Chandos Herald (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1360s-1380s) for ''Chandos le héraut'' is the name used to refer to the author of a poem about the life of

The Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, suc ...

Anglo-Norman language Anglo-Norman, also known as Anglo-Norman French ( nrf, Anglo-Normaund) (Standard French, French: ), was a dialect of Old Norman French that was used in Kingdom of England, England and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere in Great Britain and Ireland du ...

. He is so-called because he was the

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...

of the English warlord

John Chandos Sir John Chandos, Viscount of Saint-Sauveur in the Cotentin, Constable of Aquitaine, Seneschal of Poitou, (c. 1320 – 31 December 1369) was a medieval English knight who hailed from Radbourne Hall, Derbyshire. Chandos was a close friend of ...

, the Black Prince's closest friend. The poem's language indicates that Chandos Herald came from Hainaut.Richard Barber, ''The life and campaigns of the Black Prince: from contemporary letters, diaries, and chronicles, including Chandos Herald's Life of the Black Prince'', Boydell & Brewer, 1997, p.84. The poem was written sometime between 1376 and 1387. It details many of the Prince's exploits in the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantag ...

, including the Castilian civil war, the

battle of Crecy A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

, and the

battle of Poitiers The Battle of Poitiers was fought on 19September 1356 between a French army commanded by King JohnII and an Anglo- Gascon force under Edward, the Black Prince, during the Hundred Years' War. It took place in western France, south of Poit ...

(though these last two only briefly). This has led to the suggestion that the poem was originally intended to laud the prince's exploits in Spain, but after his death was extended to cover his whole career. After the death of John Chandos in 1370, the Herald entered royal service, and was made the

King of Arms King of Arms is the senior rank of an officer of arms. In many heraldic traditions, only a king of arms has the authority to grant armorial bearings and sometimes certify genealogies and noble titles. In other traditions, the power has been ...

of England by

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father d ...

at his

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

in 1377.

Notes

External links

* {{authority control French chroniclers Heraldists 14th-century French writers French male non-fiction writers