William Flower (officer of arms)
Encyclopedia
William Flower was an English Officer of Arms
in the reigns of Henry VIII
, Edward VI
, Mary I
and Elizabeth I
. He rose to the rank of Norroy King of Arms
, serving in that capacity from 1562 until his death in 1588.
about 1498, and was probably the elder son of John Flower, tailor and corn merchant, of the parish of All Saints, Pavement, York. Flower became Guisnes pursuivant
extraordinary on the removal of Fulke ap Howell at Westminster, 10 June 1536. On 1 April 1543, while serving as Calais
pursuivant extraordinary, he was sent to visit the merchants and marines who had been captured by the French and confined at Rouen. He was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant
in 1544 and Chester Herald of Arms
in 1546. He and Gilbert Dethick
, Garter Principal King of Arms
accompanied William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton
, in his 1551 mission to Paris, to invest Henry II of France
with the Order of the Garter
. He received ten shillings per day for his "dyett" (food and lodging) on that mission. In 1555, Thomas Hawley
, Clarenceux King of Arms
, issued a patent in London authorizing Flower to act as his marshal and deputy.
Flower delivered a message in Edinburgh
from the Duke of Norfolk
on 16 February 1560 to Mary of Guise
and her Scottish and French councillors. At first they spoke in the "Scottish tongue
" but because he could not understand they continued in French. Flower recorded sharp answers from two Frenchmen, Henri Cleutin
and Jacques de la Brosse
.
Flower was promoted to Norroy King of Arms on 8 February 1562. A commission of visitation
was issued to Flower on 10 July 1564, and he embarked on a series of visitations throughout the northern counties over the next eleven years. On 9 March 1580 he obtained a patent from Elizabeth joining his son-in-law, Robert Glover
, Somerset Herald
, with himself for the office of Norroy; the patent states that Flower was then eighty-two years of age.
William Flower married Helen Davyes. They had two sons and three daughters::
Flower died at Windsor in the autumn of 1588. His will, dated 14 October 1588, was proved in London on 22 November of that year.
and Norroy Kings of Arms (or their deputies) were to tour their areas of authority, recording coats of arms
and pedigree
s of arms holders, with powers to forcibly prevent the bearing of unauthorized arms. Flower's visitations began in 1563-64 and his last visitation was in 1575, with Glover acting as his deputy from 1564. The entry books of Flower's visitations of Yorkshire
in 1563-1564 (printed, 1881), of Lancashire
, 1567 (printed, 1870), of Nottingham
, 1569 (printed 1871) and of Durham
, 1575 (printed, 1820) are preserved in the College of Arms
in London.
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...
in the reigns of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
, Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
and Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
. He rose to the rank of Norroy King of Arms
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...
, serving in that capacity from 1562 until his death in 1588.
Life and work
William Flower was born at YorkYork
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
about 1498, and was probably the elder son of John Flower, tailor and corn merchant, of the parish of All Saints, Pavement, York. Flower became Guisnes pursuivant
Pursuivant
A pursuivant or, more correctly, pursuivant of arms, is a junior officer of arms. Most pursuivants are attached to official heraldic authorities, such as the College of Arms in London or the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh. In the mediaeval era, many great nobles employed their own officers of...
extraordinary on the removal of Fulke ap Howell at Westminster, 10 June 1536. On 1 April 1543, while serving as Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
pursuivant extraordinary, he was sent to visit the merchants and marines who had been captured by the French and confined at Rouen. He was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant
Rouge Croix Pursuivant
Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a junior officer of arms of the College of Arms. The office is named after St George's Cross which has been a symbol of England since the time of the Crusades...
in 1544 and Chester Herald of Arms
Chester 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...
in 1546. He and Gilbert Dethick
Gilbert Dethick
Sir Gilbert Dethick Kt FSA was a long-serving English officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He would eventually rise to the highest heraldic office in England and serve as Garter Principal King of Arms....
, Garter Principal King of Arms
Garter Principal King of Arms
The Garter Principal King of Arms is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms. He is therefore the most powerful herald within the jurisdiction of the College – primarily England, Wales and Northern Ireland – and so arguably the most powerful in the world...
accompanied William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton
William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton
William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, 1st Earl of Essex and 1st Baron Parr, KG was the son of Sir Thomas Parr and his wife, Maud Green, daughter of Sir Thomas Green, of Broughton and Greens Norton...
