BOOK VI.

CHAPTER I.SCANDINAVIA.

CONTENTS.

Sweden—Norway—Denmark—Gothland—Round Churches—Wooden Churches.

Noone who has listened to all that was said and written in Germany before the late war about “Schleswig-Holstein Stamm verwandt,” can very well doubt that when he passes the Eyder going northward, he will enter on a new architectural province. He must, however, be singularly deficient in ethnographical knowledge if he expects to find anything either original or beautiful in a country inhabited by races of such purely Aryan stock. If there is any Finnish or Lap blood in the veins of the Swedes or Danes it must have dried up very early, for no trace of its effect can be detected in any of their architectural utterances; unless, indeed, we should ascribe to it that peculiar fondness for circular forms which is so characteristic of their early churches, and which may have been derived from the circular mounds and stone circles which were in use in Sweden till the end of the 10th century. The country in fact was only converted to Christianity in the reign of Olof Sköt Konung—1001 to 1026; and then, and for a long time afterwards, was too poor and too thinly inhabited to require any architectural buildings, and when these came to be erected the dominant race was one that never showed any real sympathy for the art in any part of the world.

The largest and most important monument in the province is the Cathedral of Upsala, (Woodcut No.777) measuring 370 ft. by 330 ft., though it can hardly be quoted as an example of Scandinavian art;for when the Swedes, in the end of the 13th century (1287), determined on the erection of a cathedral worthy of their country, they employed a Frenchman of the name of Étienne Bonnueill, to furnish them with a design, and to superintend its erection. This he did till his death, though how far the work was advanced at that time there is now no means of knowing. The church is only 330 ft. in extreme length by 145 in width, with two western towers, and the principal portal between them. The whole is of brick, except the doorways, the gable of north transept, the interior columns, and some smaller ornamental details. The building was in progress during 200 years,[82]and after Bonnueill’s death the French principles of detail were departed from; and, in addition to this, the upper parts of western towers were rebuilt during the last century, and other disfigurements have taken place, so that the building would hardly be deemed worthy of a visit farther south, and is only remarkable here from the meanness of its rivals.

777. Plan of Upsala Cathedral.

The church at Linköping (1260-1500) ranks next in importance to that of Upsala. It has, however no western towers or other ornaments externally, but otherwise it far surpasses the latter in interest and the beauty of its details. It is said to have been founded in 1150, and the oldest portions are the transept and crossing of the choir, where the arches are semicircular resting on piers with angle shafts and half-cylindrical columns. Early in the 12th century the nave was continued, thework, according to Mr. Perry, having spread over a long period, as at the west end of the nave the work is as late or later than any of the work at Upsala. The wall arcading in the north and south aisles is bold in design, nobly moulded and carved. The choir, with its three eastern chapels, was commenced late in the 13th or early in the 14th century, but not completed till 1499.

The cathedral at Lund is both older and better than either of these. It was commenced apparently about the year 1072, and consecrated in 1145 by Archbishop Eskill, who had presided over its construction, and to whom may be attributed its purely German character, as he had been brought up in Hildesheim. The church has been magnificently restored, but unfortunately at too early a date to have preserved much of its historical features.

778. Apse of Lund Cathedral. From a drawing by Mr. Tavenor Perry.

The church of St. Nicholas at Orebro is chiefly interesting on account of its strong resemblance to English work. The fine south porch bears a strong likeness to the now destroyed porch of St. Mary Overie, published in Mr. Dollman’s work,[83]and is not dissimilar to the porch of the north transept of Westminster Abbey.

There are other churches in Sweden, at Westeräs, Stregnäs, and Abo in Finland, all large[84]—viz., about 300 ft. east and west by 100 to 120 in width,—and founded in the 12th and 13th centuries; but, like the nave at Lund, they have been altered and improved so frequently during the last 600 years, that very little remains of the originaldesign: whatever that may have been, in their present state they are hardly worthy of mention.

