Stall Plates of the XXIII Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece, 1559, Part 4

In our final post of the stall plates of the XXIII Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece held in 1559 in St. Bavo's Cathdral, we see the following.

As always, I recommend clicking on an image to see a larger and more detailed photo of these armorial plates.

Anyway, from left to right, we have:

Don Carlos of Spain, eldest son of Phillip II (1545-1568): blank shield.

Alfonso de Aragon y Portugal, Count of Ampurias, 2nd Duke of Segorbe, 3rd Duke Consort of Cardona (1489–1563): blank shield. (His father’s arms were: Paly of three: Dexter, Or four pallets gules (Aragon); Center: Per fess gules and argent a tower or and a lion rampant gules; and Sinister: Per saltire: chief and base, Or four pallets gules; dexter and sinister, Argent an eagle displayed sable (the Two Sicilies).)

Philippe de Stavele, Baron de Chaumont (1508-1562): Ermine a bend gules.

Philippe de Montmorency, Count of Horn (1518-1568): Or a cross gules between sixteen eagles displayed four four four and four sable.

Immediately below those four plates we have:

William I, Prince of Orange, seigneur de Breda (1533-1584): Quarterly: 1, Azure billety a lion rampant or; 2, Or a lion rampant gules crowned sable; 3, Gules a fess argent; 4, Gules two lions passant guardant in pale or; overall an inescutcheon: Quarterly: i and iv, Gules a bend or; ii and iii, Or a hunting horn azure stringed gules, overall an inescutcheon Checky of nine or and azure (or, Or a cross quarter-pierced azure) (Châlon-Arlay as Princes of Orange).

Johan I of East Frisia (1506-1572): Per pale: Sable a frauenadler between four mullets pierced or; Per bend azure and gules, two lions rampant or, on a chief or an eagle displayed issuant sable (or, a chief of the Empire).

Francisco Fernando d'Avalos d'Aquino, 5th Marquis of Pescara (?-1571): Quarterly: 1 and 4, Gules a tower or a bordure compony argent and gules; 2 and 3, Quarterly: i and iv, Or three bendlets gules; ii and iii, Per fess argent and gules a lion rampant counterchanged.

Ascanio Sforza-Sforza, Count of Santa Fiora (1520-1575): Azure a lion rampant or maintaining in its sinister forepaw a rose or slipped and leaved proper.

And last, but certainly not least, we see:

Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, Margrave of Burgau, second son of Emperor Ferdinand I (1529-1595): A very complex coat of arms, as you might expect, and one which I am not going to blazon here. Feel free to make the attempt yourself; I won't try to stop you.

Jean de Lannoy, Seigneur de Molembaix (1509-1560): Quarterly: 1 and 4, Argent three lions rampant azure; 2 and 3, Quarterly: i and iv, Gules a winged arm or maintaining a sword erect proper; ii and iii, Argent a lion rampant sable crowned or; overall, an inescutcheon of Burgundy.

And this ends our look at the stall plates of the 1559 Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece, held in St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium. I hope that you have found this review of the stall plates from both the 1445 and 1559 Chapters on exhibit in the Cathedral to have been of interest.

Now if I could just get my own coat of arms painted on a large board in the manner of these stall plates. (Of course, I have no idea where I would hang it! I can't think of any really good spaces in my house for such a display of armory.)

Stall Plates of the XXIII Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece, 1559, Part 3

Continuing with our review of the heraldic stall plates of the XXIII Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece held in 1559 in St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, we have the following, from left to right:

As always, I recommend clicking on an image to see a larger and thus more detailed photograph.

Pedro Fernandez de Velasco, 3rd Duke of Frias (1485-1559): Checky of nine or and per fess nebuly argent and azure, a bordure compony gules and argent charged alternately with towers or and lions rampant purpure crowned or.

Ferrante Gonzaga, Duke of Ariano: Argent a cross formy throughout gules between four eagles displayed sable, overall an inescutcheon Quarterly: i and iv, Or two bars sable; ii and iii, Gules a lion rampant argent.

