Where did this start?

Here on The New Liturgical Movement

I'm posting under my real name, Al. I've posted a link to the Rakowsky article and I'm using it as a basis for answering Patrick's question about the link between reredoses and ikonostases. In doing so I posit the 'Rood-altar' theory.

I have a frighteningly knowledgeable Jesuit, (?)Fr Anthony Symondson, challenging my rood assumptions.

He wants to know:

"What evidence do you have for suggesting that nave altars stood in front of rood screens in the Middle Ages?"

The more I think about it, the more I'm puzzled by the lack of direct evidence. Where did Rakowski get his information from?

In response, I spend approximately eight hundred words not-quite-answering his question. Now I'm finishing the job.