DOI Artikel:
Svanberg, Jan: The legend of Saint Stanislaus and King Boleslaus on the 12th century font in Tride, Sweden
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20618#0031
fonts depicts the legend of a saint, all as far as we know
with no other counterparts in Scandinavia. The font at
Valleberga tells the story of the duel of strength be-
tween Peter and Paul and Simon the Sorcerer and their
subseąuent martyrdoms. It has not, however, been pos-
sible to identify the legend sculpted on the basin of the
font at Ostra Hoby.
The baptismal font at Tryde is regarded as
“Majestatis’s” masterpiece. It was chosen to represent
Swedish fonts at the Universal Exposition in Paris in
1867, where it was awarded a bronze medal in the bap-
tismal font category. It returned to Sweden by way of
Stockholm, where it was to be found in the summer of
1868. The parish of Tryde then decided to accede to a
reąuest madę in a letter from the Royal Custodian of
Antiąuities and to deposit its ancient font in the Mu-
seum of Historical Antiąuities. It did, however, stipulate
a replacement in the form of “a modern baptismal font
suitable for the style of the new church building, such
as one supported by a carving of John the Baptist”.5
This was because the 12lh century building at Tryde had
recently been demolished and was being replaced by a
larger building in the neo-classical style. However,
when no new font was available as reąuested for the
consecration of the building in 1868, the parish re-
claimed the old one, and sińce then it has graced the
new church — the only visible reminder of its predeces-
sor.
Other objects that once belonged to the church have
found their way to various museums. In the Historical
Museum in Lund there are two lions that once sup-
ported pillars which have no counterpart in any other
parish church in Scania, and which we shall have occa-
sion to return to below.6 On the other hand, the
churclTs imposing Romanesąue triumphal crucifix,
which still retains its removable royal crown in gilt cop-
per, is now to be found in the Museum of Historical
Antiąuities in Stockholm.7 The year 1160 was written on
a scrap of parchment found in a reliąuary in the high
altar of the previous building, and this probably refer-
hng to the year in which relics were interred during the
consecration of the church.8 This datę has provided a
chronological basis for the dating not only of the
church building and its porch but also for the crucifix
and the baptismal font, which can be assumed to have
been acąuired in connection with the consecration.
Both the uniąue sculpted lions and the unusual ąuality
of the wooden crucifix testify to the eminence of Tryde
among the Romanesąue churches of the Scanian coun-
tryside.
This is corroborated also by the baptismal font, not
only on account of its uniąue execution but also its
unusual size and artistic ąuality. What is uniąue about
its execution are the four pairs of figures in high relief
that surround the basin of the font. Only one other
Scandinavian font has anything similar, and that is the
font at Barlingbo on Gotland - but the latter comprises
only one pair of figures and three individual figures.9
The rest of the decoration on the Tryde font is how-
ever, not, uniąue. On the vertical side of the basin
there are four reliefs - one with the Lord and three
with human beings in dramatic situations - and on the
inclined underside there are two representations of
animals in combat and a foliage ornament. However,
there is nothing below the basin’s fourth relief where
instead there is a cavity for a stoup. Around the top of
the basin there is a narrow, rounded border with a pat-
tern of leaves, and at the bottom a similar but broader
border covers the emphatic bulge where the basin
joins the plinth. All of the pairs of figures and reliefs
are relatively well preserved and hitherto they alone
have been the subject of different attempts at interpre-
tation. All that is missing is the paint that once covered
them.
The plinth of the Tryde font however, is, so eroded
that it must have stood outdoors for some period of
time. The plinth has the usual four protruding sculp-
tured heads, here representing a woman with her hair
loose holding a child in swaddling clothes and what ap-
pear to be three lions, judging from their manes and, in
one case, front paws. The three lions have open jaws
and two of them have their prey gripped by their enor-
mous incisors - one of them some smali four-footed
animal and the other a snake or a dragon, whose body
wines around the conical plinth on each side of the
lion. On the two remaining surfaces there are two
eroded bas-reliefs that we shall return to later. The
heads on the plinth will not however be dealt with in
any morę detail. How they are to be interpreted is a
separate problem that has to be discussed in the con-
text of the corresponding heads on many other fonts
that have lions of the same type and, in at least two
cases, women with infants (at Loderup and Simris, both
the work of “Majestatis”).
The time has now corne to take a closer look at the
most important reliefs, which are to be found as usual
’ T. E r i k s s o n, Fridolinslegenden i Tryde, Ale Hlst°"S^
for Skaneland 1968: 3, p. 2 ff., gives an account of the co P
about the font in 1868 (quote from p. 3)-
6 R y d b e c k, o. c., p. 244 f. and ills. 229-231- .
7 Medieval Wooden Sculptures in Sweden. The Museum ’
vol. IV: 1975, PP. 62-64 & vol. V: 1964, pis. ll-l*. Ł- ™
medeltida traskulpturen i Skinie, Produktion och fomam,
L P- 62 ff. and II pl. 1 and p. 253 ff- cat. no. 241.
8 E r i k s s o n, o. c., p. 3- The strips of parchment which Iay in a
lead Container in the altar, not only give the datę 1160 but also refer to
the eleven thousand virgins.
9 In Scania there are three fonts on which the corners of the basin
are surrounded by solitary figures but they are smali as compared with
the figures in Tryde and Barlingbo whose feet extend beyond the bot-
tom of the basin. On the font at Kropp the corner figures appear to be
biblical, with Peter and Paul for instance, while those on the fonts at
Hog and Asmundtorp consist of angels.
