Labyrinths in Nordic Churches

The Nordic countries are rich in small parish churches with medieval wall paintings still intact. This is a marvelous hunting ground for the iconographer, and one particular motif that occurs on some of these church walls and vaults is the labyrinth. Some of these are in the form of graffiti, scratched on the walls, probably without permission; but others, painted as frescos on the walls or ceiling vaults by artists, were probably paid for by the parish or some wealthy parish member. To date, some 32 labyrinths at 25 locations have been recorded, including one example inscribed on a church bell and another (now destroyed) on a churchyard memorial cross.

The labyrinths in churches of the Nordic countries are never found in the floor pavement and their designs are also different from those commonly found in France, Italy and Britain. With only one exception, they are all of the old classical, or angle-type, a design that is quite rare in churches in central Europe. They were probably inspired directly from local folk tradition and there is no reason to expect a close relationship between them and the church labyrinths found elsewhere in Europe. Labyrinths built of stones and boulders were certainly widespread in Scandinavia at this time and it is difficult to say to what extent the church labyrinths are modelled on the stone labyrinths, or vice versa.

It would appear that the labyrinths in Scandinavian churches all belong to roughly the same period, as the majority of those that can be dated seem to be from the fifteenth century, with a few that may be a little earlier or later. But that does not mean that they all belong to one homogenous group. On the contrary, it would seem that there are four different geographical groups, with a number of different characteristics.

The southern group includes twelve labyrinths in Denmark and two in southern Sweden. All of these labyrinths are fresco paintings, and they are all found on such exposed surfaces in the churches, that it is apparent that the labyrinths belonged to the official and accepted adornment of the building. The labyrinths at Tåning, Bryrup, Skørring and Nim in Jylland, Denmark, are situated in close proximity to each other and they are all of the same type with 16 walls. It is reasonable to guess that perhaps some of these labyrinths were painted by the same artist, or at least that one example has inspired another. A similar close relationship might explain the short distance of 7km separating the labyrinths at Båstad and Östra Karup in southern Sweden.

Another group of five labyrinths are found on the island of Gotland, including three executed in the form of graffiti. Only one of the church labyrinths on Gotland is a painting. A very interesting characteristic of this group is that the labyrinth painting and two of the graffiti are located on the dark ground floors of church towers. It would seem the artists had chosen places where the labyrinths could not easily be discovered and this might suggest that these labyrinths were not accepted as part of the original adornment of the churches. Possibly there was a magical or superstitious purpose behind them. The churches of Hablingbo, Lye and Ganthem are situated fairly close to each other and also close to Levide, where a remarkable labyrinth-inscribed stone cross was originally made, so maybe some of these examples have the same artist in common.

The southern group of church labyrinths in Denmark is more difficult to analyse. While they often appear alongside Christian saints, biblical characters and scenes, the frescos in general would have provided a means for preachers to illustrate their sermons, a picture book for the common people, but the exact role of the labyrinth in this mix is unclear. However, it seems safe to assume that this group too has firm roots in local folk tradition. The classical or angle-type design that dominates among Scandinavian labyrinths in general, and is the only type known in the southern church labyrinth group, clearly reveals that the figure has been borrowed by the painters from local folk tradition.

If the idea of painting labyrinths in churches had been imported from the continent it is probable that the Danish labyrinths would have been influenced by the medieval or Chartres-type labyrinth design, found only at Grinstad in Sweden. But there are no traces of such continental designs in Denmark. The fact that all the church labyrinths in Denmark are wall frescos also hints that the idea has not been brought in from the continent, where wall paintings of labyrinths are not common at all. In fact, the church labyrinths in the territory of old Denmark gives firm support to the conclusion that the labyrinth motif was commonly known and widespread in southern Scandinavia at the end of the middle ages.

A number of "Trojeborg" place-names suggest the former locations of turf labyrinths in southern Scandinavia. The labyrinth paintings in Danish churches give a hint that those turf labyrinths, of classical or angle-type, might have been in existence at that time. It is of course possible that a new symbolic dimension was added to the labyrinth when the motif was used on the walls of mediaeval churches, but it is difficult to find what such a transformation could have meant.

More obvious are the links to old local beliefs of heathen origin. Several of the Nordic church labyrinths seem to have had an apotropaic or else magical function. The Virgin Mary is mentioned alongside the labyrinth at Hesselager church in Denmark , and is also on the church bell from Horred, Sweden (shown opposite), but this is not enough to build any theory about a general connection between Nordic church labyrinths and the worship of Mary.

Only at one location, at Grinstad church in Sweden, is it possible to trace an obvious, indisputable diffusion of continental influence to the Nordic church labyrinths. Here the labyrinth has obviously been based on the medieval or Chartres-type, but Grinstad does not belong to any of the above-mentioned groups, it is an exceptional example without parallels or close neighbours, the exception that proves the rule.

 

Original text, photo: John Kraft & Jeff Saward. Reprinted from Caerdroia 24 (1991), pp.29-37.