Perhaps the most pleasing objects in Sweden are the country churches, with their tall wooden spires and detached belfries. If these do not possess much architectural beauty, they at all events are real purposelike erections, expressing what they are intended for in the simplest manner, and with their accompaniments always making up a pleasing group.

779. Old Country Church and Belfry. (From Marryat, ‘One Year in Sweden.’)

The Norwegians are more fortunate than either the Danes or Swedes in possessing at Trondhjem a national cathedral of great beauty and interest, even in its present ruined state.

Its history is easily made out from a comparison of local traditions with the style of the building itself. Between the years 1016 and 1030 St. Olaf built a church on the spot where now stands St. Clement’s church, the detached building on the north, shown in plan atA(Woodcut No.780). He was buried a little to the south of his own church, where the high altar of the cathedral is now situated. Between the years 1036 and 1047, Magnus the Good raised a small wooden chapel over St. Olaf’s grave; and soon afterwards Harald Haardraade built a stone church, dedicated to Our Lady, immediately to the westward of this, atB. This group of three churches stood in this state during the troubled period that ensued. With the return of peace in 1160, Archbishop Eysteen commenced the great transeptC Cto the westward of the Lady Chapel, and probably completed it about the year 1183. At that time either he or his successor rebuilt the church of St. Clement as we now find it. During the next sixty orseventy years the whole of the eastern part of the cathedral was rebuilt, the tomb-house or shrine being joined on to the apse of the Lady Church, as was explained in speaking of the origin of the French chevet (p. 73). In 1248 Archbishop Sigurd commenced the nave, but whether it was ever completed or not is by no means certain. In 1328 the church was damaged by fire, and it must have been after this accident that the internal range of columns in the circular part was rebuilt in the style of our earlier Edwards.

Thus completed, the church was one of the largest in Scandinavia, being 350 ft. long internally; the choir 64, and the nave 84 ft. wide. But its great merit lies more in its details than in its dimensions. Nothing can exceed the richness with which the billet-moulding is used in the great transept. Its employment here is so vigorous and so artistic, that it might almost be suspected that this was its native place, and that it was derived from some wooden architecture usual in this country before being translated into stone.

The greatest glory of the place is the tomb-house at the east end. Externally this presents a bold style of architecture resembling the early English.[85]Internally it is a dome 30 ft. in diameter, supported on a range of columns disposed octagonally, and all the details correspond with those of the best period of decorated architecture.

780. Plan of Cathedral of Trondhjem. Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.

As will be observed from the plan (Woodcut No.780), the architect had considerable difficulty with all these rebuildings to bring the old and new parts to fit well together, and in consequence the walls are seldom straight or parallel with one another, and, what is most unusual, the choir expands towards the east. This is not, however, carried to such an extent as to be a blemish, and with a double range of columns down the centre would hardly be perceived, or if perceived, the effect would be rather pleasing than otherwise.

Had the western front been completed, it would have been one of the most beautiful anywhere to be found, not only from its extent (120 ft.), but also from the richness and beauty of its details, belonging to the very best period of art—about the year 1300. In design and detail it resembles very much the beautiful façade of Wells Cathedral. Like the rest of the cathedral, it is now in a very ruinous state, and, as will be seen by the view (Woodcut No.781), the whole is so deformed externally by modern additions, that its original effect can only be judged of by a careful examination of its details.

781. View of Cathedral of Trondhjem.[86]

The most interesting church in Denmark is that at Roeskilde, in Jutland, which is now the burial-place of the kings, and the principal cathedral of the country. The original church was founded in the year 1081, and was then apparently circular, and of the same dimensions as the east end of the present edifice. This latter was commenced after the middle of the 12th century, and does not seem to have been completed as we now see it till towards the end of the 13th. The east end is probably one-half of the old round church rebuilt, the required enlargement of space having been obtained by a considerable extension of length towards the west.

