What is the meaning of people "looking elsewhere" on medieval paintings?

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One reason for this is to connect two pieces of artwork. This is a long section, but I'm going to paste in entirety for context.

The images are facing pages from a manuscript known as the Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram, or the Golden Book of St. Emmeram. Written for the Carolingian King Charles the Bald about 870, the manuscript contains the four Gospels. The left or verso page shows Charles the Bald enthroned in the center. The text below written in gold letters identifies the king and links him with Old Testament kings like David and Solomon. Reaching from the canopy above is the hand of God signifying divine sanction of Charles' power. The canopy provides not just a formal setting and division of the image, but it also signifies the idea of the dome of heaven. Charles is immediately flanked on either side by the smaller figures of soldiers who are in turn flanked by crowned female figures holding cornuacopias. Inscriptions label these figures as personifications of Francia and Gotia. The figure of Charles the Bald looks to his left and above thus linking him with the facing page which shows the Adoration of the Lamb. Based on the Book of Revelation (chapters 4-8), the Adoration of the Lamb shows the appearance of Christ in the form of Lamb at the end of time. Below are personifications of Sea and Earth. Encircling the lamb, the Twenty-Four Elders rise from their seats and offer their crowns to the Lamb. This signifies the idea of earthly kings returning their crowns or power to Christ, the True King, at the end of time. The imagery of these facing pages clearly echoes the symbolism and lay-out of the Palace Chapel of the Carolingian Kings in their capital of Aachen or Aix-la-Chapelle.

Medieval Images of Power SUNY Oneonta, 2011

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