Lead Drops Keep Falling in the Air

The abbey Church of Sorø and the use of lead on roofs in 12th century Denmark

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of lead from the original roof of the Cistercian abbey Church of Sorø which burned in 1247, compared to fragments of lead from the coffin of Archbishop Absalon, who was buried in Sorø 1201. His coffin was made of south English lead and the roof by lead from around the cities of Aachen and Cologne in northwestern Germany. This is compared to the rather exclusive evidence of Absalon as a possible buyer of lead on the international market at the end of the 12th century. A survey of extant traces of original roofing material on churches in Scania challenges the general view of lead as the predominantly used roofing material in medieval Denmark in the 12th and 13th centuries. Further research into the origin, use and distribution of lead is recommended.