Learnings: The Church Altar

Illustration of an altar surrounded by sacred beings and flanked by English Queen Emma of Normandy (also known in Englan as Queen Ælfgifu, but not to be confused as Cnut's other wife, Ælfgifu of Northampton...) and Cnut the Great. / 11th cent.

In the 4th century, the relics of important saints began to be placed in church altars. As depicted in this illustration, any ritual performed at those altars would share in the holiness of the saints whose relics they housed.

While some altars were fixed, others could be moved. The main altar in Anglo-Saxon churches could nearly always be found against the wall of the outermost section of the building. This meant that the priest performing rituals would be facing away from the crowd of worshippers. His actions would be hidden from their view, which might suggest that they were sacred, restricted, a private communion between him and God.