Walter Halliday facts for kids

Walter Halliday (also spelled Halladay, Haliday, Halyday, and Holliday) was a very important royal minstrel in England during the 1400s. A minstrel was a musician, singer, or poet who traveled to entertain people, often at royal courts. Walter helped start a special group for minstrels, which was like an early version of the Worshipful Company of Musicians we have today. Many people believe he was the first person in the Halliday family from Gloucestershire, and an ancestor of some Halliday families in the United States.

Family

Records show that Walter worked as a minstrel for three different kings for over 54 years, from 1415 to 1469. This long career suggests he was born around 1400 or even earlier.

Some old books, like Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of England (1836), say Walter was the younger son of a leader from Annandale in Scotland. However, this book doesn't say where it got this information. Experts from the College of Arms, who keep official records of families and coats of arms, said in 1975 that this book "is compiled from family traditions, not proved, and is not accepted as an authority; there are many errors in it." So, this part of the story might not be true.

Records also show that two other Hallidays, William and Thomas, were royal minstrels around the same time as Walter. William seems to have been older. It's possible that Walter and Thomas were brothers, and William was their father. It was common for minstrelsy to be a family business, with skills passed down through generations.

Royal Minstrel Life

Walter's first official mention as a royal minstrel was at the famous Battle of Agincourt in 1415. He, along with William and Thomas, was listed among the minstrels with King Henry V. After that, his name appeared many times in royal financial records between 1421 and 1467. These records often mentioned payments for his livery, which was special clothing given to royal staff.

In 1423, King Henry VI approved regular payments for the minstrels. Later, in 1439, Henry VI gave Walter and other minstrels an annual payment. This payment came with a condition: they could not work for anyone else.

In the late 1440s, the royal court noticed a problem. Many ordinary people, like farmers and craftspeople, were pretending to be royal minstrels. They would charge money for their performances, even though they weren't official. This tricked the public and took money away from the real minstrels. So, in 1449, King Henry VI gave William Langton (who was in charge of the minstrels), Walter Halliday, and five other royal minstrels permission to investigate. Their job was to find these fake minstrels and punish them.

In 1456, Walter and three other minstrels were given another important job. They had to find "suitable boys, instructed in the art of minstrelsy." These boys would replace royal minstrels who had passed away.

King Henry VI's rule ended in 1461 when his cousin, Edward of York, took the throne as King Edward IV. This change didn't seem to affect the minstrels much. They kept their jobs under the new king. By 1464, Walter had taken over from William Langton and became the Marshal of the Minstrels. This meant he was now in charge of all the royal minstrels. By this time, he had been a minstrel for about 50 years! Records show that when Edward IV married Elizabeth Woodville in 1464, Walter led an orchestra of 100 musicians.

A few years later, the minstrels were organized into two main groups. One group played 'haut' (loud) instruments like trumpets, horns, and shawms. The other group played 'bas' (soft) instruments like organs, flutes, and stringed instruments. Walter became the marshal of the 'bas' minstrels. This suggests he likely played one or more of these softer instruments himself.

Walter's last appearance in official records was in 1469. The problem of fake minstrels was still happening, so King Edward IV took action again. In 1469, he gave a special royal charter (a formal document) to Walter Haliday (as marshal) and seven other minstrels. This charter allowed them to create a brotherhood or guild of minstrels. This guild would be led by a marshal, who served for life, and two wardens, who were elected each year. No minstrel, no matter how skilled, was allowed to perform in public unless they were a member of this guild. The guild also had the power to fine anyone who broke this rule. This guild is seen as an early version of the Worshipful Company of Musicians that exists today.

We don't know how much longer Walter served as Marshal of the Minstrels. It's believed he retired to Rodborough in Gloucestershire and owned property there.

Supposed Knighthood and Coat of Arms

In the 1900s, a story became popular in the United States. It claimed that Walter Halliday was not only a "master of the revels" (a person in charge of entertainment) but also a knight. The story said he fought alongside King Edward IV in the Battle of Tewkesbury and was given a special coat of arms for his bravery. The coat of arms described in this story was: Sable, three helmets Argent garnished Or within a bordure engrailed Argent. The crest was: A demi-lion rampant Or supporting an anchor Azure. And the motto was: 'Quarta Saluti'.

However, this story doesn't seem to be true. Walter would have been around 70 years old at the time of the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. That's quite old to be fighting in a battle instead of playing music! Also, he is not listed among the knights King Edward IV created before or after the battle. In 1975, an expert from the College of Arms said, "I find no trace of Sir Walter in the official records of the College of Arms," and that "the arms in Burke's Commoners are wrong."

The coat of arms that was supposedly given to Walter was actually confirmed to his descendant, Sir Leonard Holliday, who was the lord mayor of London in 1605. The crest was also given to Sir Leonard at the same time. It's possible that the mistake happened because Burke's book said the arms were granted during Edward IV's time (which was incorrect), and people then assumed Walter, being a famous minstrel of that time, must have been the one who received them.

See also

• Sir Leonard Holliday
• William Holliday