John Writhe

John Writhe (died 1504) was a long-serving English

Garter King of Arms to preside over the College of Arms. Writhe is also notable for the contention that it was he who developed the system of heraldic cadency employed by English officers of arms to the present day.^[1]

Heraldic career

It has been claimed that Writhe began his career as

Richard III coronation the following July. As Garter he also took part in the coronation of Henry VII who reappointed him on 13 February 1486 with back pay to the date of Bosworth

.

Writhe was the first Garter of the College of Arms, which had been incorporated in March 1484. Contrary to popular belief,

genealogical manuscripts. In 1498 King Henry VII granted him and Roger Machado, Clarenceux King of Arms, a joint licence to make visitations

.

Personal life

Writhe may have lived in Red Cross Street, adjoining Barbican House in London. After Writhe's death, his son Thomas styled him Sir John but there is no proof that he was ever knighted. His first marriage was to Barbara, daughter and heir of John Dunstanville. This union brought about the aforementioned Thomas (who was himself the father of Charles Wriothesley, Windsor Herald); William, York Herald; and two daughters, the elder of whom married John Mynne, another York Herald. Writhe died some time during May 1504 and was buried in St Giles-without-Cripplegate.

Arms

Coat of arms of John Writhe
	Crest On a torse or & azure a dove close argent, beak & legs gules, crowned or. Escutcheon Azure, a cross or between 4 doves close argent, beaks & legs gules.^[4] Badge A 'bugle' (buffalo) head erased sable goutty, horned, ringed & crowned or (sometimes used as crest). Symbolism Originally the birds were doves, chosen in reference to the fourteenth-century theory that heralds should relinquish their paternal arms and take doves or other bearings alluding to their office. It has been suggested that the College of Arms based their coat on Writhe's but the converse is more likely.

Notes

^ "The Law of Arms - College of Arms".
^ Pollard, A. Dictionary of National Biography (OUP 1995)
^ Survey of London (London, 1905)
^ Godfrey, Walter H; Wagner, Anthony (1963). "'Garter King of Arms', in Survey of London Monograph 16, College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street (London, 1963), pp. 38-74". british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2018.

External links

Heraldic offices
Preceded by Thomas Holme	Norroy King of Arms 1477–1478	Succeeded by John Moore
Preceded by John Smert	Garter Principal King of Arms 1478–1504	Succeeded by Sir Thomas Wriothesley

Sources

John Anstis. The Register of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. (London, 1724).
Walter H. Godfrey and Sir Anthony Wagner, The College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street: being the sixteenth and final monograph of the London Survey Committee. (London, 1963).
Mark Noble, A History of the College of Arms. (London, 1805).
A. F. Sutton and P. W. Hammond. The Coronation of Richard III: The Extant Documents. (New York, 1984).
Sir Anthony Wagner. Heralds of England: a History of the Office and College of Arms. (London, 1967).
Sir Anthony Wagner. A Catalogue of English Mediaeval Rolls of Arms. Harleian Society (London, 1950), 100.
The College of Arms - Explains credit for cadency system.

[1] "The Law of Arms - College of Arms".

[2] Pollard, A. Dictionary of National Biography (OUP 1995)

[3] Survey of London (London, 1905)

[Garter_King_of_Arms-4] Godfrey, Walter H; Wagner, Anthony (1963). "'Garter King of Arms', in Survey of London Monograph 16, College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street (London, 1963), pp. 38-74". british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2018.

[1]

[4]