• A fundamental work on the use of scripture for decoration and furnishing in Protestant churches
• Inventory of text use in Calvinist Churches in the Dutch provinces ca 1575-1800
• Illustrated in colour throughout

The visual display of Scripture became common in Dutch Calvinist churches after the "Beeldenstorm" (the Great Iconoclasm). This book shows how text panels and text paintings filled the lacunae left by the removal of images and altars. A richly illustrated volume, it shows how decorated text panels marked the Reformed appropriation of church space.

Text decorations evolved into an innovative form of Reformed visual culture, and were used to transform church spaces to accommodate Reformed worship. As well as the evident and major changes throughout the period of the Reformation, a story of continuity unfolds, appearing in the pre-Reformation roots of designs and spatial arrangements of the displayed texts. This book is based on a comprehensive inventory of text panels and text paintings installed in churches throughout the Dutch provinces between ca 1575 and 1800. In addition, a wider exploration around other North Sea countries reveals continued and renewed connections alongside the rupture brought about by the Reformation. Commonly used text decoration took different forms according to the liturgical and dogmatic requirements of denominations: from English Ten Commandments boards, and catechism altarpieces in churches in the Lutheran Danish Kingdom, to Lutheran text altarpieces that showcase the presence of Calvinism in northwest Germany.