The "Viking" door at Stillingfleet St.Helen's.
While the current church dates from 1150, it replaces an earlier Saxon church, the original south door of which is now preserved inside St.Helen's to protect it from the elements.
The door itself is thought to be tenth-century and is of a Scandinavian style of "picture door".
The C-Straps have dragon's head terminals, a popular Viking motif, reflecting Stillingfleet's century or so under the Danelaw.
Some beautiful Scandinavian knotwork.
Happy, dancy Viking people …
at least I HOPE they're happy and not attacking one another with axes.
Last up: a glorious Viking longship, complete with dragon's head prow and stern and steering rudder.
Life under the Danelaw wasn't all like The Vikings TV show or the old Kirk Douglas / Tony Curtis movie from 1958 (classic though that one was).
Blacksmiths didn't spend all day hammering out axe-heads and swords; they could have fun with story-telling on church doors.
2 comments:
So even though it might not have been Viking fun all the day long, there was room for creativity. And it endures! What an amazing thing to see, and to touch.
Absolutely stunning door! The happy, dancy Viking people are fabulous. But so many other cool details too. A real treasure that it has survived so long and is being well cared for.
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