782. Elevation of Domkirche Roeskilde. (From Steen Friis.) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.

783. Plan of Church at Roeskilde. (From Steen Friis.) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.

784. Frue Kirche, Aarhuus. (From Marryat’s ‘Jutland and the Danish Isles.’)

Its general dimensions, as shown in the plan (Woodcut No.783), are 265 ft. long by 75 in breadth internally. The whole area is onlyabout 24,000 sq. ft., and consequently not more than half that of most English cathedrals.

From the elevation (Woodcut No.784), it appears simple and elegant in its design, and contains the germ of much that is found afterwards in the churches of the neighbourhood, especially in the range of small gables along the side of the aisles, marking externally each bay of the nave.[87]This arrangement is almost universal in the North of Germany, but seldom, if ever, found in France or England.

785. Church of Kallundborg. (From Marryat’s ‘Jutland and the Danish Isles.’)

At Aarus is a somewhat similar church, commenced about the year 1200, but rather larger, being 300 ft. in length by 80 in breadth. In its present state, however, it is only a very ugly and uninterestingbrick building in an indifferent state of repair.[88]The Frue Kirke, in the same town, is a far more pleasing specimen of art, and is a fine example of the style prevalent on the southern shores of the Baltic, from which province the design is evidently borrowed. Like every specimen of honest art, it is pleasing; but neither its form nor arrangement will bear any very close analysis.

The cathedral at Ribe, on the northern limits of Schleswig, with an apse something like that of Lund Cathedral, but of slightly more modern date, and wanting the gallery under the roof, and the Cathedral of Viborg, rebuilt between 1130 and 1170, and said to be one of the finest specimens of Continental Norman, also deserve mention.

Sometimes, we get a touch of originality even in this province, as in the church of Kallundborg (Woodcut No.785), built in the form of a cross, with one square tower in the centre, and four octagonal towers, one at the end of each of the arms of the cross transept. Was it a caprice? or is it borrowed from any other form? Except in the Kremlin at Moscow, I do not know where to look for any such type, and even then the likeness is very remote. A larger octagon in the centre, with four square towers around it, must have been a happier arrangement, and, if properly subordinated, have formed a picturesque group. In this example the church itself is lost sight of, and the towers are not remarkable for beauty.

The island of Gothland, though politically attached to Sweden, deserves to be treated as a little province of its own in an architectural view, inasmuch as it possesses a group of churches within its limits as interesting as any in the North of Europe; and peculiar, if not exceptional in design. Their existence is owing to the fact, that during the 11th and 12th centuries a great portion of the Eastern trade which had previously been carried on through Egypt or Constantinople was diverted to a northern line of communication, owing principally to the disturbed state of the East, which preceded and in fact gave rise to the Crusades. At this time a very considerable trade passed through Russia, and centred in Novogorod. From that place it passed down the Baltic to Gothland, which was chosen apparently for the security of its island position, and its capital, Wisby, one of the Hanse towns, became the great emporium of the West. After two centuries of prosperity, it was gradually superseded by the rise of other Hanseatic towns on the mainland, and a final blow was struck by Valdemar of Denmark, who took the town by storm in1361. Since then it has gradually become depopulated. The consequence has been that, no additional accommodation being required, the old churches have remained unaltered; many also have entirely disappeared, the materials having been used for other buildings and for converting into lime; so that in Wisby, the capital, only eleven remain of the eighteen or twenty churches she formerly possessed, and the only reminiscence of the locality of those destroyed consists in the streets and houses to which they have bequeathed their names.

786. Helge-Anders Church. (From a drawing by Mr. Axel Haig.)

787. Interior of Church at Gothem. (From R. I. B. A. Transactions.)

The cathedral church of St. Mary was originally founded about the year 1100, burnt down in 1175, and rebuilt as we now find it about 1225. Like all the others it is small, being only 171 ft. 6 in. long by 99 ft. in width. It is the only church now used for divine service, the remainder being in ruins.

