While stave churches may sound like simple and quaint Scandinavian places of worship, they actually have a rich history that combines the religion and architecture of medieval Europe with the folklore and construction techniques of Norsemen from the late first century until the Black Death.
Construction
Stave churches, though primarily found in Norway, can be built anywhere with the right weather, materials, and craftsmanship. The term “stave church” simply refers to the type of construction of a building. A stave church is characterized by the “staves,” or thick wooden posts, that hold up the building. What makes these structures unique is that no nails or adhesive agents are required to hold the wood in place; instead, the joints are carefully crafted to notch together perfectly. Therefore, the entirety of a stave church is composed of wood.
Because wood is not the most durable of materials, the medieval Norwegian contractors who built the churches took special care in treating the lumber: “Woodsmen cut the branches and the tops from pine trees and then let the trees stand for several years before chopping them and treating them with a mixture of linseed oil, tar, and turpentine. Together, these steps resulted in especially long-lasting wood that resisted rotting.” The techniques…show more content… Precursors to the stave church, such as the post church and the palisade church, were built with similar methods of construction. These churches were also made by driving posts into the ground to form the walls, though the techniques are not as advanced as the stave church. Post and palisade churches can be found throughout Scandinavia, Germany, and Britain. One of the more famous post churches is the Greensted Church in Essex, England. While this church appears to have the basic structure of a stave church, it is clear that stave churches are more advanced
