Between Warmaking Customs and Socio-political Demonstrations : the Part Played by Heralds of Arms in the Conflicts within the Nobility in the Empire in the Lower Middle-Ages

The heralds in the Holy Roman Germanic Empire have remained unconsidered for a long time. However, the current situation of research on the Offices of Arms in Western Europe encourages studies on German heralds and to connect them with international historiography. This is undertaken in the present article with the example of the role played by the heralds in the context of the conflicts within the nobility. This helps to identify not only the development of the German Office of Arms and its institutionalisation but also to understand the transformation process of the aristocracy in the context of nascent states. At a higher level the results of the process of development of the Office of Arms in the Holy Roman Germanic Empire illustrate processes of cultural transfer which can only be understood on the basis of existing cultural traditions and characteristics of the social and political constitution of the Empire. On the basis of international historiography the article presents a reflection on an important region for the European nobility, i.e. the Holy Roman Germanic Empire.