One of the most remarkable churches in Wisby is that of the Helge-Anders (church of the Holy Ghost), founded originally, it is said,in 1046.[89]This, however, must refer to an earlier church, for the actual building[90]belongs to the transitional period both in its construction and in its details; it cannot, therefore, according to Mr. Haig, “have been erected earlier than at the beginning of the 13th century,” and this may apply only to the chancel, the north wall of which seems to indicate an earlier date than the rest of the building—in all probability about 1250 would be the date of the church, generally speaking. The nave is an octagon of about 48 by 45 ft., somewhat irregular in its setting out and owing to want of space was built in two storeys, both of which are vaulted, the vaults being carried by four octagonal piers on ground floor and circular piers on second floorin the vault of the lower storey there is an opening in the centre about 7 ft. in diameter, which is said to have been formerly filled with an iron grating. The chancel (which is square externally and internally, having a small apse and two small vestries) opens into both lower and upper church by semicircular arches, and thus serves for both. There was a third storey in the roof with stone gables onthe east face of the octagon; the roof is gone, but it may have terminated as that of the church of Kallundborg (Woodcut No.785).

788. Folö Church, Gothland. (From Marryat’s ‘One Year in Sweden.’)

The church most like this in Germany is perhaps that at Schwartz Rheindorf (Woodcuts Nos.718and719). It also resembles the chapel at Landsberg (Woodcut No.720); but the most extended and indeed the typical example of a church of this class is St. Gereon’s at Cologne (Woodcuts Nos.740and741).

The churches of St. Lars and St. Drotheus, the so-called sister churches (probably from the resemblance of their plans), belong probably to the 11th century, but the pointed work in them is evidently of a later period. About the same date, 1097, is given for St. Nicholas, the church of a Dominican convent, but the whole has been remodelled at a later period, the main arches of the nave rebuilt, and probably the whole church revaulted in the 13th century, at which period also the octagonal chancel was built.

789. Portal, Sandeo Church, Gothland. (From Marryat’s ‘One Year in Sweden.’)

The church of St. Katharine, belonging to the Franciscans or Grey Friars, was also wholly remodelled in the pointed period. It is said to have been founded in 1225. The choir, with its polygonal apse, was built in 1376-1391, and the piers and arches of the nave were rebuilt about the year 1400, the church being reconsecrated in 1412.

One peculiarity found in some of the churches of Gothland is the bisection of the nave by two or more arcades carried on columns and placed in the centre of the church, the easternmost arch being supported by a corbel built in above the keystone of the chancelarch.[91]One of these churches, St. Göran, or St. George, outside the walls of Wisby, consists of a nave of three bays divided by a central arcade (the western pier being square, the eastern circular), and a chancel of two square bays. A second example is found at Gothem, about twenty miles east of Wisby. Here the eastern portion of the nave, only consisting of two bays, is bisected; the western portion was probably intended to carry a tower, the walls being much thicker than the rest of the church. The arches thrown across the western part of the nave under the tower are semicircular and carried on twin columns; the column in the centre of the nave is circular, much loftier than the twin columns, and carries pointed arches (Woodcut No.787). The great height of these arches allows of their being carried on a corbel above the chancel arch instead of its forming, as at Folö, the keystone of the chancel arch. In this latter church the nave is also divided by three arches carried on circular columns which diminish in diameter as they rise, but not to the extent as shown in Marryat’s work[92](Woodcut No.788). A fourth example is given in Major Heales’ work,[93]in which the arched ribs of the vault are carried on a clustered capital carved with foliage of early English type, the pier or column being circular.

790. Portal, Hoäte Church, Gothland. (From Marryat’s ‘One Year in Sweden.’)

The portals of the churches at Sandeo (Woodcut No.789) and Hoäte (Woodcut No.790), dating probably from the middle of the 14th century, and two other examples at Stänga and Garde (about 30 miles from Wisby), are interesting on account of the singular blind cuspingsround the inner order, a treatment which seems peculiar to the Gothland style. They are singularly elegant specimens of the art, and worthy of being quoted if for that reason alone.

