3-056-957 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

King Ethelbald and other benefactors placing records of their gifts on the altar of Crowland Abbey, Lincolnshire, c1210. Behind the altar, a demon is shown leaving a sick man who has been cured by the power of St Guthlac. Ethelbald founded the abbey in honour of the saint. This illustration, from a life of Guthlac, reflects the growth of the use of written documents in everyday life during the 12th century.