An Unedited Version of the Medieval French Heraldic Oath

This note introduces and prints a previously unedited version of the oath sworn by French heralds in the late Middle Ages. While this oath (hereafter called the Anonymous oath) has sometimes been cited by medievalists, it has more often been confused with another version of the French heraldic oath given in the Sicily Herald’s Tract (c. 1434–37).1 The Anonymous oath is equally distinct from the French heraldic oath given by Nicolas Villart, King of Arms of Anjou and Touraine in his Anjou Tract (1406).2 The oath at hand was widely circulated and survives in several late-15th-century French heraldic miscellanies among related texts on the mythical origins, duties, and rights of officers of arms.3 Despite the fact that the Anonymous oath largely agrees with the oaths of the Anjou and Sicily Herald tracts and that it was likely drawn up using these earlier texts, it is of interest to medievalists for three main reasons: (i) it is longer, more detailed, and more self-contradictory than either of the other French heraldic oaths; (ii) it is textually very close to the English heraldic oath, thus offering new evidence of the exchange between the medieval French and English colleges of arms; and (iii) it contains a unique clause which may explain why heralds did not act as witnesses in the medieval high courts of chivalry, one of the greatest mysteries facing heraldists. To begin with the first of these reasons, the Anonymous oath is over twice as long as either of the other French heraldic oaths and contains new details on the self-contradictory tenets of heralds’ office. Indeed, while all three versions of the French heraldic oath are centered on the same untenable promise to serve both a particular lord and the nobility at large on equal terms, the Anonymous oath develops heralds’ conflicting obligations of loyalty at greater length. This oath reveals that, at the same time a herald swore to report any treason conspired against his master, a lord, or his sovereign, he also explicitly swore to act as a ‘commun serviteur a tous nobles hommes’ (‘common servant of all noblemen’) and, thereby, to refrain from revealing the secrets, dishonourable words, or misdeeds of any noble person.4 Moreover, despite their duty to proclaim the deeds of the nobility accurately and impartially, heralds were forbidden from making reports which could diminish the honour of any given knight. While the oath at hand specifies that these obligations of confidentiality did not apply to treasonable offenses, the concept of lèse-majesté in late medieval France was exceptionally malleable and, in practice, could encompass any number of words or actions which dishonoured the sovereign or his deputies, thus effectively nullifying heralds’ vow of discretion.5 Uniquely, the Anonymous oath establishes this vow of discretion through analogy with the confidentiality of Catholic confession and instructs that a herald must keep the secrets of the nobility as ‘un vray confesseur d’armes’ (‘a true confessor of arms’).6 This equation of heralds with confessors is striking and brings to mind Maurice Keen’s well-known characterisation of heralds as the ‘lay priesthood’ of the secular cult of chivalry; it bespeaks not only heralds’ secrecy but equally the station that they sought to establish for themselves as expert advisors to the nobility and the solemnity with which they imbued their work.7 As the Anonymous oath explains, heralds’ impartiality and discretion is what allowed them to travel freely and deliver messages across borders even in times of war. However, heralds’ vows to conceal the dishonourable behaviour of knights afforded the nobility a high degree of latitude from the obligations of chivalry and required officers of arms to navigate substantial conflicts of interest. To turn to our second point, the text of the Anonymous French oath is extremely close to that of the Middle English oath sworn by insular heralds and preserved in the mid-15th-century Black Book of the Admiralty.8 These texts are clearly rough translations of one another, though more work must be done on surviving insular and continental heraldic miscellanies in order to accurately date each text and determine which predates the other. Given that the English text is more condensed than the French version and that the French heralds were incorporated nearly eighty years earlier than their English counterparts, it is perhaps the case that the French text is earlier even if it is currently known to survive only in late-15th-century manuscripts. The English oath contains one unique passage which stipulates that heralds must safeguard the honour of noblewomen, though it otherwise translates, condenses, and reorders the clauses of the Anonymous French oath and retains its distinctive characterisation of heralds as ‘confessour[s] of armes’.9 Although Anthony Wagner had previously established that the substance of the English oath