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THE KALANTI : ITS POTENTIAL ROUTES AND PROMINENT CONTExTS IN MEDIEVAL

ELINA RÄSÄNEN , M ARKUS HIEKKANEN

Ever since the Kalanti Altarpiece by Meister Francke came medieval period in Scandinavia and Finland, and this de - to be known in art historical discussions, its provenance has velopment has also influenced the research of certain ob - been an open question. It was first documented and de - jects, such as the Kalanti Altarpiece. It is therefore now cru - scribed in the of Kalanti (Sw. Nykyrko, literal trans - cial to regard earlier interpretations and conclusions anew lation: New Church) by the members of the Finnish Anti - in the light of the reshaped contexts around the objects un - quarian Society on their expedition to der scrutiny. The historiography of the altarpiece in question in 1874. 1 As is typical for medieval Northern Europe, no is, then, full of gaps and obscured by a certain ‘blindness’: documents survive of the acquisition or transport of the al - early scholars in Finland were less familiar with all the rel - tarpiece. 2 Likewise common, the early church inventories evant comparative material in Central Europe, and the Ger - of the Lutheran era generally neglected to mention the ‘old’ man scholars, in turn, were understandably interested in Catholic objects. Hence, it is no surprise that the first Meister Francke, but had very limited knowledge of local known inventory of the possessions of the Kalanti congre - history and could not read the written sources nor the earlier gation in 1644 contains no mention of an altarpiece. 3 studies. Therefore, the questions why, when and how the altarpiece In this essay, we aim to clarify some of the previous concep - came to Kalanti are hard to tackle. Many ideas have been tions and correct the misunderstandings that were largely presented, one of them being that it was war booty from based on frail contextualization. On the basis of the latest the Thirty years’ War and thus brought to Finland in the dating of the Kalanti church – to which we will return to –, 1630s or 1640s, or another that it came to Finland in the the altarpiece itself and the detailed scrutiny of both the cul - nineteenth century from . 4 Although an in-depth tural and economic conditions around Kalanti and, finally, debate with these hypotheses goes beyond the scope of this of the church structure of the Medieval of as contribution, we do seek to offer some clarifying perspec - a totality, we propose that the altarpiece was most likely ac - tives to the questions of the provenance and itinerary of the quired by the wealthy local nobility and the leading eccle - altarpiece. siastical persons of the diocese. We begin by presenting some The research on the cultural, geographical and ecclesiastical background information about medieval Finland and the circumstances of Northern Europe in the has area of Kalanti. Then we will take a close look at the actual been mostly carried out and published in Finnish or in church edifice of Kalanti, offering arguments for its dating Scandinavian languages, and thus it has remained somewhat to the c. 1430s, and illuminating the role of the remarkable inaccessible to scholars from elsewhere. Furthermore, recent patronage in the church. The third part will highlight the decades have seen a wealth of activity in the study of the church interior including the space and the surviving

Left side: Interior of the Kalanti church; see Fig. 6 wooden sculptures. The discussion will then move to Magnus Tavast and the Turku (Sw. åbo) ; we shall clarify the proposed relations between the cathedral and the altarpiece and present the manifold role of the Bishop not only in decorating the cathedral, but also in taking pride in the splendour of his whole bishopric. In the essay, we shall, for the sake of clarity and practicality, use the name ‘Kalanti’ to refer to the church and the con - gregation and call the Barbara- the Kalanti or Barbara Altarpiece . We will use the Finnish place names while also providing the Swedish name when first mentioned, and eventually use an English form if one exists.

MEDIEVAL FINLAND – THE EASTERN PART OF THE KINGDOM OF

To start with, it is reasonable to present some historical back - ground concerning medieval and Early Modern Finland. Situated on the northern fringe of Europe, Finland was reached quite late by the and European medieval culture. The Scandinavian Iron Age chronology largely applies in Finland in its later stages, the Vendel/ Merovingian Period and the , which cover a time span of some 400 years between c. 600 and 1000/1050 AD. While in Denmark, and Sweden, the transition from the Iron Age to the medieval period occurred in the eleventh century, one more prehistoric period, the so-called Crusade Period (between c. 1025 and 1200) is added to t his chronological frame in Finland. 5 The process of Christian - ization in Finland took a long time; in fact, it is said to K → have been initiated around 1000 and to have concluded ↑ in the late 1200s with the founding of the secular T of the Diocese of Turku, the construction of the main roads and the town of Turku. 6 In the 13 th century, the rising cen - tral authority of what was becoming the Kingdom of Swe - Fig. 1. Map of Finland with medieval church places. Black dot = den began to take hold of South-West Finland, extending Medieval parish or chapel where a stone church project was started its grip over the following centuries to other parts of the before the 1550s. White dot = Medieval parish or chapel where a stone church project was not started before the 1550s. Turku area populated by Finnish-speaking inhabitants. Finland cathedral marked with the letter T and the Kalanti church with the was to be part of Sweden until 1809 when it was ceded to letter K. Imperial Russia. The country gained independence in 1917. Within the medieval administration of the church, the areas seven of the church province of . The first that came to be called Finland formed a single diocese until wave of congregations in the Diocese of Turku, c. 40 in num - the 1550s, when it was divided into two, namely the Diocese ber, were planned and founded apparently between 1225 of Turku and the Diocese of Viipuri (Sw. Viborg). Thus, in and 1250. 7 Later in the Middle Ages the number of churches the medieval period, the Diocese of Turku was one of the and also that of the chapel congregations rose to c. 150–

