His Majesty's High Court of Chivalry is a civil law (as opposed to common law) court in the English and Welsh legal system which has jurisdiction over matters of heraldry. The court has been in existence since the fourteenth century; however, it rarely sits. The sole judge is now the holder of the hereditary office of Earl Marshal of England, the Duke of Norfolk. While the Earl Marshal may sit as a judge of the court himself, if he is not a professional lawyer he would typically appoint a professional lawyer as his lieutenant or surrogate to hear and decide a case brought to the court — in recent times, the Lord Chief Justice has been so appointed.

History

thumb|right|300px|A session of the Court of Chivalry being held in the [[College of Arms, depicted in 1809.]]

The court was historically known as the Curia Militaris, the Court of the Constable and the Marshal, or the Earl Marshal's Court. The court was established some time prior to the late fourteenth century with jurisdiction over certain military matters, which came to include misuse of arms. It was instituted by Edward III, along with the Earl and other key personnel.

Since it was created in the fourteenth century, the court has always sat when required, except for the short time between 1634 and its temporary abolition by the Long Parliament in 1640 when it sat on a regular basis. During this time, the court heard well over a thousand cases, of which evidence survives from 738 cases.

Its jurisdiction and powers were successively reduced by the common law courts to the point where, after 1737, the court ceased to be convened and was in time regarded as obsolete and no longer in existence. That understanding was authoritatively overturned, however, by a revival of the court in 1954, when the Earl Marshal appointed the then Lord Chief Justice to sit as his surrogate. The Lord Chief Justice (Lord Goddard) confirmed that the court retained both its existence and its powers, and ruled upon the law suit brought before the court.

Jurisdiction and recent cases

The court was last convened in 1954 Prior to this, the court had not sat for two centuries (since 1737). So, before hearing the case, the court first had to rule upon whether it still existed. The proceedings opened with the reading of various letters patent in order to make clear that the Duke of Norfolk was indeed hereditary Earl Marshal and that he had appointed Lord Goddard, who was the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, as his lieutenant in the court. The court also ruled that the Earl Marshal was able to sit in judgment without the Lord High Constable of England, an office which until 1521 was also held as a hereditary dignity by the Dukes of Buckingham. Though the court had by then long been dormant, it still existed de jure or formally in law, and Parliament legislated for it on that basis. Since 1 February 1833, following the passage of the Judicial Committee Act 1833, appeals were to be heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Prior to that (and similarly to the admiralty and ecclesiastical courts), appeals from the Court of Chivalry were made to the Crown in Chancery. Under this system, appeals were heard by commissioners appointed by letters patent under the Great Seal in each case. Sittings by these commissioners had become known as the High Court of Delegates by the time of the 1832 Act.

Following the commencement of the UK Supreme Court, as ultimate court of appeal for the UK, appeals presumably are taken from the High Court of Chivalry to the UKSC.

Members and officers of the court

Judges

Historically the court had two hereditary judges — the Duke of Norfolk as Earl Marshal of England, and the Duke of Buckingham as Lord High Constable of England — but in 1521 Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham was convicted of treason, stripped of his titles and offices, and executed. Since then the office of Lord High Constable of England has only been appointed to perform ceremonial duties during a Coronation and this has meant only the Earl Marshal is extant as a judge of the court at any particular time.

Lieutenant, Assessor and Surrogate to the Earl Marshal

  • Sir Edmund Isham, 6th Baronet — 1728–1772.
  • Rayner Goddard, Baron Goddard — 24 October 1954–1959.
  • George Drewry Squibb, Norfolk Herald of Arms Extraordinary — 1976–1994.

Joint Register to the High Court of Chivalry

  • Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Anthony Wagner, Garter Principal King of Arms — 27 October 1954–1995.
  • Wilfred Maurice Phillips (Notary Public), 27 October 1954.

Cryer to the High Court of Chivalry

  • A. H. Smith — 1954.

See also

References

  • About the Court of Chivalry
  • Regulation of Heraldry in England: the Middle Ages
  • Cases in the Court of Chivalry
  • A short piece about the Courts of Chivalry
  • University of Birmingham Index of Cases
  • The High Court of Chivalry in the early seventeenth century