Through the Portal: Viking Motifs Incorporated in the Pia Romanesque Style in Telemark, Norway

Ødeby, K 2013 Through the Portal: Viking Motifs Incorporated in the pia Romanesque Style in Telemark, Norway. Papers from the Institute of Archaeology, 23(1): 15, pp. 1-19, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/ pia.433 RESEARCH PAPER Through the Portal: Viking Motifs Incorporated in the Romanesque Style in Telemark, Norway Kristine Ødeby* This paper presents the results of an analysis of motifs identified on six carved wooden Romanesque portal panels from the Norwegian county of Telemark. The findings suggest that animal motifs in the Late Viking style survived long into the Late Medieval period and were reused on these medieval portals. Stylistically, late expressions of Viking animal art do not differ a great deal from those of the subsequent Romanesque style. However, their symbolical differences are considered to be significant. The motifs themselves, and the issue of whether the Romanesque style adopted motifs from pre-Christian art, have attracted less attention. The motif portraying Sigurd slaying the dragon is considered in depth. It will be suggested that Sigurd, serving as a mediator between the old and the new beliefs when he appeared in late Viking contexts, was given a new role when portrayed in Christian art. Metaphor and liminality are a central part of this paper, and the theories of Alfred Gell and Margrete Andås suggest that the portal itself affects those who pass through it, and that the iconography is meaningful from a liminal perspective. Introduction dition outweighed renovation. Therefore it is The Romanesque style was carved on stave interesting to take a closer look at the use of church portals and other Christian art objects motifs in this new church style - the Roman- in Norway from the 12th century onwards. It esque style. It is relevant to ask whether the was a composite of late Viking art and Euro- Viking motifs were deeply ingrained in the pean impulses (Anker 1998: 135–136; Fugle- woodcarver’s repertoire. sang 1981; Hohler 1999a). The ornamenta- The overarching question of this research tion on stave church portals parallels that on concerns reuse of motifs from Norse ani- the portals of secular buildings from the 13th mal art in the Romanesque style as seen and 14th centuries. on wooden portals. By analysing the use of The coming of Christianity brought a wave motifs on six wooden portals from the Nor- of new styles and motifs to Norway which wegian county of Telemark, I will attempt was adapted by woodcarvers, and which to answer the following specific questions: can be seen in the artistic carvings in stave Which motifs from late Norse animal art are churches and on medieval furniture (Anker reused in the Romanesque style, and how 1997: 222). In Norway’s deepest valleys, tra- can they be interpreted? Which motifs are used on the stave church portals compared to the profane portals? To what degree can * University of Oslo, Norway the motifs be interpreted as symbols? And [email protected] lastly, in the medieval period, was the portal Art. 15, page 2 of 19 Ødeby: Through the Portal considered not only as a metaphor, but also have since been demolished or badly weath- in relation to the bodies that passed through ered, were sketched by architects (Hohler it? This last question will be addressed first as 1999a: 9). Art historians later studied these I explore the portals’ metaphorical function sources and published the sketches, among by applying theories of liminality and ‘the them Dietrichson (1892, 1902), Fett (1909) enchantment of technology’. Next, results and the archaeologist Nicolaysen (1853–55, from the analysis of the portals’ individual 1861, 1903). A number of recent works also motifs will be presented followed by a dis- depict stave churches and their ornaments. cussion of their possible symbolical and met- Work on stave churches by Hauglid (1969, aphorical interpretation. Lastly, a closer look 1973, 1976), Fuglesang (1980, 1981, 1982) will be taken at why different motifs appear and Anker (1997) connect the woodcarving in different contexts. to Viking ornaments. Romanesque expres- Medieval portal ornaments have been sion in the carvings was given attention by researched previously by art historians, archi- Blindheim (1965) and Hohler (1999a). Hohler tects and building historians, but have tradi- documented the entire collection of stave tionally not been a field of study for archae- church sculpture, including all remaining ologists. Other fields of study have also portals and fragments of portals. considered the morphological and iconologi- Secular portals have been similarly treated. cal aspects of medieval art (Hansen 1995: 12). Berg (1991, 1993) wrote an overview of all However, I would argue that this project is an medieval secular buildings in Norway, and archaeological project. First, the Norse ani- Gjærder (1952) was the first to document all