Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1977, Page 153

fjórar fornar húsamyndir
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11. Til eru margar úttektir af Halldórukirkju og eru mál gefin í tveimur. Auk
þess er til uppmæiing. Allt á Þjóðskjalasafni.
12. Sama rit og í 7, mynd 19.
13. It. Hauglid: Norske stavkirker, Bygningshistorie, Oslo 1976, bls. 166.
14. Sigilla Islandica I, Rvík 1965, bls. 222—223.
15. D.I. VII, bls. 637.
16. D.I. IX, bls. 210.
17. Þjskjs. Bps. B, III, 5.
18. Þjskjs. Bps. B, III, 6, bls. 162.
19. Þ.jskjs. Þingeyrarklaustursskjöl.
20. Annálar B.jörns á Skarðsá II, Hrappsey 1775, bls. 248.
21. Hörður Ágústsson: Bæjardyraport Þóru Björnsdóttur á Reynistað, Minjar
og menntir, Rvik 1976, bls. 234—237.
22. Valtýr Guðmundsson: Privatboligen pá Island i sagatiden, Kh. 1889, bls. 83.
23. Sama rit og í 5, bls. 91.
24. Vigfús Guðmundsson: Keldur á Rangárvöllum, Rvík 1949, bls. 153—164.
SUMMARY
In the present article the author examines four representations of houses
in old Icelandic sources and tries to find out whether they give any information
about ancient building customs.
I. On the carved church door from Valthjofsstadir (c. 1200 A. D.) the west
gable oif a wooden church is shown (Fig. 2). In the author’s opinion the con-
strujction of the lower part of the gable shows close affinity to the Norwegian
stave churches, whereas the upper part, the triangle, is constructed of vertical
clincher-built boards, a feature also known in mediaeval Norwegian churches. On
the other hand the dooi'way most likely points to features known in tlie East-
Scandinavian area. The church on the Valthjofsstadir door is probably the old-
est preserved picture of a church in the Nordic countries.
II. Among the items in Árni Magnússon’s collection of drawings from media-
eval seals is that of Reynistadur monastery (Fig. 9). A schematic representa-
tion of a church is by the author interpreted as an attempt to show a stave
church similar to the well-known Norwegian ones. The seal church might even
be thought as Reynistadur church itself, since, unlike the stone churches in the
neighbouring countries, the monastery churches in Iceland without exception
were of wood. The drawing shows certain details not known from Icelandic
documentary sources, such as a roof tower and dragon heads. The seal might be
from c, 1300.
III. The third picture (Figs. 1 and 14) is from a 15th century manuscript and
shows the gable of a house, possibly a church or a small chapel. The gable is un-
niistakeably of stave construction which no doubt prevailed in house building in
mediaeval Iceland. The drawing is the oldest example of a characteristic arrange-
ment of the top section of a doorway, a feature unknown outside Iceland.
IV. A primitive drawing in a manuscript from c. 1600, certainly the oldest
Picture of the traditional Icelandic farm buildings with outhouses (Fig. 17).
In the authoNs opinion traces of stave construction can also be seen in this
drawing.