Great Cloister: A Lost Canterbury Tale presents a new study of the heraldry, genealogy and history of the Canterbury Cathedral cloister. It is the first comprehensive and complete study of this monument ever undertaken, and it provides a detailed chronology as well as many new insights into the families who were donors. The monument is revealed to have been the personal project of Archbishop Thomas Arundel (d.1414), an individual closely connected with the overthrow of King Richard II. The work as a whole provides considerable insights into the revolution of 1399 and the troubled reign of Henry IV as seen through the lens of individual families.
The cloister, as originally conceived, contained 856 heraldic shields, badges and devices of which 576 were unique. Some 365 families, principalities, religious foundations and other individuals both real and imagined were represented, some with more than one shield or device. More precisely, there were 252 families, 51 peerage families, 3 English royal families (Lancaster, York and Beaufort), 20 principalities, 12 religious foundations, 9 bishops, 7 saints, 3 heroes, 4 cities or towns, 2 priests, 1 monk and 1 for God himself (in the form of the Holy Trinity). The origins and evolution of each shield represented are considered in detail.