Mono Monday: "Storytelling"

In Medieval times, few churchgoers were literate. The Church was very happy with this situation; the Word was only handed down by (or though) the priests, which helped prevent "misinterpretation".

This helps explains, though, why so many pieces of religious art - paintings, sculptures , friezes and the like - "tell stories", representing scenes or tales from the bible or church history.

This altar-piece from Frankfurt Dom depicts the martyrdom of Bartholomew, the cathedral's patron saint. Bartholomew's end seems to have been  particularly complex and messy (though this is possibly the result off several different accounts being conflated): he was skinned alive, crucified upside down, beheaded and thrown into the sea.

It's hard to see much of that in this carving, though I believe the saint is sometimes shown wearing his own skin as cloak, and I'm guessing the character to the left of him may well have been holding a skinning knife which is now missing. I'll leave further interpretation to any of you better versed in hagiography :) But I have to say, I love the expressions on the various characters' faces - they almost tell stories in their own right!