Fredrik B. WRllein. [No. 13 



of the church, where blind beggars generally sat, and is depicted 

 naked — a naive way, in accordance with Mediæval fashion, of 

 suggesting that be has given away his all. St. Nicholas is about 

 to cure him, and is anointing his head. 



The next scene represents, according to Dr. Helms, how St. 

 Nicholas was made bishop: A layman with a staff in his hand, 

 and a flgure in white ecclesiastical robes are standing before the 

 bishop. The following representation of a pot (over a fire?) is 

 explained as referring to that kettle, in which the Devil in the 

 shape of a woman, according to the legend, had hid a highly 

 combustible substance, intending by that stratagem to ignite St. 

 Nicholas' church. Both these two scenes are, in my opinion, 

 wrongly explained by Dr. Helms. I am decidedly inchned to 

 connect them with the representation on the next panel of the threo 

 sleeping youths who are killed with an axe by the landlord, while 

 his wife is stealing their property hanging over the bed — the 

 exact parallel to the above scene on the Frontal from Kaupanger. 

 „The layman with a staff" is most certainly the landlord with his 

 ax,') and by his side stands his wife in white woman's clothes (not 

 ecclesiastical robes!) being dressed as in the later scene at the 

 inn. The landlord is receiving St. Nicholas outside the inn, and 

 points to the pot, seen within, which surely is meant as the pot 

 where the meat is prepared — cf. the above mentioned legend. 



The representation of the murder of the three sleeping youths 

 is unmistakable. Quite as evident is the meaning of the following 

 scene, where they are resurrected by St. Nicholas. But the repre- 

 sentation at Aal differs in this particular from that of our Frontal, 

 that the youths do not arise from the vat, but from their coueh, 

 where they were murdered. 



The following scene depicts the well known legend of the poor 

 nobleman whose three daughters were saved from dishonour by the 

 gifts of St. Nicholas, which enabled them to marry honestly. 



Finally I may mention that a painting at Aal, not belonging 

 to the series of the legendary scenes, is erroneously considered by 

 Dr. Helms as connected with St. Nicholas. It certainly has no con- 

 nection with this saint, but represents King David, as pointed out 



1) The ax is clearly to be seen in the reproductions of the mural painting-; 

 of Aal in J. Magnus-Petersen „Beskrivelse og Af bildninger af Kalkmalerier i 

 danske Kirker". Kjøbenhavn 1895 pL IX & X. 



