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The rood screen (also choir screen or chancel screen) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate screen, constructed of wood, stone or wrought iron. It divides the chancel ( the area with the main altar in a church) from the nave (the main part of the church for the congregation).

The rood screen in Exeter Cathedral, Devon, England, photographed in the early 20th century

Rood screens can be found in churches in many parts of Europe: the German word for one is Lettner; the French jubé; and the Dutch doksaal. The iconostasis is a more elaborate development of this partition in Eastern Christian churches.

The word rood is derived from the Saxon word rode, meaning "cross". The rood screen is so called because it was surmounted by the Rood itself, a large figure of the crucified Christ, Often, to either side of the Rood, there stood supporting statues of saints, such as St Mary and St John.

Sometimes the Rood stood in a narrow loft (called the "rood loft") set high up, usually level with the springing of the chancel arch. Sometimes the rood loft was substantial enough to be used as a singing gallery; access was via a rood stair.

The carving or construction of the rood screen often includes latticework, which makes it possible to see through the screen partially from the nave into the chancel. The term "chancel" itself derives from the Latin word cancelli meaning "lattice".

The earliest known example of a rood screen in Britain, dating back to the 13th century, is to be found at Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire. The majority date back to the 15th century, such as those at Trull in Somerset and Attleborough in Norfolk. Many East Anglian wooden screens retain their original decoration; the quality of the painting and gilding is, some of it, of a very high order, notably those from the Ranworth school of painters: notable examples can be found in Southwold and Blythburgh as well as at Ranworth itself. The magnificent painted screen at Barton Turf is unique in giving an unusually complete view of the heavenly hierarchy, including nine orders of angels. Nikolaus Pevsner also identified the early 16th-century painted screen at Bridford, Devon, as being notable.

The rood on a rood screen: a crucifix on the elaborate 16th-century jubé in the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, Paris

The rood screen was a physical and symbolic barrier, separating the sanctuary, the domain of the priesthood, from the nave where ordinary people gathered to worship. It was also a means of seeing; often it was solid only to waist height and richly decorated with pictures of saints and angels. Concealment and revelation were part of the mediaeval Mass. When kneeling, the congregation could not see the priest, but might do so through the upper part of the screen, when he elevated the Host on Sundays. In some churches, 'squints' (holes in the screen) would ensure that everyone could see the elevation, as seeing the bread made flesh was significant for the congregation. Moreover, while Sunday Masses were very important, there were also weekday services which were celebrated at secondary altars in front of the screen (such as the "Jesus altar", erected for the worship of the Holy Name, a popular dedication in mediaeval times) which thus became the backdrop to the celebration of the Mass.

The Rood itself provided a focus for worship, most especially in Holy Week, when worship was highly elaborate. During Lent the Rood was veiled; on Palm Sunday it was revealed before the procession of palms and the congregation knelt before it. The whole Passion story would then be read from the Rood loft, at the foot of the crucifix by three priests.

Remnants of the old jube of St. Remigius Church, Ingelheim

At the Reformation, one of the major targets of the Reformers were abused images i.e. statues and paintings which were thought to be the focus of adoration or worship. Thus not a single mediaeval Rood survives in Britain. They were removed as a result of the 1547 Injunctions of Edward VI, (some to be restored when Mary came to the throne and removed again under Elizabeth). Of Rood lofts, which were held to be a reminder of the supposed superstitious worship, very few are left, two surviving examples in Wales being at the ancient churches in Llanengan and Llanegryn. Rood screens remain in some numbers but most were defaced. Hundreds of screens were removed altogether; today, in many British churches, the rood stair (which had given access to the rood loft) is often the only remaining trace of the former rood loft and screen.

In many places, under the influence of the Tractarians in the 19th century, Roods have been restored, though often without screens. A notably complete restoration can be seen at Eye, Suffolk, where the rood screen dates from 1480. Its missing rood loft was reconstructed by Sir Ninian Comper in 1925, complete with a Rood and figures of saints and angels, and gives a good impression of how a full rood group would have appeared in a mediaeval English church.

Duffy, Eamon, The Stripping of the Altars (Yale 1992)

• Norfolkchurches.co.uk/screens Painted screens in Norfolk churches.
• Norfolkchurches.co.uk/norfolkroods More about the painted rood screens of East Anglia.

• Iconostasis — a wall of icons and religious paintings serving a rather different role in Eastern Christianity.