Abbedens tagværk - Dendrokronologiske undersøgelser i Sorø Klosterkirke

Resumé

The abbot’s roof construction – Dendrochronology in the Abbey Church of Sorø
By Thomas Bertelsen

In 2011 the National Museum carried out a dendrochronological survey of the medieval oak roof construction of the nave and northern transept of the Abbey Church of Sorø (fig. 1). It was established that the roof construction of the nave originated from about 1515-25 (figs. 5-7), while the roof construction of the transept was built about 1540-50 (fig. 8). The roof construction of the nave must have been initiated by the last Catholic abbot of the abbey, Henrik Tornekrands, who also donated rich furnishings to the church, including the large crucifix from 1527 by Claus Berg’s workshop and the tombstone of Absalon from 1536 (fig. 12). Furthermore, the dendrochronological survey has proven that Henrik Tornekrands was also responsible for the renovation of the church building, which at this time probably got its stepped gables and large Gothic chancel windows. These features, which still existed in 1749, were erased by a Neo-Romanesque restoration in the second part of the 19th century (fig. 4).