"This book comprises sixteen essays addressing issues of art and architecture together with archaeology within the context of sacred space, broadly defined. It encompasses a wide range of territories, methodologies, perspectives, and scholarly concerns. Our point of departure is the built environment, with all that this entails, including religious and political ceremony, painted interiors, patronage, contested spaces, structural and environmental concerns, sensory properties, the written word as it pertains to architectural projects, and imagined spaces. In all, the scholars involved in this project find fresh approaches and uncover new meanings and interpretations in the material examined within this volume, including buildings and objects from Europe to Asia, and spanning from Late Antiquity through the end of the Middle Ages."--Publisher's website.