64 | Elina Räsänen, Markus Hiekkanen 170. 8 During the first period of the congregational system, all church buildings were made of timber. In each congre - gation the length of the period of wooden churches, follow - ing each other, depended on the economic structure, sus - tainability, cultural dynamics and other features of the ‘unit’. Generally speaking, it endured for c. 200 years, and after this phase, a stone church was built. yet in many cases a stone church was not erected – especially concerning the congregations founded only in the 14 th or 15 th centuries – until the first half of the 16 th century. A project to build a church in stone was begun in 104 of the 150–170 congregations and chapel congregations, according to the most recent calculation. 9 Very often these construc - tions were left unfinished because of the breakdown of the economy of the congregation, at least partially caused by the Fig. 2. Kalanti church (then called Uusikirkko / Nykyrko) and the church yard in the beginning of the twentieth century, photogra - . In fact, many stone churches were unrealized phed from the North-West. Upper part of the tower renewed in the altogether, without ever reaching the initial building stage. 1880s. Thus, the map of the Finnish medieval landscape of churches looks strikingly different, and even somewhat peculiar, when dieval noble families had large landed properties there. The compared to those of Southern and Central Sweden, Estonia, number of medieval stone churches in the region surround - and Denmark as well as those of present-day Germany and ing the church of Kalanti is, in regional circumstances, note - the British Isles (Fig. 1). worthy. They testify to the wealth of the habitants and to a The medieval churches in Finland can be divided into three great amount of patronage, a topic to which we will later main groups according to their features. The first group, return. which is also the earliest and smallest, is composed of five to seven churches in the åland Islands (Fin. Ahvenanmaa, Sw. åland), the oldest of the edifices dating to the late 13 th THE CHURCH OF KALANTI: A PLACE century. The second group, c. 30 churches, consists of those OF THE CONGREGATION AND OF THE located in Finland Proper (Fin. Varsinais-Suomi; Sw. Egentli - MIGHTy ga Finland) and Uusimaa (Sw. Nyland), built between the 1420s and 1490s, among them the church of Kalanti. The The present stone church of Kalanti had at least one but third group of churches is the latest and the most numerous: probably two or three wooden predecessors between c. more than 50 churches started to be constructed between 1225/1250 and the beginning of the 15 th century. The latter the 1490s and the 1550s. yet, as indicated above, only a few time marks an era when plans for the construction of a stone of them reached completion, as in most cases the construc - church were made in the Diocese of Turku, presumably ac - tion project ended without e.g. the , the vaults, cording to a new vision the upper had about how the gables or other features. church buildings should look. The political decision, based The parish of Kalanti (presently part of the congregation of on improving economic possibilities after the politically and , Sw. Nystad) was called Uusikirkko (Sw. socially tumultuous 1300s, was obviously made by the lead - Nykyrko) until 1936 (Fig. 2). Nonetheless, Kalanti is by no ing men of the diocese. 11 means a new name because Kaland /Kalandia /Kalais was The Kalanti church belongs to a cluster of buildings erected used in the Middle Ages and before that to refer to a larger at the beginning of this new period, and thus it emphasizes area – the identity of which is somewhat obscure; however, the economic prosperity of the congregation with the impact during the 15 th century the name of the parish of the area of several important families of the nobility. The den - of Kalanti came to be called Nykyrko. 10 The region around drochronological dating on the wooden building material the Kalanti church was quite rich with its water routes and indicates that the construction work had been carried out the nearby sea, enabling trade routes, and thus many me - in the first half of the 15 th century, most likely between 1430

The Kalanti Altarpiece: Its Potential Routes and Prominent Contexts | 65 and 1450. 12 The interior length of the church is 23.9 metres while the width is 11.2 metres. The space is divided into three aisles with the central aisle having a width of c. 4.5 metres and the side aisles c. 2.5 metres. 13 The three eastern - most vaults are star vaults while the westernmost as well as the vaults of the side aisles are cruciform. On the northern A B C side of the nave stands the sacristy, on the southern the porch and to the west rises the tower (Fig. 3). 14 Before the 1990s, the dating of the church had been on vague ground and various propositions had been made. This, in turn, affected both the dating and the assumptions of lo - cation given to the altarpiece. For instance, Bella Martens in her Meister Francke monograph (1929) placed the orig - inal location of the altarpiece elsewhere, relying on the then dating of the Kalanti church to the year 1470. 15 Though not Fig. 3. Plan of the church of Kalanti with the vaulting scheme. the time of the construction, this is, actually, the time when Arrows with the year 1824 denote additions to the building structure after the Middle Ages. A = Location of the screen in most of the wall paintings were carried out, confirmed by 16 the year 1761. B = Medieval main altar of the church. C = Probable an inscription on the church wall. In the 1950s, when place of the Barbara Altarpiece with open wings. Heinrich Reincke presented his views considering the altar -

Fig. 4. Exterior of the Kalanti church (constructed c. 1430–40) in 2005, photographed from the south. The tile portal of the porch is neo-gothic, from 1884.

