herald

n. [ OE. herald, heraud, OF. heralt, heraut, herault, F. héraut, LL. heraldus, haraldus, fr. (assumed) OHG. heriwalto, hariwaldo, a (civil) officer who serves the army; hari, heri, army + waltan to manage, govern, G. walten; akin to E. wield. See Harry, Wield. ] 1. (Antiq.) An officer whose business was to denounce or proclaim war, to challenge to battle, to proclaim peace, and to bear messages from the commander of an army. He was invested with a sacred and inviolable character. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. In the Middle Ages, the officer charged with the above duties, and also with the care of genealogies, of the rights and privileges of noble families, and especially of armorial bearings. In modern times, some vestiges of this office remain, especially in England. See Heralds' College (below), and King-at-Arms. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A proclaimer; one who, or that which, publishes or announces; as, the herald of another's fame. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A forerunner; a a precursor; a harbinger. [ 1913 Webster ]

It was the lark, the herald of the morn. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Any messenger. “My herald is returned.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Heralds' College, in England, an ancient corporation, dependent upon the crown, instituted or perhaps recognized by Richard III. in 1483, consisting of the three Kings-at-Arms and the Chester, Lancaster, Richmond, Somerset, Windsor, and York Heralds, together with the Earl Marshal. This retains from the Middle Ages the charge of the armorial bearings of persons privileged to bear them, as well as of genealogies and kindred subjects; -- called also College of Arms. [ 1913 Webster ]