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Hylestad stave church

The Hylestad Stave Church was a stave church located in Hylestad, Setesdal district, Norway. The church was estimated to have been built in the late 12th to the early 13th century and was demolished in the 17th century. Some of the intricate wood carvings from the church doorway were saved and incorporated into other buildings. They are now on display at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo.

Engravings
There are seven scenes from the Sigurð legend carved on the two door panels, with three scenes on the first panel and four scenes on the second panel. The description below notes the scenes and the corresponding section from the legend, with the order of the fifth and sixth scenes reversed to follow the normal sequence of the legend. Based on the clothes and equipment, the panels have been dated to the second half of the 12th century. The figures and medallions on Hylestad I and the vine on Hylestad II show close parallels to English and French manuscript illuminations from around 1170. Sigurð and Regin forge the sword Gram The first scene shows Sigurð (who wears a helmet) and Regin (who has a beard) at the forge and the second scene shows Sigurð holding the mended sword. Sigurð, described as one of the best swordsmen, was urged by Regin to seek Fáfnir the worm or dragon's treasure. Regin then forged a sword with Sigurð at his side, providing assistance by keeping the fire going and providing water to cool the blade when needed. When the sword was completed they named it Gram. Sigurð tested the sword by striking it upon Regin's shield, which had a picture of Fáfnir engraved on it. The blade broke, which prompted Regin to forge another sword out of the broken pieces of the first Gram. When it was completed Sigurð tested the blade once again on the shield with Fáfnir's image, and this time it cut through the shield and also cut off the horn of the anvil. Sigurð slays Fáfnir the dragon The third scene shows Sigurð slaying the dragon with a sword. Sigurð decapitates Regin using the sword Gram. Grani carries the treasure In the fifth scene, Sigurð's horse Grani stands carrying a chest containing Fáfnir's expansive treasure and two birds are depicted below Grani perched in the branches of a tree. Atli orders Gunnar to be placed into a serpent pit, with his hands bound behind his back. Gudrun sends her brother a harp, and Gunnar is able to play "so exceedingly well" with his toes that he lulls the snakes to sleep, "except for one large and hideous adder" who kills Gunnar in a single strike. == Origin of the panels ==
Origin of the panels
According to Peter Gustav Blom, who was a mayor of Valle, there was a legend about that the two doorway panels with the carving are originally coming from a cave called Tolvkjørkhellaren (in mountains of Sirdal), where it was before ca. 1600 a chapel or even a cave church of Saint Tollef Salemann from Tessungdal, and the carvings were made by some local girls (probably three sisters from another legend about the cave). But the fact of the existence of the chapel itself is problematic. For example, Andreas Faye mentions another origin of the cave′s name, which has nothing to do with a church or the saint. Very little is know about the saint as well. His veneration tradition was banned in 1692 and ceased. The cave in later times was used as a resting place by local shepherds, but now is under water after a dam was built, what makes further archaeological research hard. Before the dam, there were researches in the cave, but they gave no notable results. == See also ==
Source: Wikipedia ↗
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