gn; also, when any lord
shall enter the Parliament chamber, to assign him his place, according
to his degree; to carry the ensigns of the order to foreign princes, and
to do, or procure to be done, what the sovereign shall enjoin relating
to the order, with other duties incident to his office of principal King
of Arms. The other two kings are called Provincial kings, who have
particular provinces assigned them, which together comprise the whole
kingdom of England--that of Clarencieux comprehending all from the river
Trent southwards; that of Norroy, or North Roy, all from the river Trent
northward. These Kings at Arms are distinguished from each other by
their respective badges, which they may wear at all times, either in a
gold chain or a ribbon, Garters being blue, and the Provincials purple.

"The six heralds take place according to seniority in office. They are
created with the same ceremonies as the kings, taking the oath of an
herald, and are invested with a tabard of the Royal arms embroidered
upon satin, not so rich as the kings', but better than the pursuivants',
with a silver collar of SS.; they are esquires by creation.

"The four pursuivants are also created by the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl
Marshal, when they take their oath of a pursuivant, and are invested
with a tabard of the Royal arms upon damask. It is the duty of the
heralds and pursuivants to attend on the public ceremonials, one of each
class together by a monthly rotation.

"These heralds are the king's servants in ordinary, and therefore, in
the vacancy of the office of Earl Marshal, have been sworn into their
offices by the Lord Chamberlain. Their meetings are termed Chapters,
which they hold the first Thursday in every month, or oftener if
necessary, wherein all matters are determined by a majority of voices,
each king having two voices."

One of the earliest instances of the holding an heraldic court was that
in the time of Richard II., when the Scropes and Grosvenors had a
dispute about the right to bear certain arms. John of Gaunt and Chaucer
were witnesses on this occasion; the latter, who had served in France
during the wars of Edward III., and had been taken prisoner, deposing to
seeing a certain cognizance displayed during a certain period of the
campaign.

The system of heraldic visitations, when the pedigrees of the local
gentry were tested, and the arms they bore approved or cancelled,
originated in the reign of Henry VIII. The mo