To All and Singuler as well nobles and gentles as kings herauldes and officers of Armes as others w{ch} thes presentes shall see Reade or heare Lawrence Dalton Esquire Al’s Norrey Kinge of Armes of thest and west p’tyes of Englande fro the Ryver of trent northwarde Sendythe Due and humble comendacons and greatinge fforasmuche as awncyentlye fro the begynnynge and not w{th}owt great Delyberacon Equitie and Reason hyt hathe byn by the moste noble and famous princes Constytutyd and ordeynyd that men of wysdom knoledge vertue and of noble lyefe and Coorage haue byn notoryowslye commendyd to the Woorlde w{th} Sonndrye monumentes and Remembrances w{th} tokens of honnor for A testamonye of theyre good Desertes As Amonge the Romayns y{e} Erecc’on of Statues and Images w{th} tytles and Appellac’ons of honnour And of more latre Dayes w{th} the moste p’te of nac’ons bearinge of Signes and tokens in Shyldes callyd Armes w{ch} be the Demonstrac’ons and Evidences of noblenes vertue and woorthynes that to eu’ry man accordinge to theyre Desertes be Dyu’slye Dystrybutyd Wherby such signes and tokens of the woorthye and cooragyous might appeare before the cowarde vnwoorthye and Ignorant Even so yt ys yet obs’vyd that suche w{ch} have merytyd or donne com’endable s’vice to theyre prince or countrye or by theyre woorthye and Lawdable lyefe Do Daylye encrease in vertue wysdom and knowledge shulde not be forgoten and so put in oblyvyon but rewardyd w{th} som token of honnor for the same the Rather to move and styrre other to the Imytac’on of lyke noblenes vertue and woorthynes ffor w{ch} purpose hyt was not therefor w{th}owt great provydence ordeynyd and yet ys that there Shulde be officers and herauldes of Armes to whose office hyt shulde be appropryate to kepe in Regestre tharmes pedegrees and Descentes of nobles and gentles w{th} theyre woorthye and valyant actes and to have power and awethorytye to allowe and Ratefye vnto the woorthye Som awgmentac’on token or Remembrance of noblenes for theyre seyde woorthynes And now beinge Desyryd-- And so forth, worthy Mr. Norroy having forgotten such “signes and tokens” as stops, while carefully showing what style and form it is _not_ desirable for us to adopt, however excellent may be his system of building up honourable insignia upon a foundation of nobleness, virtue, and worthiness. I add one other early document of another kind, which is an excellent model for present use by the Heralds of our own days, the orthography having by them been duly corrected.