The pew gables of Kirkjubøur – 3rd series - FR 379-82 - Date: 12.02.2001

Postverk Føroya has twice before issued stamps with pew gables from the St Olav's church in Kirkjubøur. The first series of four stamps was issued on 6th October 1980. The second series – also consisting of 4 stamps – was issued on 30th January 1984.

There are 14 pew gables in total, all carved in pine. Eleven of the pew gables form what is called and apostolic row, because they depict 11 of the 12 apostles. The remaining three depict other biblical figures. In addition to the pew gables there is a prie-dieu, which gables are decorated on both the outside and the inside, and a confessional, which gables are decorated on the outside.

One of the pew gables displays the bearings of Union King Erik of Pomerania and Queen Filippa. The King and Queen were married in 1406, and Queen Filippa died in 1430, which indicates that the pew gables are from this period.

The pew gables on the stamps are from the apostolic row. The ravages of time have left their mark on the carving and made it impossible to identify two of them (FR381 and FR382).
Both are pictured with a book in their left and right hands respectively, which tells us that they are two apostles, as the book is considered to be a common apostolic attribute. Undoubtedly the inscriptions on the banderoles would have indicated the names of the apostles in question.
The coat-of-arms at the top is blank, but it can be assumed that it was painted with the original details of the coat-of-arms.
On FR379 the apostle Andrew is depicted with a cross in his right hand. Andrew and his brother Simon Peter were the first apostles of Jesus as described in the Gospels according to St. John and St. Matthew. According to tradition Andrew was crucified on a cross of this type, which also became known as the St. Andrew’s Cross.
At the top you can see a coat-of-arms with a crosier through it. The coat-of-arms has not been identified, but it must be assumed to be a church coat-of-arms or an episcopal coat-of-arms.
The apostle Bartholomew, who, according to tradition, was martyred by being flayed alive, is depicted on FR380. He holds a knife in his left hand as a symbol of his barbaric death. Bartholomew was considered to be a patron saint of butchers and tanners in the late Middle Ages.
At the top you can see a coat-of-arms with two crossed crosiers. The coat-of-arms has not been identified, but it must also be assumed to be a church coat-of-arms or an episcopal coat-of-arms.
There is not total agreement on whether the pew gables were made for the relatively modest parish church in Kirkjubøur or whether they may have been intended for the more grandiose Magnus Cathedral, which is commonly referred to as the Kirkjubø Wall and is now a ruin.
The pew gables were transferred to the National Museum in Copenhagen in 1875 after extensive renovation of St Olav's church the previous year. For several years the Faroese wanted the pew gables to be returned to the Faroe Islands, and in 1977 the Danish government consented to the pew gables being taken back to the Faroes on condition that the storage facilities were satisfactory. The pews are expected to be back on the Faroe Islands in the course of 2002.