Jean de Hennin, 1st Comte de Boussu (1480-1562): Gules a bend or.

Andrea Doria, 1st Prince of Melfi (1466-1560): Per fess or and argent an eagle displayed sable between four ragged staffs in saltire gules.

Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alva (1508-1582): Checky of fifteen argent and azure. (This could also be blazoned: Argent two bars azure a pale counterchanged, though I think that blazon is a little less elegant.)

Albert V, Duke of Bavaria (1528-1579): Quarterly: 1 and 4, Sable a lion rampant or; 2 and 3, Lozengy bendwise azure and argent.

In the row of plates immediately below that one, we have, from left to right:

Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma (1524-1586): Or on a pale gules between six fleurs-de-lis azure an ombrellino or surmounted by a pair of keys in saltire or and argent. We have seen a slightly later iteration of the Farnese arms in the person of Alexander Farnese (1545-1592), Duke of Parma, who was the son of Ottavio here, in a stained glass window in the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp.

Friedrich von Fürstenberg (1496-1559): Or an eagle displayed gules a bordure per bordure nebuly argent and azure.

Ponthus de Lalaing, Seigneur de Bugnicourt: Gules ten lozenges conjoined three three three and one argent.

Claude de Vergy, Comte de Gruères (1495-1560): Gules three roses (or cinquefoils) or.

Peter Ernest I von Mansfeld-Vorderort, Count of Mansfeld (1517-1604): Quarterly: 1 and 4: Quarterly: i and iv, Gules three bars argent; ii and iii, Argent six lozenges conjoined throughout three and three gules; 2, Sable an eagle displayed argent crowned beaked and legged or; 3, Azure a lion rampant or overall a bend compony gules and argent.

Next up, still left to right, we find:

Pierre de Barbançon, Stadtholder of Hainault: Azure billety a lion rampant argent armed and langued gules.

Henry II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1489-1568): Quarterly: 1, Gules two lions passant guardant in pale or; 2, Or semy of hearts gules a lion rampant azure (sable?); 3, Azure a lion rampant argent crowned armed and langued or; and 4, Gules a lion rampant or a bordure compony azure and argent.

Philippe de Croy, 3rd Duc d'Aerschot (1521-1595): Quarterly: 1 and 4, Argent three bars gules; 2 and 3, Argent three axes the two in chief addorsed gules. We have seen these arms earlier among the stall plates of the Knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece in the Chapter held in 1445, in the persons of Antoine de Croy and Jehan de Croy.

That's all for this time! Isn't it enough? No? Well, we've got one more post with the remainder of these stall plates for you. Stay tuned!

Stall Plates of the XXIII Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece, 1559, Part 2

Continuing our review of the stall plates in St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, from the Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece held there in 1559, we find the following:

In the top row, from left to right, we have the arms of:

Charles de Brimeu, Comte de Meghem (1524/25-1572): Argent three eagles displayed gules beaked and legged sable. (We have seen these arms among the stall plates from the Chapter held here in 1445.)

Charles, Baron de Berlaymont (1510-1578): Barry of six vair and gules.

Luis Enriquez de Cabrera, 2nd Duke of Medina de Rioseco (?-1572): a blank shield

Gonzalo II Fernández de Córdoba (1520-1578): A horrendously complex shield. Please feel free to click on the image above to see a larger version with more detail of the many and complex quarters in this coat of arms.

And in the bottom row, still left to right:

(hidden) Antonio Doria, Marquis of San Stefano; Per fess or and argent an eagle displayed sable crowned or between in dexter chief a demi-sun issuant from chief or rayed gules and issuant from each flank a flame gules.

Wratislaw von Pernstein (1530-1582): Or a bull’s head cabossed sable ringed or.

Jean de Montmorency, Siegneur de Courrière (?-1563): Or on a cross gules between sixteen eagles displayed four four four and four sable, a mullet of eight points argent.

