Earl Marshal

In England, one of the great officers of state. The king's marshal early became one of the chief officers of state, and, under the Norman and Plantagenet kings, a judge in the Courts of Chivalry. The Earl Marshal is now head of the College of Arms, through which he regulates all matters connected with armorial bearings and standards, and controls the arrangements for state functions. The office has been hereditary since 1672 in the family of Howard, the dukes of Norfolk. In Scotland a similar dignity was hereditary in the family of Keith from the 14th century until 1716.