The law of heraldic arms (or laws of heraldry) governs the "bearing of arms", that is, the possession, use or display of arms, also called coats of arms, coat armour or armorial bearings. Although it is believed that the original function of coats of arms was to enable knights to identify each other on the battlefield, they soon acquired wider, more decorative uses. They are still widely used today by countries, public and private institutions and by individuals. The earliest writer on the law of arms was Bartolus de Saxoferrato. The officials who administer these matters are called pursuivants, heralds, or kings of arms (in increasing order of seniority). The law of arms is part of the law in countries which regulate heraldry, although not part of common law in England and in countries whose laws derive from English law.

According to the usual description of the law of arms, coats of arms, armorial badges, flags and standards and other similar emblems of honour may only be borne by virtue of ancestral right, or of a grant made to the user under due authority. Ancestral right means descent in the male line from an ancestor who lawfully bore arms. Due authority has, since late medieval times, been the Crown or the State.

Langhorne Slim is an American singer-songwriter, (born Sean Scolnick on August 20, 1980 in Langhorne, Pennsylvania). Scolnick attended high school at Solebury School in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College, part of the SUNY system.

He began to gain public notice through several years of touring with the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players and an appearance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. His song "Electric Love Letter" was chosen as number 5 on the Rolling Stone editor's top ten picks and was also in the movie Waitress. He has been seen on tours with Cake, The Avett Brothers, Murder By Death, Jeffrey Lewis, The Violent Femmes, Lucero, Rocky Votolato, the Woes, Josh Ritter, Drive-By Truckers, The Low Anthem, and Old 97's.

In 2006, Langhorne Slim and the War Eagles signed to V2 Records for one EP and an LP. The deal was dropped after the release of the Engine EP in 2006, and the band signed to Kemado Records, and released a self-titled album on April 29, 2008. Slim performed the first single from the album, "Restless", on the Late Show with David Letterman in March 2008. Following the release, Slim toured the US and Europe. In the summer of 2009, Langhorne Slim began playing larger venues including the Newport Folk Festival, Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, Lollapalooza, and the Philadelphia Folk Festival. The album Be Set Free was released on September 29, 2009.

Violent Femmes were an American alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, initially active between 1980 and 1987 and again from 1988 to 2009. The band performed as a trio, including: singer, guitarist and songwriter Gordon Gano, bassist Brian Ritchie, and two drummers, Victor DeLorenzo (1980–1993 and 2002–2009) and Guy Hoffman (1993–2002).

The Violent Femmes released eight studio albums and fifteen singles during the course of their career. The band found immediate success with the release of their self-titled debut album in early 1983. Featuring many of their well-known songs, including "Blister in the Sun", "Kiss Off", "Add It Up" and "Gone Daddy Gone", Violent Femmes became the band's biggest-selling album and was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA. Violent Femmes went on to become one of the most commercially successful rock bands of the 1980s and 1990s, selling over 9 million albums by 2005. After the release of their third album The Blind Leading the Naked (1986), the band's future was uncertain and they split up in 1987, when Gano and Ritchie went solo. However, they regrouped a year later, releasing the album 3 (1989). Since then, Violent Femmes' popularity continued to grow, especially in the United States where the songs "Nightmares" and "American Music" cracked the top five on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers (born August 21, 1938) is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. Though he has been most successful with country audiences, he has charted more than 120 hit singles across various music genres and topping the country and pop album charts for more than 200 individual weeks in the United States alone.

Two of his albums, The Gambler and Kenny, are featured in the About.com poll of "The 200 Most Influential Country Albums Ever". He was voted the "Favorite Singer of All-Time" in a 1986 joint poll by readers of both USA Today and People. He has received numerous such awards as the AMAs, Grammys, ACMs and CMAs, as well as a lifetime achievement award for a career spanning six decades in 2003.

Later success includes the 2006 album release, Water & Bridges, an across the board hit, that peaked at #5 in the Billboard Country Albums sales charts, also charting high in the Billboard 200. The first single from the album, "I Can't Unlove You," was also a chart hit. Remaining a popular entertainer around the world, the following year he completed a tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland, telling BBC Radio 2 DJ Steve Wright his favorite hit was "The Gambler". He has also acted in a variety of movies and television shows, most notably the title roles in Kenny Rogers as The Gambler and the MacShayne series as well as his appearance on The Muppet Show.