COSMOLOGY ACROSS CULTURES

c 2009
ASP Conference Series, Vol. 409,
J. A. Rubi
no-Martn, J. A. Belmonte, F. Prada and A. Alberdi, eds.

Astronomical Orientations of Sacred Architecture during

the Medieval Period in Slovenia

Sasa Caval
Institute of Anthropological and Spatial Studies. Scientific Research
Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ljubljana,
Slovenia
1.

Introduction

Churches are ubiquitous throughout the landscape of Slovenia, and their sheer
number (estimated at more than 2300 (Record of the real-estate cultural heritage, January 2007)) lays testament to the cultural signicance of this ecclesiastic architecture. The oldest churches date back to the end of the rst millennium.
On-going research on the orientation of churches and their signicance within
the architectural expression of religious ideal and the cultural landscape, focused
on the Romanesque period (early 11th to late 13th centuries). Over these three
centuries, the underlying network of parishes established during Christianization
(6th to 9th centuries), were widely extended and subdivided. One highly visible
barometer by which it is possible to gauge the overall importance and prosperity
of this religion in the Romanesque period is the number of new parochial and
succursal churches. Written sources report on the early Christian regulation of
church orientation, however, the question remains as to the extent that this held
for Slovenia. Some preliminary answers, based on systematic research that is
still in progress, are given in the following article.
2.

Historical Background

Within the context of this research the Romanesque period refers to both the
artistic and architectural style that developed from approximately AD 1000 to
the rise of the Gothic in the 13th century (although this latter date extends to
the middle of the 14th century in certain regions). The term relates mostly to
Romanesque architecture, which retained many basic characteristics of Roman
architectural style while developing a number of new features. Although within
the Mediterranean region there was an architectural continuity from Late Antiquity to the Romanesque period, the style itself was the rst to inuence the
whole of Catholic Europe (Zadnikar 1982). The Romanesque period in Slovenia was the time when Christianity had both religious and political power. At
that time, the country was divided into two ecclesiastic entities: the Salzburg
archbishopric and Aquileia patriarchate, the border between them formed by
the river Drava. The rst, having its seat north of Slovenia, distributed a Germanic mode of religion, while the second promoted Mediterranean Christianity
originating in Adriatic Italy. The dierence between the two lay not only in the
structural design of the churches they built, such as architectural elements and
ground plans, but also in the patron saints they worshiped and in the way the
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missionaries propagated the religion in pagan countries with some indirectly

allowing old beliefs to survive (Zadnikar 1982; Hoer 1986).
3.

Methodology

From a conservative estimate of over 300 churches that have elements of the
Romanesque style, a database of 174 was established that included all churches
in a suitable state of preservation to be analysed using the following methods.
Orientations were measured with a theodolite along both longitudinal walls of
the nave with the Sun acting as an astronomical reference. Corresponding horizon altitudes were also taken. As a control measure, readings using a magnetic
compass were recorded. A number of methodological issues did arise including
the fact that many churches were located in the middle of villages or towns, or
were surrounded by dense vegetation. Therefore, it was occasionally the case
that horizon elevations could not be recorded. In these instances, they were
determined with the aid of the digital terrain model of Slovenia1 (DTM 12, 5;
c The Surveying and Mapping Authority of the Republic of Slovenia, 2005).

When the declinations were calculated from these data the corresponding Julian
dates were determined for both eastern and western horizons. These calculations were performed using the JPL Ephemeris software available online 2 and
took into account the date of construction. For a few churches, it was possible
to determine the exact year of either consecration or when construction began.
Others were dated on the basis of stylistic design, although this eectively meant
that the church in question could have been built at any point during the Romanesque period; in the latter cases Julian dates were determined for the year
AD 1180.
4.
4.1.

