Thomas Lant on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Thomas Lant (1554–1601) was a 
Following Sidney's death, Lant went to work for
The College of Arms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lant, Thomas 1554 births 1601 deaths English antiquarians English genealogists English officers of arms 16th-century English writers 16th-century male writers 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers People from Gloucester
draftsman
A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans f ...
and long-serving 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 ...
at 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 Sover ...
in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Lant was born in Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east of t ...
and was one of seven children of Thomas and Mary Lant. When Lant was twelve years old, he became a page
Page most commonly refers to:
* Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book
Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to:
Roles
* Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation
* Page (servant), traditionally a young ma ...
to Richard Cheney
Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...
, the Bishop of Gloucester
The Bishop of Gloucester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Gloucester in the Province of Canterbury.
The diocese covers the County of Gloucestershire and part of the County of Worcestershire. The see's centre of governan ...
. When Cheney died in 1579, Lant again became a page, this time for Henry Cheney. It was through Lord Cheney that Lant became connected with Sir Philip Sidney
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...
. The two accompanied each other to the Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
in 1585. Lant was the draftsman of roll recording Sidney's funeral procession at St Paul's on 16 February 1587.
Following Sidney's death, Lant went to work for Sir Francis Walsingham
Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her " spymaster".
Born to a well-connected family of gentry, ...
, the secretary of state. It was through Walsingham that Lant secured an appointment as Portcullis Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary at the College of Arms on 20 May 1588. It was as Portcullis that Lant wrote ''Observations and Collections Concerning the Office and Officers of Arms'' describing the College as "a company full of discord and envy." In 1595, Lant presented the queen a catalog of officers of arms known as Lant's Roll of which several copies survive. In 1596 Lant was involved in an argument with Ralph Brooke
Ralph Brooke (1553–1625) was an English Officer of Arms in the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. He is known for his critiques of the work of other members of the College of Arms, most particularly in ''A Discoverie of Certaine Errours Pu ...
, York Herald of Arms in Ordinary. This led to Lant assaulting Brooke at the Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...
. Lant was created Windsor Herald of Arms in Ordinary
Windsor Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.
It has been suggested that the office was instituted specifically for the Order of the Garter in 1348, or that it predates the Order and was in use as ea ...
on 23 October 1597.
Lant's date of death is uncertain. He was alive on 26 December 1600 but is thought to have died early in 1601. He and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Houghton, had two children, a daughter and a son. The son, Thomas, was born after his father's death and died on 18 May 1688 as rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of Hornsey, Middlesex. Lant's wife remarried on 28 September 1609 at the Savoy Chapel, Westminster. The union was with the alchemist
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
Francis Anthony, and the marriage licence describes her as being 36 years old and the widow of "Thomas Lant, gent., deceased eight years since."
Arms
See also
*Heraldry
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...
*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 ...
*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 ...
References
*Walter H. Godfrey and Sir Anthony Wagner, ''The College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street: being the sixteenth and final monograph of the London Survey Committee''. (London, 1963), 171–172. *Sir Anthony Wagner. ''Heralds of England: a History of the Office and College of Arms''. (London, 1967), 87–88, 217–219. *Mark Noble
Mark James Noble (born 8 May 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder and is well remembered for his time at English club West Ham United, spending eighteen years with the club. Apart from two sh ...
. ''A History of the College of Arms''. (London, 1805), 171–172.
External links
The College of Arms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lant, Thomas 1554 births 1601 deaths English antiquarians English genealogists English officers of arms 16th-century English writers 16th-century male writers 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers People from Gloucester