Topic description and stories

Dr Federica Gigante in front of the fresco

‘Altar tent’ discovery puts Islamic art at the heart of medieval Christianity

01 Feb 2025

A 13th-century fresco rediscovered in Ferrara provides unique evidence of medieval churches using Islamic tents to conceal their high altars. Dr...

Read more
Detail from ̽»¨Ö±²¥Kiss of Judas

Reformation ‘recycling’ may have saved rare painting from destruction

27 Nov 2015

A rare medieval painting depicting Judas’ betrayal of Christ may have survived destruction at the hands of 16th century iconoclasts after being ‘...

Read more
Caesar's Horse from a Triumph of Caesar, 1514. Maiolica dish after Jacopo di Stefano Schiavone

What is a unicorn’s horn made of?

21 Oct 2015

̽»¨Ö±²¥Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge’s connections with animals through literature, art, science and society. Here, U is for...

Read more
Detail from the Westminster Retable

Bejewelled backdrop to coronations did not cost a king’s ransom

12 Feb 2015

Research into England’s oldest medieval altarpiece – which for centuries provided the backdrop to Westminster Abbey coronations – has revealed that...

Read more

Heavenly matters, earthly delights

26 Jan 2015

In his book, Gothic Wonder, Professor Paul Binski explores a period in which English art and architecture pushed the boundaries to produce some of...

Read more