Jean IV, Marquis de Berghes (1528-1567): Per fess: Per pale sable a lion rampant or and Or three pallets gules; and Vert three mascles two and one argent.

Just two plates in this set (left to right):

Jean de Ligne, Comte d'Arenberg (1525-1568): Quarterly: 1 and 4, Or a bend gules; 2 and 3, Argent three lions rampant gules.

Maximilien de Bourgogne, Marquis de Vere and Lord of Beveren: Very complex quartered arms plus inescutcheon; effectively, it is Burgundy quartered with a variant of Bourbon, with an inescutcheon Sable a fess argent.  Maximilian was a descendant of Antoine, bastard of Burgundy, an illegitimate son of Philip the Good.

And to finish up our review of these stall plates today, we have the armorial achievements of:

Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia, Archduke of Austria (later Holy Roman Emperor) (1503-1564): Or a double-headed eagle sable, on it's breast an escutcheon: Quarterly: 1 and 4: Quarterly: i and iv, Barry argent and gules; ii and iii, Gules a lion rampant argent; 2, Quarterly: i and iv, Gules a tower or; ii and iii, Argent a lion rampant purpure; 3, Burgundy (too complex to spend much time blazoning).

John III, King of Portugal (1502-1557), Charles V's brother-in-law. Argent five escutcheons in cross azure each charged with five plates in saltire all within a bordure gules semy of towers or.

Frederick II, Elector Palatine: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Sable a lion rampant or; 2 and 3, Lozengy bendwise argent and azure; overall an inescutcheon Gules an orb or.

If you would like to know more of the background and history of any of the individuals whose arms appear in these photographs, I recommend a quick search on Wikipedia, which may tell you more than you really wanted to know.

Stall Plates of the XXIII Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece, 1559, Part 1

Having finished our review of the stall plates of the VII Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece held in St. Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium, in 1445, we come now to those of the XXIII Chapter of the Order also held in the Cathedral in 1559.

On this set of shields, we have, from left to right (you can click on the image to see a larger, more detailed picture. Please feel free to do this with this or any of the other photographs here):

Lamoral d'Egmont, Prince de Gavre (1522-1568): Quarterly: 1 and 4, Per pale, Chevronny or and gules, and Argent two bars embattled counterembattled gules; 2 and 3, Per pale sable and or, two lions combatant counterchanged, overall an inescutcheon Quarterly: i and iv, Argent a lion rampant sable; ii and iii, Gules a mullet of eight points argent.

Joachim, Seigneur [lord] de Rye: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Azure an eagle displayed or; 2 and 3, Azure a bend or.

Juan Esteban Manrique de Lara, 3rd Duke of Najera (1504-1588): Quarterly: 1 and 4, Gules in pale two calderas gringolada barry countercompony or and gules and argent framed and handled countercompony or and gules, the snake heads or; 2 and 3, Quarterly i and iv, Gules a tower or, ii and iii, Argent a lion rampant sable crowned or, an inescutcheon Argent a lion rampant sable crowned or.

Emmanuel Philibert, Prince of Piedmont (later Duke of Savoy) (1528-1580); Quarterly: 1 and 4, Per pale, Gules a horse rampant contourny argent, and Barry sable and or a crancelin throughout vert, On a point pointed argent three crampets gules; 2, Argent billety a lion rampant sable; 3, Sable a lion rampant argent; overall an inescutcheon Gules a cross argent.  (Crampets, Fr. bouterolles, are the decorative metal pieces on the tip of a sword scabbard.)

Cosimo I de' Medici, Duke of Florence (later the first Grand Duke of Tuscany) (1519-1574): Or six torteaux one two two and one, the chiefmost azure three fleurs-de-lis or.

Iñigo Lopez de Mendoza, 4th Duke of l'Infantado (1503-1566): Per saltire: chief and base, Sable on a bend or a bendlet gules; dexter and sinister, Or, the words Ave Maria to dexter and Gratia Plena to sinister.

