Some Unusually Marshaled Arms on Bishop Redman's Memorial

A sign by the tomb of Bishop Richard Redman notes that he was originally Abbott of Shap Abbey, and later Bishop of both St. Asaph and Exeter, before coming to Ely. He worked for both King Richard III and King Henry VII, and it was probably as a result of this service that he was awarded the See of Ely. He was Bishop here from 1501-1505.

His tomb is one of the very few in Ely Cathedral that has never been moved or deliberately damaged, possibly, at least in part, because of Bishop Redman's well-known hospitality.

The three shields on the side of his tomb are, from left to right:

See of Exeter: Gules a sword in bend proper between two keys in bend sinister addorsed and conjoined in the bows interlaced the upper or and the lower argent.

Quarterly: 1 and 4, Gules a lion rampant argent charged on the shoulder with a fleur-de-lis sable (Daldeburgh); 2 and 3, Gules three cushions ermine (Redman).

See of Ely: Gules three crowns or.

These same three shields appear in the same order above his effigy's head:

But it is the two shields at the foot of his tomb that are somewhat anomalous:

On the left we see a shield of Daldeburgh quartering Redman impaling the See of Exeter, Gules a sword in bend proper between two keys in bend sinister addorsed and conjoined in the bows interlaced the upper or and the lower argent.

And on the right, we have Daldeburgh quartering Redman impaling the See of Ely, Gules three crowns or.

It is unusual, to say the least, to have the personal arms of the Bishop to dexter and the arms of the diocese, or as here, his two dioceses, to sinister. The usual manner of display places the arms of the see to dexter, the reverse of what we see here. I have not found any explanation which might explain this unusual form of marshaling.