fees. That 
 is absolutely wrong. Of their own motion in 
 England neither Kings of Arms nor Heralds can 
 grant arms to anybody. The Earl Marshal's 
 separate warrant for each separate case is 
 absolutely indispensable. And it rests entirely 
 with him, and is absolutely and entirely a 
 matter in his own personal discretion, to say 
 whether an applicant is in a sufficient position in 
 life to have arms or not. 
 
 Applications have been refused in quite recent 
 times, and applications to assume (with the name) 
 the arms of another family are constantly refused. 
 That refusals are not more common is entirely due 
 to the fact that the Officers of Arms will not 
 put forward applications from those whom they 
 know would receive refusals. The control over 
 the College of the Earl Marshal, when he finds it 
 necessary to move, is very real and effective. 
 
 Of the new grants of arms which are issued, 
 probably — sooner or later — I get to hear of at least 
 a third. Those who know my identity will doubt- 
 less admit the statement I make in the foregoing 
 sentence to be probably correct. Those who do 
 
Popular Fallacies 229 
 
 not know the personality of * X ' must please 
 try to believe that it is so. I have never in my life 
 known a single case where arms have been granted 
 to a man who was not palpably living in that style 
 of life in which the use of arms is usual. Many 
 people have been knighted who would probably 
 have been previously refused arms. The class, and 
 the rank in life, of those people who nowadays 
 obtain grants of arms is much higher at the present 
 time than it was in the time of the Tudors, when 
 heraldry was about at its highest point in England. 
 All sorts of letters and complaints have appeared 
 in armorial newspaper correspondence. Some 
 are anonymous, but a little patient care and inves- 
 tigation will in nearly ^very case reveal the identity 
 of the writers. These letters are naturally either 
 for or against. Amongst the latter never once has 
 any one attempted to disprove the existence of the 
 authority I have in the foregoing pages put for- 
 ward. They are merely concerned in abusing 
 different Officers of Arms alive or dead, collectively 
 or individually. Nearly every writer whom I have 
 identified I know to be some one with a personal 
 grievance against the duly constituted authorities, 
 usually relating to his own arms or pedigree. 
 Unfortunately it is on the loudly expressed opinions 
 of these biassed individuals that the public so often 
 form their conclusions. Those without any personal 
 grievance seldom trouble to intrude in these news- 
 
230 The Right to Bear Arms 
 
 paper fights. The consequence is that the public 
 never hears of the hard work, the careful and 
 minute examination of pedigrees, the safeguards 
 against mistakes, or of the endless labour and 
 research which, without fee or reward or any 
 publicity, different Officers of Arms undertake and 
 perform, and have done for ages past, in order 
 that they may record or make accessible facts and 
 evidence which will perhaps be wanted in the 
 future. Here is an example. There has been 
 a great hubbub recently about bogus baronets. 
 Needless to say these individuals have never 
 paid a sou to have their true pedigrees proved or 
 recorded. But of the English cases, I myself know 
 that the evidence is collected in the majority of 
 instances, and is ready when the occasion officially 
 needs its production. That is only one in- 
 stance of many I could quote. And I probably 
 do not even know myself of a tithe of the records 
 the Corporation possess. But when I know from 
 long experience that the Officers of Arms do the 
 whole of their official duties genuinely and fear- 
 lessly, and when I know the rules and safeguards 
 of the College prevent the contrary, I think it is 
 just as well that the general public should be 
 equally informed. 
 
 I have written this book solely for the love I bear 
 for the science and practice of Armory. I hold no 
 brief for the Heralds' College, nor for all, nor for 
 
Popular Fallacies 231 
 
 any of its officers. I am fully aware that in my 
 writing I have not even the good wishes of some 
 of them. I am not concerned to glorify the 
 College. I have neither the wish nor the intention 
 to weave laurel wreaths for the brows of any of its 
 officers, past or present. But as the law now 
 stands, the fact must still remain, as it does, that 
 the Sovereign is the Fountain of Honour, and that 
 matters armorial have been delegated in England 
 in all due form to the control and supervision of 
 the Earl Marshal and the College of Arms, and 
 to the Kings, Heralds, and Pursuivants of Arms 
 forming the Corporation of the College. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abuse of College of Arms, 208. 
 
 Achievements, 26. 
 
 Acquitaine and Lancaster, Duke 
 
 of, 40. 
 Act of Parliament granting 
 
 Howard augmentation, 54, 55. 
 Acts of Scottish Parliament, 156, 
 
 157. 
 Action taken by Crown direct, 49. 
 Address of Royal Warrants, 86, 
 
 87, no. 
 Advertisement to find Arms, 12. 
 Agard, Frances, 185. 
 Agincourt, 44, 46, 47, 129, 139. 
 All Saints' Parish, 92, 97. 
 American Heraldry, 203. 
 Americans not eligible for grants 
 
 of Arms, 204. 
 Anne, Queen Consort, 93, 98. 
 Anwell Grove, 169. 
 Appointment of Officers of Arms, 
 
 99. 
 Armorial Law in Scotland — see 
 
 Chapter VH,; and in Ireland — 
 
 see Chapter VI H. 
 Armory, Burke's General^ 37, 145. 
 Arms, the Criterion of Nobility, 
 
 30 ; date of, 27 ; an estate of 
 
 inheritance, 26, 27, 152; foreign 
 in England — see Chapter X. ; 
 granting of — see Chapter IV.; 
 heredity of, 16, 18 ; a matter 
 of privilege, 10, 1 1, 227 ; mean- 
 ing of, use of, 15, 17, 18; not 
 a necessity, 227 ; origin and 
 meaning of — see Chapter I., 27 ; 
 origin of spurious, 19, 20 ; 
 revenue from, 24 ; simplicity 
 of old, 220, 221 ; source of, 27 ; 
 taxation of, 24, 25 ; of Austen, 
 151, 152 ; Camborne alias 
 Paynter, 112, 113 ; Greene, 
 193-195; Howard, 54, 55; 
 London, 219 ; Moore of Bar- 
 caster, 67 ; Mylne, 170 ; Scot- 
 land, 54, 55 ; Speke, 56 ; and 
 see Officers and College of. 
 
