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Question #4: What purpose did heraldry serve in knightly society during the Middle Ages?
It either said ‘I’m here!’ or ‘My money is here!’ Heraldry was used to display a a knight’s wealth and patronage as well as his presence. On a basic level heraldry was a sort of‘team colors’ which the knight wore in the tournament and in battle. It wasn’t so much meant to be an ‘identification friend or foe’ system as something that looked lavish and cheerful, like the brightly colored silks that jockeys wear or gaudily painted race cars. On another level, any art object or building project funded by the knight would show his arms on it. This would guarantee that everyone knew of the knight’s largesse and bonnehomie. Finally, heraldry was a knightly fashion that quickly became to be associated with nobility. By the 1200s if you did not have arms you were not seen as being noble (or at least the pretense to being a noble). --Thomas Barnes
On Heralds and Tournaments (Page 22) Brian R. Price
An essay discussing the qualities that make a fine tournament herald
"What is it to be a herald at tournament? From the earliest references, the office of héraut has been associated with the conduct of tournaments. And from these records, it is clear that there were, as today, heralds whose quintessential embodiment of grace and nobility earned them enough respect to be installed in a new office the King of Arms from the hands of the Sovereign themselves. Other heralds earned but scorn and ridicule, as has been recorded in the thirteenth century song the dit des hérauts, where the author extols the flagrant shortcomings of layabout men who do nothing and earn their way by gilded tongues of flattery and deceit...."
On Nobles as Heraldic Patrons (page 24) Brian R. Price
An essay concerning the role that nobles in re-enactment groups should play with regard to heraldsand the fostering of a more authentic relationship between noble & herald.
"Within our re-enactment groups, it would be a good thing if we could work something of the authentic relationship between tourneyer, patron, noble and herald. If you hold a title within the nobility, then you should attempt to find a herald, perhaps someone who is new (a minstrel?), and take them into your service. You should provide them with a cote of arms in your fashion, made of a material according to your rank. Perhaps you can afford to patronize several young heralds; they should carry your banners, wear your cotes, and can offer something special to companies or households. It should be possible for them to earn positions of esteem consumate with their skill and their length of service...."
The Rise of the Heralds (page 26) Richard A. Wagner
In all major references to the tournament, Anthony Richard Wagner’s fine treatise, Heralds and Heraldry in the Middle Ages: An Inquiry into the Growth of the Amorial Function of Heralds is taken as the primary reference. By kind permission of the Oxford University Press, we are able to reprint here chapter IV, ‘The Rise of the Heralds,’ in order to present the most complete picture I have seen regarding the role of the herald as it applies to our main interest, tournaments. I must apologize in advance, for their are untranslated passages in French, included in the chapter, which we were unable to translate in time for publication.
"The next development of the heralds’ status and duties belongs, so far as our evidence goes, to the reign of Edward III. So far their activities seem to be confined to the tournament and its accessories. For the usual later view that heralds were from the first messengers of war and peace we have found no evidence at all. From Edward III’s reign on, however, we shall see them entrusted, though sparingly at first, with military and diplomatic duties of steadily growing importance. Our public records and the pages of Froissart tell the same story. On the first page of his Chronicle the latter acknowledges obligation to ‘acuuns rois d’armes et leurs mareschaus qui par droit sont et doient sont et doient estre juste inquisiteur et raporteur de tels besonges’ for much information respecting the noble deeds of arms performed in the great war between France and England. Elsewhere he cites heralds’ authority for particular incidents, as when he tells the story of how March King of Arms brought news of the peace of 1394 to Richard II, ‘si comme le héraut nommé Marche ou le Roy Marche me dist depuis a grant loisir en chevauchant aveuc luy ens ou royaulme d’Angleterre’...."
Banners & Pennants (page 36) Tobi Beck
A most useful article concerning the use of banners in the middle ages and recommendationsfor modern re-enactors. Includes a nifty list of latin mottos translated into English!
More Authentic Shields (Page 46) Brian R. Price
Surviving examples of shields nearly always featured a raised gesso surface. For modernre-enactors, however, the technique would last but briefly compared to the awesome amount oflabor required. This article gives alternative ways to achieve the same effect with excellent durability.
"Can you imagine the hours of work destroyed as the gesso splinters off in all directions? It must have made quite a show for the spectators of medieval tournaments, and since the knights and esquires had only to purchase more of them, and since labor was cheap, acquiring more of them was probably not very difficult.
"For us, however, it is another matter. An SCA shield, made of aluminum or flat plywood, edged in hose, wrapped in wire or cord. Yuck! The admirable element is generally not the shield itself, but rather the artistry sometimes displayed by heraldic artists on the face. This is often truly inspirational and certainly worthy of the knights we went before us.
"In this article I present you with another alternative way to give that modeled appearance that many period shields have, and pointers on how to dress the edges, back and face of your shield and escape that rag-tag aluminum / rubber look that can be so distracting. It is truly the details that count; for a bit of care can highlight the artwork on the face rather than detracting from it. I will concentrate on shields from the 12th - 15th centuries, since they are what I am familiar with and they are the ones used in medieval tournaments. ...."
The Company of the Peacocks (Page 51)
One of the Tournament Companies, the Grand Company of the Peacock does a striking job at bringing their splendor to the field and enhancing the lists. This is an interview with the founding member of the Peacocks, Talbot MacTaggart.
The Influence of Romance on Tournaments of the Middle Ages (Page 58) Ruth Huff Cline
Reprinted (by permission) from Speculum XX, 1945
Given the debate in tourneying circles concerning the proper roles of romance and recreation, I offer the following as food for thought. Ruth Huff Cline’s article appears in the bibliography of almost every modern work on chivalry, and as it is hard to obtain, we have included it here for your consideration.
"Though authorities on tournaments and similar combats have been aware that by the middle of the fourteenth century tournaments had begun to lose their real vigor and were seeking their motifs in tournaments described in literature, notably Arthurian, they have not observed the extent nor early beginnings of this imitation.1 It is my purpose to show that tournaments found their models in literature even during the first half of the thirteenth century and continued to do so increasingly to the end of the Middle Ages...."
REVIEW: In Search of Beckett's Bones (Page 65) Ann Marie Price
A very interesting history book that reads like a good mystery!
"In September 1538, King Henry VIII’s Commissioners for the Destruction of Shrines came to Canterbury, dismantled the shrine of St. Thomas Becket, burned the bones, and scattered the ashes to the winds. Or did they?"
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