Brarup Church ( da, Brarup Kirke) is located in the village of
Brarup some southwest of
Nørre Alslev
Nørre Alslev () is a town with a population of 2,379 (1 January 2022) ...
on the
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
island of
Falster. The
Late Romanesque church has frescos from various periods including several by the Brarup Master and his workshop from the early 16th century.
"Brarup Kirke"
''Den Store Danske''. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
History
The church is an annex to Kippinge Church as it has been since before the Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
. There is little information about ownership in the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
apart from the fact that the Crown had calling rights for the appointment of clergy. In 1585, the church owned factories and land strips on three farms.[Kirsten Weber-Andersen, Otto Norn, Aage Roussell, Gertrud Købke Knudsen, "Tingsted Kirke"]
''Danmarks kirker: Maribo amt, Volume 8'', 1951, Nationalmuseet, pages 1244–1262. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
Architecture
The apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...
, chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ov ...
and nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
are built of brick in the Late Romanesque style on a double sloping plinth with pilaster strips at the corners and saw-toothed cornices at the top. The apse is divided into three sections with narrow pilaster strips. The bevelled window to the east has been opened up and the two others reconstructed in 1911 when the church was restored. On the south wall, a small, sharply pointed and slightly projecting priest's door can be seen. The south door is still in use but has been significantly transformed. The north door has been bricked up. The tower and porch were added in the Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
period.["Torkildstrup kirke"]
, Nordens kirker, Retrieved 27 November 2012.
Interior
The apse has retained its half-domed vault. The cross vaults in the chancel and the nave's flat ceiling are original. Salt decay is noted on a vault's medieval bricks.triptych
A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided ...
from c. 1450 similar to the one in Vålse Church, depicts the Crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...
in the centre flanked by the Apostles. The paintings on the back of the lateral panels are of the Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
, John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given ...
, St Catherine and John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
.[
The crucifix on the west wall, in height, dates from the beginning of the 14th century. The pulpit (1635) is the work of ]Jørgen Ringnis
Jørgen Ringnis, also known as "Jørgen Billedsnider", (birth unknown, died 1652 in Nakskov) was a Danish woodcarver. He created a number of altarpieces and pulpits in Danish churches, especially on the islands of Lolland and Falster. , carved in the Auricular style
The auricular style or lobate style (Dutch: ''Kwabstijl'', German: ''Ohrmuschelstil'') is a style of ornamental decoration, mainly found in Northern Europe in the first half of the 17th century, bridging Northern Mannerism and the Baroque. The s ...
. Similar to that in Nørre Alslev Church, it contains carved figures of Moses, Christ the Savior and John the Baptist. The figures of the four Evangelists, originally in the panels of the pulpit, are now in the apse. Originally in the chancel arch, it was moved to the southeast corner of the church, probably in 1852.[
]
Frescos
The church has frescoes from three periods, those in the apse are from c. 1275, the chancel arch decorations are from c. 1300, attributed to the Kippinge workshop, and those on the walls of the chancel and nave are from 1500–1520, attributed to the Brarup workshop. The dome of the apse contains an interesting representation of the Coronation of the Virgin from c. 1275, the oldest in Denmark, probably influenced by monks of the mendicant orders of the period. To the north, there are three female saints, St Catherine, St Margaret and a nun saint. To the south, a bishop without a halo and three kings can be seen, at least two with a halo. The kneeling woman is undoubtedly one of the founders of the church although there is no portrait of the male counterpart.[
The frescos on the chancel arch with seraphim and angels bearing ]censer
A censer, incense burner, perfume burner or pastille burner is a vessel made for burning incense or perfume in some solid form. They vary greatly in size, form, and material of construction, and have been in use since ancient times throughout t ...
s are attributed to the Kippinge workshop. There are also traces of the story of the Creation
Creation may refer to:
Religion
*''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing
* Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it
* Creationism, the belief tha ...
including Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
.[
The murals on the chancel walls from 1500 to 1520 are the work of the Brarup Master. St Erasmus and ]St Lawrence
Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...
can be seen on the north wall, the Resurrection of Jesus
The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lo ...
on the south. The chancel arch displays Christ in Majesty
Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory ( la, Maiestas Domini) is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whos ...
flanked by Mary, John the Baptist and the Apostles. The frescos on the north wall present the childhood of Jesus and scenes from the Passion. The alleged relationship to the Elmelund workshop is difficult to see if the Annunciation is compared to its depiction in Fanefjord or Elmelunde. The eyes and nose of Pilate's face are clearly different from those in Elmelunde. The south wall presents St Christopher with the baby Jesus and George and the Dragon. Beside the west door there are four murals of the story of Adam and Eve.[
File:Brarup19Apsis og altertavle.jpg, Apse and altarpiece
File:Brarup47Korhvælv vestkappe, Evas fødsel.jpg, Eva's birth, chancel vault
File:Brarup80Skib nordvæg, Kristus for Pilatus.jpg, Nave wall, Christ with Pilate
File:Brarup86Triumfvæg mod nord, Mand stanges med ged.jpg, Triumphal arch, man and goat
File:Brarup08Skib set mod øst.jpg, The nave with Christ in Majesty
]
References
{{coord, 54, 52, 56, N, 11, 48, 25, E, display=title
Churches in Falster
Romanesque architecture
Church frescos in Denmark
Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism
Churches in the Diocese of Lolland–Falster