Devil door

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The Devil's Door at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Broadhempston , Devon

Devil doors , Devil doors or doors of the devil are usually blocked doors on the north wall of some medieval and older churches . They originated in the early Christian era, when pre-Christian worship was still popular, and were often just symbolic structures - although they were sometimes used as real entrances. One of the reasons for the blocking of the doors is often given as the problem that the door - after it has come into contact with the devil - can no longer be closed and therefore had to be walled up.

You are in England particularly common in the historic county of Sussex to find where more than 40 existing churches have.

Function and origin of name

Many of these doors are surrounded by legends about the naming and why many of these doors were blocked. The associated function of the doors is related to the naming.

The Saxon Church of St. Nicholas in Worth, West Sussex , has a devil door.

Before and during the Middle Ages , the north wall of a church was thought to belong to the devil and the pagans . Churches were always built north of streets and paths to ensure that their main entrance was on the south side. It was also common for them to be erected on pre-Christian holy sites. Such places were still considered sacred by their former worshipers, who continued to visit them often. Often times an entrance was added to the “pagan” north side of the church so that they could enter and worship. Through the connection of this side with the devil the name "Devil's Door" was established.

A later and more common purpose was to allow the devil to escape from the church. A widespread belief in the Middle Ages held that the devil resides in the soul of an unbaptized child; at baptism the devil was driven out of the child and had to be able to walk. Accordingly, a door was often built into the north wall for this purpose, which was kept open briefly during the baptism ceremony. These doors were often too small to actually be used and were therefore only figurative . Most of the remaining doors were bricked up, ostensibly to prevent the devil from re-entering.

Still other legends justify the name of the door in that the devil used it to get into the church or at least came into contact with this door. Presumably it is therefore never the main entrance portal of the church, which is called the devil's door, as this is blessed at the inauguration and has a holy water font for the blessing of churchgoers.

Examples

St. Margaret's Church, Ditchling, Devil's Door

Devil doors can be found in many northern European regions. They are particularly common in the UK, but they are concentrated in Sussex: churches in this county with visible examples are St. Margaret's Church, Ditchling; St. Peter's Church, Hamsey; St. Helen's Church, Hangleton; All Saints Church, Patcham; St. Mary the Blessed Virgin, Sompting and St. Nicholas' Church, Worth.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d 10 fascinating historical architectural features. In: 10BestList. June 29, 2018, accessed June 18, 2019 (German).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Luigi Piccardi, W. Bruce Masse: Myth and Geology . Ed .: Geological Society of London . London 2007, ISBN 1-86239-216-1 , pp. 291 ( google.com [accessed February 5, 2013]).
  3. ↑ Tina Ludwig: The Church with the Devil's Door | shz.de. Retrieved June 18, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b SAGEN.at - THE DEVIL'S DOOR. Retrieved June 18, 2019 .
  5. ^ A b Paul Coppin: 101 Medieval Churches of West Sussex . Ed .: SB Publications. Seaford 2006, ISBN 1-85770-306-5 , pp. 138 .
  6. ^ A b c d Sophie Collins: A Sussex Miscellany . Ed .: Snake River Press. Al Friston 2007, ISBN 978-1-906022-08-2 , p. 52 .
  7. ↑ St. James in Moldenit. Ev.-Luth. Brodersby-Kahleby-Moldenit parish, accessed June 18, 2019 .
  8. ^ Edric Holmes: Seaward Sussex: The South Downs from End to End . Robert Scott Roxburghe House, London 1920 ( archive.org ).