66 | Elina Räsänen, Markus Hiekkanen Fig. 5. Wall paintings in the sacristy of the Kalanti church, c. 1430–40, depicting floral ornaments, birds, symbols of the Evan - gelists as well as the Church Fathers. piece, the dating of the church was thought to be as early as the late 14 th century. 17 In the late Middle Ages, the of Kalanti was not “modest”, as Riitta Pylkkänen once put it, nor was it a “remote country church”, as recently articulated by Kersti Markus (Fig. 4). 18 On the contrary, during the Middle Ages and until the 19 th century the so-called Finland Proper (SW Fig. 6. Church of Kalanti, interior in 2007. Wall paintings dated by Finland) was the administrational and ecclesiastical centre an inscription to 1470–71, and painted by a group from the Upp - 19 sala region. When opened, the width of the Barbara Altarpiece of Finland. Being situated less than 40 km north of the stretched slightly over the corners of the window niche thus leaving episcopal centre of Turku, the Kalanti parish definitely con - the images of the saints and donors on the sides well visible. No stituted a part of this central area. It was only after the capital photo, drawing or other visual documentary exists that would re - of Finland was moved from Turku to Helsinki in 1812, the veal how exactly the altarpiece stood till its removal from the altar area became more peripheral. to the northern wall in the 1880s. As for the architecture of the Diocese of Turku, the Kalanti edifice in fact represents a superbly constructed church build - ing which concurs well with other churches in the region. This is underlined by the tower, a feature seldom found in the medieval churches of Finland (they are relatively more in the åland Islands where a few stone churches, as stated above, are older) than on the mainland of Finland. The rich interior decoration of the church corresponds well with its outer structures and architectural details. Most likely very soon after its construction, in the 1430s or the 1440s at the latest, the sacristy was skilfully painted with floral decorations and images of the Evangelists by a professional workshop; these paintings are among the finest in Finland (Fig. 5). We do not know whether any paintings in the nave were Fig. 7. The Nativity of Christ, Wall painting on the northern wall of 20 carried out as part of the same project. Even if they were, the Kalanti church. Painted by a group of painters, including a man nothing has remained, apparently because of the new paint - named Petrus Henriksson, from region in 1470/71.

The Kalanti Altarpiece: Its Potential Routes and Prominent Contexts | 67 ing series planned and executed in 1470–71 by the so-called sented. There are altogether five donor images, including the (Sw. Tövsala) group of professional painters orig - canon and priest of the parish Martin Olofsson Skytte and inating from the Mälardalen region in Central Sweden. even an unknown female donor with a house mark. 21 For the These images not only cover all the walls and the vaults of most part, coats-of-arms were painted on the arches the nave but also the walls of the porch and contain nu - but also on the reveals of the interior recesses of the windows. merous saints, devotional images and visualisations of the There are also 18 coats-of-arms carved on the side panels of Christian narrative as well as moralizing scenes, the latter wooden choir benches, a few of which are presently on exhibit motifs mostly placed in the porch (Figs. 6, 7). in the National Museum of Finland, Helsinki. A remarkable number of reminiscences revealing the influence Two of the donor images depict the state counsellor and of wealthy patrons of the church have been preserved from highest law official ( lagman ) Hartvik Jacobsson of the the Middle Ages. Among the wall paintings there are images Garp family († c. 1486) and his wife Ingeborg Magnus - of the donors with their coats-of-arms painted next to them: dotter († c. 1490), a member of one of the most influential both the church officials and the mighty families are repre - families, the Flemings (Fig. 8). Their images are painted on

Fig. 8. Wall paintings at the southern side of the choir wall in the Kalanti church, c. 1470. Ingeborg Magnus - dotter, wife of the State Councellor Hartvik Garp, with the coat-of-arms of her family Fleming, and St Helena. Above on the right, coat-of-arms of Arvid Garp and Magnus Stiernkors, who both held high ecclesiastical posts in the diocese. St. Barbara Altarpiece was flanked by this pain - ting as well as that of Ingeborg’s husband, Hartvik Garp, on the nort hern side of the window. The saints were guarding the altarpiece while the persons presented the donors of the church.

68 | Elina Räsänen, Markus Hiekkanen the choir wall virtually flanking the Kalanti Altarpiece as it, according to our interpretation, stood on the main altar of the church. 22 Also, the unusual detail of the church ed - ifice, namely the already mentioned tower, may be inter - preted as a deliberate sign to indicate the prestige of a locally do minant noble family. Above these donor paintings, on the lower part of the eastern most arcade arches, are several clerical coats-of-arms: those on the northern arch belonged most likely to Bishop Magnus Tavast and his successor Bishop Olaf Magnusson (1450–60), while on the southern arch there are the coats- of-arms of Bishop Konrad Bitz (1460–89), the Archdeacon Arvid Jakobsson Garp († c. 1490), brother of the above- mentioned Hartvik, and the Dean Magnus Stiernkors. Each of them held their office for a span of time that covers the whole period of planning, building and furnishing the church from the beginning of the 1420s to the completion of the paintings in the early 1470s. One can assume that each of them played a significant role in donating money and property as well as in administrating the building and furnishing of the church.

