William Bruges
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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...
. He is best remembered as the first person appointed to the post of Garter King of Arms, which is currently the highest 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"...
office in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Origins
William Bruges was the son of Richard Bruges, Lancaster King of Arms, and his wife Katherine. The younger Bruges was appointed Chester HeraldChester Herald
Chester Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. The office of Chester Herald dates from the 14th century, and it is reputed that the holder was herald to Edward, Prince of Wales, the Black Prince. In the reign of King Richard II the officer was attached...
on 7 June 1398. He was later attached to the household of Henry of Monmouth
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
, then Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, Earl of Chester
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs-apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales.- Honour of Chester :The...
, and Duke of Aquitaine
Duke of Aquitaine
The Duke of Aquitaine ruled the historical region of Aquitaine under the supremacy of Frankish, English and later French kings....
.
It is believed that Bruges was promoted to Guyenne King of Arms on the accession of Henry V and was sent to France in that capacity in early 1414. In February of 1416, as Aquitaine King of Arms, Bruges was sent to emperor-elect, Sigismund
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
, on royal business. At this time, the titles of Aquitaine and Guyenne were interchangeable.
Garter King of Arms
The position of King of ArmsKing 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:...
of the Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, usually known as Garter King of Arms, was created sometime around 1415, and Bruges appointed to it. His father's will, dated July 1415, refers to William Bruges as both Guyenne and Garter King of Arms. After this, the next mention of Bruges in the position is 13 September 1417. It was the first time a king of arms had been specifically appointed for the service of an order of chivalry. By virtue of this office, he held permanent authority over the provincial kings of arms.
Herald
A herald, or, more correctly, a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is often applied erroneously to all officers of arms....
s and the serjeants-at-arms. In January 1421 the English heralds held their first chapter and directed that a common seal for that office be made. Resolutions were to govern the office of arms and its members, with chapters summoned by Garter. In the same year, as part of Henry's revival of the Order of the Garter, some statutes of the order were revised and at about the same time many heraldic stall plates of former companions were set up in St. George's Chapel, Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
. Bruges was also responsible for producing his Garter book around 1430, which is the earliest known armorial of the order.
In 1421 Bruges took part in the coronation of Queen Catherine, and in the following year he officiated at Henry V's funeral. Under Henry VI there was scarcely a year in which he was not sent on at least one mission, sometimes staying abroad for many months. He was usually concerned with France, but he also visited Normandy and Brittany, Flanders, Hainault and Holland, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, and Italy.
Bruges died on 9 March 1450 on his sizeable estate in Kentish Town
Kentish Town
Kentish Town is an area of north west London, England in the London Borough of Camden.-History:The most widely accepted explanation of the name of Kentish Town is that it derived from 'Ken-ditch' meaning the 'bed of a waterway'...
. He was buried in St George's Church, Stamford. He had married, before 1415, Agnes Haddon, and they had three daughters, one of whom, Katherine, married John Smert, Bruges' successor as Garter.
External links
Sources
- Mark NobleMark Noble (biographer)Mark Noble was an English clergyman, biographer and antiquary.-Life:He was born in Digbeth, Birmingham, the third surviving son of William Heatley Noble, a merchant there...
, A History of the College of Arms. (London, 1805). - Walter H Godfrey and Sir Anthony WagnerAnthony WagnerSir Anthony Richard Wagner, KCB, KCVO, FSA was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He served as Garter Principal King of Arms before retiring to the post of Clarenceux King of Arms...
, The College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street: being the sixteenth and final monograph of the London Survey Committee. (London, 1963). - Hugh Stanford London, The life of William Bruges, The First Garter King of Arms. Harleian SocietyHarleian SocietyThe Harleian Society was founded in 1869 for the purpose of publishing manuscripts of the heraldic visitations of the counties of England and Wales, and other unpublished manuscripts relating to genealogy, armory, and heraldry in its widest sense...
. (London, 1970), 111–12. - Sir Anthony Wagner. Heralds of England: a History of the Office and College of Arms. (London, 1967).
- Sir Anthony Wagner. A Catalogue of English Mediaeval Rolls of Arms. Harleian Society (London, 1950), 100.
- P. J. Begent. The Creation of the Office of Garter King of Arms. Coat of Arms, New Series Vol 11 No 172 (1995), 134–40.