Worship and Authority
Bishops Summary:

A bishop is the head of a diocese, a geographic province with a number of subservient churches.  The seat of a bishop is a cathedral, from the Latin word, cathedra, meaning seat.  Archbishops had authority over of a number of dioceses and over the bishops who presided over them.  York and Canterbury that Margery Kempe visited were seats of Archbishops.  In the Middle Ages the bishop/archbishop was a secular landholder, as well as spiritual authority.  He therefore behaved like a noble, which he invariable was, enjoying a separate palace, distinctive clothing, and prescribed ritual.  Clerical courts were distinct from secular courts, and the clergy were exempt from prosecution by lay jurists.