Chandos Herald is the name used to refer to the author of a poem about the life of The Black Prince

The Black Prince

-Personal nicknames:* Edward, the Black Prince, English prince in the Middle Ages* Naresuan, King of Siam* Junio Valerio Borghese, Italian noble and military leader* Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer* Peter Jackson , 19th century bare-knuckle boxer...

. He is so-called because he was the herald

Herald

A herald, or, more correctly, a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is often applied erroneously to all officers of arms....

 of the English warlord John Chandos

John Chandos

Sir John Chandos, Viscount of Saint-Sauveur in the Cotentin, Constable of Aquitaine, Seneschal of Poitou, KG was a medieval English knight who hailed from Radbourne Hall, Derbyshire. Chandos was a close friend of Edward, the Black Prince and a founding member and 19th Knight of the Order of the...

, the Black Prince's closest friend.

The poem's language indicates that Chandos Herald came from Hainaut. The poem was written sometime between 1377 and 1386. It details many of the Prince's exploits in the Hundred Years' War

Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...

, including the Castilian civil war

Castilian Civil War

The Castilian Civil War lasted three years from 1366 to 1369. It became part of the larger conflict then raging between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France: the Hundred Years' War...

, the battle of Crecy

Battle of Crécy

The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...

, and the battle of Poitiers

Battle of Poitiers (1356)

The Battle of Poitiers was fought between the Kingdoms of England and France on 19 September 1356 near Poitiers, resulting in the second of the three great English victories of the Hundred Years' War: Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt....

 (though these last two only briefly). This has led to the suggestion that the poem was originally intended to laud the prince's exploits in Spain, but after his death was extended to cover his whole career.

After the death of John Chandos in 1370, the Herald entered royal service, and was made the King of Arms

King of Arms

King of Arms is the senior rank of an officer of arms. In many heraldic traditions, only a king of arms has the authority to grant armorial bearings. In other traditions, the power has been delegated to other officers of similar rank.-Heraldic duties:...

 of England by Richard II

Richard II of England

Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...

 at his coronation

Coronation

A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...

in 1377.