THE CHURCH INTERIOR AND ITS DEVOTIONAL OBJECTS OF THE LONGUE DURéE

Fig. 9. Triumphal Crucifix of the Kalanti church (detail), c. 1520. If we imagine the choir space of the Kalanti church in me - Likely a local work with secondary polychrome. dieval times, the altarpiece fitted very well to the altar space, as the window niche is 3.2 metres in width while that of the altarpiece, with opened doors, or wings, is 2.6 interior into three aisles. 26 The large Triumphal Crucifix metres. 23 The window had been somewhat en - (Fig. 9), today placed above the altar, was then part of the larged towards the floor at the end of the 18 th century, but rood screen. its width and shape are original. 24 The exact height to When the altarpiece was documented in 1874, it was still which the altarpiece would have reached is difficult to es - placed on the altar. 27 We suggest that the rood screen most timate because of the modifications made to the altar struc - likely protected the altarpiece from alterations and thus en - ture. According to archaeological investigations, the core dowed it with a more protected status compared to that of of the original medieval stone altar still remains inside the the other or tabernacle shrines on the side . present altar structure, but its size is unknown. 25 Also the The main altar, the compact rood screen, and the altarpiece floor level of the chancel has been altered, apparently sev - were so deftly integrated, both psychologically and visually, eral times, during the history of the building. Moreover, as a firm component of the church interior and the chancel it is possible that the Barbara Altarpiece originally had a that dismantling the altarpiece must have seemed unthink - predella which was later removed and then vanished. It is able, and thus did not happen until the late 19 th century (see worth noting that the rood screen which remained in the Fig. 3). 28 church until the late 18 th century, surrounded the altar Over ten fragmented medieval polychrome wooden sculp - area not only from the west, but also from the south and tures have survived in the Kalanti church. 29 However, many the north along the line of the pillars that divide the church of them lack their original tabernacles and have been dam -

The Kalanti Altarpiece: Its Potential Routes and Prominent Contexts | 69 Fig. 11. Virgin and Child, Detail of a fragmentary poly - chrome wooden sculpture, early 15 th century, Kalanti church. Note the finely carved belt and the folds of the gown, H. (at present state) 1.08 m.

Fig. 10. St Olav, c. 1320, Polychome oak sculpture from the Fig. 12. St Laurentius holding his book, Polychrome church of Kalanti (today at the collections of the National wooden sculpture from a workshop in Uppland, c. 1500, Museum of Finland, KM 4971), H. (figure) 1 m. A drawing Kalanti church, H. 99 cm. Fairly much of polychomy made at the excursion of the Finnish Antiquarian Society in left (red with golden ornamentation; blue). 1874, likely by K.F. Slotte.

70 | Elina Räsänen, Markus Hiekkanen Fig. 14. Face of St Birgitta, Detail of the seated figure holding a book. Polychome wooden (walnut?) sculpture, c. 1500, Kalanti church, H. 94 cm.

relatively many of the individual sculptures have survived. In regard to the Kalanti church, there seems to be an obvious contrast between the sculptural remnants and the Barbara Altarpiece which survived to the Modern period more or less intact. This may very well be due to the fact, as discussed above, that the altarpiece was not removed from the original main altar, which eventually became the only altar of the church in its Lutheran form. In several other stone churches of the Diocese of Turku the same can be observed: the orig - inal main altar with its Roman Catholic altarpiece remained intact quite long, in many instances into the final decades of the 19 th century. 30 The wooden polychrome sculptures of Kalanti church in - clude a seated St Olav of Norway (c. 1320) with his throne partially preserved. This is particularly finely carved object, with delicately modelled moustache and curls. The effigy was mostly likely a highly revered one, and the exceptionally hollow head of the figure no doubt contained a relic (Fig. Fig. 13. St Laurentius, Polychrome oak sculpture, c. 1500, possibly 10). 31 St Olav was, moreover, the patron of the church, to - from Lübeck, H. 60 cm. gether with the Virgin. 32 A very fragmentary sculpture de - picting the Virgin and Child is, with both figures now head - aged in numerous ways during the centuries after the Re - less, in many ways just a sad shadow if its former self, but formation. Typically, the tabernacle shrines and other struc - yet conveys the high-quality continental workmanship (Fig. tures were removed when the side altars – on which the im - 11). Another sculpture of the Virgin and Child as well as ages generally stood – were torn down after 1527 when the St Laurentius (Fig. 12) and St Sebastian are attributed to a Protestant began, and it is plausible workshop in the Uppland region, the main work of which that this continued even in the later centuries. In sum, while is the impressive altarpiece in the former Birgittine convent the actual altarpieces are either missing or were demolished, church in (Sw. Nådendal). Furthermore, a taber -

The Kalanti Altarpiece: Its Potential Routes and Prominent Contexts | 71 Fig. 15. St Catharine of Alexandria, Polychrome all-round oak sculpture, c. 1430, Kalanti church, H. 57 cm. In the background a procession or an altar Crucifix (c. 1400) with secondary polychrome.

