Abstract
With the introduction of Christianity to Norway, this country naturally drew on impulses from ecclesiastical and cultural centres abroad, including various types of Christian imagery. Being a central motif in Christian art all through the Middle Ages, representations of the crucified Christ seem to have had a prominent place also in the medieval decoration of the church interior and the liturgy in Norway. This includes the Crucifixion iconography with the Virgin and St. John the Evangelist, which seems to have developed in sculpture in the West, possibly in England, some time in the 11th century in relation to a so-called triumphal cross. However, in previous research on Norwegian medieval sculpture, the emphasis has usually been on the central figure of Christ and less attention has been given to the figures of the Virgin and St. John who often stand on either side of Christ on the cross. This thesis is an attempt to bring these mourning figures more into the light. On the basis of studies of the style, origin and iconography of the Norwegian Calvary groups from the period c. 1150-1350 in the first two chapters of this thesis, the question why the Crucifixion iconography with the Virgin and St. John often was preferred to that of an unaccompanied crucifix is discussed. Little attention has also been given previously to the question of the functions of the Calvary groups in relation to their original setting. This is another central question in this thesis, since the iconography and meaning of these groups seem to be closely bound up with their context. Although a Calvary group most certainly was placed in the larger cathedrals, the original context of the extant Norwegian Calvary groups seem to have been that of a parish church. Relating the sculptures to the interior and activities of the Norwegian parish church in the High Middle Ages, various functions of the Calvary groups are discussed in the last part of the thesis. Central in this discussion is the question whether the extant Norwegian groups were placed in or above the chancel entrance, either on a rood beam, screen or loft, as is normally assumed, and therefore in the very focal point of the congregation s attention during mass, thus possibly functioning especially as an illustration of one of the main topics in the liturgy, the Eucharist.