ABSTRACT
Many of the Roman deities were incorporated into the literature and art of the medieval period without a sense of incongruity or the implication of pagan belief. Some of the gods acquired sacred associations in addition to their mythological functions. In the case of medieval art the sense of verisimilitude is compounded by the sharing with theatre of the convention of visualizing historical scenes, to a very large extent, in contemporary costume and setting. The problem in identifying the scene is that the action portrayed does not seem to correspond with any of the events chronicled in the life and martyrdom of St. Edmund, which explains why the catalogue title is so unspecific. Edmund refused Ivarr’s demands and surrendered himself to death. He was seized and bound to a tree where arrows were shot at him while he continued to praise God.
