The Devil

.. is in the details

Medieval cartoons

On a shorty road tip through the Danish province of Sjaelland, we nipped in to a few of the lovely churches that dot the countryside. The land was christianised around the beginning of the first millennium and lots of churches were constructed in the 11th and 12th centuries. The church then was catholic of course. The state (i.e. king) thought it expedient to adhere to lutheran teachings in the 16th century. The catholic church was transformed and all the riches transferred to the state. A good incentive to go lutheran. Anyway, the lutheran church is pretty austere so the richly decorated churches from the catholic time were white washed inside. The paintings underneath the whitewash have been restored in some churches. It’s pretty interesting to check the messages in these paintings.

ouch – don’t want to end up there

An angel waking up the dead

Archangel Michael weighing souls

ouch – don’t want to end up there

Pretty tough to be a dragon

Pretty rough way to shoe a horse

Not easy to be a saint

The lords of the land no doubt wanted the underlings to be docile, fear god, and wait for rewards in the afterlife rather than demand rights now. Somehow it all feels all too familiar even though it’s framed differently now.