agrees with the oaths given by the Anjou King of Arms and Sicily Herald, the new degree of textual similarity between the English oath and the Anonymous French oath offers further confirmation that late-medieval insular and continental heralds functioned as an international brotherhood which shared the same customs and, oftentimes, the same corporate texts.10 One of the clauses of the Anonymous French oath which is slightly rephrased in the English oath may help explain why officers of arms were almost never called as witnesses in the courts of chivalry of medieval England and France, even in trials concerning coats of arms.11 Famously, not a single herald was called before the English High Court of Chivalry during the armorial dispute of Scrope v. Grosvenor (1385–90), in which over four hundred depositions were taken from abbots, priors, lords, knights, and gentlemen.12 In his work on medieval French armorial disputes, Laurent Hablot describes a situation similar to that in England, summarising that ‘[t]he great omissions from the story seem here to be the heralds’.13 It has previously been assumed that, despite their expertise on heraldry and the international laws of arms, heralds were excluded from the courts of chivalry due to their low rank. The Anonymous French oath provides new evidence that they may have been excluded, at least in part, due to the obligations of their oaths. Whereas the English oath stipulates that if a herald has knowledge of any debate between two gentlemen that he must ‘kepe your mouth close, and bere no wittenesse withoute leve of both parties’ even if called on by ‘our sovereyne, prynce, lord, or juge’ for information, the Anonymous French oath specifies that a herald must not act as a witness without permission of both gentlemen ‘en la court & assemblee de chevalerie ou en autre lieu notable & honnorable’ (‘in the court and assembly of chivalry or in another notable and honourable place’).14 The Anonymous oath thus implies that to supply evidence in the court of chivalry which favoured one knight and dishonoured the other would inherently contradict heralds’ vow to never diminish the honour of a noble person as well as their obligations of confidentiality and impartiality. The edition of the Anonymous French heraldic oath which follows is transcribed from the chivalric miscellany Paris, BnF, MS fr. 1280 (ff. 120v-123v), which was compiled in 1481 under the direction of Gille Nokerscot, the King of Arms of Flanders who served the future Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I.15 The editorial procedures follow those established in Yvan G. Lepage’s Guide de l’édition de textes en ancien français (Paris: Honoré Champion, 2001), where capitalisation, punctuation, word spacing, and distinctions between i/j and u/v follow modern practice. The acute accent ‘é’ is used to distinguish the tonic ‘e’ from the a-tonic ‘e’ only if the ‘e’ is terminal or followed by a consonant. Abbreviations have been silently expanded. [f. 120v] Cy apres sensieuvent les seremens et promesses que doivent et sont tenus de faire tous roys d’armes et heraulx. Apres que a l’ayde de dieu nostre benoit createur nous avons mis par escript les privileges des roys d’armes et heraulx, et avant que procedons a determiner de leurs drois, il nous semble neccessaire et convenient pour tenir ordre de descripre les seremens et promesses que sont tenus et doivent faire les dis appellez ou dit office, lesquelz nous metterons icy ensuivant par ordre. Premierement, vous tel .N. promettez et jurez que doresenavant vous serez [f. 121r] bon et loyal serviteur d’armes a toute la gentillesse crestienne et serez obeissant a leurs commandemens au regart de l’onneur de chevalerie par vostre bon et notable service et frequenterez volentiers en leur presence pour vous offrir toudis prests et appareilliez a furnir leurs commandement en tout ce que puet touchier a honneur & especialment au soustenement de la foy catholique. Item, vous jurez et promettez que vous serez secret en gardant tous les secrez conseilz de tous chevaliers, escuiers, dames et damoiselles sans les reveler ne descouvrir en quelconque maniere que ce soit. Et generalement vous garderez comme un vray confesseur d’armes toutes manieres de conseil et secrez sans les aucunement descouvrir ou reveler horsmis raison, c’est assavoir la majesté royale, tres souverain seigneur ou de monseigneur vostre maistre. Et se ainsi estoit que dieu ne vueille que aucune cogneissance vous venist d’aucune trayson conspiree contre iceulx noz seigneurs dessus nommez que incontinent ce par vous sceu vous en administerrez & donnerez la congnoissance ou il appartendra, et en ce cas [f. 121v] offerrez et metterez vostre corps aussi avant a le prouver et maintenir comme autre lige et subget en deust faire en renoncant par le congié du roy souverain a l’office d’armes pour le temps. Item, vous jurez et promettez que se ainsi avient que vous soiez en lieu ou en place ou l’excercice de l’onneur