72 | Elina Räsänen, Markus Hiekkanen nacle representing local production and depicting a pair of THE ALTARPIECE, THE TURKU saints as well as fragments of the two St George and the CATHEDRAL, AND THE BISHOP Dragon groups have survived. Other sculptures portray St Laurentius again (Fig. 13), St Birgitta (Fig. 14) and St The arrival of the Kalanti Altarpiece in Finland has been re - Catherine (Fig. 15). In fact, some of the sculptures later peatedly connected to Bishop Magnus Tavast and the altar documented and catalogued in the nearby church of of St Barbara he assumedly founded. 40 The idea of the altar Uusikaupunki may too have once decorated the Kalanti is based on a letter of indulgencies the Bishop received for church, since the town did not exist in medieval times and the cathedral of Turku; it was acquired during his sojourn was later founded by separating it from the parish of in on 9 November 1412 and states that four cardinals Kalanti. 33 granted indulgencies to those who took part in the services, It is not possible here to deliver an in-depth and complete donated money and so forth. This is followed by a list of analysis of the networks, connections and influences con - saints and festivities, including the veneration of St Barbara, cerning the medieval art works of Kalanti church, but it is who is, unsurprisingly, mentioned together with St Margaret clear that the St Barbara Altarpiece was far from being an and St Catherine. 41 The document, however, does not indi - isolated item within the church. Instead, it was surrounded cate the foundation of any altars, and, in fact, it proves to by numerous other sculpted works, ranging from high qual - be irrelevant for the study of the Kalanti Altarpiece. ity imports to examples of craftsmanship from local work - In the 1940s, archaeologist and historian Juhani Rinne con - shops. It is also worth noting the previously discussed wall cluded that the cathedral housed an altar of St Barbara, con - paintings, as well as the silk chasubles and dalmaticas con - nected to that of St Catherine. 42 He had based his opinion, taining imaginative floral patterns and animal figures, gilt however, simply on the 1412 document and the wall paint - liturgical vessels and other examples of material culture. 34 ings in the Chapel of the Holy Cross where an image of St Moreover, not only was the church of Kalanti richly deco - Barbara appears on the vaults among other female saints. 43 rated, but the same applies to other nearby churches, such What is more, no donations to or mentions of any kind of as (Sw. Vemo) and Taivassalo. 35 altar dedicated to St Barbara in the cathedral is to be found However exquisite, expensive and revered the Kalanti Al - in the sources – as there are about the altars of many other tarpiece once was, during the following centuries its value saints. Therefore, Rinne’s assumption about the existence of inevitably began to decline. In fact, the first mentions of an altar of St Barbara remains on a weak basis. Nonetheless, the altarpiece in the church records simply list it under it is worth noting that he did not suggest that the altarpiece the murky rubric Diverse sorter (Diverse sorts/objects) and, of Kalanti had stood on this altar. for example, in the record of 1787 it is listed as 1 st. stor In general, it ought not to be a preordained hypothesis that gammalmodig altartafla (1 piece large old-fashioned altar - an altarpiece of exceptional beauty in a Nordic parish church piece). 36 In the 19 th century, it was even less appreciated would have originated from a church of higher ecclesiastical by the educated clergy and thus repeatedly dismissed as rank or from a cathedral. There are examples of such cases, “not in accordance with today’s taste” 37 . In contrast, it was for instance, the altarpiece of österåker which was bought widely respected by local people, and an exceptionally large from (Church of St Nicolaus; then the town number of folk tales survive describing its miraculous do - church, later the cathedral) in most likely some - ings: these stories tell how the altarpiece ‘swam’ ashore time in the early decades of the 17 th century. 44 But consid - from a shipwreck and chose its location. 38 Finally, in the ering the general situation in Sweden and Finland, which early 20 th century, the altarpiece re-gained its value also were both under the same ecclesiastical rule and thus fol - among the educated. When K.K. Meinander, then the lowed similar archdiocesan practices, most of the noteworthy amanuensis of the National Museum, wrote a letter to the surviving altarpieces certainly had been used also in the congregation to request that the altarpiece be sold to the smaller rural or village churches, not only in the large town museum, he urged its recipient to remember that “the churches or . For example, the noteworthy altar - meaning of the altarpiece in discovering the cultural his - piece perhaps from Rostock in the parish church of Frösunda tory of our country is very noteworthy” and that it now is not considered or proposed to have been transported from should be placed in a location where both scholars and even though no documentary evidence the public would have an easier access to it. 39 survives of its provenance. 45

