Reconstruction of the 13th century St Olav frontal

On this page:

The frontal in
the stave church
at Heimaey, Iceland

The old and the new
St Olav frontal

The different motifs
of the frontal in both
their original and re-
constructed version

Olav distributes money
before the battle
at Stiklestad

Olav's dream

Olav's death
at Stiklestad

The pronunciation
of Olav's sainthood

Olav, king and saint

The symbols
of the Evangelists

The result

The frontal in the stave church at Heimaey, Iceland

The reconstruction of the St. Olav frontal in the new stave church at Heimaey, Iceland, July 2000.

The old and the new St Olav frontal

Compared to the original, faded by age, the reconstruction has a visual impact that is almost shocking in its intensity. But this is how it should be, because it is as close as we can get to what the original looked like when its paint was still fresh. And as a result, we can better imagine how the frontal’s bright colours and emotive scenes must have lit up the church’s shadowy interior and lifted the spirits of the worshippers – as it was indeed intended to do.