From left to right again, we have:

Iñigo Lopez de Mendoza, 4th Duke of l'Infantado (1503-1566) (repeated from the first photo, above)

Charles, 2nd Comte de Lalaing (1506-1558): Gules ten lozenges conjoined three three three and one argent.

Reinoud III van Brederode: Or a lion rampant gules overall a label of three tags azure.

Beltran II de la Cueva y Toledo, 3rd Duke of Albuquerque (1477-1560) (his name and titles in full in Spanish: Don Beltrán de la Cueva y Álvarez de Toledo, tercer duque de Alburquerque, tercer conde de Ledesma, tercer conde de Huelma, señor de los estados de Cuéllar, la Codesera, Mombeltrán y Pedro Bernardo. Yes, it's quite a mouthful. I'm grateful that I'm not the one who had to announce him into a royal court!): Or two pallets gules on a point pointed ployé sable a dragon [wyvern] statant or all within a bordure gules charged with alternating saltorels couped or and escutcheons of the arms of Mendoza (Per saltire: chief and base, Sable on a bend or a bendlet gules; dexter and sinister, Or, the words Ave Maria to dexter and Gratia Plena to sinister).

Pietro Antonio San Severino, Duke of San Marco: Argent a fess gules a bordure azure.

And for our final entry in this post, again, from left to right:

Maximilian, King of Bohemia, Archduke of Austria (later Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II) (1527-1576): Or a double-headed eagle displayed sable, on its breast an inescutcheon: Quarterly: 1, Barry argent and gules; 2, Gules a lion rampant argent; 3, Per pale, Gules a fess argent, and Or two bendlets azure within a bordure gules; and 4, Quarterly: i and iv, Gules a tower or; ii and iii, Argent a lion rampant (azure? sable? it's hard to tell here).

Christian II, King of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (1481-1559): Quarterly: 1, Or semy of hearts gules three lions passant in pale azure; 2, Azure three crowns or; 3, Gules a lion rampant crowned holding an axe or bladed argent; 4, Azure a wyvern or; on a cross throughout gules a cross throughout argent; Overall an inescutcheon: Quarterly: i and iv, Or two lions passant in pale (azure?); ii, Azure three (I don't know) argent; iii, Azure a swan argent crowned and legged or; overall an inescutcheon Or two bars gules. (Whew! If you think I'm going to continue to blazon every shield this complex among these stall plates, you need to start paying me more!)

Philip of Austria, Prince of Asturias (Charles V's eldest son, at the time of this Chapter Philip II of Spain, and Grand Master of the Order from 1555) (1527-1598): In dexter chief: Spain (Castile and Leon); in sinister chief: Aragon and the Two Sicilies, and all across the base of the shield, Burgundy.

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500-1558): the same as Philip, above, only that shield placed on the breast of the imperial eagle (Or a double-headed eagle displayed sable).

I'm hoping for some less complex arms in the next installment of these stall plates!

Stall Plates of the VII Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece (1445), Part 3

Today we finish our look at the stall plates of the knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece at the Chapter held in St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, in 1445.

11.

Guilbert de Lannoy, Seigneur of Villerval and Tronchienes: Or three lions rampant sable (should be vert) langued and crowned a bordure engrailed gules overall a label of three tags azure [see also photographs numbers 4, Baudouin de Lannoy, and 6, Hue de Lannoy];

Jehan, Seigneur of Comines: Gules a chevron or between three escallops argent a bordure or;

David de Brimeu, Seigneur of Ligny: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Argent three eagles displayed gules beaked and membered sable; 2 and 3, Argent a bend gules [see also photos numbers 4, Florimond de Brimeu, and 10, Jacques de Brimeu];

(partial) Roland d'Uutkercke, Seigneur of Hemsrode and Herstrunt: Argent on a cross sable five escallops or. [See also photo number 12, below.]

