HERALDS- Originally the herald was an officer in the service of a prince or lord;

his job was carrying messages, making declarations of war, and announcing

at tournaments. Gradually he specialised in the latter task, describing to the

spectators the main feats of arms of participants in tournaments.

In this way he deepened his knowledge of armorial bearings, for they and they

alone made it possible to identify the knights unrecognisable under thier amour

Gradually the heralds thus  became real armorial experts; they codified the rules and the representation of arms; they determined the language to be used for

describing them: they travelled throughout the land to record them and compile

collections or rolls, in which they painted the arms they had found.

From the 14th century, the heralds of arms wore a special garment, the tabard.

A tunic decorated with the arms of the lord they served.

This garment is still worn today by the heralds in the service of the British Crown.

The information contained on these pages are extracts from  the book

Heraldry Its Origins and Meaning by Michel Pastoureau ISBN 0 500 300747

A worthy addition to any heraldic library very consise and well illustrated

Published by Thames and Hudson/New Horizons Pocket sized soft back.

Due to lack of space it is not possible to add information on the rules of

blazon and  heraldic language; Tinctures and Symbols.

If you need further information on this subject please contact me

                                    Email yeherald@btinternet.com