herald

n. 1 official messenger bringing news. 2 forerunner, harbinger. 3 a hist. Officer responsible for state ceremonial and etiquette. B official concerned with pedigrees and coats of arms. v. Proclaim the approach of; usher in.  heraldic adj. [french from germanic]

n. An officer whose business was to denounce or proclaim war, to challenge to battle, to proclaim peace, and to bear messages from the commander of an army. He was invested with a sacred and inviolable character.