Officer of arms
An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:
- to control and initiate armorial matters;
- to arrange and participate in ceremoniesof state;
- to conserve and interpret genealogicalrecords.
By country
The medieval practice of appointing heralds or pursuivants to the establishment of a noble household is still common in European countries, particularly those in which there is no official heraldic control or authority. Such appointments are also still made in Scotland, where four private officers of arms exist. These appointments are all purely advisory.
Canada
Work completed by the
In addition to the herald in ordinary, several retired heralds and notable individuals were named to the honorary position of Herald Emeritus or Heralds Extraordinary. This includes the
Ireland
In the
Netherlands
In the Netherlands, officers of arms do not exist as permanent functions. Private heraldry is not legislated, and state heraldry and the heraldry of the nobility is regulated by the private High Council of Nobility.
However, two kings of arms and two or four heralds of arms have figured during royal inauguration ceremonies. These were usually members of the High Council of Nobility. During the inaugurations of
United Kingdom
In England, the authority of the thirteen officers of arms in ordinary, who form the corporation of the kings, heralds and pursuivants of arms (College of Arms), extends throughout the Commonwealth, with the exception of Scotland, Canada and South Africa.
Officers of arms are of three ranks:
In Scotland, the
See also
- Heraldry
- King of Arms
- Herald
- Pursuivant
- Private officer of arms
- College of Arms
- Court of the Lord Lyon
- Canadian Heraldic Authority
- Genealogical Office
- Flemish Heraldic Council
- Imperial count palatine
- Cronista Rey de Armas
- Portugal Rei de Armas
References
- ^ "Canadian Heraldic Authority". Governor General of Canada. 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ a b "The Officers and Heralds of Arms and their Armorial Bearings". archive.gg.ca. Governor General of Canada. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Irish Chiefs: An Irish Arms Crisis".
- ^ "Genealogy and Heraldry Bill 2006 – No. 23 of 2006 – Houses of the Oireachtas" (PDF).
- ^ "Kostuum Koning en Heraut van Wapenen".
- Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen, 1989) 92.
- ^ Van Cruyningen, passim.