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A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building once common in north-western Europe. The name derives from the buildings' structure of post and lintel construction, a type of timber framing where the load-bearing posts are called ''stafr'' in Old Norse and ''stav'' in modern Norwegian. Two related church building types also named for their structural elements, the post church and palisade church, are often also called 'stave churches'. Originally much more widespread, most of the surviving stave churches are in Norway. The only remaining medieval stave churches outside Norway are those of ''circa'' 1500 at Hedared in Sweden and one Norwegian stave church relocated in 1842 to the outskirts of Krummhübel, Germany, now Karpacz in the Karkonosze mountains of Poland. (One other church, the Anglo-Saxon Greensted Church in England, exhibits many similarities with a stave church but is generally considered a palisade church.) ==Construction== Archaeological excavations have shown that stave churches, best represented today by the Borgund stave church, are descended from palisade constructions and from later churches with earth-bound posts. Similar palisade constructions are known from buildings from the Viking Age. Logs were split in two halves, set or rammed into the earth (generally called post in ground construction) and given a roof. This proved a simple but very strong form of construction. If set in gravel, the wall could last many decades, even centuries. An archaeological excavation in Lund uncovered the postholes of several such churches. In post churches, the walls were supported by sills, leaving only the posts earth-bound. Such churches are easy to spot at archaeological sites as they leave very distinct holes where the posts were once placed. Occasionally some of the wood remains, making it possible to date the church more accurately using radiocarbon dating and/or with dendrochronology. Under the Urnes stave church, remains have been found of two such churches, with Christian graves discovered beneath the oldest church structure. A single church of palisade construction has been discovered under the Hemse stave church. The next design phase resulted from the observation that earthbound posts were susceptible to humidity, causing them to rot away over time. To prevent this, the posts were placed on top of large stones, significantly increasing their lifespans. The stave church in Røldal is believed to be of this type. In still later churches, the posts were set on a raised sill frame resting on stone foundations. This is the stave church in its most mature form. It is now common to group the churches into two categories: the first, without free-standing posts, often referred to as ''Type A''; and the second, with a raised roof and free-standing internal posts, usually called ''Type B''. Those with the raised roof, ''Type B'', are often further divided into two subgroups. The first of these, the Kaupanger group, have a whole arcade row of posts and intermediate posts along the sides and details that mimic stone capitals. These churches give an impression of a basilica. The other subgroup is the Borgund group. These churches have cross-braces joining upper and lower string beams and the posts, forming a very rigid interconnection, and resembling the triforium of stone basilicas. This design made it possible to omit the freestanding lower part of intermediate posts. In some churches in Valdres, only the four corner posts remain (see image of Lomen stave church). Many stave churches had or still have outer galleries around their whole perimeters, loosely connected to the plank walls. These probably served to protect the church from a harsh climate, and for processions. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「stave church」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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