 Aristocracy, prerogatives of, 13. 
 
 Arnot, 159. 
 
 Arundel, Surrey and Norfolk, 
 Thomas, Earl of, 69, 71, 73, 74, 
 78, 79, 81, 82, 83. 
 
 Ashill, 56. 
 
 Ashmole, Elias, 128. 
 
 Ashmolean Museum, 66. 
 
 Ashton, Justice, 65, 66. 
 
 Asquith, Right Hon. H. H., 108. 
 
 Assumption of Arms, 36. 
 
234 
 
 Index 
 
 Athlone, 191. 
 
 Attainder, 32, 205. 
 
 Augmentations, 52, 53, 54, 55-61 ; 
 to Arms of Howard, grant of, 
 54, 55; to Arms of Ross of 
 Bladensburg, 54 ; to Arms of 
 Speke, 54, 56, 57, 58. 
 
 Aula Regis, 65. 
 
 Austen Arms, 1 5 1, 152 *, v. 
 Collins, 150, 153 ; Major, 151 ; 
 Mary Anne Eliza, 150. 
 
 Authority of Books denied, 210; 
 of the Crown, 41, 42, 46, 47, 61, 
 153, 200 ; of Crown, earliest 
 instance of, 38 ; of Crown and 
 College at present date proved 
 — see Chapter VI. ; of Earl 
 Marshal, 68 ; of his Court, 68. 
 
 Award of King re Scrope v. 
 Grosvenor, 41. 
 
 B 
 
 Badges, 12, 27, 29. 
 
 Bagenall, Nicholas, 185. 
 
 Baker i*. Spencer, 32, 33 ; Christo- 
 pher, 33 ; George, 33 ; J., 33 ; 
 Simon, 33 ; William, 32, 33. 
 
 Balfarge, 170. 
 
 Balfour, Sir James, 156. 
 
 Balfour, Paul — see Paul. 
 
 Ballynemon}', 194. 
 
 Bally-Neury, 196. 
 
 Baltimore, 58. 
 
 Banchory, 165. 
 
 Barclay, Sir Andrew, 67. 
 
 Baronet, creation of a, 142 ; 
 Warrant regarding creation of, 
 142. 
 
 Bath, Order of, 108, 109. 
 
 Baton — see Rod. 
 
 Bayeux tapestry, 27. 
 Bear Inn, Reading, 128. 
 Beckwith, Hamond, 66. 
 Bedford, John, Duke of, 63. 
 Beechmount, 196. 
 Benolte, Thomas, 119. 
 Birth of Armory, 28. 
 Blackwood' s Magazine^ 164, 165. 
 Bladensberg, Battle of, 57, 58 — 
 
 see Ross of Bladensburg. 
 Bland, Frances Diana, and F.C., 
 
 and Lucurda, 196. 
 Blennerhassett, Elizabeth, John 
 
 and Louisa, 196. 
 Blount, Sir Richard, 67 ; Weaker 
 
 Aston, 113-115. 
 Bluemantle, no. 
 Bogus Baronets, 230. 
 Book of Arms y 156. 
 Books, official authority of, denied, 
 
 210. 
 Books of the Visitations, 135-137. 
 Brandon, Chas., Duke of Suffolk, 
 
 34, 116, 199. 
 British Museum, 33, 88, 137. 
 Broughton-under-the-Blean, 32. 
 Burke, Sir John Bernard, Ulster 
 
 King of Arms, 37, 145, I95» 
 
 196, 210 ; Margaret, 190, 191 ; 
 
 Feagh, 191 ; Richard, 190. 
 Burke's General Armory^ 37, 145. 
 Burnett, George, 165, 167. 
 Burntisland, 159. 
 Burtchaell, G. D., 182. 
 Butler, Bartholomew, 174, 175, 
 
 176, 177, 182. 
 
 Calabria, 57. 
 
Index 
 
 235 
 
 Calendar of Documents relating to 
 Kilkenny^ 182. 
 
 Camborne, William, alias Paynter, 
 112, 113. 
 
 Camden, 30, 63, 64. 
 
 Carney, Ulster King of Arms, 189. 
 
 Carrigg, co. Roscommon, igo. 
 
 Cases, heraldic, in Earl Marshal's 
 Court, 66, 67 ; re definition of 
 gentility, 32, 33 ; use of a 
 Crest as a trademark, 148, 149 ; 
 Austen v. Collins, 150, 153; 
 Blount V. Moore, 67 ; Harding 
 V. St Loe, 66 ; Joicey-Cecil v. 
 Joicey-Cecil, 143, 144, 145, 146, 
 147, 152 ; Lord Maltby z/. Beck- 
 with, 66 ; Henry Parker, 67, 68 ; 
 Scrope ?/. Grosvenor, 39, 40, 41, 
 66, 89 ; Sitsilt v. Fakenham, 
 66 ; Standish v. Whitwell, 148, 
 149 ; Warburton v. Georges, 66. 
 
 Caste in England, 10. 
 
 Castletoune, co. Westmeath, 190. 
 
 Cecil, Arms of, 144, 146 ; and see 
 Joicey-Cecil. 
 
 Certificate of Fuller Arms, 195, 
 196 ; of Foreign Arms, 206. 
 
 Chaldeans, 27, 
 
 Chalmers, Margaret, 166. 
 
 Chamberlain — see Lord Chamber- 
 lain. 
 
 Champney, Richard, 90-99. 
 
 Chancellor, Lord, 104. 
 
 Chancery, High Court of, 143, 
 
 150, 152. 
 Change of Nam.e, Royal Licence 
 
 for, 48, 109, no. 
 Charges, origin of, 18. 
 Charles L, 199. 
 Charles H., 47, 48, 68, 77, 127, 
 
 161, 194, 199. 
 