, in his 1551 mission to Paris, to invest Henry II of France
Henry II of France
Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
with 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...
. He received ten shillings per day for his "dyett" (food and lodging) on that mission. In 1555, Thomas Hawley
Thomas Hawley
Thomas Hawley was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. He began his career of royal service as a groom porter to Queen Margaret of Scotland from her marriage in 1503 until 1508...
, 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...
, issued a patent in London authorizing Flower to act as his marshal and deputy.
Flower delivered a message in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
from the Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was an English nobleman.Norfolk was the son of the poet Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. He was taught as a child by John Foxe, the Protestant martyrologist, who remained a lifelong recipient of Norfolk's patronage...
on 16 February 1560 to Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise
Mary of Guise was a queen consort of Scotland as the second spouse of King James V. She was the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, and served as regent of Scotland in her daughter's name from 1554 to 1560...
and her Scottish and French councillors. At first they spoke in the "Scottish tongue
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
" but because he could not understand they continued in French. Flower recorded sharp answers from two Frenchmen, Henri Cleutin
Henri Cleutin
Henri Cleutin, seigneur d'Oisel et de Villeparis , was the representative of France in Scotland from 1546 to 1560, and a Gentleman of the Chamber of the King of France.-Rough Wooing to Reformation:...
and Jacques de la Brosse
Jacques de la Brosse
Jacques de la Brosse, , cupbearer to the king, was a sixteenth century French soldier and diplomat. He is remembered in Scotland for his missions in 1543 and 1560 in support of the Auld Alliance.-Mission of 1543:...
.
Flower was promoted to Norroy King of Arms on 8 February 1562. A commission of visitation
Heraldic visitation
Heraldic Visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms in England, Wales and Ireland in order to regulate and register the coats of arms of nobility and gentry and boroughs, and to record pedigrees...
was issued to Flower on 10 July 1564, and he embarked on a series of visitations throughout the northern counties over the next eleven years. On 9 March 1580 he obtained a patent from Elizabeth joining his son-in-law, Robert Glover
Robert Glover (officer of arms)
Robert Glover was an English Officer of Arms, genealogist and antiquarian in the reign of Elizabeth I. In the College of Arms, he rose to the rank of Somerset Herald of Arms, serving in that capacity from 1571 until his death in 1588...
, Somerset Herald
Somerset Herald
Somerset Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. In the year 1448 Somerset Herald is known to have served the Duke of Somerset, but by the time of the coronation of King Henry VII in 1485 his successor appears to have been raised to the rank of a royal...
, with himself for the office of Norroy; the patent states that Flower was then eighty-two years of age.
William Flower married Helen Davyes. They had two sons and three daughters::
- Gilbert
- Edward
- Elizabeth (married c. 1570 Robert GloverRobert Glover (officer of arms)Robert Glover was an English Officer of Arms, genealogist and antiquarian in the reign of Elizabeth I. In the College of Arms, he rose to the rank of Somerset Herald of Arms, serving in that capacity from 1571 until his death in 1588...
, Somerset Herald; married secondly a Mr. Woolward, 1588 - Jane
- Eleanor (married James Barkstead)
Flower died at Windsor in the autumn of 1588. His will, dated 14 October 1588, was proved in London on 22 November of that year.
Visitations
In 1530, Henry VIII had issued an instruction governing the conduct of heraldic visitations, in which ClarenceuxClarenceux 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...
and Norroy Kings of Arms (or their deputies) were to tour their areas of authority, recording coats of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
and pedigree
Pedigree chart
A pedigree chart is a diagram that shows the occurrence and appearance or phenotypes of a particular gene or organism and its ancestors from one generation to the next, most commonly humans, show dogs, and race horses....
s of arms holders, with powers to forcibly prevent the bearing of unauthorized arms. Flower's visitations began in 1563-64 and his last visitation was in 1575, with Glover acting as his deputy from 1564. The entry books of Flower's visitations of Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
in 1563-1564 (printed, 1881), of Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, 1567 (printed, 1870), of Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, 1569 (printed 1871) and of Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
, 1575 (printed, 1820) are preserved in 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.