The English Parliament is the main legislative body of the country. The Earl Marshal, originally in charge of the Court of Chivalry which was concerned with military matters such as ransom, booty and soldiers pay, as well as the misuse of armorial bearings. The role was later refined and the Marshal came to be responsible solely for armorial cases: he is the head of the College of Arms. The post has been hereditary since 1672, remaining with the Howard family, Dukes of Norfolk.The reign of King Edward III saw the height of the Hundred Years War against France, in which the Scots sided with the French. Henry Algernon Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland, (known as 'The Magnificent', due to the splendour of his establishment), succeeded to the earldom at the age of 11. He was prominent at court in the early years of Henry VIII's reign, and took part in Henry's expedition to France in 1513, being present at the siege of Therouenne and the Battle of the Spurs. He was also one of the 10 earls appointed to wait on King Francis I at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, 1520. He declined the office of warden of the Marches, and died in bed in 1527.
From the guide to the Treatises on English Parliament, peerage and diplomacy, c1527, (Senate House Library, University of London)
