The main published source of information for medieval private heralds is to be found in "The Complete Peerage" but D^R Spufford gave a full description of these lesser known figures. We were informed how the English and French Courts baptized their Kings of Arms with wine and employed them in a diplomatic capacity or sometimes as messengers for war or as spies; they were go-betweens. Around 1400 every captain of a fortress possessed a herald but after the One Hundred Years War there were few needs for them and most had died out by the early 16^th C. In the diplomatic sense, they were seen as inviolable and there was much outcry when anything happened to a herald. Otherwise their duties were ceremonial – it was gracious to send one abroad to provide panache and colour – inside deals could also be undertaken. They also performed history duties and maintained their own library; there was no formal schooling and they were trained "on the job".