Kaur Alttoa on the ORIGINAL PLAN of NOUSIAINEN CHURCH
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Fennoscandia archaeologica XIII (1996) Kaur Alttoa ON THE ORIGINAL PLAN OF NOUSIAINEN CHURCH Abstract The author discusses the original plan and dating of the Church of Nousiainen in SW Fin land. With reference to structural features and comparative materials, the author concurs with recent suggestions of a later date for the construction of the church than previously assumed. Kaur Alttoa, llmatari 38, EE-2400 Tartu, Estonia. In Finnish medieval architecture The Church of a large half-dome with radial ribs in the western Nousiainen undoubtedly occupies a significant part of the church. Judging by the shapes of the place. The tomb of St. Henry, the patron saint of bricks, the author associates Nousiainen Church Finland, alone gives it a unique position. Also the with Turku Cathedral, and these in turn with the nave, with its polygonal west part, is very unusual. 13th-century brick buildings of Middle Sweden Last but not least, with the exception of Turku Ca (including the Church of Our Lady in Sigtuna). On thedral, with its complex building history, there are the basis of these analogies, I. Kronqvist assumes no other sacral buildings in Finland for which so that the church dates back to the time of Bishop many different conceptions concerning the initial Johan I (1286-90) (Kronqvist 1948: 38,43-46). architectural design have been suggested. In 1952 an article by Lars-Ivar Ringbom (Ring In its present state, Nousiainen Church is a three born 1952: 222-234) was published. He analyses aisled hall church with a polygonal apse to the the vaUlt-supporting wall piers, where thick shafts sanctuary (Fig. 1). On the north side is the sacristy, alternated with thinner shafts (the author calls them in the south the porch and a burial chapel, which respectively 'old and young soldiers'; Fig. 3). At was added in 1901. The vaults lean on quadrangu the longitudinal walls the supports consist of five lar piers. The attached supports along the nave elements (the second and fourth ones are 'old'). L. walls, consisting of shafts of different sizes, are I. Ringbom regards the thicker elements as sup shaped differently from the piers. ports for the ribs; the transverse arch leaned on the Skipping the earlier historiography of the church, shaft between them, while the wall ribs (formerets) one should start with Iikk:a Kronqvist's interpreta started from the outer shafts. Judging by the posi tion (Kronqvist 1948; Fig. 2a). Until then, the sanc tion of the 'old soldiers', the author derives the di tuary had been considered a later addition to the rection of the ribs, and from this concludes that original church. However, he argues that the whole originally the church has been two-aisled (Fig. 2b). foundation is from the same time. The shape of the To the western part where a single' old soldier' is ground plan is derived from the Western tradition framed by two 'young soldiers' he gives a similar of a church with two sanctuaries, whereas the west solution as Kronqvist. He also agrees on the dating ern one was dedicated to St. Henry. Pointing out of the church given by Kronqvist, but the idea of the difference between the forms of the wall sup the patterns of the church is new - the Church of St. ports and piers, Kronqvist concludes that the vaults Henry's tomb follows the example of the Church of and piers we see today originate from a later recon Christ's Grave. L.-I. Ringbom's conceptions have struction. The shape of the wall piers gives a hint generally been supported by Tove Riska in that there were originally compound piers. They 'Suomen Kirkot' (Riska 1961: 223-226). were located in the same place as nowadays, only The next study on this subject is in Bo Lind the western pair of piers was missing, and there was berg's article on Turku Cathedral (Lindberg 1975: 83 Fig. 1. Nousiainen Church. Photo P-O. Welin 1967, National Board of Antiquities, Department of Monuments and Sites. 