The Kalanti Altarpiece: Its Potential Routes and Prominent Contexts | 73 The altarpiece of Kumla, donated by the congregation to shown on the main plate as a donor figure. 52 In addition, he the Historical Museum in Stockholm in 1868, serves as a is believed not only to have bought silver reliquaries in the comparative case, too. It is a double-winged altarpiece made shape of an arm and a head (now lost) for the relics of St of oak with sculpted figures and painted panels according Henrik that were kept in the cathedral but also reliquaries to the same division as in the Kalanti Altarpiece, and in for the altar of Corpus Christi. 53 many ways represents the work closest to it in today’s Swe - The part Bishop Magnus played in the realization of wall den. The paintings depict the Passion of Christ in eight scenes paintings in the churches remains speculative. However, it and a very fragmentary image of the Annunciation is visible would be no surprise if he had been involved in getting pro - when the altarpiece is closed. 46 Because of the rare occasion fessional painters – whose work he saw during his numerous of surviving church accounts we know it was purchased for visits to Sweden – to cross the water and earn their living the church – belonging to the Diocese of Strängnäs – in for a while in his diocese. For instance, the recently uncov - 1439. 47 ered paintings in the Mynämäki church, obviously by the Though each bishop (and also other dignitaries of the cathe - same group which had worked in both the sacristy of Kalanti dral) naturally wanted to embellish his own cathedral, he and in the cathedral, can be connected to the paintings in was in charge of the whole diocese. Thus, it was a matter of Arboga (Västmanland). 54 The latter are dated 1430–40, pride that the parish churches were presentable and splen - which, then, could have well have been seen by the Bishop didly furbished. The letters of indulgencies that have survived in 1438 when he took part at the King’s council that took from the Kumla church poignantly reveal that the place there. 55 of Strängnäs clearly saw the parish as part of their domain All in all, even though the letter of indulgencies from 1412 and it was in their interest to encourage people to visit the cannot explain the history of the Kalanti Altarpiece, we can - church and to donate funds to it. 48 Regarding Kalanti, the not dismiss the possibility that the Bishop himself, some role of Bishop Magnus Olofsson Tavast (in office 1412–50; decades later, played some kind of role in acquiring it. In † 9.3.1452) certainly should not be overlooked, as Kersti theory, the place could have been the cathedral, but indeed Markus has recently pointed out. 49 Having studied at the it may also have been the Kalanti church, which was one of University of Prague, he was a well-connected, widely trav - the new and prestigious parish churches of his diocese. The elled man and due to his position as bishop, he was also a supposition that the work would have been transferred from member of the King’s council. 50 His family was among the the cathedral to the Kalanti church after the Reformation leading noble families ( frälse ) in Finland and the offspring is, according to the authors, highly problematic for various of his siblings managed to secure influential posts and pros - reasons; for instance, it had not been modified to meet the perous marriages. Because Magnus Tavast was born in the demands of a Lutheran mind-set. 1370s in Mynämäki (Sw. Virmo), situated approximately between Turku and Kalanti, many of his relatives resided in manor houses in this region. No documentary evidence of CONCLUSIONS his visits to the Kalanti parish survives, but it is obvious that he visited the churches in South-West Finland not only on The association between the letter from 1412, the hypothet - official occasions such as parish visitations or confirmations ical altar of St Barbara in the cathedral and the Kalanti Al - of the of infants, but also for various other purposes tarpiece received support from the dating of the altarpiece as such as meeting relatives or looking over his landed property. early as c. 1415 which was more or less accepted by the schol - For example, his visit to Vehmaa in 1449 is considered to ars for most of the 20 th century. This date was originally of - be unofficial. 51 fered by Bella Martens in 1929 and was based on the stylistic The interest of Bishop Magnus in purchasing works of de - features of the painted panels. 56 Later on, we believe, it gained votional art is unquestioned, though his role in activities oc - strength by the erroneous connection to the letter from 1412, curring during his long time in office has been exaggerated and the later dating to c. 1440 already offered by K.K. as well. The most impressive testimony of his pursuits, how - Meinander in 1908 was somewhat forgotten. 57 ever, is the (c. 1420) with its skilfully engraved Since the 1990s, both the stone church and the altarpiece brass metal plates for the grave of St Henrik of Finland in have been dated anew, independently of each other and the church of (Sw. Nousis) with his own image based on both systematic, scientific (dendrochronological)

74 | Elina Räsänen, Markus Hiekkanen and stylistic analyses and argumentation. They coincide quite on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. It is unlikely, how - well – the altarpiece after 1420 and the church 1430s or ever, that the altarpiece had been ordered by the parish of - 1440s at the latest – and thus the very edifice and the ac - ficials and the nobles with an iconographical plan attached quisition of the altarpiece might, then, very well have been to the presumed letter of order, because in such a case it part of an overall plan. would, though not necessarily, have included at least one The changing economic and cultural geography together Nordic saint; the obvious choice here would have been St with reiterated inaccurate terminology created the wide - Olav. spread idea that the altarpiece could not have been in Kalanti The reason for the misconceived liaison between the doc - in the Middle Ages, but – if in Finland at all – in the main ument of indulgencies mentioning the name of St Barbara sanctuary of the Diocese, the Turku cathedral. However, as together with the other main Virgins, and the Meister the material wealth of the area of Kalanti is conspicuous and Francke altarpiece with the images of the same saint appears noteworthy in regional circumstances, the Meister Francke to be based on two reasons. Firstly, it represents the previ - altarpiece would not have been – around the 1440s – a ous, positivist tendency, particularly in vogue in the mid- strangely exquisite piece of devotional art, though it surely 19 th century, to read too much into the written documents. must have been an item of great pride. Keeping in mind the Secondly, it is based on a dismissal of the historical, geo - excessive visualisations of patronage in the church, it is plau - graphical and even architectural realities which then led sible that the congregation together with wealthy locals, per - the Kalanti church to be imagined as a “kleine Dorf kirche”, haps with influence – and perhaps even funds – of Bishop instead of acknowledging its central location in Finland in Magnus Tavast, bought the altarpiece from a Hanseatic town the Middle Ages and its exceptional architecture.

