Lord High Constable of England

Lord High Constable of England

The Lord High Constable of England is the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal. His office is now called out of abeyance only for coronations. The Lord High Constable was originally the commander of the royal armies and the Master of the Horse. He was also, in conjunction with the Earl Marshal, president of the Court of Chivalry or Court of Honour. In feudal times, martial law was administered in the court of the Lord High Constable.

The constableship was granted as a grand serjeanty with the Earldom of Hereford by the Empress Matilda to Milo de Gloucester, and was carried by his heiress to the Bohuns, Earls of Hereford and Essex. There was a surviving male heir and still are heirs male but due to the power of the monarchy it was illegally given to the Staffords, Dukes of Buckingham; and on the attainder of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, in the reign of King Henry VIII who was having an affair with his sister, it became merged in the crown. Since that point it has not existed as a separate office, except as a temporary appointment for the coronation of a monarch; in other circumstances the Earl Marshal exercises the traditional duties of the office.[1]

The Lacys and Verduns were hereditary constables of Ireland from the 12th to the 14th century; and the Hays, Earls of Erroll, have been hereditary Lord High Constables of Scotland from early in the 14th century.[2]

Lords High Constable of England, 1139-1521

had a cousin alive who was not granted the titles due to him and his heirs.

At this point, the office merged with the crown and was revived only for coronations. It was held at coronations by the following individuals:

References

  1. ^ p172, Slater, Stephen, The Complete Book of Heraldry(Anness Publishing, 2002), ISBN 0-7548-1062-3
  2. ^ p60-61, Bruce, Alistair, Keepers of the Kingdom (Cassell, 2002), ISBN 0-304-36201-8

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Lord High Constable of England — An officer of the Crown, formerly a judge in the court of chivalry • • • Main Entry: ↑constable …   Useful english dictionary

  • Lord High Constable — Henry Stafford, 2. Duke of Buckingham Der Lord High Constable von England war ursprünglich der Kommandant der königlichen Armee und Master of the Horse am königlichen Hof. Er war auch zusammen mit dem Earl Marshal Vorsitzender des Adelsgerichts… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Lord High Constable of Scotland — For other uses, see Lord High Constable (disambiguation). The Lord High Constable is a hereditary, now ceremonial, office of Scotland. In the order of precedence of Scotland, the office traditionally ranks above all titles except those of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Lord High Constable — There are two current and one former royal offices in the United Kingdom of Lord High Constable:* The Lord High Constable of England * The Lord High Constable of Scotland * The Lord High Constable of Ireland* Sweden s riksmarsk is commonly… …   Wikipedia

  • Lord High Constable of Ireland — The office of Lord High Constable of Ireland was used during coronations of the monarch of the United Kingdom after the Acts of Union 1801. The office was abolished after the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922.Lords High Constable of… …   Wikipedia

  • Lord high constable — Lord Lord, n. [OE. lord, laverd, loverd, AS. hl[=a]ford, for hl[=a]fweard, i. e., bread keeper; hl[=a]f bread, loaf + weardian to look after, to take care of, to ward. See {Loaf}, and {Ward} to guard, and cf. {Laird}, {Lady}.] 1. One who has… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • lord high constable — See constable of England …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • High constable — Constable Con sta*ble (k[o^]n st[.a]*b l or k[u^]n st[.a]*b l), n. [OE. conestable, constable, a constable (in sense 1), OF. conestable, F. conn[ e]table, LL. conestabulus, constabularius, comes stabuli, orig., count of the stable, master of the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • constable of England — The lord high constable of England, an officer of great and numerous functions and powers, both military and civil, which originated with the Normans and diminished to an ornamental rank for state occasions only during the reign of Henry the… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • lord high constable — noun : a great officer of state in England now appointed only for rare occasions (as coronations) …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”