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The Archbishop of Canterbury was the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Canterbury. From the time of Augustine of Canterbury in 597 until the 16th century, the Archbishops of Canterbury were in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. Canterbury was the oldest bishopric in the English church. During the English Reformation the church broke away from the authority of the Pope, at first temporarily and later more permanently. Since then the archbishops have been outside of the succession of the Roman Catholic Church's hierarchy and have led the independent national church.

In the Middle Ages there was considerable variation in the manner of nominating the archbishop and other bishops—at various times the choice was made by the canons of Canterbury Cathedral, the King of England, or the Pope. Not everyone who was nominated or elected actually became Archbishop of Canterbury — the pope, in several instances, quashed elections. A table of unsuccessful candidates is shown below.

List of unsuccessful candidates for Archbishop of Canterbury (to 1558)

 * NOTE: The following men are not listed by the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) or by the Anglican Communion website as Archbishops of Canterbury, nor do their names appear on the list of Archbishops on the wall inside Canterbury Cathedral (see photo above).