Medieval churches in Scania

SND-ID: snd0941-1. Version: 2.0. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5878/002642

Citation

Creator/Principal investigator(s)

Barbro Sundnér - Lunds Universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antikens historia

Research principal

Lund University - Institutionen för arkeologi och antikens historia rorId

Description

The question of how building materials and construction techniques changed over time in the medieval stone church building was tested on a small number of churches in Scania (Swedish: Skåne) on two separate occasions in the 1980s (Sundnér 1986, 1989). The results showed chronological changes both as to what rock types was chosen, how they were cut and how the masonry was done.

When looking at raw materials that could be used for construction it is clear that Scania represents an area of ​​ physical geographic diversity. However, it was possible to see that during the earlier middle ages primarily local rock types were chosen. Long distance transportation of building material was only done occasionally. Example of this can be seen in the first stone constructions during the 11th century with Dalby abbey and the oldest parts of the Cathedral of Lund (Löfvendahl and Sundnér 1997 Sundnér 1995, 2000, 2012).

During the 12th century the sandstone from Höör in central Scania was used as worked stone over a wider geographic area. Primarily it was used in portals and baptismal fonts. However, from the

... Show more..
The question of how building materials and construction techniques changed over time in the medieval stone church building was tested on a small number of churches in Scania (Swedish: Skåne) on two separate occasions in the 1980s (Sundnér 1986, 1989). The results showed chronological changes both as to what rock types was chosen, how they were cut and how the masonry was done.

When looking at raw materials that could be used for construction it is clear that Scania represents an area of ​​ physical geographic diversity. However, it was possible to see that during the earlier middle ages primarily local rock types were chosen. Long distance transportation of building material was only done occasionally. Example of this can be seen in the first stone constructions during the 11th century with Dalby abbey and the oldest parts of the Cathedral of Lund (Löfvendahl and Sundnér 1997 Sundnér 1995, 2000, 2012).

During the 12th century the sandstone from Höör in central Scania was used as worked stone over a wider geographic area. Primarily it was used in portals and baptismal fonts. However, from the 13th century onward bricks became more and more used as building material. An extensive building of vaults required and resulted in a large production increase of bricks. The bricks also came to replace natural stone into portals and ornaments when the walls became built of field stones. Furthermore, the technique for masonry also changed, which can be seen as the stones were no longer laid in courses. Architectural changes of various kinds are also observed and recorded.

In total there are 283 fully or partially preserved medieval churches in the countryside in Scania. Of these churches 245 are included in the inventory. Six churches (Östra Strö, Östra Hoby, Munka Ljungby, Vallkärra, Skurup and Vinslövs churches) that lack preserved naves have nevertheless been included since there are other parts of the buildings that were interesting in this context.

Purpose:

To examine how building materials and construction techniques changed in the medieval stone church building in Skåne.

Part A: Register of data relating to the whole Church. The information is collected through measurements and observations. Show less..

Data contains personal data

No

Language

Method and outcome

Variables

14

Data format / data structure

Type of archaeological remains

Church building

Data collection
Geographic coverage

Geographic spread

Geographic location: Skåne County

Lowest geographic unit

Parish

Highest geographic unit

County (NUTS3)

Administrative information

Responsible department/unit

Institutionen för arkeologi och antikens historia

Topic and keywords

Research area

History and archaeology (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

History (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

History of technology (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

Architecture (Standard för svensk indelning av forskningsämnen 2011)

Publications

Sort by name | Sort by year

Sundnér, Barbro (1995) Byggnadssten i Skåne. Hikunin vol. 22. p 231-248

Sundnér, Barbro (1999) En byggnadsarkeologisk metodstudie av skånska medeltidskyrkor. Rapport till HSFR. Lund 1999.

If you have published anything based on these data, please notify us with a reference to your publication(s). If you are responsible for the catalogue entry, you can update the metadata/data description in DORIS.

Published: 2015-05-26
Last updated: 2017-07-12