mal art of the late Iron Age has been studied secular portals. This paper builds on previ- mainly by archaeologists (see Domeij 2004; ous research and documentation, but takes Hedeager 1999b; Hedeager 2004; Klæsøe it further by schematically identifying portal 2002; Kristoffersen 2000, 2010; Salin 1935). motifs and comparing them to the motifs The reason for this is that the Norwegian used in the late Viking style. Iron Age is classified as a pre-historic period. The comparison of material from different The Portal as Part of a Liminal periods is not unusual in archaeology and is Zone a key aspect of this paper. Second, the use of The key to historic doors - the key to portals metaphorical thinking, such as the phenom- in this context - can be obtained from meta- enological aspects surrounding the experi- phors. The object itself must be taken into ence of entering through a portal, and the account in the study of art. As Gell’s theory ethnographic and anthropological aspects of ‘the enchantment of technology’ states: of liminality are widely used in archaeology. the power technical processes can fascinate Thus, although it rarely is, studying portal the viewer with allows the viewer to take an ornaments should be interdisciplinary. enchanted look at the real world (1999: 163). The technology of enchantment, on the other Previous Research hand, demonstrates a certain level of techni- Stave churches and objects connected to cal excellence that only a work of art that is them have received special attention due made beautiful can achieve. Art can thus be to their unique place in European archi- understood as a component of technology. tectural history, and their symbolic place in Andås (2007) explores the relationship Norway’s nationalistic development during between space and ritual. She chooses to the Romantic period. Unfortunately, most of describe the physical space around the church the churches have been demolished. Aside as a ‘liminal zone’; an area between the con- from the portals themselves, sources for the secrated and non-consecrated ground. She portals stretch back to the mid-19th century. describes how the door played an important Before AD 1860 churches and portals, which role in the ritual of public penance in the Ødeby: Through the Portal Art. 15, page 3 of 19 early 13th century (Andås 2007: 47). Ritu- nography and motifs could have a far greater als, physical location and movements were political role than previously thought. If this clearly related to its meaning. The door con- is the case, the iconography of the liminal stituted a space ‘in-between’, neither inside zone had a direct influence on the rituals nor out, and the rituals that took place at outside the church, and possibly actions the portal had a between-ness to them. The which took place in the courtyard outside a rituals themselves were focused on the input secular storehouse. or transformation by recalling a biblical Andås’ theories can be adapted to stave transformation or highlighting a significant church portals. The church was built on con- moment in an individual’s life. secrated ground. Whether it was a cathedral As a final comment, Andås (2007: 123) or a parish church, or if it was built in wood emphasises that the choice of iconography or stone, probably had little impact on the in the middle of the 13th century tells us portal’s status or metaphorical meaning. something essential about the cathedral with The portal would have led people into God’s regard to: house. According to Andås (2007: 84) the doorway represents a threshold of the eter- … what was considered important at nal law and the manifestation of the sacred the time, about their religious and law as a guide to human life. The church political ambitions, about how they cemetery hosts both sacred and secular juris- perceived their political reality and diction, as seen in the local courts held in about their strategies. As the religious the cemetery. centre of a large province, the cathe- Whether portals in storehouses can be dral was a communicator of ideas and assigned to the same trait must also be dis- political attitude. The Cathedral was cussed. The main physical difference between the architectural key monument of its the church portals and profane portals is that province. The construction of some- profane portals were much lower and wider. thing as prominent as the south chan- As a result, a person would have to bow his/ cel porch, would not have gone un- her head and walk sideways through the noticed. The message communicated portal to enter. This indicates that entering would undoubtedly soon have been through a profane portal was a completely observed by other political agents of different experience compared to entering the Norwegian Medieval state. It is in through a church portal. Through the por- this light that the iconography should tal went a connection between home and be understood.

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