Armory
A vestibule in front of a portal in the western half of a church in Scandinavia and Finland is called an armory . Most of the armories date from the 15th century or the first half of the 16th century, but there are also armories from the Romanesque period. In German, Vorhalle is often used instead of armory , although this term, like the English translation of church porch, is much more comprehensive and is not limited to Northern Europe.
The original function of the armories is controversial. The popular explanation that the men laid down their weapons there before entering the church is based on the Latin script Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus (History of the Nordic Peoples) by the respected cartographer , geographer and last Catholic archbishop of Uppsala Olaus Magnus, published in Rome in 1555 back, which makes their widespread use plausible. This explanation is largely rejected by current research; It cannot have been the only function anyway, as there are also arms houses on the north side of churches, i.e. in front of the Frauenpforte at that time .
It is most likely that the men of the village originally deposited their weapons there in peacetime. The stone-built church was a safe and central place; in the event of war, the defense of the village could be organized quickly and efficiently from there. The German word armory's first modern translation of the corresponding words in the Nordic languages, but when this function is correct, these words are likely the old, rarely used the German word for porch turn translations armory be. Gun houses were built for other reasons too, e.g. B. to offer protection to people who are not allowed to enter a church for various reasons, such as women who have recently given birth and who had to be ritually cleansed by the priest before entering the church and should not wait outside in wind and weather; that would also explain the gun houses on the north side of Kirchen.
Web links
- Svenska Kyrkan website (Swedish).
- Article des Forvännen (Swedish).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Article Waffenhaus in the German dictionary by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm.
- ↑ Bengt Nordahl: Vapenhus kyrktorn, kyrkbyggen och. Retrieved February 9, 2016 (Swedish).