Chapter 5: The Writings by Heralds

After Chapter 4 has dealt with the different duties of heralds, chapter 5 will develop on the direct witnesses of those doings made by the heralds themselves. It will offer a general survey and categorisation of the different writings by heralds and put them as well in a chronological and regional context. It will focus especially on the historical changings in heralds’ writings and will aim to put them in their context, literary and culturally, looking for other authors in the respective genre. Are heralds’ writings distinct from that of other authors? And what can be learned by them about heralds and their conceptions regarding their office, their duties and their perspectives on society?

Topics that could be discussed in this chapter:

• the different genres heralds dealt with: poems, reports, treatises, armorials, historiography, genealogy …
• heralds and their relationship to the printed book and the change of media
• self-statements of heralds about their office
• case studies may also deal with some of their outstanding works, such as “Rüxners Turnierbuch”, etc.