The upper and lower bands of the Bayeux Tapestry depict a wide variety of images, with the only running theme being that they are everyday scenes which bear little relation to the main story of William's Conquest of England. Usually, these depict agricultural or rural scenes, but also include new pieces of technology such as the harrow, a fashionable agricultural implement.

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The Vienna Genesis, one of the earliest illustrated manuscripts still in existence, presents the first book of the Bible in the top half of the page with brightly colored illustrations covering the lower half. Created among the Christian communities of the Ancient Near East in about the Sixth Century C.E., the Vienna Genesis was more than just the scripture. An illustrated manuscript was extremely expensive to make and would have been a prized possession of the church where it resided, and the illustrations allowed the large amount of illiterate members to understand the stories presented on each page.

The term "iconoclasm" in art generally refers to any attempts to ban religious imagery or iconography. In the Byzantine Empire, such a movement occurred in two separate waves, once in the eighth century and again in the early ninth century. This was particularly notable, as the Greek Orthodox Church had traditionally utilized icons in a variety of religious capacities.

The Justinian Panel, shown here and placed in the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravena, Italy, portrays the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I surrounded by important officials. To the left of the work (on the Emperor's right hand side) are military and political officials, while to the right of the work (on the left of the Emperor) are religious and church leaders. In addition to their positioning, the figures on the right of the work are clad in white robes with incense, shawls, and sacred texts, all traditional trappings of the clergy.

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St. Stephen is sometimes referred to as "the Protomartyr," as he was the first martyr recounted in the Bible, as his testimony of a vision of Christ to the Jewish leadership caused him to be stoned. This story made him immensely popular from the rise of Christianity through the Middle Ages, and St. Stephen became a common depiction in icons, paintings, and stained glass. St. Stephen is recognizable through having a stone implanted in his skull.

The Greek cross has four equal-sized arms. The Latin cross has a longer vertical section with shorter arms on the sides.

A nimbus is a halo that appears painted around the head of a holy figure to symbolize his or her divinity.

Vellum is a calfskin surface prepared for painting. It is often used for manuscripts (handwritten documents or scrolls).

The image of Christ Pantocrater suggests that Christ is the all-powerful ruler and judge of humanity. It is a popular depiction in many Byzantine churches.

Although there are an unfortunate few surviving examples of Romanesque stained glass, the first examples of stained glass are remnants from the beginning of the Romanesque era. The larger quantities of stained glass from the Romanesque period have been dated to its later years.