Key Objects
Þór or Christ?
Key Object for the Time Period 800-1000
This human figure made of bronze has been dated, on the grounds of style, to around 1000 AD. It is believed to depict Þór (Thor), one of the major Norse gods, but it could also represent Christ enthroned in glory. The figure grasps an object thought to be Þór’s hammer, but also similar in shape to the Christian cross.
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Christ the King
Key Object for the Time Period 1000-1200
This figure of Christ is from Ufsir from a cross which is now lost. The figure is carved in birchwood in the Romanesque style. It was originally painted, and traces of paint remain. The crucifix hung in the church at Ufsir, North Iceland. It is believed to be made in Iceland, and to date from around AD 1200.
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The Valþjófsstaður Door
Key Object for the Time Period 1200-1400
The Valþjófsstaður door, a church door in the Romanesque style dating from about 1200 AD, is believed to have been carved in Iceland. In its original form it is thought to have een one third taller, with three roundels. The door ring is inlaid with a silver rosette design.
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Guðbrandur's Bible
Key Object for the Time Period 1400-1600
Printing was introduced to Iceland around 1530, when Bishop Jón Arason acquired a small printing press, with a Swedish printer to operate it. Initially, only religious texts were printed, and right from the start almost all publications were in Icelandic, which became the language of the church in Iceland. Bishop Guðbrandur Þorláksson had the first Icelandic Bible printed at Hólar in 1584.
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