 Charters of College of Arms, 88- 
 99 ; of Philip and Mary, 99 ; 
 of Richard HL, 88, 89. 
 
 Chaucer, 35. 
 
 Chester Herald, no; (May), 127. 
 
 Chitty, Mr Justice, 152, 
 
 Chivalry, Court of, 64, 65, 
 
 Cirencester, 127. 
 
 Clarenceux King of Arms, no, 117, 
 133; (Benolte), 119; (Blount), 
 n3-n5; (Cokayne), 105, 107; 
 (Cooke), 33, ni, n2, n3; 
 (Harvey), 120; (Harrison), 57, 
 59, 60, 61 ; (Hawley), 120 ; 
 (Holme), 90-99 ; (Le Neve), 
 
 33. 
 
 Clonemacknosie, 191. 
 
 Clopton, William, 63. 
 
 Cokayne, Geo. E., 105, 107. 
 
 Coke, Sir Edward, 30. 
 
 Coker, 66. 
 
 Coldharbour, 89, 92, 97. 
 
 College of Arms, see Chapter HL, 
 and pages 23, 32, 37, 38, 42, 
 49, 52, S3, 56, 62, 67, 108, 109, 
 127, 133, 137, 138, 141, 142, 
 143, 145, 148, 149, 151, 152, 
 200, 201, 204, 207, 208, 214, 
 219, 222, 223, 226, 227, 230, 
 231. 
 
 Collins, 152. 
 
 Q,oVi\xi%\Peerage^ 66. 
 
 Colonies, Grants of Arms to, 49. 
 
 Comes, 29. 
 
 Commission of Queen Elizabeth 
 commanding a Visitation, 120- 
 125; for Visitations, 118-125. 
 
 Commissioners for Office of Earl 
 Marshal, 128, 188. 
 
 ' Committee of Articles,' 157. 
 
 Common Law recognition of 
 
236 
 
 Index 
 
 Right in the Bearing of Arms, 
 
 147. 
 Commons. See House of. 
 Comyns' Digest^ 152. 
 Confirmation of Arms, 192-198, 
 
 and see Visitations ; Fees, 197 ; 
 
 Arms to Baker, 33 ; Beckwith, 
 
 66 ; Fuller, 195, 196 ; Greene, 
 
 193-195. 
 
 Consent of Earl Marshal necessary 
 to granting of Arms, 106, 228. 
 
 Constable, 39, 40, 65, 66, 69, 70, 
 78, 79, and see High Con- 
 stable. 
 
 Cooke, Robert, 33, iii, 112, 113. 
 
 Coronets of Peers, 12. 
 
 Corunna, 57. 
 
 Cost of Recording Pedigrees, 223, 
 225, 226, 229. 
 
 Court of Chivalry, 63, 152, and 
 see Earl Marshal's Court. 
 
 Courtesy of Society, 31. 
 
 Cranbrook, 168. 
 
 Crests, use of and right to, 26 ; 
 grant of, to Earl of Nottingham, 
 42, 43- 
 
 Criterion of Nobility, Arms the, 
 30. 
 
 Cromwell, 157, 159. 
 
 Crosse, Jonathan, 134. 
 
 Crown, the, 18, 29, 32, 35, 36, 38, 
 140, 141, 142, 155, 161, 172, 
 182, 197, 200, 209, 213, 217, 
 227 ; the Fountain of Honour, 
 48, 199 ; Law Officers of, 108, 
 109 ; Rights and Prerogatives 
 of — see Chapter I. 
 
 Crowthorne and Minety, 126. 
 
 Crusades, 28 ; First, 27. 
 
 Curia Militaris, 65. 
 
 Curious Discourses (Hearne), 65. 
 
 Cusacke, Thomas, 185. 
 Cuttlehill, 166. 
 
 D 
 
 Dallaway, 64-67. 
 
 Date of Incorporation of College 
 of Arms, 88, 89 ; of origin of 
 Arms, 27 ; of Visitations, 119. 
 
 Definition of Gentlemen, 31, 32 ; 
 of Nobility, 31. 
 
 Degradation from Knighthood, 67. 
 
 Deincourt, Edmund, 38, 39 ; Isa- 
 bella, 39. 
 
 Delegation of authority by 
 Crown, 62. 
 
 Deputy of Marshal, 40. 
 
 Deputy Earl Marshal, 59, 106. 
 
 Deputies of Kings of Arms, 125. 
 
 Derriquin Castle, 196. 
 
 Derrymaclaghnye, 190. 
 
 Derwent water. Earl of, 141. 
 
 Descent of Arms, 116, 197, 198. 
 
 Destruction of Arms at Visita- 
 tions, 119. 
 
 Dethicke, Sir Gilbert, iii, 112, 
 
 113. 
 Devolution of ArmiS, 116, 197, 198. 
 Differences between New and Old 
 
 Arms, 217, 219. 
 Dillon, R., 185. 
 Direct action of Crown, 49. 
 Disclaimers, 133, 134, 135, 136; 
 
 form of, 134. 
 Dland, Robert, 63, 
 Dorset^ History o/^b6. 
 Dorset, Sheriff of, 45. 
 Downeoman, 191. 
 Drysdale, Thomas, 156. 
 Dublin, 176, 179, 186. 
 Dublin, x'\dam, Archbishop of, 185. 
 
Index 
 
 ■Z7 
 
 Dugdale, William, 66, 134. 
 Duties of High Constable, 62 ; 
 
 of Officers of Arms, 216. 
 Dux, 29. 
 
 * Eagle,' the, 159. 
 
 Eagle Coal & Iron Co., 148, 149. 
 Earl Marshal — see Chapter II. 
 Earl Marshal, 34, 38, 57, 61, 62, 
 
 63, 99, 106, no, 116, 128, 132, 
 
 134, 141, 153, 172, 183, 199, 
 
 201, 209, 228, 231. 
 Earl Marshal's Court of England^ 
 
 64. 
 Earl Marshal's Court, 32, 62, 65, 
 
 68, 69, 70, 78, 79, igg ; Staff, 
 
 61 ; and see Rod and Staff. 
 Earliest instance of authority of 
 
 Crown, 38. 
 Edmondson, 67, ! 133. 
 Edward II., 38. 
 Edward III., loi, 103. 
 Edward IV., 104. 
 
