Framing the Narratives: The Decoration of the Borders and Latticework of the Golden Altars

Gilded copper plates featuring narrative scenes and single figures constitute the main elements of the Danish, medieval golden altars. They have therefore been the subject of a great deal of attention. No less important to the experience of the altar and its composition are the frames, borders and latticework that surrounded and formed the background of the narratives and figures. Although often damaged and incomplete, the frames and borders on the individual altar parts were richly decorated with gilded and brown varnished, engraved and embossed copper plates, which feature numerous motifs and bands of inscription. Decorative in themselves, the inscriptions also convey messages of their own and are often closely associated with specific scenes and figures. The remainder of the borders and images may at first glance look like pure decoration, but on some of the altars independent meanings and narratives can be made out behind the design and decoration of the framework. The motifs can hardly have been chosen at random; nor was their placement on the frontals and retables accidental. The use of motifs and patterns was not limited just to these altars either. The same motifs can be seen in Romanesque stone sculptures, on fonts and church buildings, as well as in frescoes and other forms of decorated objects from church interiors, including reliquaries, book covers, and the vasa sacra used in the service. They are also found on a much smaller scale on some of the metal jewellery of the time. The jewellery supplements the altars and church decoration and provides an insight into the general development of style and fashion, especially into how the Christian message and worldview, which was communicated by the Church, gradually became an integrated part of everyday life.