Another peculiarity seems to be that the Gothland churches are all small buildings, like the Greek churches. There does not appear to have been any metropolitan basilica, or any great conventual establishment, but an immense number of detached cells and chapels scattered in groups all over the island, with very few that could contain a congregation of any extent.

791. Round Church, Thorsager. (From Marryat’s ‘Jutland and the Danish Isles.’)

To the archæologist the Round Churches form the most interesting group in the Scandinavian province, though to the architect they can hardly be deemed of much importance. They are, however, so remarkable that many theories have been formed to account for their peculiarities. The most general opinion seems to be that the circular form was adopted for defensive purposes; and this seems to be borne out by the description given in Major Heales’ work, who, referring to the four examples in Bornholm (which are of the same type as others in the Scandinavian provinces), states, pp. 26 and 29: “Each consists of a circular nave, a chancel, and an apse.” The dimensions are always moderate; the internal diameter of the naves being, Olska, 34 ft. 2 ins., Nyska, 35 ft. 4 ins., Nylarska, 38 ft. 2 ins., and Oester Larsker, 42 ft. 3 ins. (Woodcut No.793)“In two cases even the chancel wall are convex in plan, so that their ground plan is formed without a single straight line.” The nave is covered with a vault carried on a central pier (except in the case of the Oester Larsker, where there are six piers, the space in the centre being open to an upper storey). The second storey is similarly vaulted, and the central pier rises to carry the roof timbers of the third or upper storey. “The walls of the nave vary in thickness from 5 to 6 ft.”—“beyond a small doorway and a few loopholes measurable by inches there are no external openings except in the upper storey, whichconsists of a gallery formed in the thickness of the wall and lighted by loopholes arranged not to correspond with the openings by which the gallery is entered from the central chamber.” The approach to this upper chamber as well as to that of the first floor is by narrow, steep, and crooked staircases in the thickness of the wall, which could be easily defended, at all events for a time, the assumption being that the church might be attacked by freebooters coming by sea whose onslaught would not be of long duration.

792. Section and Ground-plan of Round Church, Thorsager. (From Marryat’s ‘Jutland and the Danish Isles.’)

The circular form of church would seem to have been much more common in Northern Europe in the early centuries of the Christian faith than afterwards. In the richer and more populous South they were superseded, as has above been pointed out, by basilicas of more extended dimensions, into which they were frequently absorbed. In the poorer North they have sufficed for the scant population and remained unchanged.

793. Round Church of Oester Larsker, Bornholm. (From Marryat’s ‘Jutland and the Danish Isles.’)

Mr. Marryat enumerates eight examples in Denmark,[94]and there are at least as many, if not more, in Sweden. All are of Teutonic type—naves with small apses—as contradistinguished from the French or Celtic form, where the circular part became the choir to which the nave was added afterwards.

794. View and Plan of Hagby Church, Sweden. (From Marryat’s ‘One Year in Sweden.’)

That at Thorsager, in Jutland, though not one of the oldest, may be taken as a type of its class, and its arrangement and appearance will be understood from the preceding view, section, and plan (Woodcuts Nos.791and792). The building is not large; the diameter of the circle internally being only 40 ft., and the floor encumbered by four great pillars; the total length over all is 90 ft. Originally it seems to have been intended as a two-storey church, the vault being omitted over the central compartment, as was the case in the Helge-Anders Church at Wisby (Woodcut No.786). The whole design is certainlypleasing and picturesque, though there is a little awkwardness in the way the various parts are fitted together.

The round Church at Oester Larsker, in Bornholm (Woodcut No.793), is of exactly the same type as that at Thorsager, but older, and having more the appearance of being fortified than the other; there being a range of small openings immediately under the roof.

In Sweden there are some examples of round churches, the most typical being that at Hagby (Woodcut No.794); though it is not so picturesque as the two last quoted, it differs in reality very little from them, showing a permanence and consistency of type throughout the whole province where they are found.

