Images and scenes alluding to saints have a prominent place in the iconography of Romanesque art, as their lives and martyrdoms follow the example of Jesus Christ. The Acts of the Apostles already referred to Saint Stephen, the first martyr. In time, respect for saints grew and with it, their prominence. The Frontal from Durro showing Saints Quirze and Julita is an example of one such situation: the enthroned figures of these saints are placed in the centre of the piece, a place normally reserved for the Christ in Majesty or the Virgin with Child.The sides are devoted to the lives of the saints, with special emphasis on their martyrdom. Such subject matter was to be further developed during the 13th century (section 19).

Altar Frontal from Durro