with Torbj\u00f6rn Brorsson, Martina Wegner and S\u00edmun V. Arge<\/strong><\/p>\n
Complete stove tile, made in L\u00fcbeck, with Paul the Apostle (photograph by Natascha Mehler).<\/p><\/div>\n
In 1557 the Reformation in the Faroes came to an end when the Faroese bishopric at Kirkjub\u00f8ur was abolished and its properties confiscated by Christian III of Denmark. This was the result of a process which started in 1539 when Amund Olafson, the last Catholic bishop, was replaced by Jens Gregersen Riber, the first Lutheran bishop of the Faroes. Jens Riber stayed at Kirkjub\u00f8ur until 1557 when he left to take on a new position in Stavanger. We know very little about the lives of these two bishops. However, during archaeological excavations conducted in 1955 at the site of the former episcopal residence, the remains of a tiled stove dating to the early and mid-16th<\/span>\u00a0century came to light which add knowledge about the daily life at Kirkjub\u00f8ur.<\/p>\n
The tile fragments were now, more than 60 years after their discovery, analyzed as part of this research project. Tiled stoves were a luxurious rarity in the North Atlantic islands. In Iceland, for example, 16th<\/span>-century tiled stoves are only known from the two bishoprics at Sk\u00e1lholt and H\u00f3lar, the Danish residence at Bessasta\u00f0ir and from the monastery at Vi\u00f0ey. The Kirkjub\u00f8ur fragments are the only remains of a tiled stove in the Faroes. In Denmark or Northern Germany, however, tiled stoves were rather common in burgher households and those of the nobility.<\/p>\n
Stove tile made near L\u00fcbeck, with the remains of Judith and the head of Holofernes (photograph by Natascha Mehler).<\/p><\/div>\n
The images on the Kirkjub\u00f8ur tiles mirror the struggles of the introduction of the Reformation in the Faroes. All tiles show Christian or biblical motifs and themes, but while one of the identified motifs displays catholic imagery, others are clearly reformist in meaning. In many Northern European households such stove tiles decorated with Lutheran imagery were indeed used as a medium to express the Lutheran confession.<\/p>\n
Stove tile produced in the area between L\u00fcbeck and Bremen, with the relief of probably a female Saint (photograph by Natascha Mehler).<\/p><\/div>\n
One stove tile fragment shows a female figure with a cross in her left hand. A letter \u201cS\u201d is preserved, suggesting that this is a female saint such as Helena. If this interpretation holds true it would be a tile with purely Catholic imagery. The best preserved stove tile shows a bearded man in profile and the words [S]ANT PAVLO APOSTOLVS. Although this is a depiction of yet another saint \u2013 and thus rather Catholic in meaning \u2013 the letters of Paul the Apostle were often invoked by reformist theologians of Wittenberg. All other identified motifs were popular amongst supporters of Lutheranism. One fragment shows the lower body part of a female figure with a man’s head next to it. This is clearly a depiction of Judith with the head of Holofernes in her hand, a widespread stove tile motif in Lutheran contexts. And two identical tiles show the ascension of Jesus and parts of the creed of the Lutheran catechism. The surviving text reads 6 ER IST AVGEFARE[N] GEN HIMEL SITZET ZVR RECHTEN GOTES DES ALMECHTIGEN VATERS (transl. \u201che has ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father\u201d). The letter 6 indicates that this is the sixth stove tile in a series.<\/p>\n
Stove tile made near L\u00fcbeck, with parts of the Lutheran creed (photograph by Natascha Mehler).<\/p><\/div>\n
Eight fragments of these stove tiles were selected for analysis by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MA\/ES), a standard method in ceramic analysis, carried out by Torbj\u00f6rn Brorsson (Kontoret f\u00f6r Keramiska Studier<\/a>). The main goal of the analysis was to determine the chemical composition of the various fabrics, with the aim to identify the workshops which produced these tiles. The results show that the tile with Paul the Apostle was made in L\u00fcbeck, and the tile with Judith and Holofernes, as well as the tile with the creed of the Lutheran catechism, in the surroundings of L\u00fcbeck. The tile with the female saint was made in the area between L\u00fcbeck and Bremen, which also includes Hamburg. This is no surprise; Northern German potters were the leading craftsmen to supply the Northern European market with stove tiles at that time.<\/p>\n