Abstract

The largest surviving set of ivories from the Pre-Gothic Middle Ages is the Salerno Ivories, which includes extensive Old and New Testament cycles. Although the monument has been much studied by art historians, its potential symbolic and political meaning has not been investigated. This article takes a particular plaque as a starting point for analysis, making the case that an Old Testament plaque depicting the creation of sun and moon echoes the usage of this metaphor by Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy, and that the cycle as a whole is a statement of political covenant