Judge Pursuivant

Judge Keith Hilary Pursuivant is a fictional character and a supporting character in a series of stories by author Manly Wade Wellman. Pursuivant is a retired judge, author, and occult scholar who investigates mysterious supernatural events.

Description
Pursuivant is described as a man of great height and girth, with bulbous eyes and nose and a drooping blonde moustache. The name Pursuivant may be a reference to the Masonic master-of-arms called a Pursuivant.

Biography
A biography of Pursuivant is presented in the short story "The Black Drama," which presents him as having been born in 1891, retired in 1919, had studied at Yale and Oxford, and was decorated while serving in U.S. intelligence during World War I.

Pursuivant is more a mentor to and helper of characters who have become embroiled in occult adventures than a hero per se. He lives in a small town five hours from Washington, D.C., and is sufficiently wealthy to be attended by a manservant. He is intelligent and well-read in occult matters.

Until he passed it on to Wellman's later character, John Thunstone, Judge Pursuivant possessed a sword-cane with a silver blade said to have been forged by Saint Dunstan. The blade is inscribed with a text from Judges chapter 5 in the Vulgate, "Sic pereant omnes inimici tui" – "thus perish all your enemies". The sword-cane, which was especially potent against vampires, werewolves and other supernatural creatures, was passed on when Pursuivant's advanced age made him too weak to effectively wield it.