Augustine and the content of the Verdun altar

The concept for the Verdun plates doesn’t follow a specific model, but does have several precursors. The whole composition is Augustinian in character. Each of the typological scenes is mentioned in the writings of Saint Augustine. The layout is similar to that of the City of God, Augustine’s great historical-theological work.

In the 12th century Klosterneuburg Monastery is home to a large number of Augustine’s manuscripts. Hugo of Saint Victor, Augustinian canon of the Abbey of Saint Victor in Paris, is the most significant Augustinian theologian of the 12th century; his tract De Sacramentis proves to be the most important source for the theological layout of the Verdun altar.