Christianity believes that at the end of time human beings will enjoy the resurrection of the body intact. It is thus not surprising that funerary sculpture came to be one of the most prominent artistic forms in western medieval culture. Royal tombs protected the body, providing a vessel for eternal sleep, insuring the salvation of the soul through the advocacy of prayer. But, most of all, they stood as symbols of status, order and hierarchy, manifesting and reinforcing the forms of power.

Disruptive location

The king never dies

In the glory of silent sleep

Continuity of power

Symbols of power

Divine fabric