This volume investigates the complex relationship between visual imagery, religious devotion, and the act of iconoclasm within the cultural and textual landscape of late medieval England. The editors, James Simpson, Jeremy Dimmick, and Nicolette Zeeman, curate a collection of essays from leading scholars across disciplines including art history, literature, and intellectual history. By expanding the discourse beyond the sixteenth-century Reformation, the text establishes a framework for understanding how images were perceived, utilized, and contested in the centuries preceding the major iconoclastic movements.

Scholars and historians frequently cite this collection as a vital resource for understanding the pre-Reformation roots of iconoclastic thought. Experts highlight the text for its rigorous interdisciplinary approach and its ability to bridge the gap between art history and literary theory.