George Edward Cokayne FSA

Society of Antiquaries of London

The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...

 (29 April 1825 – 6 August 1911) was an English genealogist and long-serving officer of arms

Officer of arms

An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:*to control and initiate armorial matters*to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state...

 at the College of Arms

College of Arms

The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

Life

Cokayne was baptised with the name of George Edward Adams. On 2 December 1856, he married Mary Dorothea Gibbs, daughter of George Henry Gibbs and Caroline Crawley. Cokayne studied law at university and was a barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

 with a Master of Arts

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 degree. He began his heraldic

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...

 career with an appointment to the post of Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary

Rouge Dragon Pursuivant

Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a junior officer of arms of the College of Arms, named after the red dragon of Wales.The most recent Rouge Dragon Pursuivant was Clive Edwin Alexander Cheesman, whose replacement has yet to be announced....

 in 1859. He held this position until his promotion

Promotion (rank)

A promotion is the advancement of an employee's rank or position in an organizational hierarchy system. Promotion may be an employee's reward for good performance i.e. positive appraisal...

 to the office of Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary

Lancaster Herald

Lancaster Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an English officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. The title of Lancaster Herald first occurs in 1347 at Calais, and to begin with this officer was a servant to the noble house of Lancaster...

 in 1870. On 15 August 1873 his name was legally changed to George Edward Cokayne by Royal Licence. In 1882, Cokayne was promoted again, this time to the office of Norroy

Norroy and Ulster King of Arms

Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is one of the senior Officers of Arms of the College of Arms, and the junior of the two provincial Kings of Arms. The current office is the combination of two former appointments...

 King of Arms

King of Arms

King of Arms is the senior rank of an officer of arms. In many heraldic traditions, only a king of arms has the authority to grant armorial bearings. In other traditions, the power has been delegated to other officers of similar rank.-Heraldic duties:...

. This office he held until his appointment to the position of Clarenceux King of Arms

Clarenceux King of Arms

Clarenceux King of Arms is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Clarenceux is the senior of the two provincial kings of arms and his jurisdiction is that part of England south of the River Trent. The office almost certainly existed in 1420, and there is a fair degree of...

 in 1894. He held this office until his death in 1911.

Works

Cokayne was the author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 of the book The Complete Peerage

The Complete Peerage

The Complete Peerage The Complete Peerage The Complete Peerage (full title: The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom Extant, Extinct, or Dormant; first edition by George Edward Cokayne, Clarenceux King of Arms; 2nd edition revised by the Hon...

, the first edition of which was published between 1887 and 1898.

External links

• The College of Arms
• CUHAGS Officer of Arms Index