 * Elizabeth,' the, 159. 
 Elizabeth, 99, 120, 183, 199. 
 Essay on Man, 35. 
 
 Estate of Inheritance, Arms an, 
 
 36, 37, 152. 
 Etiquette of College of Arms, 209. 
 Eton College, 5O) 5i- 
 Exchequer, 65, 215. 
 
 Fallacies as to Arms, 24, 25, 26, 
 
 52. 
 Falkland, Viscount, 187. 
 
 Fees on ancient grants of Arms, 
 34, 116 ; on a Confirmation of 
 Arms, 197 ; for funeral certifi- 
 cates, 190 ; of Lyon King of 
 Arms, 158,162, 163, 164; upon 
 Patents of Arms, 198, 213, 217 ; 
 excused to those unable to pay, 
 135 ; of Honour of Scottish 
 Heralds, 215, 
 Fellows of the Society of Anti- 
 quaries, 15. 
 Feudal Law, 29, 30. 
 Feversham, 33. 
 Fines, 67, 132, 163. 
 Fitzwilliam, Wm., 185. 
 Flodden Field, 54, 55. 
 P'lower William, in, 112, 113, 
 
 120-125. 
 Foedera (Rymer), go, 173. 
 Fonthill, 166. 
 
 Forbes Arms and Patent of 
 Matriculation, 168, 169 ; Eliza- 
 beth, Lady, 168 ; Frances Doro- 
 thea, 168 ; Frederick Murray, 
 168 ; Honoria, 168 ; James 
 Ochonchar, Lord, 168 ; Norman 
 Hay, 168, i6g; Robert, 168; 
 Wm., Lord, 168. 
 Foreign Arms — see Chapter X. 
 Foreign grants of Arms, 31. 
 Forman, Sir Robert, 156. 
 France, 205. 
 
 Fountain of Honour, 48, 231. 
 Funeral Certificates, 182, 183, 185, 
 i8g, igo ; fees on, igo ; of 
 Bryan MacDermott, igo, igi ; 
 of Hugh Magaghegan, igo. 
 Fuller Arms and Patent of Con- 
 firmation, ig5, ig6 ; James 
 Franklin, Thomas Harnett, 
 Frances Diana, Edward, Eliza- 
 
238 
 
 Index 
 
 beth Thomas, Ann, William, 
 Jane. 
 
 Garter King of Arms, iio; (De- 
 thicke), III, 112, 113 ; (Heard), 
 57, 59, 60, 61 ; (Walker), 67 ; 
 (Woods), 113 -115; (W^rithe), 
 90-102. 
 
 Genealogical Magazine^ 23. 
 
 Genealogist^ 33, 
 
 Genealogist to Order of the Bath, 
 108, 109. 
 
 General Armory, Burke's, 37, 145. 
 
 Gentility, a hereditary rank, 18, 
 35; technical rank of, 11, 30, 
 
 35- 
 Gentleman, definition of word, 
 
 31, 34; derivation of word, 34 ; 
 
 wrong use of word, 28 ; 35 ; 
 
 English, 18; 'by birth,' 14, 
 
 31 ; of ' Coat Armour,' 31. 
 Gentry, privileges of, 29. 
 George I., 140, 
 George III., 57, 60, 108. 
 George IV., 18, 109. 
 Georges, 66. 
 Germany, 36, 204, 206. 
 Glasgow Cathedral, 164. 
 Glashnacree, 196. 
 Gloucester King of Arms (Champ- 
 
 ney), 90-99. 
 
 Goddard, Louisa, 196. 
 
 Granting of Arms — see Chapter 
 IV. 
 
 Grants of Arms to Colonies, 49 ; 
 by Sovereign, 49 ; to Baker, 33 ; 
 to Roger and Thomas Keys, 34, 
 50, 51, 52; Scottish, 165-167; 
 to William F ,113- 
 
 115 ; of Crest to Earl of 
 Nottingham, 42, 43 ; of Howard 
 Augmentation, 54, 55 ; of Ross 
 of Bladensburg Augmentation, 
 57-61 ; of Title of Earl 
 Marshal, 64 ; of Office of Earl 
 Marshal to Dukes of Norfolk, 
 68-86 ; of name of ' Bladens- 
 burg,' 57-61 ; of Speke Aug- 
 mentation, 56, 57, 58. 
 
 Grantees of Arms, social status 
 of, 228, 229. 
 
 Grazebrook, George, F.S.A., 64, 
 164. 
 
 Greeks, 27. 
 
 Greene Arms and Patent of Con- 
 firmation, 193-195 ; John Joseph, 
 John Godfrey, 193-195. 
 
 Greenmount, 193. 
 
 Greenville, 193. 
 
 Gretna Green, 21. 
 
 Grey, Sir Ralph, 67. 
 
 Grosvenor, Sir Robert, 39, 40, 41, 
 66, 89. 
 
 Gw3mior, 112. 
 
 H 
 
 Habeas Corpus, writ of, 67. 
 Hall-mark of gentility, 23. 
 Hammersmith, 170. 
 Harding v. St Loe, 66. 
 Hardy, Gathorne, 57. 
 Harnutt, Jane and William, 196. 
 Harper's Magazine^ lo. 
 Harrison, George, 57, 61. 
 Harvey, William, 120. 
 Hawley, Thomas, 120. 
 Heard, Sir Isaac, 57, 59, 60, 61. 
 Heath, Richard, 134. 
 Hearne, 65. 
 
Index 
 
 239 
 
 Heiresses, 116, 
 
 Hemsted Park, 168. 
 
 Henry V., 38, 43, 44, 45, 199. 
 
