The altar and its agenda

The art, technique and content of the Verdun altar make it unique. The extensive inscriptions on the borders shed light on the creation and production of the enamelled plates as well as their content: an overview of the entire history of salvation is presented in illustrations from the Old and New Testament.

This Heilsgeschichte program is developed by the canons themselves. It consists of 51 biblical scenes, with Latin verse explaining not only the purpose and layout of the work, but each image too. A summary of God’s plan of salvation is offered, from its primal revelation to its completion at the end of the world.

3 horizontal rows demonstrate the theological concept, corresponding to 3 ages of salvation. The top zone deals with the time from the creation of the world to the primal revelation, when God proclaims his laws to Moses. For this reason the top zone is referred to as ‘ante legem’ (Latin for ‘before the law’). The bottom zone is called ‘sub lege’ (‘under the law’) and represents the time from the giving of the commandments on Mount Sinai until the end of the Old Testament. The middle zone deals with the age of the Messiah and the fulfilling of the Old Testament. This zone is known as ‘sub gratia’ (‘under mercy’).

But there is also a system behind the vertical order of the plates, organised in groups of 3. Here the New Testament, or ‘sub gratia’ zone, is understood as a key to the Old Testament (‘ante legem’ and ‘sub lege’ zones), with the events and figures of the Old Testament acting as precursors to the New. This is called typology, a popular medieval perspective.