Her"ald (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Heralded;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Heralding.]
[Cf. OF. herauder,
heraulder.] To introduce, or give tidings of, as by a herald; to proclaim; to announce; to foretell; to usher in. Shak.
Her"ald (?), n. [OE.
herald, heraud, OF. heralt,
heraut, herault, F. héraut, LL. heraldus, haraldus,
fr. (assumed) OHG. heriwalto,
hariwaldo, a (civil) officer who serves the army; hari, heri,
army + waltan to manage, govern, G. walten; akin to E. wield. See Harry, Wield.]
1. (Antiq.) An officer whose business was to denounce or proclaim war, to challenge to battle, to proclaim peace, and to bear
messages from the commander of an army. He was invested with a sacred and
inviolable character.
2. In the
Middle Ages, the officer charged with the above duties, and also with
the care of
genealogies, of the rights and privileges of noble families, and especially of armorial bearings. In modern times, some vestiges of this office remain, especially in England. See Heralds' College (below), and King-at-Arms.
3. A proclaimer; one who, or that which, publishes or announces; as, the herald of another's
fame. Shak.
4.
A forerunner; a a precursor; a harbinger.
It was the lark, the herald of the morn.
Shak. 5. Any messenger. "My herald is returned."
Shak.
Heralds' College,
in England, an ancient corporation, dependent upon the crown, instituted or perhaps recognized by Richard III. in 1483, consisting of the three
Kings-at- Arms and the Chester, Lancaster,
Richmond, Somerset, Windsor, and York Heralds, together with the Earl
Marshal. This retains from the Middle Ages the charge of the
armorial bearings of persons
privileged to bear them, as
well as of
genealogies and kindred
subjects; -- called also College of Arms.
Hear it pronounced