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Återbruket av bildstenar i romanska kyrkor på Gotland / The reuse of picture stones in Romanesque churches on Gotland

In the ongoing discussion about the gotlandic picture stones, there is a highly debated question if we can interpret their reuse in gotlandic churches as a ritual practice or not. Also, if the reuse was of ritual character, was it in order to oppress and humiliate an earlier faith?  Or to redeem and initiate the old faith into Christianity, in a respectful manner towards the past?      This work focuses on the churches with Romanesque architecture since they are the closest kept monuments that could shed more light on the time period that spans on the transition from Viking age to Middle age Gotland. The aim of the thesis is to shed more light on the period when the first stone churches on Gotland were built as a manifestation of Christianity. It is of great interest here to question how the first stone church builders on Gotland looked upon their forefathers and their past.       Investigations of how picture stones are placed and reused in Romanesque churches have been made, with overviews of their context and dating. This in order to contribute to the ongoing debate about the reuse of picture stones. The discussion is completed by pointing out clear examples of meaningful use in accordance to the churches heavily symbolic room and space. The Romanesque churches were seen as representations of the temple of Jerusalem. Connecting the placing of picture stones to the value of these churches room and space, can result in interpretations of continuity and cultural process.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-295806
Date January 2016
CreatorsHardy, Jeremy
PublisherUppsala universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageSwedish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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