 Henry VI., 63. 
 
 Henry VHI., 53, 119. 
 
 Herald and Genealogist^ 40, 66, 
 
 147. 
 Heraldic Exhibition, 156, 
 Heraldry of Worcestershire^ 164. 
 Heralds' College — see College of 
 
 Arms. 
 Herbert, Lucurda, 196. 
 Heredity of Arms, 16, 18, 1 1 6, 
 
 197, 198 ; of gentility, 32. 
 Herschel, Farrer, Lord, G.C.B,, 
 
 104. 
 High Constable, 62, 63. 
 High Marshal — see Earl Marshal. 
 High Sheriffs, 15, and see Sheriffs. 
 History of the College of Arms 
 
 (Noble), 90. 
 History of Dorset (Coker), 66. 
 History of Edinburgh^ 159. 
 Hodges, Frances Dorothea, 168. 
 Holme, Thomas, 90-99. 
 Holyrood House, 156. 
 Home Office, 142, 143. 
 Hoo, Lord, 39. 
 House of Commons, 215; of 
 
 Lords, 212, 226. 
 Howard, Henry, Lord, 68-86 ; 
 
 Lord William, 75, 84, 85 ; 
 
 Augmentation, Grant of, 54, 55 ; 
 
 Molyneux, Henry Thomas, 59. 
 Hunter, Elizabeth, 168; William, 
 
 168. 
 
 Ince Arms and Family, 145. 
 Incomes of Officers of Arms, 216. 
 
 Incorporation of the College of 
 
 Arms, 88. 
 Inheritance of Arms, 116, 197, 
 
 198 ; of Quarterings, 116. 
 Inland Revenue, 25. 
 ' Insignia Gentilitia,' 30. 
 Interference of Lyon King of 
 
 Arms with bad Arms, 164, 
 
 200. 
 Ireland, 38 ; armorial law in — 
 
 see Chapter VIII. ; King of 
 
 Arms, 172. 
 Irish Confirmations of Arms, 193- 
 
 197 ; Grant of Arms, 179 ; Re- 
 cords, absence of, 192. 
 Islay Herald (Drysdale), 156. 
 Italy, 205. 
 
 J 
 
 James II., 139. 
 
 Joice — see Joicey. 
 
 Joicey, Arms and Name of, 144, 
 145, 146, 147. 
 
 Joicey, Col. John, 143, 144. 
 
 Joicey-Cecil, Lord John Paken- 
 ham, 143, 144, 146 ; v. Joicey- 
 Cecil, 143, I44» 145. 146, 147, 
 152. 
 
 Jordans, 56. 
 
 Joyce — see Joicey. 
 
 Joys — see Joicey. 
 
 Jurisdiction of Earl Marshal, 64. 
 
 K 
 
 Keeper of Wardrobe, 176, 179. 
 Kekewich, Mr Justice, 143, 146. 
 Kent, Thomas, Earl of, 64. 
 Keys, Roger and Thomas, 34, 
 50, 51,52. 
 
240 
 
 Index 
 
 Kilkenny Moderator, 182. 
 
 King, Gregory, 127, 128. 
 
 Kings of Arms, 49, ill, 119, 125 ; 
 and see by Name and Title, and 
 refer to Officers of Arms and 
 College of Arms. 
 
 King's Bench, 65, 67, 68. 
 
 King's College, 166. 
 
 King's Court, 65. 
 
 Kingsdowne, 33. 
 
 Knighthood, degradation from, 
 
 67. 
 Knights, Jubilee, 15. 
 Knoll, James, 134. 
 
 L 
 
 Labels in Arms, 42. 
 
 Lancaster Herald, no; (Thynne), 
 65. 
 
 Lawrence, Sir James, 30. 
 
 Laws of Arms, 210. 
 
 Leader, Mary, 196. 
 
 Le Neve, 33. 
 
 Le Scrope — see Scrope. 
 
 Letter from King to Lord Falk- 
 land, 187-189. 
 
 Letters Patent — see Grants of 
 Arms, and Patents of Arms ; of 
 Officers of Arms, 100 ; appoint- 
 ing W. H. Weldon to be Norroy 
 King of Arms, 100, 104-108 ; 
 appointing John Wrythe to be 
 Garter King of Arms, 100-104. 
 
 Liber Insignorium, 156. 
 
 Licence of Crown, 48. 
 
 Lieutenant of Court of Chivalry, 
 63. 
 
 Limitations of a Confirmation, 
 193 ; of Grants of Arms, 115 ; 
 of Patents, 213. 
 
 Lindsay, Sir David, 155, 156, 
 
 159- 
 
 Literature^ 147. 
 
 London, 33; Arms of, 219; 
 Gazette^ 109 ; Port of, loi, 103. 
 
 Lord Chamberlain, 107 ; Chan- 
 cellor, 50, 104 ; Deputy, 184 ; 
 Marshal — see Earl Marshal. 
 
 Lords — see House of. 
 
 Lyon Clerk, 160, 162, 170; 
 (Mitchell), 169, 171. 
 
 Lyon King of Arms, 38, 156, 157, 
 158, i6r, 162, 163, 165, 167, 
 168, 169,200; (Balfour), 156 ; 
 (Burnett), 164, 165, 167 ; (For- 
 man), 156 ; (Lindsay), 155, 
 156; (Paul), 155, 211. 
 
 Lyon Office, 156, 159, 160; fees 
 in, 214, 215. 
 
 Lyon Register, 160, 162, 163, 164, 
 167-171. 
 
 M 
 
 MacDermott, Funeral Certificate, 
 190, 191 ; Bryan, Rory, Teigh, 
 Rory Oge, Rory Keogh, Mar- 
 garet, 190 ; Bryan, Tirlagh, 
 Terence, Margaret, Connor, 
 Charles, 191 ; Eleanor, Brj'an, 
 Teigh, Honora Mary, Margaret, 
 Uny. 
 
 Mackenzie, Sir George, 159. 
 
