Decorating the Lord's Table: On the Dynamics between Image and Altar in the Middle Ages

As the center of Christian worship within churches, the altar has always remained a key subject to pictorial decorations. This book examines the Early and High Middle Ages which saw a profusion of sumptuous altar decorations all over Medieval Europe and focuses on the rich Scandinavian material of golden altars. Dealing with the investigation of the interrelationships between image and altar in the light of recent years' methodological developments, the book also looks at themes such as the human body, materiality, pictorial narrative, and liturgy. In this context, Decorating the Lord's Table focuses on the attempt to activate the image before the ritual, its audience, and the visual and spatial context.