Stave Church

A stave church refers to a very distinctive Romanesque styled all-wooden Catholic Church constructed in medieval Norway following the arrival of the first generation of Christian missionaries in the early tenth century. Before the bubonic plague pandemic (the Black Death) decimated the Norwegian population three hundred years later, more than thirteen hundred such churches would be built. Of those, twenty-eight still stand, and one is remains an operating church, a testimony to the engineering skill that went into the construction. The stave churches are today a most significant cultural artifact from the Middle Ages—they reflect the glory of a period known as Norway’s Golden Age, an era of bold oceanic exploration, economic stability, engineering innovations, and rich cultural development when Norway itself, united under a single monarchy, reached as far as Iceland and Greenland. In addition, these churches offer a contemporary visitor not only the opportunity to appreciate the architectural elements of the church’s intricate construction but also the chance to see stunning wood carvings that decorate the interiors of the churches. From a much broader perspective, however, the churches offer an important study into how disparate cultures fuse; elements of the stave churches reflect both the symbols and rituals of the imported Christianity and images and icons drawn from Norway’s own proud Viking past.

Brief History

With the first wave of ardent Christian missionaries into Scandinavia in the tenth century came the need to construct chapels for Christian worship. Initially these small wooden churches were built by using wooden posts simply driven into the ground; in the harsh and wet Scandinavian climate, these posts quickly deteriorated and rotted. None of these original structures remains today. The next generation of local architects adapted a far different design that drew from the long Viking tradition of shipbuilding. Rather than driving the posts directly into the ground, a wooden box frame was laid first and that box carefully filled with large foundation stones tightly assembled like a puzzle. Only then were the church walls erected, thus ensuring a greater longevity for the church frame. Tthese are the churches that have survived eight centuries of harsh weather. Wooden planks, called staves, were driven vertically into the frame to create the walls and then latched onto the next stave to ensure a sturdy wall that was also airtight, much as in the broad sides of ships. These vertical planks would in turn be attached by a groove to the roof. In each of the four corners, a thicker wooden post would anchor the structure, or in the smaller churches a single post like the mast of ship would support the entire church from the center of the floor. No adhesives were used, no nails were necessary; the church held together by the sheer force of gravity. The design was ingenious. Because of that frame design, the churches could actually react to high winds and other harsh weather conditions. The frames were flexible and dynamic and thus could "breathe," preventing catastrophic collapse.

Initially the stave churches were small and hardly imposing. Architectural historians now term these models Type A. These first-generation churches were simple rectangular designs, resembling houses. The floorplan was practical: drawing from the Romanesque pattern of the stone cathedrals in continental Europe to the south there was a basic nave, the open space where the congregation would stand (there were no pews), and a chancel for the altar where the clergy would conduct services. Reflecting Norway’s long history of woodworking, great care was taken to decorate the church, particularly around the door frames and the altars, with expressive and intricate wood carvings executed with painstaking care that evoked both Christian and Viking symbols: lambs and grapevines, for instance, as well as fire-breathing dragons and figures of Norse gods, most prominently Odin. There were often intricate inscriptions drawn from Christian wisdom literature rendered in the Old Norse runic alphabet. There was little light in these churches—too many windows, after all, would compromise the sturdiness of the wall structures, and in an all-wood structure, candles were a constant hazard. Thus, the small bands of worshippers would gather in the gloom of a dimly lit central space.

Within a generation, however, the stave churches grew far more elaborate (Type B), resembling the thrusting sweep of ships. Bell towers and turrets were constructed and smaller chapels, or apses, were added adjacent to the alter. The narrow naves were expanded to accommodate growing congregations and the ceilings were raised to enhance the feeling of spirituality. The church built in Kaupanger, the one still in use today, is often described as a stave cathedral. But whatever the additions and innovations, the basic architectural design—load-bearing staves secured within a sturdy, rigid wooden frame—remained. The crowning achievement of this era is a church in the small western village of Borgund, completed in the late twelfth century and among the best-preserved stave churches. It is also one of the most recognizable with its majestic, sweeping five-tiered roof.

Impact

The stave churches of Norway are today among that country’s most significant cultural landmarks, that modest unprepossessing design widely identified with Norway itself. The church in Urnes, near Borgund, believed to be the oldest of the remaining stave churches, has been listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. The stave churches are considered architectural wonders—wooden structures that have maintained their integrity for centuries. Their ornate carvings are considered among the finest examples of medieval iconography. For students of cross-cultural studies, those carvings reveal the artistic expression when radically different cultures collide, a complex process termed transculturation.

Although stave churches are found in Sweden and Poland, these simple yet magisterial churches have become a powerful symbol of Norwegian cultural pride and the deep spirituality of its people. Replicas of the stave churches have been erected in numerous locations in America’s Northern Plains states, most notably Minnesota and Wisconsin, where the Scandinavian heritage is strong, and when Norway created its pavilion along the World Showcase in Disney World’s Epcot Park in Orlando, it chose to meticulously recreate the stave church at Gol to represent the summa of Norwegian culture. Although many of the churches were lost in a bizarre wave of arson attacks in the 1990s, those churches that remain are among the most visited tourist sites in Scandinavia.

Bibliography

Anker, Leif. The Norwegian Stave Churches. Oslo: Arfo, 2005. Print.

Cannon, Jon. Medieval Church Architecture. Oxford: Shire Books, 2014. Print.

MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. New York: Viking, 2010. Print.

Stalley, Roger. Early Medieval Architecture. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print.

Valebokk, Eva, et al. Norway’s Stave Churches: Architecture, History and Legends. Oslo: Cappelens Forlag, 1995. Print.

Winroth, Anders. The Age of the Vikings. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2014. Print.

---. The Conversion of Scandinavia: Vikings, Merchants, and Missionaries in the Remaking of Northern Europe. New Haven: Yale UP, 2014. Print.

Yilek, John A. History of Norway. Shelbyville: Wasteland, 2015. Print.