de chevalerie soit excercee ou mestier d’armes par aucuns nobles et vaillans hommes, soit en bataille, en rencontre, en escarmuces ou autres avenues d’armes, que vous, selon ce que porrez nommer et savoir veritablement et cognoistre, attribuerez a un chascun son droit merite et honneur selon qu’il aura besoingne, et que pour couvoitise, faveur, amour, affection ne crainte de nullui vous ne touldrez ne roberez la plus povre personne de son droit merite & honneur pour le donner a plus grant de lui, mais vous comme voir disant attribuerez a un chascun son honneur par vostre rapport selon ce que dieu vous pourra donner la cognoissance par vostre veue ou que scaurez par autre raport & tesmoingnage de nobles personnes et gentilz hommes non suspects. [f. 122r] Item, vous jurez et promettez que par vostre rapport ne changerez nullui de la gentillessse de son honneur. Que de vostre bouche n’istera parolles changant l’onneur d’aucun gentil homme, dame ne damoisselle en quelconque maniere que ce soit. Et se vous estes en lieu ou en place ou vous puissiez oyr aucunes charges donneez a aucuns de la gentillesse en deriere d’eulx, vous comme un notable serviteur d’armes aiderez a les execuser et non les chargier et serez presé de tousjours raporter le bien & d’eschever et celer le mal et aurez la bouche close & vous tairez d’en raporter aucune chose a partie ne ailleurs tendant a mal en quelque maniere que ce soit. Item, vous jurez et promettez que se vous estes en la place ou aucuns debas soient esmeus ou survenus entre aucuns gentilz hommes debatans de leurs honneurs et que en apres leurs dis debas viengnent en revelation en la court & assemblee de chevalerie ou en autre lieu notable & honnorable et que vous y soiez appellez pour tesmoingnage, vous veritablement rapporterez sans favorisier ne l’un ne l’autre la verité de leurs [f. 122v] parolles et debas par ainsi toutefuoies que vous en soiez requis des deux parties et non autrement. Item, vous promettez comme loyal serviteur d’armes que vous aurez toudis consideration que vous estes fondé en toute gentillesse pour estre commun serviteur a tous nobles hommes et que vostre service et observance garderez ou l’office s’adresse a toute gentillesse et par ce aurez vous liberté et francise d’aler et venir entre eulx quelque debat ou discention qu’ilz aient entre partie et partie sans que on vous baille empeschement. Pour ce que nonobstant que nature vous vousist constraindre de prendre parti en parolles ou autrement, vous de ce vous deporterez et fraudement et attremprement en ce cas conduirez voz parolles sans monstrez aucunes parcialité et en laisserez convenir les princes, chevaliers & gentilz hommes et metterez toudis paine comme un commun serviteur par vostre bon et vertueux rapport de reduire paix et amour entres les parties. Item, vous promettez que se vous povés appercevoir et cognoistre en aucuns de voz [f. 123r] seigneurs et maistres de la gentillesse que ja dieu ne vueille leur conduite estre non vertueuse ne comme il deust estre pour leur honneur, vous comme un vray & bon serviteur d’armes secretement entre vous et eulx les en advertirez, et par vostre bon et vertueux conseil les reconsilierez par maniere qu’ilz puissent estre loez des nobles, honnorables et notables personnes. Item, vous promettez que se ainsi avient que vous trouvez en aucunes estranges contreez ou vous voyagerez aucun gentil homme hors de ses marches qui soitchent en povreté et neccessité par voyagier en honneur acquerant et il vous montre sa neccessité et requiert de relievement jusques a ce qu’il puise estre en lieu ou il vous puise rendre, vous ne lui refuserez point sa dicte requeste mais selon vostre puissance lui administerrez du vostre selon la qualité que vous en aurez, et lui donnerez tout le meilleur ayde, confort et conseil par vostre service que faire saurez et porrez, et comme un loyal serviteur d’armes le doit faire. Item, vous promettez de vous garder de user, frequenter, converser et hanter tavernes, [f. 123v] jeus de dez, compaignie de foles et deshonnestes femmes, parolles sedicieuses et renoncerez a toute vie dissolute et metterez paine de frequenter et converser entre les nobles personnes et vertueuses et de vous mesmes persevererez en toutes bonnes meurs et vertueuses euvres pour plus complaire a dieu et estre prisié & loé entre les hommes. Tous lesquelz dessus dis articles pour le present a vous recitez les uns jurerez et les autres vous prometterez a les bien et loyaument garder et observer a vostre loyal pouoir, ainsi vous ayde dieu & tous ses sains. Funding support for this article was provided by an Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP Studentship (co-funded by the Clarendon Fund and All Souls College) as well as an SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship.

Fetched live from OpenAlex and de-inverted. Abstracts are not stored in this database: the inverted indexes are 8.6 GB of the frame’s 9.3 GB of text, and the host has 13 GB free.