About 800 years agone a grouping of women gathered inward the hamlet of Høylandet inward northern Trøndelag County to embroider a long tapestry. They came from prosperous farms together with high-status families that had plenty resources to allow the women from the farm to embroider instead of contribute to the crop harvesting.
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| The Virgin Mary proudly presents the infant Jesus to the 3 wise men [Credit: Idun Haugan/NTNU University Museum] |
Hidden together with forgotten
At some betoken inward history, the tapestry was stowed away inward the loft of Høylandet Church. It lay there, hidden together with forgotten.
“This stowage served equally an first-class conservation technique. Pure luck!” says Ingrid Lunnan Nødseth.
Nødseth is a PhD candidate inward fine art history at NTNU together with is writing her doctoral dissertation on this real tapestry from Høylandet. She puts on white gloves together with takes us into a room amongst muted lighting inward the NTNU University Museum. The 800-year-old textile needs to hold upwardly treated gently together with exposed to minimal calorie-free together with other external impacts.
The tapestry is made of wool yarn dyed amongst plants together with minerals. Plant-dyed wool doesn’t move along good over fourth dimension together with gradually fades from exposure to light. This is 1 argue why entirely 1 of the tapestries that hence richly decorated Norwegian medieval churches has been preserved. In add-on to the delicate nature of the tapestry materials, textiles were oft repurposed afterward the Reformation, which contributed to their disappearance from the churches.
The Høylandet tapestry is unique inward its variety together with provides insight into the medieval techniques together with usage of motifs.
“This is the most of import instance of embroidery that has been preserved from the Norwegian Middle Ages,” says Nødseth.
“It’s similar a textile comic strip that depicts scenes from the Bible stories. This type of tapestry was real mutual inward the Middle Ages, equally was having textiles inward churches. But almost none of them receive got been preserved. That’s why the Høylandet tapestry is hence special,” she says of the 210 cm long together with 44 cm broad embroidery.
Related to the Bayeux Tapestry
The Høylandet tapestry tin hold upwardly compared amongst some other tapestry from most the same time: the Bayeux Tapestry inward Normandy, France. This 70-meter-long embroidered operate describes William the Conqueror’s invasion of England together with the Battle of Hastings inward 1066.
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| The fragment shows the 3 wise men, Caspar, Melchior together with Balthazar, who come upwardly to pay homage to the Jesus shaver with gold, frankincense together with myrrh [Credit: Idun Haugan/NTNU University Museum] |
Embroidered inward vivid colours
Today, the colours receive got faded to shades of brown, exactly originally the embroiderers used yarns amongst strong, brilliant colours. The woven basis was ruby-red together with was embroidered amongst blue, green, ochre, yellowish together with ruby-red wool yarn. White linen thread was used to outline the figures together with forms.
“A lot of operate went into this tapestry together with I imagine that several women worked on it together. We know real footling most who made the rug, exactly nosotros know that doing embroidery was a high condition activity. Prosperous farms could afford to allow the married adult woman together with daughters pass fourth dimension on embroidery,” says Nødseth.
“In the Høylandet tapestry nosotros notice swell designing together with technique variations. For example, the Equus caballus is filled amongst ix dissimilar embroidery patterns. It’s embroidered amongst a so-called fill upwardly stitch, a technique entirely institute inward Scandinavia. It’s a sign that the operate belongs to a Nordic context,” she says.
Insulated against the wintertime cold
The tapestry was institute wrapped upwardly inward the loft of Høylandet Church inward the 1800s, together with luckily it institute its agency to the NTNU University Museum where it has been good taken attention of.
“In the early on 1900s nosotros became aware that the textiles tell an of import role of our story,” says Nødseth.
She adds, “We receive got written sources that tell us that the choir inward medieval churches was hung amongst textiles together with that other parts of the church building were adorned amongst tapestries, specially on holy days.”
In add-on to decorating the church, the textiles served to assistance insulate against the wintertime cold. But fourth dimension has tarnished the textiles over the centuries. Apart from this two-meter-long Høylandet tapestry fragment, entirely modest remnants of textiles receive got been institute inward other churches.
“Embroidered fragments using the same technique were institute nether the floors of the stave churches inward Lom together with Urnes during the excavations there. We’ve too institute nails inward the walls of stave churches similar Hopperstad, which may receive got been used for hanging textiles,” says Nødseth.
Scenes from the Nativity
The Høylandet tapestry contains 3 icon motifs. The kickoff scene shows the 3 wise men, Caspar, Melchior together with Balthazar, who come upwardly to pay homage to the Jesus shaver amongst gold, frankincense together with myrrh. In the Middle Ages, the men were portrayed equally 3 holy kings. In the Høylandet tapestry, they are wearing curt pants together with robes draped over their shoulders; 2 of them receive got modest crowns together with 1 has a Phrygian hat. Their have on shows that they receive got come upwardly from the East.
The minute scene shows the Virgin Mary sitting on a throne similar a heavenly queen. She proudly holds out the infant Jesus toward the 3 wise men.
The final scene is derived from the 3 kings’ dream. The prophecies most the nascency together with role of Jesus draw organisation Herod, who orders the 3 wise men to study dorsum to him where Jesus is. The wise men are warned inward a dream non to render to Herod, together with hence they create non bring out Jesus’ location.
“The scenes accept us correct into the Christmas story, together with the tapestry was in all probability hung upwardly at to the lowest degree at Christmastime, together with perhaps too for other festivals together with holidays,” Nødseth says.
“The Høylandet tapestry is special because it’s hence one-time together with too because it offers insight into a fourth dimension together with an icon basis together with a tradition that nosotros know footling about,” she adds.
Nødseth hopes her doctorate volition allow her to larn to a greater extent than most the role of church building textiles inward the Middle Ages.
Author: Idun Haugan | Source: Gemini [June 10, 2018]
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