 Magaghegan, Funeral Certificate, 
 190 ; Hugh Buye, Eleanor, 
 Arte, James, Thomas, Richard, 
 Rose, Neyle, Conly, Connell, 
 Mary, Margery, Eleanor, Anne, 
 and Elizabeth, 190. 
 
 Maida, Plains of, 57. 
 
 Maltby, Hugh, Lord v. Beckwith, 
 66. 
 
Index 
 
 241 
 
 Maltravers, Henry, Lord, 71, 81. 
 Manners, 18. 
 
 Manners, Family and Motto, 18. 
 Marshal, 39 — see Earl Marshal ; 
 
 High (of Ireland), 184. 
 Marshall, Honoria, 168 ; Rev. 
 
 William Knox, 168. 
 Marshalsea, 65, 67. 
 Mary, 156. 
 Matriculation of Arms, 157, 160, 
 
 162, 163, 167. 
 May, Thomas, 127. 
 Meaning of Arms — see Chapter I. 
 Milne, John, 170. 
 Mitchell, Sir Francis, 67. 
 Mitchell, J. W,, 169, 171. 
 Mistakes in Printed Books of 
 
 Visitations, 137. 
 Molyneux, Daniel, 186, 187 — see 
 
 Howard-Molyneux. 
 Moor of Barfield, 67 ; Sir Francis, 
 
 67. 
 
 Mooretown Keating, 194. 
 
 More, John, 90-99. 
 
 Morrey, Robert, 134. 
 
 Motto of Manners, Family, 18. 
 
 Mount Leader, 196. 
 
 Mowbray, Thomas — see Notting- 
 ham, Earl of; see Norfolk, 
 John, Duke of. 
 
 Moyle, Justice, 65, 66. 
 
 Mylne Arms and Patent of' Ma- 
 triculation, 169, 170, 171 ; 
 Hannah, 170; Robert, 170 ; 
 Robert William, 170 ; Wm. 
 John Home, 169, 170. 
 
 N 
 
 Name and Arms, Clauses in Wills, 
 143, 144, 145, 146,147,150-153- 
 
 Name, Royal Licences for Change 
 
 of, 48, 109, no. 
 Name, Scottish, 163. 
 Narbon, Nicholas, 182, 184, 185, 
 
 186. 
 Naworth, 75, 84. 
 Necessity of Arms denied, 24. 
 Needham, Justice, 65. 
 Newcastle, Duke of, 48. 
 Newspaper correspondence, 208, 
 
 211, 229, 230. 
 Nicolas, Sir N. Harris, 66, 
 Nile, source of, 56. 
 Noble, 90. 
 
 Noble, definition of word, 31. 
 Nobleman, 28. 
 
 Nobility of British Gentry^ 30. 
 Nobility, Arms, the criterion of, 
 
 30 ; definition of, 31 ; Patents 
 
 of, 213. 
 Nomination of Officers of Arms, 
 
 99. 
 Norfolk, Earl of — see Arundel ; 
 
 Dukes of, 54, 61, 68, 86, 87, 
 
 no; Bernard Edward, Duke 
 
 ofj 59 5 Charles, Duke of, 57 ; 
 
 Henry, Duke of, 87, no, 113. 
 
 115 ; John, Duke of, 63, 72, 
 
 81 ; Thomas, Duke of, 67, 71, 
 
 72, 75, 81, 84, 99, 183. 
 Norroy King of Arms, no; 
 
 (Cokayne), 105; (Dugdale), 134 ; 
 
 (Flower), in, 112, n3, 120-125; 
 
 (More), 90-99; (Weldon), 100, 
 
 104-108 ; (Wrythe), 100, 102. 
 Northumberland, Jocelin, Earl of, 
 
 48. 
 Norwich, Earldom, grant of, 69, 78. 
 Nottingham, Charles, Earl of, 
 
 76, 85 ; Thomas, Earl of, 42, 
 
 43» 64. 
 
 Q 
 
242 
 
 Index 
 
 o 
 
 O'Brennan, 196. 
 
 Ofl&cers of Arms — see Chapter III.; 
 and see College of Arms and 
 Kings of Arms, and see Officers 
 by names and titles ; also 
 pages 99, 118, 126, 130, 131, 
 141, 145, 146, 153, 156, 157, 
 183, 199, 209, 210, 221, 223, 
 228, 229, 230, 231 ; nomina- 
 tion of, 87 ; salaries, incomes, 
 and official duties, 216. 
 
 Ogle, Henry, Earl of, 48, 
 
 Omissions at Visitations, 211. 
 
 O'Molly, Eleanor and William, 
 
 191. 
 Opinion of Law Officers upon 
 
 Protest of Officers of Arms, 
 
 108, 109. 
 Order of Charles Brandon, Duke 
 
 of Suffolk, as to Fees on Grants, 
 
 116 ; of Earl Marshal, 34 ; for 
 
 Officers of Arms re Funerals, 
 
 183. 
 Ordinances for College of Arms, 
 
 99. 
 'Ordinary of Scottish Arms,' 155. 
 Origin of Arms — see Chapter I. 
 
 and p. 27 ; of charges, 18 ; of 
 
 spurious Arms, 19, 20, 37. 
 O'Roirk, Margaret and Conn, 
 
 191. 
 Orthes, 58. 
 Ownership of Arms, 26. 
 
 Papal grants, 205. 
 Parker, Henry, 67, 68. 
 Parliament, 42. 
 
 Patent of Arms to William Cam- 
 borne alias Paynter, 111-113; 
 Granting Arms (Irish), 179, 
 180, 181 ; of confirmation of 
 Fuller Arms, 195, 196 ; of con- 
 firmation of Greene Arms, 193- 
 195 ; of matriculation, 167- 
 169 ; of matriculation of Mylne 
 Arms, 169 ; of Peerage, 212, 
 217 ; of first Ulster King of 
 Arms, 173-179; of Arms, 30, 
 31, 32, 212, 217; of Peerage, 
 212, 217. 
 
