The Only Use of
herald
in
The Scarlet Letter
Uses with a very rare meaning:
- It bore a device, a herald's wording of which may serve for a motto and brief description of our now concluded legend; so sombre is it, and relieved only by one ever-glowing point of light gloomier than the shadow:— "ON A FIELD, SABLE, THE LETTER A, GULES"
Chpt 24herald = someone whose job is to design or approve artworks that represent important families--typically something on a shield
Definition:
-
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) More rarely, herald can also refer to an official whose specialty is heraldry (the study of coats of arms -- symbols once used to signify the right to bear arms).
Historically a herald was a person who made announcements at jousting matches, or (much more rarely) any prestigious assistant in a dignified setting such as a courthouse or royal palace.