Heralds, pursuivants & Capitals, Oh My....
Compiled by Master Erick of Longacres, Black Mantle Herald Extraordinary ECoH
In practice anyone who is involved in heraldry is a herald….or are they? The use of titles and the capitalization of said titles can be one of the more confusing elements of heraldry for a novice herald. While it is fairly easy to differentiate between the various ranks within the written word – in conversation it becomes another matter – at that point “anyone who is involved in heraldry is a herald”.
Within the Ealdormere College of Heralds (CoH) there are various ranks of heralds. The ranking system and its definitions are as follows:

macer – A junior rank, within Ealdormere used for persons under the age of 16 who serve as a “pursuivant-in-training” under the Trillium Herald

pursuivant – The most common rank within the College. Upon entering the College, this is the title that you receive – regardless of whether you enter as a group pursuivant or as a pursuivant-at-large. This title follows you so long as you remain on the warrant list.

Pursuivant – also known as Titled Pursuivants. These are members of the Trillium Herald’s senior staff. The capital “P” identifies them as members of the College staff. There currently are three Titled Pursuivants in Ealdormere, those being, the Stave Pursuivant, the Quintain Pursuivant and the Gopher Pursuivant.

Titled Herald – These, too, are members of the Trillium Herald’s senior staff. For the duration of their tenure in the specific position within the College they carry the capital “H” (the “H” follows the job, not necessarily the person – thus one who has served as a Titled Herald would, upon stepping down, once again become a pursuivant…). Currently there are eight Titled Heralds in Ealdormere, including the Trillium Principal Herald.

Herald – Members of the College who have shown an outstanding knowledge of one or more of the various aspects of heraldry and have contributed to the College for an extended period of time are, on occasion granted the title of Herald (capital “H”). These individuals retain the title “Herald” regardless of their current position within the College (Herald-At-Large, if not currently holding a staff position). There are currently five Heralds within the Ealdormere College.

Herald Extraordinaire (or Extraordinary) – A very rare and honourable rank granting a Herald a specific title. This rank actually gets listed in the Order of Precedence, although it carries no precedence and it is presented in Court by Their Majesties (at the request of the Trillium Herald). The recipient bears the title granted for as long as they are active.(although only a Kingdom may “register” a heraldic title, it can be transferred to an individual and becomes listed in their O and A listing). The recipient also is listed upon the Trillium Herald's warrant list under the granted title. There is currently one Herald Extraordinaire in Ealdormere (The Black Mantle Herald – title pending ).

Group heralds may style themselves as "name of group/rank", such as "Ben Dunfirth pursuivant". Deputies and non-group heralds may use " At Large".

Please note that "Herald" with a capital "H" is a rank, while "herald" with a small "h" is a generic term. The generic term is the default; if there is the possibility of confusion, clarify the meaning as necessary.