Anofficer of arms is a person appointed by asovereign orstate with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:
The medieval practice of appointingheralds orpursuivants to the establishment of anoble household is still common inEuropean countries, particularly those in which there is no official heraldic control orauthority. Such appointments are also still made inScotland, where fourprivate officers of arms exist. These appointments are all purely advisory.
Work completed by theCanadian Heraldic Authority is conducted by officers known as the herald of arms. The organization is led by theHerald Chancellor of Canada and theChief Herald of Canada, the latter serving as the director for the heraldic authority.[1] In addition to the Chief Herald, other herald of arms includes theAthabaska Herald,Assiniboine Herald,Coppermine Herald,Fraser Herald,Miramichi Herald,Saguenay Herald, and theSaint-Laurent Herald.[2]
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 theAlbion Herald Extraordinary,Capilano Herald Extraordinary,Cowichan Herald Extraordinary,Dauphin Herald Extraordinary,Niagara Herald Extraordinary,Rouge Herald Extraordinary,Outaouais Herald Emeritus, and the Rideau Herald Emeritus.[2]
In theRepublic of Ireland, matters armorial and genealogical come within the authority of an officer designated theChief Herald of Ireland. The legal basis for Ireland's heraldic authority, and therefore all grants since 1943, has been questioned by the Attorney General,[3] therefore, on 8 May 2006, Senator Brendan Ryan introduced the Genealogy & Heraldry Bill, 2006,[4] inSeanad Éireann (Irish Senate) to remedy this situation and legitimise actions since the transfer of power from theUlster King of Arms.
In theNetherlands, 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 privateHigh 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 ofWilhelmina andJuliana, the kings of arms wore nineteenth-century-stylecourt dress, whereas the heralds woretabards. All officers carried rods and wore chains of office.[5] In the inauguration ofQueen Beatrix in 1980, members of theresistance posed as the ceremonial officers of arms, withErik Hazelhoff Roelfzema being the elder king of arms.[6] Like most other participants in the pageant, the officers of arms were no longer wearingceremonial dress, butwhite tie instead. The senior king of arms proclaims the king or queen to be inaugurated after he or she has sworn allegiance to the constitution. The heralds step outside theNew Church inAmsterdam, where the inauguration ceremony is held, to announce this fact to the people gathered outside the church.[7]
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 theCommonwealth, with the exception of Scotland,Canada andSouth Africa.
Officers of arms are of three ranks:kings of arms, heralds of arms, and pursuivants of arms. Officers of arms whose appointments are of a permanent nature are known asofficers of arms in ordinary; those whose appointments are of a temporary or occasional nature are known asofficers of arms extraordinary. The officers of arms in ordinary who form theCollege of Arms are members of theroyal household and receive a nominal salary.
In Scotland, theLord Lyon King of Arms and theLyon Clerk and Keeper of the Records control armorial matters within a strict legal framework not enjoyed by their fellow officers of arms in London, and the court which is a part of Scotland's criminal jurisdiction has its own prosecutor, the court'sProcurator Fiscal, who is, however, not an officer of arms. Lord Lyon and the Lyon Clerk are appointed by the crown, and, with the Crown's authority, Lyon appoints the other Scottish officers. The officers of arms in Scotland are also members of the royal household.
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