Court of Chivalry

The Court of Chivalry is an ancient English civil court under the jurisdiction of the Earl Marshal of England, the Duke of Norfolk, that judges cases regarding heraldry.

Originally, the court was presided upon by the Lord High Constable and the Earl Marshal jointly. In 1521, the office was, for all practical purposes, abolished (being "revived" only for a new monarch's Coronation), leaving the Earl Marshal as the sole judge.

The court was last convened in 1954, in a case in which a theatre (the Manchester Palace of Varieties) was using the arms of the City of Manchester both inside the theatre and on its seal; the city had requested that the theatre cease the usage, and had met with refusal. The court ruled in favour of the City of Manchester.

See also:

• Courts of England and Wales
• Time immemorial
• Chivalry

External links

• About the Court of Chivalry
• Regulation of Heraldry in England: the Middle Ages
• Cases in the Court of Chivalry
• A short piece about the Courts of Chivalry