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1 For a detailed analysis of this excursion, see RÄSÄNEN / 16 The paintings seem to have been carried out during two warm VALKEAPÄÄ 2014. periods of the year, thus summers, namely 1470 and 1471. 2 The lack of such documents is a common feature as only less The inscription pertaining to the latter date has vanished. For than ten church accounts from medieval parish churches sur - detailed description of the inscriptions, see RISKA 1959, pp. vive from the Realm of Sweden; one of these , covering the 176–178; NILSéN 1986, pp. 235–238. years 1469–1524, is from the parish of Tyrvää, Diocese of 17 REINCKE 1959, pp. 9–26; RISKA 1959, p. 174. Turku; see e.g. SAMzELIUS 1946; JACOBSSON 1995; ORRMAN 18 PyLKKÄNEN 1966, with no page numbers; MARKUS 2014, 1997. For acquisitions of art in the medieval Baltic Sea region, p. 5. see VON BONSDORFF 1993. 19 Varsinais-Suomi is the SW part of the agricultural Finland in 3 The inventory is published in MEINANDER /R INNE 1912, pp. the late Iron Age and the Middle Ages as well as much later 77–82. into the Modern Era. Originally it was called Finland, but as 4CORLEy 1996, p. 152 n. 7; SITT 2014, p. 102. the name Finland gradually expanded to cover a larger and 5 See e.g. SARVAS 1971; TAAVITSAINEN 1990; HIEKKANEN larger territory outside the nucleus, the name of the admin - 2002 A. istrative and ecclesiastical central area had to be redefined and 6PIRINEN 1976; HEIKKILÄ /H EININEN 2002; HIEKKANEN thus the somewhat peculiar name ‘Finland Proper’ came into 2002b. use. 7 See HIEKKANEN 2004; HIEKKANEN 2010. 20 Fragments of colour pigments have been found on the walls 8HIEKKANEN 2004, p. 164. During the actual medieval period, of the nave which do not belong to the series of 1470–71. there were only a couple of private churches, compared to the Their origin, however, cannot be ascertained. RISKA 1959, late Prehistoric Period (Crusade Period) when there probably pp. 175–176; HIEKKANEN 2007, p. 61. had been many; no system of the so-called Dorfkirchen existed 21 See RISKA 1959, pp. 180–182; TUHKANEN 2005, pp. 63–75; in Finland during the Middle Ages. AHLSTRöM -T AAVITSAINEN 1984, pp. 26–34. 9 HIEKKANEN 1997, pp. 153–155. 22 The location of these images raises questions about the role 10 FMU: 1385. On the early history of Kalanti, see especially of the couple in the patronage of the church; the connection ALIFROSTI 1999; HIEKKANEN 2014, p. 58. of this couple to the Kalanti Altarpiece was the topic of a paper 11 The main protagonist for the novel approach towards the ma - presented by Elina Räsänen in the 24 th Iconographical sym - terial and visual effect of churches was most likely Bishop posium in Tallinn on August 30 th , 2014. Magnus Tavast; o n his role in this decision making, see 23 On measures of the window niche, see HIEKKANEN 1994, pp. HIEKKANEN 1997, pp. 153–155. 331, 367. 12 The conclusive sample is that from the boom of pine which 24 RISKA 1959, p. 169; HIEKKANEN 1994, pp. 50–54. still is in its place inside a recess in the door jamb of the west - 25 This is due to the nonexistent possibilities to gather observation ern portal of the nave. This boom cannot be removed from material from underneath the modern era wooden part of the its original site and stone construction around it shows no altar structure. Thus, the height as well as the width of the me - signs of rebuilding the jamb. Thus, the boom cannot later dieval altar are unknown. See also HIEKKANEN 2014, p. 62. have been exchanged for a replacement after its placement 26 RISKA 1959, p. 179. into the recess while the church was in construction. The 27 RÄSÄNEN /V ALKEAPÄÄ 2014. felling of the pine must have happened after the summer of 28 The year was most likely 1884; anyway before 1892; see RÄSÄ - 1396 from which year the latest growth ring is, but because NEN /V ALKEAPÄÄ 2014. plenty of growth rings are missing as a result of the carving 29 On the medieval sculptures of Kalanti, see MEINANDER 1908, of the tree into its shape to fit as a door boom, the actual passim; NORDMAN 1965, passim; RIS KA 1959, pp. 193–197. felling time has obviously been several decades later. zETTER - Several sculpted works are today exhibited in the small, modest BERG 1998, p. 5f.; HIEKKANEN 2014, p. 59. exhibition space of the church, situated in the tower; some 13 The width of the pillars (c. 0.85 + 0.85 m) must be added to are kept in the sacristy. these measures to reach the approximate total width of the 30 HIEKKANEN 2007, pp. 98–115. interior of the church. 31 MEINANDER 1908, pp. 68–70; NORDMAN 1965, p. 135. 14 HIEKKANEN 1994, pp. 311, 355. 32 On the dedication, see e.g. KNUUTILA 2010, p. 64, with bib - 15 MARTENS 1929, vol. 1, p. 41. liography.

