RESPLENDENT FAITH: Liturgical Treasuries of The Middle Ages

A beautifully illustrated collection of some of the finest examples of liturgical art and the culture that produced it, this medieval church treasury assesses the artistic techniques and methods, and places objects in the context of their practice and piety. Fliegel explores the origins from late antiquity and their ultimate disappearance as a result of the Reformation, French Revolution, and political upheavals of the early modern period. Reliquaries, censers, monstrances, chalices, patens and vestments, liturgical objects were usually crafted from precious metals such as silver, gilt-silver and gold to which costly gemstones, enamels, carved ivory plaques were often applied. They were often displayed only in a church sacristy, or a 'treasury', and important objects were displayed openly on or near the altar for all to see. The many books produced during the Middle Ages to celebrate the Mass were handmade and often costly to produce, decorated or illuminated with silver and gold leaf and colourful paint, these illuminated manuscripts were among the most prized possessions of any cathedral, parish church or monastery. Sometimes they were bound between bejewelled covers, befitting their function on the altar. Some of these great medieval treasuries have survived in situ in cities such as Venice, Hildesheim, Aachen, Trier and elsewhere. The medieval churchgoer would be overwhelmed by the sensory richness of the setting, the coloured light emanating from stained glass windows, the flickering lights from candles and the smell of incense and of course the crosses and chalices which dazzled and inspired the faithful in a world embellished with sculpture, icons and frescoes of God, the angels and saints. This is a rich treasury in a rare import of 108pp, 22.5 x 28.5cm.