Durham E-Theses A Comparison of Stave Churches and Pre-Christian Cult-Houses, Their Origins and Inuences TOMPSEN, LYLE How to cite: TOMPSEN, LYLE (2020) A Comparison of Stave Churches and Pre-Christian Cult-Houses, Their Origins and Inuences, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/13505/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Abstract This study investigates the origins of the stave churches of Norway and their relationship to Norse pre-Christian cult-houses. The origin of the Norwegian stave church phenomenon remains enigmatic and much debated. Because of their distinct shape and unique decorative elements, they are often interpreted as a developed Christian architectural form based upon pre-Christian Norse cultic structures. Historically, no pre-Christian cult structures had been recovered archaeologically, and thus no definitive comparison was possible. Recent discoveries have forced a revision of this situation. This thesis employs an interdisciplinary approach to investigate and compare what excavators identify as pre-Christian ritual structures with the surviving corpus of Norwegian stave churches. Christian and pre- Christian sacred enclosures are examined from the beginning of the Viking era in the 8th century, to the end of the stave church era (c. 1350, the year that the Black Death decimated Norway). Data drawn from archaeological excavations, comparative historical architecture, stylistic evidence, and historical documentation across the North Sea region and Europe is interrogated to determine the influences on Norwegian stave church architecture. For comparative purposes, pre-Christian cult structures from Scandinavia are analysed using a combination of archaeological evidence, historical documentation and literary evidence. The results demonstrate that Norse pagan cultic structures were of two types, dedicated cult- houses and multi-purpose halls. These structures were built using construction methods and architectural patterns present in vernacular and aristocratic building styles. Stave churches were constructed employing architectural styles influenced by the Roman church, often driven by liturgical necessity. Each of the existing stave church styles can be traced to European predecessors and has contemporaneous non-Norwegian examples. The early Norwegian timber churches contemporaneous with pre-Christian cult structures were based on an insular two-cell church commonly found across northern Europe. Thus the pagan and Christian temple existed contemporaneously as parallel but separate architectural traditions. Title Page A Comparison of Stave Churches and Pre-Christian Cult-Houses, Their Origins and Influences Lyle Tompsen Submitted for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy Department of Archaeology Durham University 2019 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Statement of Copyright Copyright © 2019 Lyle Tompsen. All rights reserved. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it can be published without the author’s prior written consent and information derived from it must be acknowledged. 14 Acknowledgements I am indebted to both of my advisors, David Petts and Sarah Semple, for their support, guidance and patience. Special thanks must be given to Svein Bratten at the Riksantikvaren (the Directorate of Cultural Heritage in Oslo). Without his help, navigating the maze of permissions would have been impossible. Several museums and churches that do not normally allow photography granted me permission to photograph as well as publish their collections. That includes the Historiska Museet, Stockholm who kindly allowed me to photograph artefacts in their Gold Room. The Museet Erkebispegården, Trondheim, and the Vikingskiphuset, Oslo, who kindly allowed me to photograph the Oseberg tapestries. De Kulturhistoriske Samlinger, Bergen, granted me both access to their collections and archives. The Sverresborg Trøndelag Folk Museum, Trondheim granted me complete access to Haltdalen Stave Church and the Historiska Museet, Lund granted me photographic access and answered my questions regarding their excavations. I would be remiss though to not chastise those few cathedrals in both the UK and Norway that would not allow photographs, even for a qualified researcher. Several scholars provided suggestions for research and encouragement at various stages of this work. My thanks go to Sæbjørg Walaker Nordeide at the University of Bergen and Jonas Wellendorf of UCLA. Several scholars also allowed me access to unpublished works and granted me permission to quote their works. That includes Jesse Byock of UCLA (and the University of Iceland) and Preben Rønne of the Vitenskapsmuseet, University of Trondheim. A special thanks to Elisabeth Iregren at Lund University, who graciously provided me with her research and also suggested some very interesting avenues for research! In the course of this thesis, I have made extensive use of the various museums and archives. The reference librarians at the British Library, as well as Durham University have been especially helpful. Thanks also to Anne Røsvik of Riksantikvaren for her research skills helping me find my way in the archive library. Scholarly books from Norway are extremely difficult to acquire in the US (Norway does not distribute books there) and works from Denmark and Sweden are only somewhat easier. For this reason, I owe a special thanks to Antikvariat.net. These dedicated 15 booksellers have been looking for books for me for years and are owed a special debt of gratitude for their hard work on my behalf. In 2015 and 2016, (and intermittently since then), I did post graduate research at Háskóli Íslands (the University of Iceland at Reykjavik). I had the pleasure of being able to examine first hand the manuscripts at the Stofnun Árna Magnússonar. Not all manuscripts are viewable (some are on display, and a few in deep storage) but I was able to see the majority of them. The Icelanders have done an incredible job in digitalizing these libraries (the web sites are detailed in section 5.2). It is often the case that the scans of the manuscripts online are in fact often clearer than what can be seen when examining the actual vellum. One of the more interesting things about comparing these manuscripts to, for example, the European manuscript tradition is to how differently they were treated. European manuscripts were illuminated and marginalia usually kept to a minimum. It is quite obvious by the marginalia that these Icelandic barebones texts (only later works, probably influenced by Europe, has illustrations) were used by generations of students learning to read and write. To Terry Gunnell, Kolbrún Eggertsdóttir, the University and Árni Magnússon Institute library staff, thank you! Church wardens and groundskeepers throughout Scandinavia have been most kind. There are too many to mention, but it is comforting to know that these structures are fiercely protected by so many kind, knowledgeable, and helpful individuals. David Tester, the current church warden of Greensted Church in the UK also deserves thanks for allowing the examination of his church, patiently answering questions and providing otherwise difficult to access documents. Any work such as this stands on the shoulders of giants. Anyone reading this paper cannot help but notice the input provided by the work of modern researchers such as the late Håkon Christie; or encyclopaedists such as Leif Anker and Claus Ahrens. Without their research and commentary, this work would not be possible. I would also like to thank my friends, who now for several long years have had to tolerate my excuses for being late, absent, and just all around being stuck in books. So; Tony, Nanette, David, Jorja, JoAnn, I appreciate it all, and Takk fyrir 16 Last, but far from least, I have to thank Dorothy Smatana. Not only for being my ever patient partner and travel companion, but also for being a particularly gifted editor! This could not have done without her help. 17 Dedication This work is dedicated to my partner Dorothy Smatana. Without her love, continuous support, editing abilities, and great travel skills, this work would have been far more difficult. 18 Chapter 1: Introduction On the way we visited the old stave church at Borgund; it was the most fantastic site you could imagine, like the whim of some brilliant child, a cockchafer’s shell carved by a simple giant with his sheath knife, with simple crosses and arrogant dragonheads, all twists and twirls, louver upon louver. The inside is like a smokehouse dedicated to some mystic cult, where the darkness of the Saga overwhelms the flickering candles of Catholicism, whose shadows fall on the axes of mail-clad peasants and the flowing beards of Viking kings – a sinister experience, quite honestly. The Danish poet Holger Drachmann,