Arbetsmaterial Som Inte Ska Citeras Eller Spridas

Seminarietext 2014 10 08 Kina Linscott, institutionen för Kulturvård, Göteborgs universitet

Arbetsmaterial som inte ska citeras eller spridas

For the seminar 2014-10-08

This text provides a preliminary plan and starting point for the sectionsintroduction and theoretical and methodological approaches in my thesis. It opens with abrief survey of previous research, pointing out the aspects that I take as a pointof departure for the work (1). There after I outline the thesis idea, source material and structure (2). Thisdescribes the trail I have started to follow, which of course might lead to other paths. In the last part I approachsome of the basic analytical concepts seeking a theoretical frameworkfor the thesis(3).

Some important theoretical approaches that will help analyse for example the shapes and formsas well as the finalinquiries into the articulated architecture, are not included in this text. These I hope to be able to present and discuss in coming seminars.In my paper for the Canberra conference in December 2014 I will theorize and reflect on some of the investigative methods. Later I will also attemptto put forward the use of imagesin the work.Drawings, scans and photographs are of particular importanceas they are used both to investigative and as a way to communicate various results.They are thereby not only illustrations, but active parts of the exploration, only written in another “visual” language.

Contents:

1. Earlier research and point of departure: Monuments made of stone and wood. s. 2
2. Thesis: Between matter and interior spaces. s. 5
3. Theoretical approaches. s. 8

References

At this seminar I would in particular welcomehelp to cast light on:

• The discussion aboutthe previous research, as my point of departure.
• The thesis structure, as outlined.
• The concept “serial collectivity” as this will be one of the main theoretical approaches,used in all the chapters.

Interpretations of old wood

Between matter and interior space in west Swedish 12th century parish churches

Keywords: medieval roof structures, tie-beam roof trusses, early medieval church architecture

The work examines church architecture in west Sweden. Analysis of a selected cluster of parish churches with surviving 12th century roof structures are used to discuss interpretations of architectural characters as cultural and social phenomenon. In what way arethe hand-crafted old buildings, something that we have reason to care about today? I approach the buildings as an architect, specialized in building archeology. How can these churches be understood from perspectives relevant to an architect?The combined interest in buildings and archaeology focuses attention on inquiries into the architecture as well as the agency in the local societies.The questions explore the individual churches and how the churches in the cluster could be connected and compared to each other. In what way is each church unique and how and to what degree are they part of a whole? How could the surviving monuments be connected to the peoplethat created, used and re-created850 years ago? What did the different stakeholders; the patrons, designers, builders and craftsmen manage to achieve? And, how do the churchesfit into the bigger picture?How could the articulated architecture relate to the contemporary “church-building” phenomenon? The understandings are contextualized by comparisons with other surviving similar churches withroofs and contemporary representations of churches or related motives.Getting access to the basic structures of the buildings is central. The investigations are characterized by building-archaeological methodology and involve a combination of analytic drawing, photography, scanning and question lists. Drawings and images are of importance in the study.

1. EARLIER RESEARCH: MONUMENTS MADE OF STONE AND WOOD

The Swedish 12th century parish churches have been described and analyzed by several researchers. The interest has largely focused on the different parts of stone. However there is no medieval church that fully has kept its original shape and the many changes and extensions make it difficult to reconstruct the first building. The art historical perspective has dominated throughout the 20th century.The church buildings have been understood as part of the so-called Romanesque style. Most regions in Europe have buildings identified as Romanesque. The European literature on this is very large and the style is regarded an international phenomenon, created when early Christian and Byzantine form elements merged with the new Christianized peoples own traditions(e.g. Pitz 1995:7). A number of individual Swedish churches are described with this perspective in earlier monographs (e.g. in west Sweden: Fischer 1913, 1914, 1920, 1922). The studiesfocusprimarily on the plan lay-outs and the decorative stone work. There are also studies that build on larger numbers of churches ordifferent aspects which give overview (e.g. Bonnier 2008:129-177, Dahlberg 1998, Ferm & Andersson 1991, Holmberg 1990, Zachrisson & Kempff Östlind 2007).These show, among other things, that the small 12th century parish churches in Västergötland are characterized by unusually rich stonework and stone sculpture (Dahlberg 1998:21). However despite this, the stonebuildings are considered difficult to interpret and to insert into chronologies based on their style. Dahlberg concludes, “Since so few parish churches show distinguishable stylistic features, I have felt it important to emphasize the hazards of stylistic dating.” (ibid:343). Our understanding of the church building’s earliest architectural development is therefore largely based on theirplan forms.

