a
reference to the Heralds
College, a
corporation under the
crown of
England which regulates the
use of coats of arms and keeps records of family lineages. Heralds were originally used by British sovereigns to carry messages, announce
war and peace,
run tournaments,
act as ambassadors, etc. To perform their duties, they had to be able to
identify different knights and families, which was made possible by coats of arms. Heralds eventually took over the
responsibility of issuing and recording the coats of arms, and in the
late 1400s the
College of Arms was formed. The
college continues to exist with some of the ceremonial duties of the earlier heralds but mainly with the function of tracing family lineage, and verifying and issuing coats of arms.