12.

Roland d'Uutkercke, Seigneur of Hemsrode and Herstrunt: Argent on a cross sable five escallops or [also on photograph number 11, above];

Charles, Duke of Orleans and Valois: Azure three fleurs-de-lis or overall a label of three tags argent; and

(partially obscured) Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy [see photograph number 13, immediately below].

13.

Philip III (the Good), Duke of Burgundy, Lothier, Brabant, and Limbourg, Count of Flanders, Artois, and Palatine Burgundy (and more, hidden by the shelf; he was also the Grand Master of the Order of the Golden Fleece at the time of this Chapter): Quarterly: 1 and 4, Azure semy-de-lys or a bordure compony gules and argent; 2, Per pale, Bendy or and azure a bordure gules, and Sable a lion rampant or; 3, Bendy or and azure a bordure gules, and Argent a lion rampant gules crowned or; overall an inescutcheon Or a lion rampant sable langued gules.

14.

Alfonso V, King of Aragon and Naples: Or four pallets gules (Aragon).

This concludes our review of the stall plates of the VII Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece held in St. Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent, in 1445.

Next time, the stall plates from the XXIII Chapter of the Order, held here in 1559.

Stall Plates of the VII Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece (1445), Part 2

Continuing our review of the stall plates of the Order of the Golden Fleece from its Chapter held in St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent in 1445, we see the following (continuing our numbering of the photos from the previous post, and going from left to right in each photo):

6.

Jehan, Seigneur of Roubaix and Herselles: Ermine a chief gules;

Antoine de Vergy, Count of Dammartin: Gules three cinquefoils or a bordure argent;

Hue de Lannoy, Seigneur of Santes: Or three lions rampant sable (should be vert) langued and crowned a bordure engrailed gules;

Jehan de la Trémoille and Jehan de Luxembourg appeared in photo number 5.

7.

André, Seigneur of Humières: Argent fretty sable;

Henry de Borsele, Seigneur of Vere, Count of Grandpre: Sable a fess argent;

Franck de Borsele, Count of Ostrevant: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Sable a fess argent; 2 and 3, Gules three zules [or columns] argent;

(partial) Jean II, Duke of Alençon, Count of Perche: Azure three fleurs-de-lis or a bordure gules bezanty (should be platy; that is, argent roundels instead of or on the bordure) [see also photograph number 8, below].

8.

(partial, see photo number 7, above) Jean II, Duke of Alençon, Count of Perche: Azure three fleurs-de-lis or a bordure gules bezanty (should be platy; that is, argent roundels instead of or on the bordure);

Jehan de Neufchâtel, Seigneur of Montagu: Gules a bend argent;

Jean bâtard of Luxembourg, Seigneur of Hautbourdin: Argent a lion rampant queue forchy gules debruised by a bendlet sable;

Baudot de Noyelles-Wion, Seigneur of Casteau: Gules three bars gemel argent overall a label of three points or.

9.

Frédéric, called Valeran, Count of Meurs: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Or a fess sable; 1 and 3, Sable a double-headed eagle displayed argent;

Jehan, Seigneur of Créqui and Canaples: Or a crequier (a stylized tree) gules;

Philippe, Seigneur of Ternant and LaMotte: Checky gules and or [see also photograph number 10].

10.

Philippe, Seigneur of Ternant and LaMotte: Checky gules and or [see also photo number 9];

Jacques de Brimeu, Seigneur of Grigny: Argent three eagles displayed gules beaked and membered sable, an escallop sable for difference [see also 4, Florimond de Brimeu, and 11, David de Brimeu];

Antoine de Croy, Count of Porcéan, Seigneur of Renty: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Argent three bars gules; 2 and 3, Argent three axes the two in chief addorsed gules) [see also photograph number 3, Jehan de Croy].

