St Martin's Church, Randers

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St Martin's Church, Randers

St Martin's Church (Danish : Sankt Mortens Kirke) is a red brick church in Randers in the north of Jutland, Denmark. It was built from 1494 to 1520 on the site of an earlier church which was first mentioned in 1346. [1] [2]

Danish language North Germanic language spoken in Denmark

Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in Denmark and in the region of Southern Schleswig in northern Germany, where it has minority language status. Also, minor Danish-speaking communities are found in Norway, Sweden, Spain, the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina. Due to immigration and language shift in urban areas, around 15–20% of the population of Greenland speak Danish as their first language.

Randers Place in Central Denmark Region, Denmark

Randers is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,586. Randers is the municipality's main town and the site of its municipal council. By road it is 38.5 kilometres (23.9 mi) north of Aarhus, 43.8 kilometres (27.2 mi) east of Viborg, and 224 kilometres (139 mi) northwest of Copenhagen.

Jutland mainland of Denmark, a peninsula north of Germany

Jutland, also known as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula, is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany. The names are derived from the Jutes and the Cimbri, respectively.

Contents

History and architecture

The red-brick building stands on a Romanesque ashlar foundation which served a former church mentioned in sources from 1346. [1] Dedicated to St Martin of Tours, it is the only remaining church of the five built in Randers during the Middle Ages. [3] A Latin inscription above the altar states it was built by Prior J (i.e. Jens Mathiesen) in 1494. It originally formed part of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit (Helligåndskloster) but became a parish church in 1534, shortly before the Reformation. [4]

Romanesque architecture architectural style of Medieval Europe

Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later date being the most commonly held. In the 12th century it developed into the Gothic style, marked by pointed arches. Examples of Romanesque architecture can be found across the continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman architecture. The Romanesque style in England is traditionally referred to as Norman architecture.

Middle Ages Period of European history from the 5th to the 15th century

In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages.

The church now consists of a central nave flanked by aisles on either side. It leads to a polygonal chancel at the east end which is rather lower than the nave itself. The north aisle has ten walled-in arches intended to provide access to the monastery. The windows are pointed Gothic. King John's Chapel to the south resembles a small transept, as in Aarhus Cathedral. The west tower was built in 1795 although the carved tower door with a scene from Ezekiel (c. 1700) probably originally served another entrance. It is believed to be the work of Lauridtz Jensen from Essenbæk. The church was renovated from 1868–70 under the leadership of Fritz Uldall. [1]

Aarhus Cathedral Church in Aarhus, Denmark

Aarhus Cathedral is a cathedral in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the longest and tallest church in the country, at 93 m (305 ft) in length and 96 m (315 ft) in height.

Ezekiel Old Testament saint

Ezekiel is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible.

Essenbæk Abbey

Essenbæk Abbey was a Benedictine monastery located in Essenbæk Parish eight kilometers east of Randers and 1.7 kilometer north of Assentoft.

Interior and furnishings

The Baroque altarpiece from 1765 stands above a wooden altar painted to look like marble. The altar paintings are of the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, The Last Supper and the Adoration of the Magi. The current painting on the altarpiece flanked by Corinthian columns is a work by Per Kirkeby from 2004 depicting Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. [5] The carved oak pulpit and canopy from 1686 are also the work of Jensen. The reliefs depict Christ's Passion flanked by sculpted portraits of the Four Apostles. [6] Jensen also created the carved baptismal screen (late 17th century). [7] The modern Cubic block-shaped baptismal font is the work of Jais Nielsen (1951). [8] The organ from 1751 has been renovated and rebuilt several times since 1918, most recently by P.G. Andersen in connection with the church's 500th anniversary in 1994. [9]

Fall of man Adam and Eve eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil

The fall of man, or the fall, is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience. Although not named in the Bible, the doctrine of the fall comes from a biblical interpretation of Genesis chapter 3. At first, Adam and Eve lived with God in the Garden of Eden, but the serpent tempted them into eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which God had forbidden. After doing so, they became ashamed of their nakedness and God expelled them from the Garden to prevent them from eating from the tree of life and becoming immortal.

Adoration of the Magi name given to the Christian subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi worship Jesus

The Adoration of the Magi or Adoration of the Kings is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, lay before him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and worship him. It is related in the Bible by Matthew 2:11: "On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another path".

Corinthian order Latest of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture

The Corinthian order is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order which was the earliest, followed by the Ionic order. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order. The Corinthian, with its offshoot the Composite, is the most ornate of the orders. This architectural style is characterized by slender fluted columns and elaborate capitals decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls. There are many variations.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Randers Sankt Mortens kirke" (in Danish). Nordens Kirker. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Sankt Mortens Kirke (Randers)". Den Store Danske (in Danish). Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Sct. Mortens Kirke" (in Danish). Visit Randers. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Sct. Mortens kirke" (in Danish). Sct. Mortens kirke. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Altertavlen" (in Danish). Sct. Mortens Sogn. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "Prædikestol" (in Danish). Sct. Mortens Sogn. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Dåbsgitteret" (in Danish). Sct. Mortens Sogn. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Døbefonten" (in Danish). Sct. Mortens Sogn. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "Orglet" (in Danish). Sct. Mortens Sogn. Retrieved 20 April 2015.

Coordinates: 56°27′36″N10°2′6″E / 56.46000°N 10.03500°E / 56.46000; 10.03500

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