1.1.A world of wood

The many preserved 12th century parish churches reflect an intense church building activity in numerous local societies in the region. Not all, but a large number were constructed with walls of stone. The many stone churches were raised in a world of wood.These new stone buildings must have made a weighty impact in the contemporary landscape, entirely furnished with wooden structures. We are reminded of the importance of wood in the Middle Ages, in the article “Jordbruket och livet på landet” (Myrdal 2004:191ff). Myrdal stresses that”Det var en träkultur, och alla andra material än trä var sällsynta” (ibid:191.). Accordingly, in Sweden, the Romanesque style has been interpreted as a combination of European church architecture and a domestic vernacular wood building culture,”När kyrkan nådde Skandinavien samlade kyrkokonsten upp element från den inhemska och uråldriga träkulturens formspråk och bildade så en egen dialekt i den europeiska gemenskapen” (Pitz 1995:7).

Works that have explored medieval church buildings or parts of buildings of wood are, unlike the exploration of the stone churches and stone objects, conducted by researchers with a number of different backgrounds and interests. The wooden buildings and partshave therefore been highlightedfrom several perspectives.The remains from under the ground show that the first generation churches were small wooden buildings, and we have a good picture of the size and plan forms (Bonnier 2009, Nyqvist Thorsson & Nitenberg 2010, Vretemark 1998). Archaeology also suggests that the development from the first small wooden churches to the larger, still standing 12th century parish churches in west Sweden was complex and had a number of phases (Axelsson & Vretemark 2013).However the first small churches of wood have only rarely been the subject of more thorough discussion (Dahlberg 2008:300). Contemporary representations are not preserved from this very first period. Our idea of volumes and shapes are uncertain and fragmentary.Art historical perspectives have directed interest towards the ornamentation in the wooden parts of the buildings(e.g. Karlsson 1976) and the few contemporary representations of wooden churches, for example in the Skog tapestry (Franzén & Nockert 1992). Studies of the few Swedish medieval timber churches that have survived from the 13th and 14th centuries have been published by art historians and architects (e.g. Andersson & Ullén 1983,Lagerlöf 1985, Sjömar 1988, Ullén 1995).

Yet, even in a building with stone walls, the carpentry can be seen as important as the roofing is so significant to the architecture. Roofs present a particular engineering challenge to the builders. The upper parts of the stone church buildings, the top of the walls and the roofs in the attics, are also, in some cases very well preserved compared to the bottom parts. A number of studies that focus on medieval roofshave been published, however irregularly, since the turn of the century 1900, both in Sweden and in other countries in Europe.The interest has been centered on the trusses; their shapes, typology and structural developmentover time, as well as how the parts are joined. The roofs are primarily discussed by architectsand archaeologists (e.g. Ahrens 2001 [1981], Binding 1991, Eckhoff 1914-1916, Epaud 2003, 2007, Gullbrandsson 2013, Hewett 1982, Hoffsummer 2002, 2009, 2011, Linscott 2007, Lundberg 1940, 1971,Madsen 2007, Thelin & Linscott 2008, Sjömar 1992, 1995, 1998, Storsletten 2002, Walker 1999). The medieval or similar roof’s structure-mechanical aspectshave been analyzed with an engineering approach (Sandin 2005, Thelin 2005, 2006, 2008).A new building archaeological study“The Romanesque roof of Jumièges Abbey and its wider context in northern Europe”, shows that the large number of preserved roofs with tie-beam trusses in Swedenrepresent a unique position in a European perspective (Alcock & Courtenay forthcoming).

1.2.On understanding the Romanesque style.

The understanding of the Romanesque style is important to this study and it needs to be further analyzed and developed. It is about understanding the construct of the style, how it has been interpreted at different times in the past, as well as about the architectures of the 11th and 12th century. However, the many Romanesque manifestations are quite different in their architectural articulation and the interpretations of the style have long been regarded partially misleading (e.g. Pitz 1995:7). The archaeologist Tahdg O’Keefe gives an overview in his book “The Pan European Romanesque” (2007) and concludes that the architectures are “hitherto treated as local or regional manifestations of some vaguely defined common ideal” (2007:107). To reach a better understanding of the surviving architectures O’Keefe suggests that the buildings instead were “complex discursive objects of visual culture, located in, and contributing to, networks of understanding at a series of different levels” (Ibid.:107). He calls for new ideas and several perspectives, not just art historian, to moderate the stereotype image of the Romanesque style. One proposal for a Swedish study, with a new idea and a different perspective, comes from the field of archaeology. It is presented in the paper “Domkapitel och sockenkyrkor i mellersta Östergötland” (Tagesson 2007:246-266). The aim is to explore medieval church buildings and their changes over time. The study would map variations of different parts in a number of chosen (stone) structures[1] and discuss these against the background of the development of the Cathedral chapter in Linköping. The project seeks to understand the differences in terms of agency in the societies. (OBS! Another Eriksdotter 2005).

