antependium

American  

[an-tee-pen-dee-uhm] / ˌæn tiˈpɛn di əm /

noun

plural

antependia

1. the decoration of the front of an altar, as a covering of silk or a painted panel.

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antependium British  

/ ˌæntɪˈpɛndɪəm /

noun

1. a covering hung over the front of an altar

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Etymology

Origin of antependium

From Medieval Latin, dating back to 1690–1700; ante-, pend, -ium

Example Sentences

In the more abstract works like one based on an antependium — a traditional type of banner that hangs from the front of a lectern or altar — the profuse ornamental patterning and the illuminated colored glass still exert much visual magnetism.

From New York Times

Antependium, an-te-pend′i-um, n. a frontlet, forecloth, frontal, or covering for an altar, of silk, satin, or velvet, often richly embroidered.

From Project Gutenberg

There are also reproductions of a medieval tapestry, History of Venus, and several sculptures, notably St. George and the Dragon by Fritz Preiss and Fulda's 11th century antependium for Basel Cathedral.

From Time Magazine Archive

The earliest known instance of a composition of the kind, however, is a series of enamels on an antependium or altar-frontal in the St Leopold Chapel at Klosterneuburg, near Vienna, which originally contained forty-five pictures dealing with Biblical subjects, arranged in the same order as in the Biblia Pauperum, and which were executed by Nicolas de Verdun, in 1181.

From Project Gutenberg

Antependium.—The name given to the covering hanging in front of the lectern, pulpit or Altar, and being the color of the Church Season.

From Project Gutenberg