So much medieval art has been lost since the mid 16th century, here I look at some wonderful visual evidence of a lost rood screen from Norfolk.
Neglect, apathy and fire – a lost Norfolk screen
The Mass in Rogier van der Weyden’s Seven Sacraments
Rogier van der Weyden's Seven Sacraments is an extraordinary painting. In this post I explore the depictions of the Mass within and what it might say about the lay experience of the Eucharist in medieval Europe.
The Somerton reredos
Set into the east wall of Somerton church in Oxfordshire is what appears to be at first glance a complete medieval reredos. It portrays the Last Supper with Christ and the disciples ranged behind a long table covered in a pleated cloth. They are all tucking in to food and drink, eating from wooden trenchers... Continue Reading →
All that glisters is gold – the Wymondham Abbey altar screen
The parish church of St Mary and St Thomas of Canterbury in Wymondham in Norfolk, is all that is remains of a Benedictine Priory founded in 1107 by Wiliam d'Aubigny, which was raised to abbey status in 1448. When Wymondham Abbey was dissolved in 1538 at the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the people of Wymondham... Continue Reading →
The Image of Pity – the Wellingham rood screen.
Wellingham is a remote little hamlet in the middle of Norfolk to the south of Fakenham. It's church, heavily rebuilt in 1896 is rather undistinguished, but it contains a great treasure. The dado of a rood screen from the 1530s. Rather interestingly the screen is inscribed and precisely dated. The inscription on the upper... Continue Reading →
