William Flower (1497/98–1588) was an English
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;
* to conserve a ...
in the reigns of
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
,
Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...
,
Mary I
Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...
and
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
. He rose to the rank of
Norroy King of Arms
Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the Provincial King of Arms at the College of Heralds with jurisdiction over England north of the Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of Arms is ...
, serving in that capacity from 1562 until his death in 1588.
Life and work
William Flower was born at
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
about 1498, and was probably the elder son of John Flower, tailor and corn merchant, of the parish of
All Saints' Church, Pavement, York. Flower became
Guisnes 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 e ...
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
Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a junior officer of arms of the College of Arms. He is said to be the oldest of the four pursuivants in ordinary. The office is named after St George's Cross which has been a symbol of England since t ...
in 1544 and
Chester Herald of Arms in 1546. He and
Gilbert Dethick
Sir Gilbert Dethick, FSA (c. 1510 – 3 October 1584) 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 accompanied
William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton
William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, Earl of Essex, 1st Baron Parr, 1st Baron Hart (14 August 151328 October 1571), was the only brother of Queen Catherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII. He was a "sincere, plain, di ...
, in his 1551 mission to Paris, to invest
Henry II of France
Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder bro ...
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
Thomas Hawley (died 22 August 1557) 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. Although he ma ...
,
Clarenceux King of Arms
Clarenceux King of Arms, historically often spelled Clarencieux (both pronounced ), 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 Engla ...
, issued a patent in London authorising Flower to act as his marshal and deputy.
[''DNB'' (ed. Lee 1903)][Goodwin, Gordon: "William Flower". In ''DNB'' (ed. Stephen 1885–1900)][Norcliffe 1881, p. vii][Raines 1870, pp. x, xiii] Flower delivered a message in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
from 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 ...
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
Henri Cleutin, seigneur d'Oisel et de Villeparisis (1515 – 20 June 1566), was the representative of France in Scotland from 1546 to 1560, a Gentleman of the Chamber of the King of France, and a diplomat in Rome 1564-1566 during the French Wars o ...
and
Jacques de la Brosse
Jacques de la Brosse (c. 1485–1562), Cup-bearer, 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
After ...
.
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
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 a ...
, with himself for the office of Norroy; the patent states that Flower was then eighty-two years of age.
[Norcliffe 1881, p. vii]
William Flower married Helen Davyes. They had two sons and three daughters: Gilbert, Edward, Elizabeth, Jane, and Eleanor. Elizabeth was married c. 1570 to
Robert Glover, Somerset Herald. After his death in 1588 she was married to a Mr. Woolward. Eleanor was married to 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
Heraldic visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms (or alternatively by heralds, or junior officers of arms, acting as their deputies) throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to register and regulate the ...
, in which
Clarenceux
Clarenceux King of Arms, historically often spelled Clarencieux (both pronounced ), is an Officer of Arms, officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Clarenceux is the senior of the two provincial King of Arms, kings of arms and his juri ...
and Norroy Kings of Arms (or their deputies) were to tour their areas of authority, recording
coats of arms and
pedigrees of arms holders, with powers to forcibly prevent the bearing of unauthorised arms.
[Wagner 1946, pp. 20–21] 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 ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
in 1563–1564 (printed, 1881), of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
, 1567 (printed, 1870), of
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
, 1569 (printed 1871) and of
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
, 1575 (printed, 1820) are preserved in the
College of Arms
The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovere ...
in London.
On 21 June 1578, Flower issued a printed proclamation as Norroy Herald and King of Heralds for the Province of Trent, North East and Westward. This asserted that his deputy, the heraldic painter Peter Proby of West Chester would license heraldic painting and take fees, particularly for the arms painted on funeral equipment. Flower declared;
"I give my straight commandment to all Painters, Glaziers, Goldsmiths, Gravers, or any other that doth or hereafter shall use the arte of painting, that they nor any of them shall not from this present date exercise nor use any painting in any wise, appertaining to the office of armes, especially for Escutchons of armes, or banners, standards, pennons, hatchments, helms, crests, or any thing or thinges appertayning to funeralls of any personages, within my sayd province ..., without my special licence, or at least being licensed and sett on worke at such funeralls by my sayd Deputie Peter Proby."[Flower, William, ''By the king of Hearolds of this province, from the river of Trent, North East and Westward'', (1578), modernized here, (Broadsheet, STC (2nd ed.) / 11108, on-line via EEBO from Bodleian Library)]
Arms
See also
*
Heraldry
Notes
References
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External links
A grant of arms and crest by letters patent of William Flower, Norroy King of Arms to Leonard Wray, of Ardwike, Yorkshire, dated 21 May 1587
Visitations
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Flower, William
1490s births
1588 deaths
English officers of arms
Military personnel from Yorkshire
Year of birth uncertain
People from York
16th-century English people