Eagle lectern

These are projections from the stone ledge or the pulpit, but wood and brass examples usually top a stand that brings them to the appropriate height.

In the later Middle Ages, they became a common showpiece for the developing brassworking industry, initially mainly in the Low Countries and in Mosan art, but then spreading elsewhere.

Medieval lecterns sometimes depict the eagle grasping a snake in its beak, and sometimes the bird has two heads.

It is sometimes said to have derived from the belief that the bird was capable of staring into the sun and that Christians similarly were able to gaze unflinchingly at the revelation of the divine word.

[1] Alternatively, the eagle was believed to be the bird that flew highest in the sky and was therefore closest to heaven, and symbolised the carrying of the word of God to the four corners of the world.