Coronation of Saint Oswald

The black bird swooping over the altar is a raven, and it has come with a delivery. It carries a letter in its beak and a small vessel hanging from it. A later legend about Oswald explains it. When the young king was to be anointed, it says, the holy oil was missing, and a raven brought it, together with a letter saying that Saint Peter himself had blessed it. Below, the bishop sets the crown on Oswald's head as he kneels in a green mantle, hands joined. Behind them stands an altar with a painted Crucifixion, and at the carved throne waiting for the new king, a young man holds up a sword.