A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for example very grand carved

chimneypiece The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a smoke canopy, hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fi ...

s. It also refers to a simple, low stone wall placed behind a

hearth A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a low, partial ...

Description

A reredos can be made of stone, wood, metal, ivory, or a combination of materials. The images may be painted, carved, gilded, composed of

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

s, and/or embedded with niches for

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

s. Sometimes a tapestry or another fabric such as

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

velvet Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...

is used.

Derivation and history of the term

''Reredos'' is derived through

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

from the 14th-century Anglo-Norman ''areredos'', which in turn is from''arere'' 'behind' +''dos'' 'back', from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. (Despite its appearance, the first part of the word is not formed by doubling the prefix "re-", but by an archaic spelling of "rear".) In the 14th and 15th centuries the term referred generally to an open hearth of a fireplace or to a screen placed behind a table, then became nearly

obsolete Obsolescence is the process of becoming antiquated, out of date, old-fashioned, no longer in general use, or no longer useful, or the condition of being in such a state. When used in a biological sense, it means imperfect or rudimentary when comp ...

until it was revived in the 19th century.

''Reredos'' vs ''retable''

The term ''reredos'' is sometimes confused with the term ''

retable A retable is a structure or element placed either on or immediately behind and above the altar or communion table of a church. At the minimum, it may be a simple shelf for candles behind an altar, but it can also be a large and elaborate struct ...

''. While a ''reredos'' generally forms or covers the wall behind an altar, a ''retable'' is placed either on the altar or immediately behind and attached to the altar. "Many altars have both a reredos and a retable." But this distinction may not always be observed. The retable may have become part of the reredos when an altar was moved away from the wall. For altars that are against the wall, the retable often sits on top of the altar, at the back, particularly when there is no reredos (in which case a dossal curtain or something similar is used instead of a reredos). The retable may hold flowers and candlesticks. In French (and sometimes in English by confusing the terms), a reredos is called a ; in Spanish a , etc.

Gallery

File:New College Chapel Interior 2, Oxford, UK - Diliff.jpg,

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

Chapel reredos, UK File:Retablo mayor de la Basílica del Pilar.jpg, Altar of The Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

File:Tarancon - Iglesia de Nra. Sra. de la Asuncion 3.jpg, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, Tarancón File:West Bromwich Holy Trinity Church reredos 01.jpg, Holy Trinity Church, West Bromwich, war memorial for World War I File:SanJuanCapistranoGrandRetablo.jpg, The "Grand Retablo", Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano File:Basilica Screen Cathedral Basilica St Francis Santa Fe NewMexico PA300106.jpg, Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis, Santa Fe, New Mexico File:Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu inside altar (Osmeña Boulevard, Cebu City; 01-14-2023).jpg, Main altar "retablo" of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño in

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

File:Reredos at St Mary's Church, West Rainton. By Antonio Salviati 01.JPG, Plain altarpiece painting File:Lalique glass altarpiece in the Glass Church Jersey.jpg, Modern Lalique glass reredos, Saint Matthew's Church ("the Glass Church"), Millbrook,

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

File:Grace Church in New York.jpg, Grace Church in New York Reredos, Grace Church (Manhattan) File:Templo de Santa Rosa de Lima (de las Rosas) en Morelia, Michoacán (6011826833).jpg, Altarpiece and lateral reredos in the Church of Santa Rosa de Lima in Morelia, Mexico, built in the late 18th century File:Despenser Retable, Norwich Cathedral, England.jpg, Despenser reredos at Norwich Cathedral, UK

References

External links

"Reredos"
in the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...