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THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECPS JOURNAL. 



[March, 



CATHEDRAL OF THRANDIA. 



An extract from Torfeus relative to King Olave, and the Cathedral 

 of Thrandia (Trondiem, or Dronthiem), in the kingdom of Norway ; 

 read at the Royal Institute of British Architects, as a supplementary 

 paper to one read at a previous meeting, " on the Archileclure of Wisby, 

 in lie Island of Gothland," by John ,Wliite, Esq., Architect. (See 

 Journal, p. 144, Vol. IV., 1841.) 



Four miles from Agdanesia towards the east, at the southern shore of 

 the gulf of Thrandia, is situated the old and very famous city of Nida- 

 rosia, at this time generally called Thrandia, which that most powerful 

 and pious king, Olave Fryggvinus, caused to be founded on the western 

 bank of the moulh of the river Nid, where there was formerly the 

 estate of Nidarnesia; and hence it obtained the name of Nidarosia, 

 derived from the river Nid, which, in the genitive, makes Nidar, and 

 the word os which means the mouth of a river. 



0/the Cathedral of Thrandia. 



This city of Nidarosia, not uncelebrated as being the residence of 

 the archbishop, had many temples and monasteries, which, however, 

 the cathedral church far eclipsed in magnificence, and the admirable 

 elegance of its structure; which, in few words, we might clearly prove 

 not to have any equal in artificial beauty, whilst it flourished entire, 

 throughout the whole of Christendom. Now, however, the greater 

 part of it, except only the sacred chapel or choir, lies prostrate and 

 overthrown; and, when we confess candidly with much regret that we 

 cannot give as a perfect description of it, as we ought, it may not be 

 disagreeable to put forth to the public notice the few remarks, which 

 are here subjoined. 



Of the relics of St. Olave, and the building and magnificence of the 

 Cathedral of Thrandia. History tells us that the body of Olave (who 

 was called St. Olave), son of Harold, King of Norway killed by the 

 hands of his subjects, was concealed aud preserved, by removing it 

 from place to place, by his friends, lest it should fall into the power 

 of his enemies, and be ignominiously treated ; until at length it was 

 magnificently entombed in the temple of Nidarosia, (which was conse- 

 crated to St. Clement, by Bishop Grimkel and Einar Thambaskelfer) 

 on the permission of King Sweyne, son of Canute, and his mother 

 Alfiva, who at that time possessed the supreme authority, and that a 

 short time afterwards it was exhumed (on account of some miracles 

 by which it was declared to have been lilted up, after it was com- 

 mitted to the ground) and placed in the temple itself (where the place 

 appeared fitter and more commodious), enclosed in a gilded tomb ; 

 this in the next following years they sometimes opened, and shaved 

 the hair and beard, and pared the nails; and, impressed with a belief 

 of its sanctity, the archbishop, with his bishops, abbots, priors, and 

 monks, and the whole ecclesiastical synod, by spreading and propa- 

 gating abroad these miracles, which were reported to take place at 

 his corpse, occupied the minds of men, and, at stated periods of time, 

 carried it about with great pomp and splendour, after the Papistical 

 fashion : to which an immense multitude of persons, not only from 

 Norvfay, but from Denmark also and Sweden (Suecia), and other 

 distant parts flocked, offering large presents, whence were collected 

 incredible sums of money; from which, among other things, a silver 

 coffin was made, in which they placed the sacred (as they say) relics 

 of the King ; and this again was enclosed in two wooden shells, shining 

 with gold, silver, and precious jewels. They built also a cathedral of 

 a very ornamental structure (viz., the archbishop's of this place, sup- 

 ported by the assistance of the kings), of which even now a part 

 appears entire ; yet this admirable work was not finished in the reign 

 of one king ; in as much as Harold the Strong, King of Norway, and 

 brother of St. Olave, first had its foundations laid on that sandy hill, 

 where the body of his brother Olave had been buried first : and aiter- 

 wards Olave, his son, surnamed the "Just," or "Peaceful," finished it, 

 with the assistance of the Archbishop Eystein, and dedicated it to 

 Christ, and placed upon its altar the coffin of St. Olave. (This is in- 

 correct ; for that Eystein, who built the cathedral, of which to this 

 day some part remains, when that temple, which Harold erected, was 

 destroyed, lived long after.) Under succeeding kings, however, in 

 course of time, when immense vveath was daily accumulating, as much 

 by the presents of the natives as of foreigners, it was elegantly adorned 

 in many ways ; until at length one of the archbishops added a choir 

 of a most beautiful and magnificent structure, and which, as we said 

 above, is the only part that remains. 



