HERALDRY
246
HERALDRY
Fig
Mitre of Angli-
can Bishop
for an Anglican bishop or archbishop. The shape of
the heraldic mitre has varied somewhat according to
the varying styles of heraldic art in vogue, and there
is at present a tendency to re-
vert to the ancient wider and
lower shape in armorial repre-
sentations. It is always repre-
sented as of gold, and the labels
or infulce depending from with-
in it are of the same colour
(Fig. 8). It has been asserted
that in pre-Reformation usage
a distinction was drawn be-
tween the mitre of a bishop and
an abbot by the omission in
the case of the latter of the
inJ'ultF. Certainly, in England
and France it was usual, for
heraldic purposes, to place the
mitre of an abbot slightly in profile. In most conti-
nental countries it has been more usual to represent
the mitre of white ornamented with gold, no doubt
an attempt to represent the pretiosa mitre, which,
though heavily jewelled, is really on a foundation of
gold. The representation of the simplex mitre cannot
be intended, as this is really
of plain white linen.
In spite of many statements to the contrary, the mitre (in fact and heraldically) of a bishop and an archbishop are identical. The coronetcd mitre (Fig. 9), which has so often been used by archbishops under the belief that it appertained to archiepiscopal rank, is really and exclusively the mitre of the Bishop of Durham. The See of Durham, until early in the nineteenth century, was in fact and law also a temporal palatinate, and, though latterly its attributes of temporal sovereignty had declined, anciently the temporal power was of wide extent, the Bishops of Durham having their own separate parliament. In token of the temporal power the bishop had his coro- net, in token of his spiritual power he had his mitre. .Mone amongst the English l:>ishops, his arms were surmounted by a hel- met [they so appear in the famous " ,\rmorial de Gelre" (Fig. 10) where the helmet, with its mantling, is shown with the small shickl tilted in the fashion of early heraldic displays], and on his helmet was placed his coronet. Within the coronet was his mitre and the representation of the two together led to the appearance of the coronet as the rim of the mitre, and coronet and mitre have been armorially de- picted together. But no evidence of the wearing or actual existence of a coroneted mitre is known, and the , present form is the heraldic conjunc- Arms WITH Hei^ tion of a coronet and a mitre. MET. \Vhether smce the abolition oi the
From "Armorial palatinate the right to the coronet de Gelre gjj|| rgmains, is open to argument,
but officially its use is still sanctioned.
The crosier, which is another external ornament to the shield widely made use of by ecclesiastics, must not be confounded, as it often has been, with the pro- cessional cross of an archbishop. Nor is the name, crosier, a confusion of terms. The crosier is, as it has always been, the pastoral staff. Originally nothing more than a staff used for assistance in walking, it has been conjectured that its ceremonial use and ecclesi-
P'li:. 9. Coh<jnj-.ti;d
Mitre of the Bishop
OF Durham
^
Fig. 11.
astical status is a consequence of its convenience to
aged prelates as an assistance and support during
lengthy services. The crosier as a sign of episcopal
dignity is said to be traceable to the fourth century
and to have been used by abbots in the fifth. In its
early form it was surmounted only by a boss or by a
simple bend, and in the Eastern Churches
the crosier terminates not in a crook but
in a tail, the ordinary form of a crutch.
This, however, has now developed into an
elaborated form, much as if the crook of
the Western crosiers were duplicated at
the other side of the staff (Fig. 11). The
development of this crook is probably
merely artistic and decorative, though
the symbolism of the shepherd's crook
has been invoked. In this, as in all other
matters of symbolism, it is exceedingly
difficult to determine whether the form
followed the symbolism or whether this
is a later attribution. Certain it is, how-
ever, that there is a widespread belief cJo'sier of
that, whilst the crook in the case of an the Eastern
abbot should terminate inwards (Fig. 12), CnnRCHEs
that of a bishop should terminate outwards(Fig. 13), the
suggested symbolism being that, whilst the jurisdiction
of an abbot was strictly confined to his abbey, that of
a bishop was not so restricted. The same symbolism
has been read into a heraldic practice, which un-
doubtedly has much acceptance, by which the crosier
of an abbot placed in bend sinister behind the .shield
was represented with the crook turned inwards to-
wards the mitre (Fig. 3) whereas the contrary position
was adopted for the crosier of a bi.shop (e. g.. Fig. 2).
But no such distinctions appear ever to have been
recognized in relation to the actual crosiers carried by
bishops or abliots. The sudarium or veil, which really
has no sjTnbolism, and is attached to the crosier for
mere purposes of cleanliness, is somelimes met with
in armorial representations (Fig. 13).
In England, in the Anglican Church, two crosiers are placed in saltire behind the shiekl of a bishop or archbishop (Figs. 2, 5, and d, Plate I). Woodward questions the propriety of this fully established prac- tice, unless in a case of a doul>le episcopate, but that writer has apparently overlooked the fact that, whereas in other countriesa crosier, e.g , is represented singly in bend, or mo.st frequently in bend sinister, it has been the invariable custom in England to dupli- cate insignia of this character and place them in saltire be- hind the shield, e. g., the batons of the Earl Marshal or of Lyon King of .\rms. The Bishop of Durham alone amongst the Anglican liishops sub- stitutes a naked sword (indicative of the temponil palati- nate of Durham) for one of the crosiers. The seal of Bishop Gilbert Burnett of Salisbury, Chancellor Crosier of an of the Order of the Abbot t; a r t e r , shows his shield encircled by the Garter and imposed upon a cro- sier and key in saltire — the latter, no doubt, an allusion to his office of chancellor. In no other case is temporal jurisdiction united with a spiritual office in England, but in Germany and elsewhere a number of cases can l)e alluded to, "and in such cases the naked sword is similarly disposed in saltire with a crosier, or these are placed in pale one on either side of the escutcheon.
f
Fig. 12.
f
Fio. 13. Crosier of
A Bishop