 Paul, Sir J. Balfour, 155. 
 
 Paynter, William, alias Camborne, 
 112, 113. 
 
 Pedigrees, recording of, 153, 221- 
 227 ; entered at Visitations, 
 
 138. 
 
 Peerage cases, 212. 
 
 Pelican, Miss and Rev. Wm., ig6. 
 
 Peloquin, 196. 
 
 Peninsula, the, 57. 
 
 Percy, Elizabeth, Lady, 48 ; Sur- 
 name and Arms of, 48. 
 
 Philip and Mary, 120, 199. 
 
 Phillpot, 64. 
 
 Pincell, Ann, John, Mary, 196. 
 
 Plunkett, Sir Christopher, 191 ; 
 John, 185 ; Mary and Patrick, 
 191. 
 
 Pope, Alexander, 35. 
 
 Pope, The, 204, 205. 
 
 Popular fallacies — see Chapter 
 XL 
 
 Porny, 13. 
 
 Port of London, ici, 103. 
 
 Portcullis, 1 10. 
 
 Portugal, King of, 204. 
 
 Powers given to Officers of Arms 
 at Visitations, 119, 132. 
 
Index 
 
 243 
 
 Practice at Visitations — see Visi- 
 tations, 
 
 Precedence of Baronets, 143. 
 
 Precedents (Vincent), 67. 
 
 Prerogatives of aristocracy, 13 ; 
 of the Sovereign — see Chapter 
 I., and pages 36, 48, 61, 199 ; of 
 the Sovereign to confer Arms, 
 
 36. 
 
 Preston, Thomas, 191. 
 
 Prince Regent, H.R.H., 57. 
 
 Prisott, Justice, 65, 66. 
 
 Privilege, Armory, a matter of, 
 10, II, 227. 
 
 Privy Council, 156, 157, 159, 184. 
 
 Privy Seal, 49. 
 
 Procedure for registration of 
 Foreign Arms, 206. 
 
 Proof of Arms at Visitations — see 
 Visitations ; of authority at 
 present date of Crown and 
 College — see Chapter VI. ; of 
 right to Arms, 153. 
 
 Protection of Trademarks and 
 Crests, 150, 
 
 Protest of Officers of Arms against 
 Genealogist of the Bath, 108. 
 
 'Purchase' of Arms and Peer- 
 ages, 217. 
 
 Purpose of Saturday Review 
 Articles, 200. 
 
 Pyrenees, 58. 
 
 Q 
 
 Quarterings, 116. 
 Queen's Counsel, 1$. 
 Quotation marks, explanation of 
 use herein, 28. 
 
 R 
 
 Rank, Gentility hereditary, 18. 
 Ralph, Julian, 10. 
 Ravenscourt Park, 170. 
 Reading, 128. 
 Rebellion of Lord Derwentwater, 
 
 141. 
 Recent Grant of Arras, 11 3-1 15. 
 Record Office, 23, 227. 
 Recording of pedigrees, 153, 221- 
 
 227. 
 Reformation, 205. 
 Refusals of Arms, 228. 
 Remaines^ Camden's, 64. 
 Registration of Foreign Arms, 
 
 205, 206. 
 Revenue from Taxation of Arms, 
 
 24. 
 Richard II., 42, 43, 64, 89, 98, 
 
 99, 172. 
 
 Richard III., 88, 90. 
 
 Richmond, Earl of, 63 ; Herald, 
 no; (Narbon), 182. 
 
 Rights of the Sovereign — see 
 Chapter I. 
 
 Rod of Earl Marshal, 61, 72, 73, 
 74, 75, 76, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87. 
 
 Ross of Bladensburg Augmenta- 
 tion, 54 ; Elizabeth Catherine, 
 59, 60 ; Major-General Robert, 
 57, 60 ; of Ross Trevor, Arms 
 of, 58, 60. 
 
 Rothschild, Baron, 206 ; Sup- 
 porters, 206. 
 
 Rouge Croix, no, 133. 
 
 Rouge Dragon, iio ; (King), 127, 
 128. 
 
 Royal Arms of England, 49, 219 ; 
 Commissions for Visitations, 
 118-125; Family, Labels of, 
 
244 
 
 Index 
 
 42 ; Licences, 49, 204, 206 ; 
 Clauses in, 48, 109, no; for 
 Austen, 151, 152 ; to take 
 Name and Arms of Percy, 
 48 ; for name of Joicey, 144, 
 145, 146, 147 ; Warrants, 52 ; 
 method of address, 86, 87, no ; 
 of George III., reciting author- 
 ity of Officer of Arms, 108, 
 109 ; of George IV. re Baronets, 
 142. 
 
 Russia, 36. 
 
 Rymer, 90, 173. 
 
 Sackville, 196. 
 
 St George, Richard, 189. 
 
 St Loe, 66. 
 
 Salaries of Officers of Arms, 216 ; 
 of Norroy King, 107. 
 
 Sarum, New, 45, 46. 
 
 Saturday Review^ 23, 200, 223. 
 
 Scotland, 38 ; Armorial Law in — 
 see Chapter VII. ; Arms of, 54, 
 55 ; James, King of, 55. 
 
 Scott, George and Hannah, 170. 
 
 Scottish Grant of Arms, 165, 167 ; 
 ordinary of Arms, 21 1 ; Parlia- 
 ment — see Acts of, 157-164 ; 
 signatures, 163. 
 
 Scrope V. Grosvenor, 39, 40, 41, 
 66, 89 ; Sir Richard le, 40, 41. 
 
 Shakespeare, 47. 
 
 Sheriffs — see High Sheriffs and 
 page 125 ; of Wilts, Sussex, 
 and Dorset, 45. 
 
 Shrewsbury Peerage Case, 119. 
 
 Sidney, H., 184. 
 
 Signatures in Scotland, 163. 
 
 Sneers as to payment of fees, 212, 
 217 ; at Armory, 23, 24. 
 