76 | Elina Räsänen, Markus Hiekkanen 33 The church edifice was completed in 1629; see RISKA 1959, 45 See ANDERSSON 1980, p. 69. For images, see the database for p. 132. The town of Uusikaupunki was founded in 1617; medieval art in Sweden Medeltidens bildvärld (accessed LILIUS 2014. Included in these works is a precious fragment 25.6.2016). depicting the Apocalyptic Virgin (1420s) that has gained 46 The corpus of the Kumla altarpiece shows the Coronation of scholarly attention over the decades; a tentative supposition the Virgin which is flanked by three saints on each side; see can be made that it was part of an altarpiece originally lo - RyDBECK 1975, pp. 159–162. For details, see the online Col - cated in the church of Kalanti, perhaps on its northern side. lection database of the Statens Historiska Museet (accessed For this sculpture, see e.g. the recent study by WAGNER 25.6.2016). The medieval church of Kumla, dedicated to a 2014. local saint St Torkel or Torgils, does not exist anymore as it 34 Most of the medieval liturgical vessels were confiscated by the was torn down in 1828; see BONNIER 1976, p. 21. The altar - King Gustav Vasa. See illustrations of the textiles in RISKA piece has been under conservation recently; see the web-pages 1959, pp. 199–203. Kumla Altar (accessed 16.9.2016). 35 The church of Vehmaa housed, for example, a large altarpiece 47 SAMzELIUS 1946, pp. xxvi, 13–14. This is mentioned with from Brussels and a small but masterfully carved figure of St slightly different interpretations of the dates in e.g. RyDBECK Margaret from the early 1400s – both now in the National 1975, p. 159; ULLéN 1976, p. 65; KEMPFF 1994, 67; JACOB S- Museum in Helsinki; from the latter, six sculpted and painted SON 1995, p. 23. For a more in-depth analysis of the acqui - medieval devotional art works have survived. See NORDMAN sition, see VON BONSDOFF 1993, pp. 88–90, 127f. Another 1965, passim; KIL PI 1936, pp. 13–28. interesting aspect regarding the Kumla altarpiece and the topic 36 Nykyrko församlings kyrkas Räkningar 1767–1807 III G 1 of this essay, which however goes beyond the scope of it, is 3. Archives of the Kalanti church, the Archives of the the fact mentioned by Curt von Habicht already in 1926 Uusikaupunki congregation, Uusikaupunki (= KAU). The (Hanseatische Malerei und Plastik , Berlin) that some of the in - archival research has been carried out by Elina Räsänen to - dividual scenes including the Bearing of the Cross with Christ’s gether with Leena Valkeapää in 2013. face half hidden carry reminiscences of the Thomas Altarpiece 37 Nykyrko kyrkans inventariebok II B c 1, inventories from by Meister Francke. 1826 and 1848: “icke enlig med tidens smak” (KAU). 48 See SAMzELIUS 1946, pp. 156–162. 38 Leena Valkeapää has researched the 16 surviving tales found 49 MARKUS 2014. in the archives of the Finnish Literature Society (= Suoma - 50 Magnus Tavast lived his last years in Naantali (Sw. Nådendal) laisen Kirjallisuuden Seura) in Helsinki; see VALKEAPÄÄ 2016. in the vicinity of the Birgittine convent. He was buried in the 39 Minutes of the church assembly 9.11.1902. Kirkonkokousten cathedral, in the Chapel of the Corpus Christi which he him - pöytäkirjain kirja 1880–1917 II C a 5 ( KAU). On the later self founded and where his tombstone still remains. On the history of the altarpiece, see the article by Henni Reijonen in career and life of Magnus Tavast, see e.g. JUUSTEN 1988; PALO - this volume. LA 1997. 40 This is often repeated; see, e.g. REINCKE 1959, p. 11; PyLKKÄ - 51 FMU 2787; PALOLA 1997, p. 205. NEN 1966; AUSST . K AT . H AMBURG 1969 , p. 50; WAISMAA - 52 The sarcophagus has received plenty of scholarly attention; PIETARILA 1994, p. 172; MILLS 2005, p. 126. See also MARKUS the latest contributions include LIEPE 2003, pp. 118–139. 2014, p. 18. For the most recent historiography of the sarcophagus, with 41 REA: 335. previous literature, see IMMONEN 2005. 42 RINNE 1948, p. 34. 53 JUUSTEN 1988, pp. 58–60; LAHTI /R ÄSÄNEN 2008, pp. 246– 43 RINNE 1948, p. 34 sites also REA: 524 but not even in this 252. document a mention about any altar of St Barbara can be 54 HIEKKANEN 2011. found. 55 About the dating of the Arboga paintings, see LINDGREN 44 It was repaired in österåker in 1649, and the Storkyrka is 1996, pp. 392–393. See also RISKA 1961, pp. 24f. On Bishop known to have acquired a new altarpiece in 1633; see RyD - Magnus’s travels, see PALOLA 1997, pp. 130–134. BECK 1975, pp. 204–207. Today the altarpiece is in the col - 56 MARTENS 1929, vol. 1, p. 41. lections of Statens Historiska Museum, Stockholm. 57 MEINANDER 1908, p. 177.

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