Archbishops of Canterbury

[Chris Green]

The See of Canterbury has a CoA that pre-dates the Reformation



The present Archbishop, Rowan Williams, has a CoA which is much more recent:



Traditionally the Archbishop would impale the arms of the See (dexter) with his own (sinister), though I have yet to find evidence on the internet of Rowan Williams doing this (though no doubt such depictions do exist, either in cathedral documents or elsewhere).

[Chris Green]

One of the best-known Archbishops of Canterbury is of course Thomas Becket. His arms were: argent three choughs (beckits) sable (beaked and legged rouge) - the last bit is not strictly necessary as choughs (as distinct from other corvids) are distinguishable by just those attributes. I have seen these arms described as "attributed"; perhaps someone can say whether they were actually his arms or a later invention.

[Chas Charles-Dunne]

Thomas Becket lived from 1118 – 29 December 1170 and came from good stock. His father might have been a petty knight, but was certainly a well to do merchant. The father and therefore Thomas, might very well have had arms, but his death in 1170 it is very early. I would think that the balance of probabilities is against it.

[Chris Green]

Cardinal John Kemp was Archbishop of Canterbury 1452-54. Called the "cursed cardinal", he was twice Lord Chancellor of England and more a politician than a priest. he may have got the Canterbury post as a reward for his help in putting down Jack Cade's rebellion. His arms below show how the impalement should be done:

[GSelvester]

One of the best-known Archbishops of Canterbury is of course Thomas Becket. His arms were: argent three choughs (beckits) sable (beaked and legged rouge) - the last bit is not strictly necessary as choughs (as distinct from other corvids) are distinguishable by just those attributes. I have seen these arms described as "attributed"; perhaps someone can say whether they were actually his arms or a later invention.

Well, since Becket died on December 29, 1170 and heraldry was only still in its embryonic stages and didn't really develop and become used in the Church for about another 100 years it highly unlikely this was Becket's actual coat of arms.

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[GSelvester]

Traditionally the Archbishop would impale the arms of the See (dexter) with his own (sinister), though I have yet to find evidence on the internet of Rowan Williams doing this (though no doubt such depictions do exist, either in cathedral documents or elsewhere).

No, I don't think so. His arms as granted were not impaled with the See of Canterbury and I have not ever seen a depiction of his arms impaled.

[Marcus Karlsson]

Some attempts at blasons of some Canterbury Arms shown in McCarthy's A Manual of Ecclesiastical Heraldry:

Charles Thomas Longley, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England 1862-68:
Canterbury impaling Longley - quarterly I. and IV. quarterly the fess line indented Or and Azure, II. and III. Argent a chevron Sable charged with three bezants.

Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England about 1883:
Canterbury impaling Benson - Argent between two bendlets Gules (? a bit obscured in the book) three trefoils in bend (colour not clear perhaps Sable).

Robert Runcie Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England 1980-91.
Canterbury impaling Runcie:Argent between three Roses Gules seeded Or and barbed Vert, a fess Sable charged with three Crosses Or.

[JMcMillan]

Cardinal John Kemp was Archbishop of Canterbury 1452-54. Called the "cursed cardinal", he was twice Lord Chancellor of England and more a politician than a priest. he may have got the Canterbury post as a reward for his help in putting down Jack Cade's rebellion. His arms below show how the impalement should be done:

My impression (no pun intended) is that this would be a little early for marshalling bishops' arms with those of their sees. Here's an impression from the British Museum of Archbishop Kemp's seal as archbishop of York, which shows the arms of the see of York and Kemp on separate shields:


There's a window at Bolton Percy Church in Yorkshire that does show Kemp with his arms impaled at his feet:



but dating the windows has apparently been a challenge. See this from a site about medieval stained glass at http://vidimus.org/issues/issue-32/panel-of-the-month/: "Philip Nelson suggested a date of c.1478 [for the windows], but this is based entirely on the heraldic arms in the window, which may not be original."