Today is the 480th anniversary of the death in 1532 of Archbishop William Warham of Canterbury, the last pre- reformation holder of the Primacy. Born circa 1450 he had held the see of Canterbury since 1504.
Archbishop Warham in 1527
Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger
Image: Wikipedia
The biography of him by J J Scarisbrick in the Oxford DNB can be read here and there is another, illustrated online account of him here.
Warham appears to have been a good example of the late medieval English episcopate - devout, intelleigent, conscientious and loyal, but outflanked by men with greater determination, be they Cardinal Thomas Wolsey or King Henry VIII. His death removed a man who at his advanced age was beginning to realise and resist the challenge the Church now faced, and paved the way for the elevation of Thomas Cranmer.
I think the portrait suggests his character very well. The Primatial cross with his arms and the mitre, covered in pearls and with a seed pearl ground may well be depictions of his actual pontificalia. Holbein's drawing for the painting survives in the Royal collection at Windsor:
Image: copyright H.M. The Queen -The Royal Collection and arthistory.about.com
