Newcastle's mayor obtained the right of being preceded by his sword-bearer by special charter in 1391; but as regards the dates on which the mayors of London, of Coventry, and of Bristol acquired this privilege we are left completely in the dark. It may reasonably be assumed that the mayor of London, the capital of the country, was the first civic magistrate to have a sword carried before him; but at what date and in what circumstances he was awarded this distinction records or even tradition fail to tell. Indeed, the earliest evidence extant of the Corporation of London possessing a sword-bearer comes indirectly through the records of a certain mayor of Coventry, who, in 1384, having committed some misdemeanour was condemned to have the sword borne behind him, recovering however the full privilege four years later on the occasion of the visit of King Richard II to the town. It is in this grant of renewal of the honour that we find the first allusion to London's sword-bearer: ET DE NOVO CONCESSIT EIS QUOD MAJOR VILLÆ POSSIT HABERE HOMINEM PORTANTEM GLADIUM CUM ORNATU AUTEO CORAM EO ad modum Londoniensium.
In the case of Bristol we find that the mayor of that city still has a state sword of the XIVth century, engraved with the arms of Edward III. We may safely surmise therefore that the privilege of having it borne before the head of the Corporation was granted at the same time as the city received the important charter of 1373; though it is to be noted that the charter itself makes no mention of such a privilege.
Richard II is said to have given swords to Lincoln in 1386, to York in 1388, and to Chester in 1394. The oldest of the swords now at Lincoln is probably the one presented by King Richard in 1386. The mayor of York chose the first mayoral sword-bearer in 1388-9, and, by charter dated 1396 the king confirmed to the mayor and his successors the honour of having borne before them "gladium suum eis per nos datum."
The XVth century saw this privilege largely extended. In 1403-4 Norwich received a sword-bearer charter, Kingston-on-Hull was granted a similar charter in 1440, and Gloucester received hers in 1483. Exeter is also alleged to have been given a sword by Edward IV in 1469, and another by Henry VII in 1497. We know also that in the XVth century the mayors of two others towns, Lynn and Hereford, had the privilege of being preceded by a sword-bearer; but we have no information as to the particular grant or charter by which they enjoyed it.
Three grants only of this kind were conferred in the XVIth century; the first was by charter of confirmation granted to Chester by Henry VII in 1506,
