Blanc Coursier Herald was an

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 England in the 18th and 19th centuries, associated with the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) a ...

. The name of the office derives from the white horse in the arms of the Hanoverian monarchs. One of the main motivations for the foundation of the Order of the Bath in 1725 was the ability it provided the then

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Sir

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lea ...

to show political patronage. This was afforded not only through appointments to the Order but also in the appointment of the officers of the Order. The original statutes provided for seven officers, Registrar, Secretary, Messenger, Dean, King of Arms, Usher and Genealogist, which were to be

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is an office, carrying a salary or otherwise generating income, that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval ch ...

s supported by annual fees from the members of the Order. However these offices were held at the pleasure of the Great Master of the Order, which meant the holders could be stripped of them at any time. To 'improve' this situation

John Anstis John Anstis (29 August 1669 – 4 March 1744) was an English officer of arms, antiquarian and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1702 and 1722. He rose to the highest heraldic office in England and became Garter King of Arms in ...

Garter King of Arms The Garter Principal King of Arms (also Garter King of Arms or simply Garter) is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland. ...

(who was responsible for proposing the Order and drafting the statutes) was able to get another statute passed which would attach heraldic offices to three of the above positions—the Genealogist would also become Blanc Coursier Herald, the Usher would also become Brunswick Herald, and the King of Arms of the Order of the Bath would also become

Gloucester King of Arms Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city Cathedral city is a city status in the United Kingdom. Cathedral city may also refer to: * Cathedral City, California, a city in Southern California, United States * Cathedral City Cheddar, a brand of Ched ...

, with heraldic jurisdiction over Wales. The advantage of this was that appointments to heraldic offices were by

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 ...

under the Great Seal from the King and were for life. The office of Blanc Coursier Herald was created and "inseparably annexed, united and perpetually consolidated with the Office of Genealogist of [the

]" by a Statute of the Order of the Bath dated 14 January 1726.Nicholas, p. 73 Blanc Coursier was to have all the rights and privileges enjoyed by a Royal herald, or by a herald of any prince or

peer Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a ne ...

of the blood royal or by a herald of any nobleman. In addition he is described as being "Our Herald of Arms with Our dear entirely beloved grandson Prince William, First and Principal Companion of Our Said Most Honourable Order, and with the First and Principal Companion thereof for the time being". Blanc Coursier was therefore both a Royal herald ("Our Herald of Arms"), and also a

private officer of arms A private officer of arms is one of the heralds and pursuivants appointed by great noble houses to handle all heraldic and genealogical questions. History Since the development of heraldry in the Middle Ages and the rise of officers of arms, n ...

as personal herald of the Principal Companion of the Order. As such, the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

emblazoned on his

tabard A tabard is a type of short coat that was commonly worn by men during the late Middle Ages and early modern period in Europe. Generally worn outdoors, the coat was either sleeveless or had short sleeves or shoulder pieces. In its more develope ...

was that of Prince William. Blanc Coursier's ceremonial installation did not take place until 1727, and by that time George II had succeeded his father as king. Prince William's arms then had a label of only three points (as the son of a Sovereign, rather than the five points of a grandson), the centre point charged with a cross gules. The arms on his tabard also show a differenced version of the Hanover quarter. The first person to hold the office of Blanc Coursier was the son of

, also named

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, who had been appointed Genealogist of the Order of the Bath at its inception, presumably because of the role his father had played in the Order's foundation. When the

Royal Guelphic Order The Royal Guelphic Order (german: Königliche Guelphen-Orden), sometimes referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent (later King George IV). It takes its name ...

was established in 1815 it originally had no officer of arms. Blanc Coursier at the time, Sir

George Nayler Sir George Nayler, KH FRS ( bapt. 29 June 1764 – 28 October 1831) was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Early life George Nayler was born on 29 June 1764 in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. He was the fifth son ...

, was able to have an additional statute passed appointing him King of Arms of the Order. His successor as Blanc Coursier, Walter Blount also held this position. The office of Blanc Coursier was abolished in 1857 as part of a revision of the Statutes of the Order of the Bath.Nicholas, Appendix, p. lxxi

Holders of the Office

* 1725–1754

John Anstis, younger John Anstis (17 November 1708 – 5 December 1754) was an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Biography Anstis was born in St Clement Danes, Westminster, and was the seventh child and eldest son of John Anstis and his wi ...

* 1755–1757 Sackville Fox * 1757–1792 John Suffield Brown * 1792–1831 Sir

* 1831–1857 Walter Blount ''Office abolished in 1857''

Notes

References

* * {{cite book , last=Risk , first=James C. , title=The History of the Order of the Bath and its Insignia , year=1972 , publisher=Spink & Son , location=London English offices of arms Order of the Bath