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Church, Heritage and Conflict - Mårup on the cliff: The conflicts concerning the preservation or destruction of the deserted church of Mårup in Denmark is followed from the the moment in 1928, when the church became redundant, untill 2004. The protection of the church is in conflict with the protection of the eroding cliff, the church as a symbol in conflict with the church as a source material, and the local people in conflict with central authorities. Mårup is seen as a case-study in the perspective of general questions on conflicts on heritage and the preservation of churches in Denmark and Scania (Sweden).

Title in English: Visual Manifestations of the Pious King Edward and the Few Women on the Bayeux Tapestry. – This article suggests that the appearances of Edward the Confessor on the Bayeux Tapes­try underline Duke William’s entitlement to the English throne and the weakness of Harold God­win­son’s claims. It is argued that King Edward might be depicted six times rather than five. A medi­aeval king had two bodies, one natural and the other with divine right to rule by God’s grace. In the first five re­presentations of Edward we witness the gradual decay and peaceful death of his natural body in sharp contrast to Harold Godwinson’s violent death later on the battlefield, and in the sixth, Duke William sits half hidden by a man closely resembling Edward. This might be Edward’s spiritual poli­tical body sustaining William’s divine right to the English throne. – The gender balance for indi­viduals depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry is 99 % men and 1 % women. Of the total of six women the three in the main register are high status persons who appear near important buildings, depicted as mis­tress (probably), wife or mother. Three other women appear in erotic scenes in the margins, but their lack of clothes and attributes makes it difficult to determine their identity.

The church institutions in Medieval Tønsberg (Norway): Based on a systematic registration of written sources and all the archaeological material. Out of 11 church institutions 6 are known from archaeological investigations. Discussion on the datings, architecture, social context and economical hinterland of the institutions. Extensive list of literature and sources. The text is an edited version of a cand phil-dissertation from the University of Aarhus (Denmark) in 1983.

From the flashy to the humble - Towerless Medieval Churches in DenmarkThe article investigates a special category of medieval churches, the towerless churches. The Danish concept for “kullet”, meaning bald headed are discussed, an inventory of the towerless churches is established for medieval Denmark, the architecture is analyzed in relation to different ideals and studied from social and economic perspectives, with the churches of two Jutish districts as case-studies, home of iconic towerless churches, Hover (fig. 1) and Sædding (fig. 2). The towerless churches are both perceived as a source material and as a heritage worth of protection. Much research has been focused on towers and tower churches (fig. 3), on the aristocracy and their manors. There is and need for an alternative perspective, highlighting the more ordinary churches – the towerless churches.Churches are in Danish called “kullede”, meaning bald headed. A naming of a “bald” church is the first time mentioned in an atlas in 1768 regarding Spørring (fig. 4). They are perceived ad as preserved architectural expression of the original Romanesque churches before Gothization and other changes. They are also described in a romantic sprit together with their landscape. An overview is established showing 339 towerless medieval churches in present-day Denmark, Southern Schleswig with Fehmarn, Scania, Halland and Blekinge (fig. 5). Wooden churches in the 10 and 11th centuries do not seem to have bell towers. The masonry churches of the 11th century none can be said by certainty to be towerless, however research has been conducted in major churches and the first masonry churches might be erected on the initiative of kings, bishops or aristocracy. From the 12th century most churches in Western Denmark were towerless from the beginning, whereas relatively more received a tower in Eastern Denmark, probably as peasant farms dominated in the west, aristocratic manors in the east. During the 15th century up to the Reformation many churches had added a tower, some which were again reduced or taken down e.g. at Mårup (fig. 6), and a few were even added in later periods, making the surviving towerless churches a rarity.The Middle Ages had different ideals for the church architecture as seen in regulations against extravagance also in architecture by the Cistercians, Dominicans and Franciscans. A church might have added a masonry tower, but it was expensive and there were other and cheaper solutions such as a having the bells in a wooden belfry, a small bell cot, spire or ridge turretInspired by the Ystad-project (fig 7) an analysis is conducted in the two Jutish districts with the towerless churches of Hover and Sædding. The architecture of the churches is compared with fees paid by the churches in the 14th Century and 1524–26, the evaluation of the farming in the parish 1682 and the existence of manors. The towerless churches are more frequent, where the taxes of 1524-26 are relatively low, where the parishes are small and poor, and where manors are absent (fig. 8).Towerless churches can partly be viewed as a source material reflecting the social and economic topography of medieval Denmark, partly as a heritage reflecting the first phase of stone building og churches. However, all churches have gone through changes, have had extensions and added e.g. porches, even the iconic churches of Hover and Sædding. If one seeks a “genuine” Romanesque church, as it might look like in the 12th Century, one has to see the church in the open-air-museum Hjerl Hede in Jutland (fig. 9), where a church has been reconstructed around 1950. Added to the article is an appendix with a catalogue of the 339 towerless medieval churches. The towerless churches are dived into two categories, A the genuine and B the illegitimate: the first never had a tower, and the second have a free-standing tower, have once had a tower, it has later been reduced to the roof of the nave, there has been added a bell cot, a spire or a ridge turret. The towerless churches are furthermore divided into Romanesque and Gothic, the latter been written with Italics.

Between knowledge and nonsense – the mysterious churches of Bornholm: A critical discussion of two books by Erling Haagensen, where he postulate a sacred geometry on Bornholm and a treasure hidden by the Templars in the round church of Österlars – or somewhere else.

Monastic Archaeology and Sorø-studies: On Monastic archaeology and its typical researchs themes, a look on the themes at three current research projects in Sweden, on the conditions for new studies into the benedictin and cistercian monastery of Sorø on Zealand and finally seven possible themes or questions to explore in the future at Sorø. (Printing year wrongly as 2012 on the title page of the periodical)

The faculty opposition of Stig Lundbergs licentiate thesis concerning the so-called Eskilstuna sarcophagi. The long dating-sequence of the stones and their unclear social origin aggravate their use in describing the state formation process. The author proposes a little dirrefent interpretaion than Lundberg.

Review of "Across the North Sea. Later Historical Archaeology in Britain and Denmark, c. 1500-2000 AD" (2012)