19 etc.). He could also rely on the data from the ar in Sigtuna. In conclusion, he shifts the time of the chaeological excavations of 1967-1968. The au building of Nousiainen Church to a somewhat later thor's notion is that St. Henry's grave, which is date: it had hardly been started before 1300 (Lind older than the present day church, was originally berg 1975: 41, 52). situated at the same site as the later cenotaph, i.e. in The key to explaining the initial planning of the eastern bay of the body near the longitudinal Nousiainen Church lies in the wall supports. The axis. From here the author draws the firm conclu first to attract our attention are the ones of the lon sion that the church could have never been two gitudinal walls. As already indicated, the diago aisled, since in that case the easternmost pier would nally situated elements (the second and the fourth) have been situated exactly on top of St. Henry's have always been interpreted as supports for the grave. The excavation also showed that the chancel ribs. However, we must ask the very simple ques arch was originally 1.5 metres narrower than it is tion of where in fact were the ribs and the trans today. Judging from this information, the author verse arches. The author does not recall even one gives his opinion about the original form of the instance in Western medieval architecture where church: it was three-aisled, with the piers being the dimensions of the ribs dominate over the size of closer to the longitudinal axis than they are at the transverse arches. As a rule, the ribs are more present (Fig. 2c). Lindberg does not agree with the modest in size than the transverse arches, or they proposed scheme of the western part - it would can be equal (in other words, there are transverse have been constructively disastrous - and places an ribs instead of transverse arches). From this we can additional pair of piers there (Lindberg 1975: 19- make only one conclusion, which at first glance 20). Concerning the dates, the author finds that the may seem strange. In Nousiainen Church the trans attached round columns of Turku Cathedral and verse arches were not designed perpendicular to the Nousiainen Church do not have much in common longitudinal walls; instead, they were designed di with the strong half-columns in St. Mary's Church agonally (Fig. 4). From this it follows that the bays 84 a b c Fig. 2. Nousiainen Church a - by I. Kronqvist (1948). b - by L.-I. Ringbom (1952). c - by B. Lindberg (1975). 85 .- . --' . ~I " ( I,., . ' ___--:- (. , I ... I ( ,. ,. '" :"1 1\ • I '.' . I". '~;I": I •• : I~r. I , , .. •, , . , \ .. , \ \, . • , , . , •; , .. , A , • .. in: , , . , Fig. 3. Wall supports by L.-I. Ringbom (1952). Fig. 4. Nousiainen Church by K. Alttoa. Drawing by I. Kuuse. 86 were planned to be triangular. This being the case, ment of the northernmost thin shaft remained. The the piers would be situated on the longitudinal axis, latter supported the rib of the small triangular addi and therefore the concept of a two-aisled body must tional bay in the northeastern comer of the church. be again be taken into consideration. As a result of such a vault pattern the area of St. As mentioned above, the thin outer shafts have Henry's grave in the eastern part of the nave fonns been interpreted as supports for the wall ribs. In the an integral whole which is not divided by any of the case where each vault element has its own support piers. it could be possible that one shaft was designed for We agree with B. Lindberg that the massive the wall rib - if there was a plan to build them at all. quadrangular piers in the Church of Our Lady in To explain that question, we must also take into ac Sigtuna (see Berthelson 1943) have little in com count the solution of the comers of the eastern side mon with the fonns derived from the compound of the body, where there is only a thin shaft ('young piers in Nousiainen Church (Lindberg 1975: 41). It soldier'). In all the restoration studies that have has always been pointed out that in Turku Cathe been proposed, it is obvious that the easternmost dral there are similar fonns as in the wall supports bays 'limp': while there is only a rib starting from at Nousiainen, hence the genetical connection be the shaft on the western side, at the other comer of tween the two. It is worth noting that the main ele the same bay there are three elements - one rib and ment of that composition, semiround profile brick, two wall ribs - starting from one thin shaft. It found frequent use in Finnish architecture. Such should be stressed that the masters who worked at bricks have been found at least in the churches of Nousiainen were professionals of high standard - Kirkkonummi and Pernio, and yet another one of the brickwork of the windows and the portals dem the kind should be in the Museum of Kastelholm. onstrate that they were also familiar with the princi However, this list ought to show that connecting pIes of brick architecture. Therefore it is not possi two buildings - in this case Nousiainen Church and ble to explain the solutions as 'accidental (the mas Turku Cathedral - only on the basis of a single ters' distortion) or barbarically ignorant', which brick fonn is too tenuous a conclusion. can be the case with some other Finnish medieval Where could we find prototypes for the solutions buildings.