Upon the altar of which this piece would have been a part, the priests of the medieval age would have offered the sacrifice of the Mass -- in which the Body and Blood of the Christ would be offered in an unbloody manner through an act called Transubstantiation. This was a central portion of the Mass and was part of the belief system of the "age of faith" in Western civilization.

The altarpiece depicts various figures from the Christian mythology, such as Christ, the Blessed Virgin, St. Anthony and St. Sebastian. The central image, however, is the one upon which the entire mythology of the Middle Ages is based -- the Incarnation of God and His death upon the cross.

What this says about the civilization of Europe in the Middle Ages is that it had a strong desire to see their faith as both realistic and mythical. The images...
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