795. Läderbro Church and Wapenhus, Gothland. (From Marryat’s ‘One Year in Sweden.’)

So great a favourite was this circular or octagonal form of nave, however, that it clung to the soil long after its meaning was lost, and we find it stretched into a tall octagonal spire in Läderbro Church, but still serving as a nave to a small choir, the foundation of which is said to date as far back as 1086. The octagon as we now see it certainlybelongs to the 13th or 14th century. Something of the same feeling may have led to the peculiar arrangement of Kallundborg Church (Woodcut No.785). There four octagonal naves lead to as many choirs joined together in the centre. If we had more knowledge, perhaps we could trace the affiliation of all these forms, and complete a little genealogy of the race.

Curious as these circular edifices certainly are, there is a group of wooden churches still existing in Norway which are as peculiar to the province and as interesting to the antiquary at least, if not to the architect, as anything found within its limits. They are not large, and, as might be expected from the nature of the materials with which they are constructed, they are fast disappearing, and in a few years not many probably will remain; but if we may judge from such accounts as we have, they were at one time numerous, and indeed appear to have been the usual and common form of church in that country. Everywhere we read of the wooden churches of Saxon and Norman times in our country, and of the contemporary periods on the Continent; but these have almost all been either destroyed by fire or pulled down to make way for more solid and durable erections. That at Little Greenstead in Essex is almost the only specimen now remaining in this country.

The largest of those now to be found in Norway is that of Hitterdal. It is 84 ft. long by 57 across. Its plan is that usual in churches of the age, except that it has a gallery all round on the outside. Its external appearance (Woodcut No.797) is very remarkable, and very unlike anything of stone architecture. It is more like a Chinese pagoda, or some strange creation of the South Sea islanders, than the sober production of the same people who built the bold and massive round Gothic edifices of the same age.

Another of these churches, that at Burgund, is smaller, but even more fantastic in its design, and with strange carved pinnacles at its angles, which give it a very Chinese aspect.

796. Plan of Church at Hitterdal.

That at Urnes is both more sober and better than either of these, but much smaller, being only 24 ft. wide by 65 ft. from east to west. As may be seen from the view (Woodcut No.798), it still retains a good dealof the Runic carving that once probably adorned all the panels of the exterior, as well as the various parts of the roof. As these decayed they seem to have been replaced by plain timbers, which of course detract very much from the original appearance.

All the doorways and principal openings are carved with the same elaborate ornaments, representing entwined dragons fighting and biting each other, intermixed occasionally with foliage and figures.

This style of carving is found on crosses and tombstones, not only in Scandinavia, but in Scotland and Ireland. It is only known to exist in its original form on wood in these singular churches.

797. View of Church at Hitterdal. (From Dahl’s ‘Holtz Baukunst in Norwegen.’)

There can be no doubt about the age of these curious edifices, for not only does this dragon-tracery fix them to the 11th or 12th century, but the capitals of the pillars and general character of the mouldings exactly correspond with the details of our own Norman architecture, so far as the difference of materials permits.

With the circular churches, and those at Wisby, these wooden churches certainly add a curious and interesting chapter to the history of Christian architecture at the early period to which they belong, and are well deserving more attention than they have received.

When our knowledge of the examples is more complete, we may perhaps be able to trace some curious analogies from even so frail a style of architecture as that of wood. Something very like these Norwegian churches is found in various parts of Russia. The mosques and other buildings erected in Cashmere and Thibet of the Deodar pinewood are curiously like them. The same forms are found in China and Burmah, and much of the stone architecture of these countries is derived directly from such a wooden architecture as this. It may perhaps only be, that wherever men of cognate race strive to attain a given well-defined object with the same materials, they arrive inevitably at similar results. If this should prove to be the case, such a uniformity of style, arising without intercommunication among people so differently situated, would be quite as curious and instructive as if we could trace the steps by which the invention was carried from land to land, and could show that the similarity was produced by one nation adopting it from another, which all research has hitherto tended to prove was in reality the case.

798. Church of Urnes, Norway.

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