Next time, we finish this Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Stall Plates of the VII Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece (1445), Part 1

On November 30, 1445, the VII Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece was held in St. Bavo’s Cathedral, Ghent. The Grand Master of the Order at that time was Philip III (the Good), Duke of Burgundy.

Still displayed in the Cathedral are the stall plates of the members of the Order. (Another Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece was held in the Cathedral in 1559, and those stall plates are displayed in the Cathedral as well. We will look at those after we see those from the 1445 Chapter.)

I will number the photographs in the order that I took them as we toured the Cathedral (which isn't necessarily the order in which they perhaps ought to be viewed). The number will be useful, as there are several instances where a coat of arms appears more than once, where two (or more) brothers, or a father and son(s) may have all been members of the Order at that time. Where this occurs, I refer to the number of the other photograph(s) with the duplicative arms to make it easier for you to cross-review and compare them.

And as there are a lot of pictures, I am breaking them up into three groups, to avoid visual overload.

Today, we look at the first of these groups of stall plates. The names, ranks, and blazons of the arms run from left to right in each photo. (As usual, you may click on any image to go to a larger version where you can see these plates in greater detail.)

As you will note, each stall plate contains the arms of the individual within the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, the helm and crest of that individual, and script naming the person and his landholdings.

1.

Mathieu de Foix-Comminges, Count of Comminges: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Argent a cross formy throughout; 2 and 3, Per pale, Or in pale two cows statant gules collared and belled argent, and Or three pallets gules;

Reinoud II van Brederode, Seigneur [Lord] of Brederod and Viane: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Or a lion rampant gules a label of three tags sable; 2 and 3, Argent a lion rampant queue forchy gules;

Jean IV, Seigneur of Auxy: Checky or and gules; and

A blank shield.

2.

Jehan de Vergy, Seigneur of Fouvans and Vignorry: Gules three cinquefoils or;

Charles of Burgundy, Count of Charolais: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Azure semy-de-lys or a bordure compony gules and argent; 2, Per pale, Bendy or and azure a bordure gules, and Sable a lion rampant or; 3, Bendy or and azure a bordure gules, and Argent a lion rampant gules crowned or; overall a label of three tags argent;

Ruprecht, Count of Virnebourg: Or seven mascles four and three [conjoined?] gules;

Jean VI, Duke de Bretagne [Duke of Brittany] and Count of Montfort Trepassé: Ermine.

3.

Pierre de Bauffremont, Count of Charny and Montford: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Vairy or and gules; 2 and 3, Gules three cinquefoils or; overall an inescutcheon Gules three escutcheons argent;

Jehan de Croy, Seigneur of Tour sur Marne: Quarterly: 1 and 4, Argent three bars gules; 2 and 3, Argent three axes the two in chief addorsed gules; overall an inescutcheon Quarterly, i and iv, Gules bezanty; ii and iii, Or a lion rampant sable [see also photo number 10, Antoine de Croy];

Simon de Lalaing, Seigneur of Santes: Gules ten lozenges conjoined three three three and one argent the first charged with a lion rampant gules.

4.

Jehan de Luxembourg, Count of Ligny: Argent a lion rampant queue forchy gules langued and crowned or overall a label of three tags azure;

Florimond de Brimeu, Seigneur of Massincourt: Argent three eagles displayed gules beaked and membered sable [see also photographs numbers 10, Jacques de Brimeu, and 11, David de Brimeu];

Baudouin de Lannoy, called le Bègue (the Stutterer), Seigneur of Molembaix: Argent three lions rampant sable (should be vert) langued and crowned or overall an inescutcheon Argent four bars azure;

Pierre de Bauffremont and Jehan de Croy appeared in photograph number 3.

5.

Jehan de la Trémoille, Seigneur of Jonvelle: Or a chevron gules between three eagles displayed sable;

Jehan de Luxembourg, Florimond de Brimeu, Baudouin de Lannoy, and Pierre de Bauffremont all appeared in photo number 4.

Next time, Part 2!