Results
Azimuths:

As Figure 1 shows, the churches longitudinal axes are oriented in a general eastwest direction, their azimuths exhibiting an evidently non-uniform distribution.
It can also be seen that hypothesis suggesting orientations to magnetic north,
such as the one proposed for the 12th-century churches in Denmark (Abrahamsen
1992), cannot be applied in this case.
4.2.

Declinations:

The histogram in Figure 2 includes declinations corresponding to both eastern

and western azimuths. It can clearly be seen that most declinations fall within
the range of those attained by the Sun, suggesting that the orientations refer
mostly to solar positions on the horizon, corroborating early Christian sources.
1

Horizon computations were performed by Klemen Zaksek, Scientific Research Centre of the
Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Ephemeris Generator, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, USA (http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/cgibin/eph

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Figure 1.
Distribution of azimuths from 50 to 140 . The azimuth values
on the horizontal axis are spaced at 1 intervals. The numbers of azimuths
around the extreme values are high, because they include all the azimuths
equal to or lower/higher than 50 /140 .

There are several solstitial orientations, with others oriented to true equinox
sunrise or sunset (declinations around 0 ), but their small number does not
allow us to assign them particular signicance.
In order to nd out whether sunrises or sunsets were more important, it
is appropriate to examine the declinations recorded on the eastern and western
horizon separately. If we compare declinations recorded on the east with those
to the west, there is clearly a greater degree of clustering of eastern declinations
(Figure 3).
Even though, according to early Christian and medieval written sources,
east was the more important direction for orienting churches, it should be noted
that a degree of clustering does occur around certain declinations marked on
the western horizon. It is thus highly likely that some churches were oriented
to sunsets on certain dates, and it should be remembered that several early
churches in Rome were oriented with their apses to the west (Firneis, Koberl
1989: 430, 431).
4.3.

Dates:

The declination groups suggest that the churches orientations correspond to

certain dates of the year. Several authors have proposed that early churches
were oriented to sunrises on the feast days of their patron saints (Guszik 1978;
Firneis & Koberl 1989; Barlai 1989 etc.). With the aim of assessing the validity of these hypotheses, the declinations were translated into Julian calendar
dates, taking into account when the churches were constructed. Obviously, every orientation/declination corresponds to two dates on the eastern horizon and
two on the western horizon (except solstitial orientations). The dates corresponding to eastern and western declinations were plotted separately for two

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Figure 2.
Distribution of declinations corresponding to both eastern and
western azimuths. The declination values on the horizontal axis are spaced
at 1 intervals.

halves of the year demarcated by December 23rd and June 24th (Figures 4 to
7). While certainly not all of these dates were intentionally targeted by orientations, the eastern ones exhibit, again, a much more pronounced clustering than
those recorded on the western horizon.
In order to identify the possible motives for the orientations noted (i.e. to
ascertain whether the churches were intended to record particular sunrise or
sunset dates), independent, contextual evidence has been examined with the
following interpretations.
Considering the dates marked on the eastern horizon, we can see that the
highest frequency of those falling in the rst half of the year (Figure 4) is centred
on February 21st and 22nd. In the second half of the year, the same declination
group corresponds to the dates between 5th and 8th of October (Figure 5).
Among these dates, only February 22nd can be found in the liturgical calendar.
This date corresponds to the Feast of the Chair of Peter at Antioch (Cathedra
Petri Antiochiae), the day quo electus est 1. Petrus papa, on which Peter was
rst chosen pope (Ginzel 1914: 189; Waal 1908). The feast is mentioned in
early textual sources, for example in the Calendar of Philocalus dated from AD
354 (VIII Kl. Martiis: natale Petri de cathedra, eighth day before the Calends
of March, birthday of the Chair of Peter), by St. Ennodius of Pavia (who died
in AD 521) and in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum dating from the late 6th
century (Waal 1908).
This feast originates from an important Roman festival named caristia and
was celebrated in honour of ancestors. At the beginning of the 4th century, the
Church chose the date of the caristia (considered to be a pagan feast at that
time) to celebrate the papal inauguration of Peter (Metford 1991: 111; Pietri
2002): 1159, 1160).
In the 13th century, the Church distinguished feasts, amongst others, also
according to the solemnity of the oce or rite. In general, there were three kinds

Medieval Astronomical Orientations in Slovenia

Figure 3.
Distribution of declinations corresponding to eastern (above) and
western (lower) azimuths separately. The declination values on the horizontal
axis are spaced at 1 intervals.

