His Majesty's High Court of Chivalry is a civil law (i.e., non common law) court in

English and Welsh law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, be ...

with jurisdiction over matters of

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

. The court has been in existence since the fourteenth century; however, it rarely sits. The sole judge is now the hereditary

Earl Marshal Earl marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the United Kingdom). He is the eight ...

of England, the

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

, though if not a professional lawyer, he normally appoints a professional lawyer as his lieutenant or surrogate. In

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, these types of cases are heard in the

Court of the Lord Lyon The Court of the Lord Lyon (the Lyon Court) is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All ...

, which is a standing civil and criminal court, with its own judge – the

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new gran ...

and its own procurator fiscal (''public prosecutor'') under the Scottish legal system.Innes of Learney & Innes of Edingight, p.7

History

Microcosm of London Plate 043 - Heralds' College

The court was historically known as the ''Curia Militaris'', the ''Court of the Constable and the Marshal'', or the ''Earl Marshal's Court''. Since it was created in the fourteenth century the court has always sat when required, except for the short time between 1634 and its temporary abolition by the Long Parliament in 1640 when it sat on a regular basis. During this time the court heard well over a thousand cases, of which evidence survives from 738 cases. This was instituted by Edward III, along with the Earl and other key personnel. It focused on military discipline and the armed forces, which led to an increased power of the military during this time

Sittings

The court was last convened in 1954 for the case of ''

Manchester Corporation Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three ...

v Manchester Palace of Varieties Ltd''; prior to this, the court had not sat for two centuries and before hearing the case, the court first had to rule whether it still existed. The proceedings opened with the reading of various

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...

in order to make clear that the Duke of Norfolk was indeed Hereditary Earl Marshal and that he had appointed Lord Goddard, who was the

Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, as his lieutenant in the court. It also had ruled that the Earl Marshal was allowed to sit in judgment without the

Lord High Constable of England The Lord High Constable of England is the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal. This office is now called out of abeyance only for coronations. The Lord High Constable was ...

, an office which until 1521 was also held as a hereditary dignity by the Dukes of Buckingham. The case itself was that the Palace theatre had been displaying the arms of the

(now Manchester City Council) both inside and on its seal and this usage implied that it was linked with the city's council. The corporation had requested that the theatre stop using it, but this request had been refused. The court ruled in favour of the corporation.

Appeals from the court

In 1832, the Privy Council Appeals Act 1832 made the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

the

appeal court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

for cases heard by the High Court of Chivalry. From 1 February 1833, following the passage of the Judicial Committee Act 1833, appeals have been heard directly by the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

. Prior to that, and in common with the admiralty and

ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor