Tingsted Church

{{Infobox church | image = Tingsted kirke (Falster, Danmark 2019).jpg | denomination = [[Church of Denmark]] | parish = Tingsted Sogn | deanery = Falster Provsti | diocese = [[Diocese of Lolland–Falster]] | country = [[Denmark]] | location = [[Tingsted]], [[Falster]] | completed = ca. 1200 | architectural_type = [[Romanesque architecture]], [[Gothic architecture]] | dedication = [[Saint Peter]] }}

'''Tingsted Church''', located on high ground in the village of [[Tingsted]] on the [[Denmark|Danish]] island of [[Falster]], dates from c. 1200. Built in the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] style, it is best known for its [[fresco]]s from the end of the 15th century.

==History== At an early stage, the pink-plastered church was dedicated to St Peter. As the name Tingsted implies, the place was originally associated with early lawmaking in the area. In 1329, [[Christopher II of Denmark|King Christopher II]] concluded an agreement with [[Rigsmarsk (Denmark)|Marsk]] Ludvig Eberstein, head of the armed forces, after his surrender at [[Hammershus]] and in 1329 made peace with [[John III, Count of Holstein-Plön|Count Johann of Holstein]]. In 1511, Falster's ''landsting'' (regional council) was held in the churchyard and the following year [[John, King of Denmark|King Hans]] presided over a dispute between his [[vassal]] and the bishop.<ref name=natmus/> [[Jacob Christian Lindberg]], who translated the Bible into Danish and, together with [[N. F. S. Grundtvig|Grundtvig]] played an active part in religious reforms, was named [[parish]] [[pastor]] in January 1844.<ref name="Stewart2009">{{cite book|last=Stewart|first=Jon Bartley|title=Kierkegaard and His Danish Contemporaries: Tome II : Theology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8LYwK-NXXKAC&pg=PA219|access-date=28 November 2012|date=23 December 2009|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-0-7546-6873-2|pages=219–}}</ref>

==Architecture and fittings== {{multiple image | align = left | image1 = Nordenskirker tingsted05.jpg | width1 = 200 | alt1 = | caption1 = | image2 = Nordenskirker tingsted56.jpg | width2 = 90 | alt2 = | caption2 = | footer = Left: the nave. Right: the font. }} Built of local [[fieldstone]] with limestone framing around the windows and doors, the church initially consisted of the [[nave]], [[chancel]] and a half-domed [[apse]]. Traces of the original rounded windows highly positioned in the nave and apse can still be seen. Around 1500, the [[Gothic architecture|Late Gothic]] tower and porch were added and the flat ceiling in the nave was replaced by [[Groin vault|cross-vaulting]]. The windows were later adapted to the positioning of the vaults. The tower probably had stepped gables until it received the pyramid-shaped spire. It is thought the relatively steep roof above the nave resulted from the need to provide room for the top of the arches used for the vaulting.<ref>[http://www.tingstedkirke.dk/historieside.shtml Christina Rygaard Kristiansen (ed.), "Kirkens historie"], Tingsted kirke. {{in lang|da}} Retrieved 22 November 2012.</ref>

The panel on the 17th-century altar is the work of [[Antonius Clement]], [[Sophie af Mecklenburg|Queen Sophia]]'s court painter. Its three niches have female figures representing [[Theological virtues|Faith, Hope and Charity]] and are bordered by slim figures representing the [[cardinal virtues]]: Temperance, Justice, Prudence and Fortitude. The elaborately worked [[Renaissance]] [[altarpiece]] (1616) contains a painting of the [[Last Supper]]. The [[Cartilage baroque|carved baroque]] pulpit (1633) by [[Jørgen Ringnis]] with paintings by Anthonius Clement bears similarities to the one in [[Kippinge Church]]. The [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] [[Baptismal font|font]] has a wide, rounded bowl.<ref name=natmus>[http://danmarkskirker.natmus.dk/uploads/tx_tcchurchsearch/Maribo_1345-1358_02.pdf Kirsten Weber-Andersen, Otto Norn, Aage Roussell, Gertrud Købke Knudsen, "Tingsted Kirke"], ''Danmarks kirker: Maribo amt, Volume 8'', 1951, Nationalmuseet, pages 1309–1326. {{in lang|da}} Retrieved 14 November 2012.</ref><ref name=nk/>

==Frescos== [[File:Nordenskirker tingsted51.jpg|thumb|right|Fresco of the wheel of life (c. 1500)]] The frescos in the chancel and the nave from the late 15th century are the work of the [[Elmelunde Master]]<ref name="Nationalmuseets1943">{{cite book|title=Nationalmuseets skrifter: Arkaeologisk-historisk raekke|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jssRAAAAIAAJ|access-date=28 November 2012|year=1943|publisher=I Kommission hos Gyldendalske Boghandel, Nordisk Forlag|page=220}}</ref> and his workshop. Rediscovered under the [[whitewash]] in 1877, they depict the [[baptism of Jesus]], the [[Judas Iscariot#Death|suicide of Judas]], the [[Rich man and Lazarus|rich man and the poor man]] together with the [[Fall of man|Fall]] and the [[Expulsion from the Garden of Eden|Expulsion]]. The rich man, kneeling before Christ, wears a long-tailed hood, an article of clothing reserved for the more affluent of the time.<ref name="Buried Norsemen at Herjolfsnes: An Archaeological and Historical Study">{{cite book|title=Buried Norsemen at Herjolfsnes: An Archaeological and Historical Study|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mdodAQAAIAAJ|access-date=28 November 2012|year=1924|publisher=C. A. Reitzels Forlag|pages=175–177}}</ref>

There are also two non-Biblical frescos, one of the wheel of life, the other depicting the churning of butter.<ref name=nk>[http://www.nordenskirker.dk/Tidligere/Tingsted_kirke/Tingsted_kirke515.htm "Tingsted kirke"], Nordens kirker. {{in lang|da}} Retrieved 22 November 2012.</ref> The captions around the wheel of life are typical of the Elmelund Master. Three figures of kings are placed around a cartwheel. On the left, the king who is rising says "regnabo" (I will rule), the one at the top, dressed in fine clothes and holding a fine glass of wine, announces "regno" (I rule), the one on the right, his bearded head hanging low, says "regnavi" (I have ruled) while the dead body of the king with folded hands below the wheel is accompanied by a banner stating "sum sine regno sic transit gloria mundi" (I am without a kingdom so transpires the glory of the world).<ref>Heidi Pfeiffer & Ove H. Nielsen, "Lolland-Falster – historier i landskabet", 2012, Lolland-Falsters Historiske Samfund, pages 40–41. {{ISBN|978-87-91059-12-4}}.</ref> <gallery class="center"> File:Nordenskirker tingsted42.jpg|Fresco: the rich man and the poor man File:Nordenskirker tingsted35.jpg|Fresco: Judas's death by suicide File:Nordenskirker tingsted36.jpg|Fresco: Jesus's baptism File:Nordenskirker tingsted10.jpg|Fresco: the Annunciation </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Churches in Falster]] [[Category:Church frescos in Denmark]] [[Category:Romanesque church buildings]] [[Category:Lutheran churches converted from Roman Catholicism]] [[Category:Churches in the Diocese of Lolland–Falster]]