What is Ecclesiastical heraldry?

What is Ecclesiastical heraldry?

Peter O'Donoghue (Bluemantle Pursuivant ) gives expert video advice on: What are the origins of the College of Arms?; How old is it and why was it formed?; How can it help someone looking for their Coat of Arms? and more...

Ecclesiastical heraldry refers to the coats of arms used by Bishops and clergymen, and also by Bishoprics and abbeys and priories and other conventional bodies. In medieval times, the church was one of the greatest landowners, and as such it took part in land transactions all the time, issued documents, and all of them had to be sealed and authenticated. So, the priories, abbeys and bishoprics all had coats of arms. The incumbents of Bishoprics also had coats of arms, so all the bishops and archbishops would have had coats of arms as well, which they used to signify their own personal identity.