But as it never was our lot personally to examine with how much 

 art this cathedral was reared, aud of what dimensions it was, we can 

 only subjoin here, in few words, what we have heard of it from the 

 accounts of others. First, as regards its form; it is said chiefly to re- 

 present a cross, wholly composed of the natural (living) and cut rock ; 



and the entire walls, inside as well as outside, everywhere sculptured 

 with admirable skill, together with innumerable images, and figures exe- 

 cuted with perfect workmanship ; while, at the corner of the temple, 

 where it verges towards the west, twelve stone statues of the apostles 

 of colossal size are seen; these are all gilt over, and the corner of the 

 temple is gilt also. It has, moreover, numerous rows of marble 

 columns, within and without, made from different sorts and colours of 

 marble, so exquisitely polished, that some think they were cast like 

 metals. Of these you may see sixty, elegantly carved, at the southern 

 gates of the temple; and as many think it would be an arduous and 

 difficult task to determine the cost of rearing these gates, how much 

 more difficult would it be, to ascertain the expense of rearing this 

 whole temple, and to estimate it according to the magnificence of the 

 whole work. It is said, too, that each sort of marble considered more 

 excellent for this fabric, was conveyed hither from Ireland and Green- 

 land : but that a softer, white, and variegated kind, was supplied in 

 abundance from the district of Thrandia. And as this royal cathedral 

 in elegance of structure and entire magnificence of execution shone 

 pre-eminent, so also it surpassed in its other ornaments, for it had a 

 most rich sacred repository, stored with books, cups, dishes, priestly 

 garments, holy bags, with other things of the same kind, and vessels 

 of the church. Thus the archbishop, with a pompous train, clothed 

 with a mantle (superhumerale) of cloth of gold (attolicum), bore on 

 his back an image of the Holy Trinity, made from pure gold, as they 

 are commonly represented; and at the same time had carried about 

 the coffin of St. Olave (which, as we said before, was placed in two 

 wooden coffins enclosed in one another) by sixty men (no less were 

 necessary) ; from the edges of the coffin, which was overlaid with 

 gold and silver, innumerable purses were suspended to receive dona- 

 tions. Upon It stood the penitentiary priest, as he is called, oflfering 

 the indulgences of the Pope of Rome, or remission of sins to those 

 who gave money. This cathedral was also very rich, in proportion to 

 the power of the kingdom, in vast revenues and large possesions ; so 

 that in the banquetting rooms of this place, jugs, cups, dishes, and 

 plates of silver, and indeed every sort of silver implements, have been 

 always used with the utmost prodigality, which in other places were 

 preserved in the vestibule (exedru.) 



But since this complete magnificence and glory of the world rested 

 on an unstable and slippery foundation, quicker than one could have 

 conceived, it all fell down with an awful destruction ; the cathedral, 

 indeed was thrice set on fire by lightning, and the fluid flying so as to 

 be seen a long way across the Gulf of Thrandia, consumed the monas- 

 tery called Holmklostur, and reduced it to ashes ; which was a certain 

 proof that this had not happened by chance but by the will of the 

 Almighty, who would not permit their grave and dreadful errors and 

 idolatry, by which they had seduced the wretched people, with their 

 taking his holy name in vain, to go unpunished. And, in a similar 

 way, the pomp and luxury of the ecclesiastics of this order, and the 

 power and authority of worldly rule, all of which had depended upon 

 the dominion of the Pontificate, fell altogether, upon the removal of 

 their cause, when, by Divine grace, the light of the true Christian 

 religion shone on these shores. Yet it is much rather to be lamented 

 than recommended, that, at the beginning of the reformed religion, the 

 reformers not content with taking away from the temples and monaste- 

 ries whatever gold, silver, and other treasures once employed for the 

 useof the Pontiffs, were found there (such as priest's garments and other 

 utensils), but prompted by nothing else than an innate spirit of wanton- 

 ness and malice, they threw down aud destroyed those elegant struc- 

 tures; unnecessarily burning ;i great quantity of very useful works, and 

 precious relics of antiquity, in a foul conflagration, stripping of every 

 decoration entirely, the sacred temples, basely plundering them of all 

 their ornaments, and perpetrating robbery detestable and totally un- 

 worthy of the name of Christianity. 



In this way, too. Otto Stigius had burnt the very beautiful library of 

 the Cathedral of Thrandia, with a number of useful books of great 

 price, and monuments in the cemetery. By a similar conflagration, 

 one Thordus, surnamed Kodde, maliciously destroyed all the books 

 and ancient manuscripts of the repository of Stafangra (Stafan grenois 

 exedra). In the same storm the silver coffin in which the body of St. 

 Olave was buried, with the two wooden ones which were before 

 spoken of, with all the gold and silver and precious jewels (of which 

 one eclipsed the rest, and which the Archbishop Eric Valkendorp had 

 bought for 24U tons of butter (Vigenti tonnarum, dodecadibus butiri) 

 and had inserted amongst the rest on the edge of the coffin) stript ofl; 

 was taken away, as was also the great silver cross, wont to be carried 

 in state, by three men, before the tomb of St. Olave, the cups, dishes, 

 holy bags (hierotheca), and the other treasures of the cathedral, gold 

 and silver, chosen from the repository (exedra) and banquetting room. 

 Besides the ornaments of the altar, jewels were also taken away, beau- 

 tiful bells, and the like, laden with which a certain large ship, about 



