Du corporal à la pale : un nouvel objet sur l’autel au Moyen Âge tardif

Abstract

From the ninth century onwards, the corporal, which was a symbol of purity and the winding-sheet of Christ, possessed great sacrality. However, during the later Middle Ages it was partially replaced by the palla for the purpose of covering the chalice during the Mass. It is difficult to identify it because of its variable names, but the palla is nevertheless indicated by textual, iconographical and material sources as being present on altars from the mid-fifteenth century. Its rigidity and its decor belong to a general tendency towards ornamenting the fabrics used in worship. Its proliferation points to the obsolescence of part of the symbolic exegesis and also to a degree of rationalisation in the eucharistic ritual that would blossom during the early modern period.