The Medieval Marquee: Church Portal Sculpture as Publicity

Abstract

The complexity of movie marquees is well‐known to those who frequent films with the avidity of the penitent seeking heaven. Thesymboliccontent of a marquee that has the name of the late John Wayne in The Searchers is subtly but forcefully apparent; we know what values are contained i n the lean and lone figure of Wayne, and behind him the values in Hollywood as transmitted through John Ford, the director. So it is with the “medieval marquee,” the Church portal sculpture, as Charles Altman makes clear, with the Church proclaiming its values, as it shores up the common people's belief in salvation and ensures the status quo of a class structure. The Church in the Middle Ages, according to Altman, is theentrepreneur, just as the film industry today mediates public taste with its seductive appeal; in both instances, it is the “well‐planned marquee” which lures its customers inside.