1.3.Points of departure

Most of the earlier studies focus on either the bottom parts of the surviving church buildings or the roofs in the attics. This means that today both the buildings’ parts and the different explorations are separated by vaults or ceilings. However, the investigation of one church,Hagebyhöga situated east of the lake Vättern, suggests that the interior was most likely originally open to the roof trusses (Sjömar 1995:224). Thus the two parts, roof and interior space belonged together in the 12th century. The trusses were not only practical structures as they were visible in the interior. The wooden constructions might therefore have played a part also aesthetically in the interior design.In addition a development in several stages is suggested in Hagebyhöga.The tie beams have traces from an early ceiling of wooden boards, which is believed put in place, used and taken down, before vaults were constructed in the late medieval period (ibid. 225f).The possibilities that lie in this, to makeconnections between the roofs in the attics and the interiors belowaresurprisingly little explored.

Furthermore, in the darkness ofchurch attics in Västergötland there are treasures to discover. The attics with preserved roof constructions are like “time capsules” that can be explored from different perspectives. Two significant activities in the local 12th century societies overlap and inter-act in these attics; wood construction, which was dominating in vernacular building traditions and church building, an important part of the powerful and evolving Christian movement. The attics and roofs can help cast light on the character of the original interior spaces. They also offer opportunities to interpret understandings of agency in the contemporary societies and how people approached and handled their environment.

1. THESIS: BETWEEN MATTER AND INTERIOR SPACES

What was a church?The studydraws on the earlier research and is a contribution to the exploration of church building in the early Middle Ages. The exploration seeks to connect the present vaulted church interiors with the wooden structures in the attics above and thereby let the architecture that lacks “distinguishable stylistic features” appear. Point of departure is an interest in the buildings. The architectural intentions are explored primarily by examining how they were performed.The interplay between what was designed and what was possible to do, the mental and material conditions. The emphasis is on the middle of the 12th century, the earliest period of the buildings’ long lives. The investigation stretches into later centuries in some cases. It covers the period when the roof trusses were visible, i.e. from when they were made until they disappeared in the darkness over ceilings or vaults. The work involves the selected group of churches from start to finish, but does not seek to provide a complete chronological sequence for each of them.

The work seeks to map and discuss relations, in some cases tensions, between on the one side materials/constructions and on the other the whole; the bodies and spaces that were created at different times[2]. The questions are about what was articulated in the small church buildings during the 12th century and how they changed during the Middle Ages.The study examines how and when people achieved their goals. Precisely how did they shape and subsequently re-shape the buildings? Precisely when were the church buildings created? How and when were they changed, later in the Middle Ages? Other (and more difficult) questions concern the use of the buildings and the meanings they might have been charged with. The work also deals with issues surrounding social practices connected to the creation of the buildings. How are possible patterns materialized in the cluster of standing buildings? Who might the different stakeholders in the construction projects have been? What significance might international contacts have had? Are there patterns of social practices also in the development over time?

The questions that are raised are partly new and they are directed primarily to a rich source material of wood;uniquely well preserved roof structures in a cluster of churches in Västergötland. The trusses from themid-12th century are of an early type. They were once part of interior spaces that were different and they were visible, made to be seen. The roofs are not easily accessible and they have not attracted the same interest as the churches' lower parts.

2.1.Aim

The aim is to understand both the church buildings and history better. The thesis contribution is to highlight the currently marginalized church attic spaces with 12th century roofs, and to connect these with the interiors below vaults or ceilings.The understandings open for interpretations of the intentions that might have been behind what was performed, by people in the past. Another contribution is to comparethe individual contemporary parish churchesin a small cluster, with each other. This is to understand the local architecture as a cultural and social phenomenon, in a regional context, connected to the European backgrounds. A hope is to thereby enrich the experiences of the heritage monuments. The understandings aim to point out that the roofs form an important body which provides valuable understandings for contemporary church- as well as vernacular architecture elsewhere.Apurpose is also to promote a significant change in the current heritage management, towards a new and inclusive approach and thereby improve the maintenance of the monuments in the future. This is to avoid the risk of removing important traces that give evidence of the original masonry and carpentry.

2.2.Source materials

The work is based on three earlier investigations and projects that I have been involved in: 1) Medeltida tak (Linscott 2007) which gives an overview of medieval roofs in Swedish churches against the context of others in Europe. 2) Romanska taklag i Skara stift (Linscott 2012 [report available at the diocese]) which presents the first studies of roofs in five churches (Forshem, Forsby, Gökhem, Jällby and Marka). 3) Dendrochronology tools for surveying roof structures in parish churches in west Sweden (Linderholm & Seim 2014 [reports will soon be published at GULD[3]]) which includes dendrochronology analyzing of 8 roofs in the five parish churches. This was collaboration between the departments Conservation and Earth Sciences, GU.

The study will also in part build on a newly completed inventory of medieval roofs in Skara Diocesecarried out by archaeologist Robin Gullbrandsson. This reveals a total of about 40 churches that have roofs with tie beam trusses (whole or in parts) preserved in the region ([report soon to be available at the diocese in Skara] Gullbrandsson 2014[4]).