Spiritual Peers, or Lords Spiritual, comprise the senior prelates of the Church of England who serve as constituent members of the House of Lords. Historically, their presence is rooted in the feudal era, where bishops and mitred abbots held lands 'per baroniam' from the Crown, thereby incurring the same obligation of parliamentary attendance as secular barons (Lords Temporal). Unlike hereditary peers, their status is officio-specific and non-hereditary, terminating upon their resignation or retirement from their see.
In the modern constitutional framework, the number of Lords Spiritual is fixed at twenty-six, including the 'five great sees' of Canterbury, York, London, Durham, and Winchester. The remaining positions are filled by seniority of appointment among other diocesan bishops. In the context of heraldry, Spiritual Peers are entitled to impale their personal arms with the arms of their see and surmount their shield with a mitre, though they do not traditionally use supporters unless they possess a separate temporal title or particular Order of Chivalry.