What is the Court of Chivalry?

What is the Court of Chivalry?

Peter O'Donoghue (Bluemantle Pursuivant ) gives expert video advice on: How do you become a Herald?; Where can I go to learn more?; Is there a society of Heraldry? and more...

In Medieval times, the Court of Chivalry was presided over by the Constable and Marshall, and it had authority over the English army when it was abroad, when it was outside the realm. It grew to have authority over heraldic disputes. Because, of course, lots of knights serving overseas would encounter each other for the first time and realize they were both using the same coat of arms. So it became the forum for hearing arguments between different knights over who should have which coat of arms. It evolved over time and had a very fitful history. In the 17th century the Stuarts used it as a way of regulating behavior and regulating status, and it heard a lot of cases under James and Charles I to do with words provoking to a duel. So people would sue each other in the Court of Chivalry for having misbehaved or calling them a dog or something like that. It then went into a bit of a decline, and in the 18th century it ceased to hear cases at all. By the end of the 19th century, most people assumed it no longer existed. But then it was revived in the 1950s to hear a case between Manchester Corporation and the Manchester Palace of Varieties, which was a dispute over a coat of arms. So it does still exist, and it is the court which enforces the law of arms.