A herald is a king’s or a nobleman’s messenger.

A herald was a civil servant who as a messenger had to deliver or proclaim messages to the recipient. They can be compared to the modern-days diplomats.

Besides being a messenger, a herald could be a master of ceremonies, a leader of tournaments or be a heraldic flag-holder for a noble family. Today, heralds are not used in most of Europe. Denmark abolished the heralds in 1849, but the medieval civil servants are still in use at ceremonial occasions in countries such as England, Ireland and Spain.