Lately I’ve been posting and commenting on the coats of arms newly assumed by bishops but I thought it would be nice to look back to an older coat of arms. I looked back to the XIX Century to Spain. Spanish bishops often have complex coats of arms because they come from armigerous families whose coats of arms are composed of several coats marshaled together on one shield. This one is no exception. The coat of arms of Juan de la Cruz Ignacio Cardinal Moreno y Maisonave, Archbishop of Toldeo (1875-1884) who was created Cardinal in 1868 while archbishop of Valladolid. He had also been bishop of Oviedo before that.
Here is a typical example of a complicated shield composed of several different coats of arms marshaled together. It may seem busy but it is also a feast for the eye!
EXARANDORUM 
Well thank you father Guy … this is the drawing that I made for araldicavaticana. Spanish ecclesiastical coats of arms are nearly always complicated, but I am always anxious to the result after finishing the painting. Yes, is is a feast for the eye, but difficult to make .. and at how many quarters is the limit between good and bad heraldry? I never knew the answer.
But sure f.e. the greater arms of Prussia with 48 “quarters” is not OK.