 ' Snobbery,' 17, 19, 35, 221. 
 
 Social status of Grantees of Arms, 
 228, 229. 
 
 ' Society,' 16, 17, 28, 29, 31. 
 
 Somerset Herald, no. 
 
 Somerset House, 25, 227. 
 
 Source of spurious Arms, 19, 20. 
 
 Sovereign, 29, 38, 40, 53, 213, 
 231 ; acts of Foreign Sove- 
 reigns, 204; rights, and pre- 
 rogatives of — see Chapter I. 
 
 Spain, 205. 
 
 Speke, augmentation, 54, 56, 57, 
 58 ; Capt. John Hanning^ 56 ; 
 William, 56. 
 
 Spencer, Adam, 32, 33. 
 
 Spurious Arms, origin of, 19, 20. 
 
 Standish v. Whitwell, 148, 149. 
 
 Statutes to check encroachments 
 of Earl Marshal's Court, 62 ; for 
 College of Arms, 99 ; of Duke 
 of Suffolk re Arms, 199 ; as to 
 regulations in Earl Marshal's 
 Court, 67. 
 
 Status of Foreign Arms in Eng- 
 land — see Chapter X. ; of 
 Grantees of Arms, 228, 229. 
 
 Staverton, Henry, 128. 
 
 Stockton-on-Tees, 148. 
 
 Streatham, 165. 
 
 Suffolk, Chas. Brandon, Duke of, 
 34, 116, 199; Thomas, Earl of, 
 74, 75,83,84. 
 
 Summoning to appear at Visita- 
 tions, 126, 127, 128, 132, 133, 
 138. 
 
 Summons to a Gentleman to 
 attend a Visitation, 127 ; to 
 Bailiff to notify Visitations, 126- 
 128. 
 
 Surrey, Earl of — see Arundel. 
 
Index 
 
 245 
 
 Sussex, Sheriff of, 45. 
 Swan Inn, Cirencester, 127. 
 
 Taxation of Arms, 24, 25, 198. 
 Tenterden, 33. 
 Thornaby Iron Works, 148. 
 Thornton Title and Augmentation, 
 
 204. 
 Th3mne, Francis, 65. 
 Times ^ 152. 
 Totemism, 203. 
 Trademarks and Crests^ 147. 
 Treasury, the, 198, 215. 
 Treatise on Heraldry^ 56. 
 Trent, 57. 
 
 Trimleston, R., 185. 
 Trinity College, Dublin, 1S6. 
 Tudor Period, 229. 
 Tunbridge Wells, 168. 
 Tyrell, Elenor and Walter, igo. 
 
 U 
 
 Ulster King of Arms, 38, 173, 192, 
 193, 197, 201 ; (Carney), i8g ; 
 (Burke), 37, 145, 195, 196, 
 210; (Butler), 174, 175, 176, 
 177, 182 ; (Narbon), 182, 184, 
 185, 186; (Molyneux), 186, 187; 
 (Preston), 191 ; (St George), 
 189 ; (Ussher), 186 ; (Vicars), 
 179-181, 182, 193-195- 
 
 United States of America, 58, 59, 
 
 Usage of Arms, voluntary, 24 ; 
 right by, see Visitations ; of 
 Crests, 26. 
 
 Use of Arms, meaning of, 15, 17, 
 18. 
 
 Ussher, Christopher, 186 ; Arch- 
 bishop, 186. 
 
 V 
 
 Vicars, Sir Arthur E., 179-181, 
 182, 193-19S. 
 
 Victoria, 54, $6, 104, 1 1 5, 141, 
 195, 196. 
 
 Vincent, 67. 
 
 Visitations — see Chapter V., and 
 pages 118-141, 153, 154, 156, 
 160, 184, 185, 186, 189, 197, 
 199, 211, 227; books, 135, 136, 
 317 ; printed copies of, 137. 
 
 Vittoria, 58. 
 
 Voluntary, use of Arms is, 24. 
 
 W 
 
 Wales, 38 ; Edward, Prince of, 
 
 93, 98. 
 Walker, Sir Edward, 67 ; v. Parker, 
 
 67. 
 
 Warburton v. Georges, 66. 
 
 Wardrobe, Keeper of, 107, 108. 
 
 Warrant of Charles II., 47, 48 ; 
 of Crown re Grants, 49 ; of 
 George III., 108 ; of George 
 IV., 109 ; for Letters Patent 
 appointing W. H. Weldon to 
 be Norroy King of Arms, 104- 
 108; for Visitations, 199. 
 
 Washington, capture of, 58. 
 
 Weldon, William Henry, 100, 104- 
 108. 
 
 West Bromwich, 148. 
 
 Weston, Robert, 185. 
 
 Weston-super-Mare, 169. 
 
246 
 
 Index 
 
 Westminster, 43, 55, 77, 86, 94, 
 
 99, 102, 104 ; Royal Palace of, 
 
 42. 
 Whitwell & Co., 148, 149 ; Crest, 
 
 149. 
 William III., 139. 
 Wills — Names and Arms clauses 
 
 in, 150, 153. 
 Wilts, Sheriff of, 45. 
 Winchester College, 35. 
 Windsor, 50, 51; Herald, no; 
 
 (Ashmole), 128; (Weldon), 105. 
 Wokingham, 128. 
 Wolseley, Lord, 213,214. 
 Wood, Sir Wm. Page, 148, 149. 
 Woods, Sir Albert W., K.C.B., 
 
 113-115. 
 
 Woodward & Burnett, 56. 
 
 ' Workman M.S.,' 156. 
 
 Writ out of Court of Chivalry, 63 ; 
 
 of Henry V., 38, 43-46, 
 Writhe, John, 90-102. 
 Wrythe — see Writhe. 
 Wykeham, William of, 35. 
 
 X 
 
 *X,' 28, 229. 
 
 York Herald, no; (Butler), 174, 
 177. 
 
Elliot Stock, 62 Patcrnostt'7' Row, London, E.C. 
 
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