Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1999, Page 103

ÚTSKURÐUR OG LÍKNESKJUSMÍÐ ÚRTRÉ
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Christian period and is in Late Viking styles (Late Jelling, also known as Mammen, and
Ringerike). All the fragments have probably come from churches (figs. 1-6).
Nordic wood-carving was only slowly influenced by the Romanesque style. Most of
the carving on surviving architectural pieces and inventory from after 1100 in Iceland is
ornamental. One exception is the incised carving of figurative scenes from Bjarnastaðahlíð
in Skagafjörður (figs. 7-8), but these are rnost hkely remnants from a large 12th-century
wall-painting, probably originally from Hólar Cathedral - a rare example in Nordic
ecclesiastical art of a Last Judgement scene of Byzantine type. These pieces are included
here as carving, as all traces of pigment have disappeared and only the main carved lines
have survived.
Some pieces that seem to have come front stave-churches provide a glimpse into the
development of Aecorative wood-carving in the Middle Ages (figs. 9-14).The dramatic scene of
the fight with the dragon on the door fronr Valþjófsstaður (figs. 10-11) is comparable to a
similar scene on the doorway of a Norwegian stave-church from the first half of the 13th
century (fig. 12). Boards from Laufas in Eyrafjörður and from Mælifell in Skagafjörður
(figs. 13 and 14) have characteristic vine-scrolls and palmette borders, which can hardly be
earlier than about 1260.
Carved architectural fragments froni the 14th and 15th centuries (figs. 15-18) reflect
various phases of Romanesque, while in a class of its own on account of the Gothic
decoration on the front is a German chest from c. 1400, which stood in Skálholt Cathedral
(fig. 19).
On the whole the Romanesque style lasted for a surprisingly long time in Icelandic
ornamental carving. Part of the back of a chair or bench from Skagafjörður (fig. 20) and
two richly decorated chairs from Grund in Eyjafjörður (figs. 21-22) are further evidence
for this, as the two chairs can almost certainly be dated to c. 1550. The decoration is in
Romanesque style with some traces of Gothic.
This is not the case with figurative sculpture in the medieval period. Only a few of the
surviving figures are Romanesque (figs.23-24); all the rest are Gothic.While the decorative
wood-carving is based on an ancient Nordic tradition and was gradually taken into use by
the Catholic church, the figurative sculpture does not seem to have any connection with
the depictions of the old pagan gods.The influence came frorn abroad, as a part of the new
religion, and was aimed at church use from the very beginning. It was characterised by an
increasing importation from professional workshops abroad.
The figures of Christ on the crucifixes, the Madonnas and the other saints differ from
much of decorative carving in their surface treatment. After they were carved, they were
covered with a chalk ground and given a polychrome finish.
The figure of Christ has survived from only one of the Romanesque wooden crucifixes
(fig. 23). It appears to be Icelandic work dating to the first half of the 12th century. A
Madonna from an unidentified Icelandic church (fig. 24) is representative of the Late
Romanesque figurative style. It seems to have been made in Sweden and is dated to a little
after 1200.
Of the Gothic pieces some are Icelandic, such as a crucifix from Húsavik church (fig. 25
and Isl. þjóðm. V, p. 130), while others are of uncertain origin, and many were no doubt
imported from abroad.
Many surviving figures have probably come from altar-shrines showing a single saint or
froni altarpieces with several figures. In some cases the altarpiece itself has also survived (e.g.
figs. 27, 29, 30, 32-33). Among the single-figure altar-shrines, those devoted to the