Katie Stevenson 
The Herald in Late Medieval Europe 

First full-length assessment of the role of the herald in medieval Europe.


The officers of arms [kings of arms, heralds and pursuivants] have often been overlooked by scholars of late medieval elite society. Yet as officers of the crown, ducal courts or noble families, they played important parts in a number of areas. They were crucial to foreign and domestic relations, and chivalric culture; and, of course, they were to become the powerbrokers of heraldic symbols and genealogy. However, despite the high levels at which they operated, their roles in these areas remain largely unexplored, with scholarship tending to focus on the science of heraldry rather than the heralds themselves. This collection aims to remedy that neglect. The contributions cover a range of European regions [particularly Florence, Scandinavia, Poland, the German Empire, the Burgundian Low Countries, Brittany, Scotland and England] and discuss the diverse roles and experiences of heralds in the late Middle Ages.


Contributors: JACKSON W. ARMSTRONG, ADRIAN AILES, KATIE STEVENSON, MICHAEL JONES, FRANCK VILTART, HENRI SIMMONEAU, WIM VAN ANROOIJ, BOGDAN WOJCIECH BRZUSTOWICZ, ALEXIA GROSJEAN, LAURA CIRRI

Table of Content

Introduction – Katie Stevenson

The Development of the Office of Arms in England, c. 1413-1485 – Jackson Webster Armstrong

Ancient Precedent or Tudor Fiction? Garter King of Arms and the Pronouncements of Thomas, Duke of Clarence – Adrian Ailes

Jurisdiction, Authority and Professionalisation: The Officers of Arms of Late Medieval Scotland – Katie Stevenson

The March of Brittany and its Heralds in the Later Middle Ages – Michael Jones

City Heralds in the Burgundian Low Countries – Franck André Viltart and Henri Simonneau

King of Arms of the Ruwieren: a Special Function in the German Empire – Wim van Anrooij

Heraldry, Heralds and Politics in the Republic of Florence in the Late Middle Ages – Laura Cirri

Tournaments, Heraldry and Heralds in the Kingdom of Poland in the Late Middle Ages – Bogdan Wojciech Brzustowicz

Tournaments, Heraldry and Heralds in the Kingdom of Poland in the Late Middle Ages – Katie Stevenson

A time when ‘fools and dwarfs were highly esteemed’? Seeking the Late Medieval Scandinavian Herald – Alexia Grosjean

About the author

KATIE STEVENSON is Vice Principal (Collections) and Senior Lecturer in Late Medieval History, University of St Andrews.