Friends excursions: The College of Arms
Tuesday 25 July 2017 6.30 - 8.15pm
The College of Arms, 130 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V
£38. Includes glass of wine on arrival.
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Friends privately tour the College of Arms, which has created and maintained official registers of coats of arms and pedigrees since its foundation in 1484.
Our evening tour will be led by two of the College’s Officers of Arms and encompass the fascinating history of how coats of arms came to be used. We will learn about the medieval role of heralds, who used to be in charge of the organisation of tournaments between knights, keeping score and introducing contestants. Heralds would recognise each knight taking part in a tournament by their coats of arms and became responsible for recording and controlling their use. Today, the activities of heralds include the granting of new coats of arms and the registration of family trees.
Our hosts for this special visit are David White, the Somerset Herald, and Patric Laurence Dickinson, Clarenceaux King of Arms, who will talk about the history and heraldry of coats of arms. They will touch on many interesting facts about the College and coats of arms, such as the fact that coats of arms belong to individuals, not to families, and there are no fixed shades for heraldic colours.
We visit The Court of Chivalry, which has had jurisdiction over cases of misuse of arms since the 14th century, as well as the Record Room which holds 7,000 manuscript volumes and a fine collection of printed books.