Martebo Church ( sv, Martebo kyrka) is a medieval church on the Swedish island of Gotland. Its three portals contain some of the richest medieval sculpture on the island. Martebo Church lies in the

Diocese of Visby The Diocese of Visby ( sv, Visby stift) is a division of the Church of Sweden consisting of the island of Gotland. Its seat is Visby Cathedral located in the largest town on Gotland, Visby. The Bishop of Visby is also responsible for the episc ...

History

Martebo kyrka church medieval servant Egypticus

Little is known about the origins and oldest history of the church. The stone church may have been pre-dated by a

stave church A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the building's structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing ore-pine posts ar ...

. Of the presently visible church, the tower is the oldest part, dating from the middle of the 13th century and Romanesque in style. 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 ...

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 ...

and

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

are from the early 14th century and replaced and earlier and smaller Romanesque building.

Architecture

The church is of a type which is rather characteristic for Gotland, in which the nave and choir were rebuilt during the High Gothic, but where the older tower remains, resulting in an unproportionally short tower in relation to the rest of the building. Adjacent to the tower there is a rather unusual detail, a small chamber which has a window onto the nave but lacks any other connection. It probably functioned as a hagioscope (perhaps for sick members of the congregation) and which was added during the 14th century. The external façade of the church, notably the three portals, display some of the most accomplished medieval sculpture on Gotland. They date from the 14th century and were made when the church was rebuilt in Gothic style. On some of the sculptures traces of the original paint still survive. The sculptures were probably executed by the local stonemason's workshop which is sometimes referred to by the

notname In art history, a ''Notname'' (, "necessity-name" or "contingency-name") is an invented name given to an artist whose identity has been lost. The practice arose from the need to give such artists and their typically untitled, or generically title ...

Egypticus. They depict the life of Jesus as told in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

, with scenes following each other chronologically and from one portal to the other, so that the three portals together make out an entire sculpted narrative. Inside the church are the remains of medieval

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s and a baptismal font from the 13th century. Two medieval tombstones are placed in the floor of the choir. The pulpit is one of the oldest on Gotland, dating from middle of the 16th century.

References

External links

* {{Churches on Gotland Romanesque architecture in Sweden Gothic architecture in Sweden Churches in Gotland County Churches in the Diocese of Visby Church frescos in Sweden Churches converted from the Roman Catholic Church to the Church of Sweden 13th-century churches in Sweden

History

Architecture

References

Further reading

External links