Den gotiske labyrint : Middelalderen og kirkerne i Danmark
The Gothic Maze : The Middle Ages and the Churches of Denmark
Author
Summary, in English
The Gothic Maze studies the concepts of church architecture, its explanations, sources, and contexts. The dissertation emphasizes that concepts as "the Middle Ages", "Romanesque", and "Gothic" are nothing but metaphors created in modern times. The traditional explanations, which refer to currents of fashion and changes in the economic cycle, are insufficient for an understanding of the culmination of building activity in the fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries. Church construction and its context are studied in two of the juridical districts known as "härader" (hundres) in Scania. Experience from this area is used to assist in the interpretation of church-building throughout medieval Denmark. In addition, the building activity is examined in relation to economic data and details of the benefactors in selected areas where the sources permit closer study.
The intensive period of building shortly before the Reformation is not interpreted as a direct reflection of increased prosperity or piety, but as the use of material symbols in a time of social stress. The church was threatened by a steadily growing opposition between religious ideals and the new economic realities. Gothicization is a sign of crisis.
Department/s
Publishing year
1993
Language
Danish
Publication/Series
Lund Studies in Medieval Archaeology
Volume
11
Full text
- Available as PDF - 18 MB
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Document type
Dissertation
Publisher
Almqvist & Wiksell International
Topic
- Archaeology
Keywords
- Gothic
- Gothicization
- Middle Ages
- church
- Denmark
- Romanesque
Status
Published
Supervisor
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0283-6874
- ISBN: 91-22-01555-8
Defence date
14 May 1993
Defence time
10:14
Defence place
Kungssalen, Kungshuset, Lund
Opponent
- Hans-Emil Lidén (Professor)