heralds

Refers to state officers or servants, either of prominent households or individuals, who carry messages and announce proclamations, and often also keep the family's genealogical records and regulate the depiction of its coats of arms. Applies particularly to officials in Medieval and modern Europe who arranged ceremonial events, particularly tournaments, at which they had special charge of conveying challenges and regulating the use of coats of arms by combatants. From the 19th century onwards, the office's duties consist mainly of regulating a family's or organization's coat of arms and often of doing the blazonry of those arms as well. For visual artists whose works consists solely of depicting coats of arms, see "blazoners."