More than any other precious metal, gold has fascinated human beings since antiquity. Its material value has always also embraced a spiritual and mythical dimension, which has lost nothing of its allure to this day. This book reveals the still little-known treasures of medieval goldsmithing, covering the region from Lake Constance in the north to the Chur Valley in the east. It invites the reader to take part in a fascinating expedition through the Middle Ages: it begins with Alemannic gold-leaf crucifixes from the sixth and seventh centuries, an early sign of the spread of Christianity, and concludes with the Reformation, when in the religious confusion of 1528 the treasures contained in Constance Cathedral were melted down and the relics of the saints thrown into the lake. With its numerous large-format color reproductions, illuminating text contributions, and contemporary documents, this volume offers an excellent synopsis of one thousand years of medieval treasury art. Exhibition schedule: Vorarlberger Landesmuseum, Bregenz, and Johanniterkirche, Feldkirch, June 21–October 5, 2008
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