A Stained Glass Tribute to Twenty-Seven Bishops

I know, I know. You're all finding all of these rouwbord (memorial boards) a little repetitious. So let's look at something else in St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent before moving on to something else.

There is one very special (and large!) stained glass window in the Cathedral that commemorates the first twenty-seven bishops of the Cathedral, from 1510 through 1963, by their coats of arms. (We have seen several of these coats before.) The shields are arranged in alternating rows of four shields and two shields.

At the very top of the window are two Papal coats of arms, those (I believe) of Pope Pius IV (1559-1565) (Giovanni Angelo Medici) and Pope Pius XI (1922-1939) (Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti), effectively “bookending” the twenty-seven Bishops of St. Bavo’s Cathedral. (Yes, I know the dates of these Popes are not an exact match, but the earlier Medici popes were a bit earlier, and the other arms are not those of Pope Pius XII, so there you go. Plus, the dates in the window immediately below the arms of the two Popes are "1559" and "1927". so there's that.)

The names marked below with an asterisk are those whose arms we have seen elsewhere in the Cathedral. The years (in parentheses) are the dates of their incumbency as Bishop.

1. Cornelius Jansenius (1568–1576)
2. Wilhelmus Damasus van der Linden (1588)
3. Pieter Damant (1590–1609)
4. Charles Maes (1610–1612)

5. Franciscus van der Burch (1613–1616)
6. Jacobus Boonen (1617–1620)

7. Antoon Triest (1622–1657)*
8. Carolus van den Bosch (1660–1665)
9. Eugeen-Albert, count d'Allamont (1666–1673)
10. Frans van Horenbeke (1677–1679)

11. Ignace Schetz de Grobbendonk (1679–1680)
12. Albert de Hornes (1681–1694)

13. Philips Erard van der Noot (1695–1730)*
14. Jan-Baptist de Smet (1730–1741)
15. Maximiliaan-Antoon van der Noot (1743–1770)*
16. Govaart-Geeraard van Eersel (1772–1778)*

17. Ferdinand-Marie, prince von Lobkowitz (1779–1795)
18. Stefaan-Andreas de Paula Fallot de Beaumont (1802–1807)

19. Maurits-Jan-Magdalena, prince de Broglie (1807–1821)
20. Jan-Frans van de Velde (1829–1838)
21. Louis-Joseph Delebecque (1838–1864)
22. Henricus Franciscus Bracq (1865–1888)

23. Henri-Charles Lambrecht (1888–1889)
24. Antoon Stillemans (1890–1916)*

(No bishop; this shield is the coat of arms of Flanders)
25. Emilius Seghers (1917–1927)*
26. Honoré Jozef Coppieters (1927–1947)*
27. Karel Justinus Calewaert (1947–1963)

The scrolls beneath the shields contain the Bishops' mottos. The shields in the top row are surmounted by a mitre and pastoral staff, with a processional cross behind the shield surmounted by a bishop's galero.

And now, for your visual pleasure, here are some closer, overlapping shots of the window showing greater detail (and, as always, you can click on any of these images to see a larger version showing even more detail, and I certainly invite you to do so!):

It's a lovely work of heraldic art, and a very colorful way of paying tribute to the memory of these Bishops.

A Tale of Three Bishops

Or, at least, memorials to three bishops.

On another wall in St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, we found three rouwbord, memorial boards, to three of the bishops of the Cathedral in the early to mid-20th Century.

The memorial board at the top commemorates Antoon Stillemans, 24th Bishop from 1890 to 1916.

Below and to the right of his memorial board, we find the rouwbord of his successor, Emilius Seghers, 25th Bishop from 1917 to 1927.

And finally, on the lower left, we have the memorial board of Honoré Jozef Coppieters, 26th Bishop from 1927 to 1947.

We will see each of these arms again, along with those of several other bishops whose arms we have already noted, when we come to the large stained glass window containing the arms of the first twenty-eight bishops of the Cathedral. It'll be a treat, I promise!