27
with no other counterparts in Scandinavia. The font at
Valleberga tells the story of the duel of strength be-
tween Peter and Paul and Simon the Sorcerer and their
subseąuent martyrdoms. It has not, however, been pos-
sible to identify the legend sculpted on the basin of the
font at Ostra Hoby.
The baptismal font at Tryde is regarded as
“Majestatis’s” masterpiece. It was chosen to represent
Swedish fonts at the Universal Exposition in Paris in
1867, where it was awarded a bronze medal in the bap-
tismal font category. It returned to Sweden by way of
Stockholm, where it was to be found in the summer of
1868. The parish of Tryde then decided to accede to a
reąuest madę in a letter from the Royal Custodian of
Antiąuities and to deposit its ancient font in the Mu-
seum of Historical Antiąuities. It did, however, stipulate
a replacement in the form of “a modern baptismal font
suitable for the style of the new church building, such
as one supported by a carving of John the Baptist”.5
This was because the 12lh century building at Tryde had
recently been demolished and was being replaced by a
larger building in the neo-classical style. However,
when no new font was available as reąuested for the
consecration of the building in 1868, the parish re-
claimed the old one, and sińce then it has graced the
new church — the only visible reminder of its predeces-
sor.
Other objects that once belonged to the church have
found their way to various museums. In the Historical
Museum in Lund there are two lions that once sup-
ported pillars which have no counterpart in any other
parish church in Scania, and which we shall have occa-
sion to return to below.6 On the other hand, the
churclTs imposing Romanesąue triumphal crucifix,
which still retains its removable royal crown in gilt cop-
per, is now to be found in the Museum of Historical
Antiąuities in Stockholm.7 The year 1160 was written on
a scrap of parchment found in a reliąuary in the high
altar of the previous building, and this probably refer-
hng to the year in which relics were interred during the
consecration of the church.8 This datę has provided a
chronological basis for the dating not only of the
church building and its porch but also for the crucifix
and the baptismal font, which can be assumed to have
been acąuired in connection with the consecration.
Both the uniąue sculpted lions and the unusual ąuality
of the wooden crucifix testify to the eminence of Tryde
among the Romanesąue churches of the Scanian coun-
tryside.
This is corroborated also by the baptismal font, not
only on account of its uniąue execution but also its
unusual size and artistic ąuality. What is uniąue about
its execution are the four pairs of figures in high relief
that surround the basin of the font. Only one other
Scandinavian font has anything similar, and that is the
font at Barlingbo on Gotland - but the latter comprises
only one pair of figures and three individual figures.9
The rest of the decoration on the Tryde font is how-
ever, not, uniąue. On the vertical side of the basin
there are four reliefs - one with the Lord and three
with human beings in dramatic situations - and on the
inclined underside there are two representations of
animals in combat and a foliage ornament. However,
there is nothing below the basin’s fourth relief where
instead there is a cavity for a stoup. Around the top of
the basin there is a narrow, rounded border with a pat-
tern of leaves, and at the bottom a similar but broader
border covers the emphatic bulge where the basin
joins the plinth. All of the pairs of figures and reliefs
are relatively well preserved and hitherto they alone
have been the subject of different attempts at interpre-
tation. All that is missing is the paint that once covered
them.
The plinth of the Tryde font however, is, so eroded
that it must have stood outdoors for some period of
time. The plinth has the usual four protruding sculp-
tured heads, here representing a woman with her hair
loose holding a child in swaddling clothes and what ap-
pear to be three lions, judging from their manes and, in
one case, front paws. The three lions have open jaws
and two of them have their prey gripped by their enor-
mous incisors - one of them some smali four-footed
animal and the other a snake or a dragon, whose body
wines around the conical plinth on each side of the
lion. On the two remaining surfaces there are two
eroded bas-reliefs that we shall return to later. The
heads on the plinth will not however be dealt with in
any morę detail. How they are to be interpreted is a
separate problem that has to be discussed in the con-
text of the corresponding heads on many other fonts
that have lions of the same type and, in at least two
cases, women with infants (at Loderup and Simris, both
the work of “Majestatis”).
The time has now corne to take a closer look at the
most important reliefs, which are to be found as usual
’ T. E r i k s s o n, Fridolinslegenden i Tryde, Ale Hlst°"S^
for Skaneland 1968: 3, p. 2 ff., gives an account of the co P
about the font in 1868 (quote from p. 3)-
6 R y d b e c k, o. c., p. 244 f. and ills. 229-231- .
7 Medieval Wooden Sculptures in Sweden. The Museum ’
vol. IV: 1975, PP. 62-64 & vol. V: 1964, pis. ll-l*. Ł- ™
medeltida traskulpturen i Skinie, Produktion och fomam,
L P- 62 ff. and II pl. 1 and p. 253 ff- cat. no. 241.
8 E r i k s s o n, o. c., p. 3- The strips of parchment which Iay in a
lead Container in the altar, not only give the datę 1160 but also refer to
the eleven thousand virgins.
9 In Scania there are three fonts on which the corners of the basin
are surrounded by solitary figures but they are smali as compared with
the figures in Tryde and Barlingbo whose feet extend beyond the bot-
tom of the basin. On the font at Kropp the corner figures appear to be
biblical, with Peter and Paul for instance, while those on the fonts at
Hog and Asmundtorp consist of angels.
27