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Figure 4.
The distribution of Julian dates corresponding to eastern declinations, from December 22nd to June 23rd. The dates on the horizontal axis
are spaced at 2-day intervals.

Figure 5.
The distribution of Julian dates corresponding to eastern declinations, from June 24th to December 22nd. The dates on the horizontal axis
are spaced at 2-day intervals.

Medieval Astronomical Orientations in Slovenia

Figure 6.
Distribution of Julian dates corresponding to western declinations, from December 22nd to June 23rd. The dates on the horizontal axis
are spaced at 2-day intervals.

Figure 7.
Distribution of Julian dates corresponding to western declinations, from June 24th to December 22nd. The dates on the horizontal axis
are spaced at 2-day intervals.

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of feasts: festum simplex, semiduplex and duplex, all three regulated by the
recitation of the Divine Oce or Breviary. Each of them was further classied
and additionally ranked (Holweck 1909). In the Aquileian Missal written in 1517
and in use across the Aquileian patriarchate, feasts were divided as a whole into
ve classes. February 22nd is in the third class, referred to as cum pleno ocio
(with complete ceremony) (Peressotti 2007: 4; Holweck 1909). A key medieval
manuscript from Slovenia, a pocket calendar dating from 1415 but based on an
older version from 1055, has been inuential in deciphering the signicance of
this date. The calendar was intended to be used for more than one year and
it is referred to also as a centenary calendar. For each month in the year, the
most important feasts are individually highlighted by the colour of ink use. For
example, red ink marked feasts of greater signicance, with special liturgical
contents (indicating a double obligation for believers: to rest from work and to
attend Mass) as opposed to a simple feast day, which was marked in black. In
this calendar, February 22nd is clearly written in red (Dolar 1986).
In the second half of the year (Figure 5), the highest frequency of dates
is around September the 5th and 6th. The same orientations correspond to
March 25th and 26th in the rst half of the year (Figure 4). There can be
little doubt that March 25th, the feast of the Annunciation of Mary3 , was the
targeted date. The third Ecumenical Council in Ephesus (AD 431), where more
than 200 bishops convened, declared Mary the Mother of God. The feast was
rst celebrated around AD 400 in the East. In Rome, it was introduced around
the time of Pope Leon II (682-683) (Usenicnik 1945: 262), although it was rst
mentioned in the West at the Council of Toledo in the year 656 (Metford 1991:
77). In the East the Annunciation is a feast of Christ whereas in the Western
church it belongs to Mary (Holweck 1907). The date was also a traditional
Roman vernal equinox day and, according to Tertullian (around AD 200), the
day of the beginning of the world for many pre-Christian societies (Metford 1991:
77). In the medieval pocket calendar mentioned above, March 25th is a feast
day marked in red and, in the Aquileian Missal, the day of Annunciatio Sanctae
Marie Virginis is maius duplex, noted as a double feast (Dolar 1986; Peressotti
2007: 5; Holweck 1909).
Among the dates recorded on the western horizon, the largest number concentrate around March 10th and 11th (Figure 6); in the other half of the year
the same orientations correspond to the 20th and 21st of September (Figure 7).
The situation in this case is slightly more complex as it is possible that both
moments of the year were signicant.
The rst date to consider is the 12th of March, which is closest to the
dates marked by orientations in the rst half of the year and very important
ecclesiastical feast. It is the name day of Pope St. Gregory I., who is also
known as Gregory the Great. He lived in the late 6th and the early 7th
centuries. Due to his important role in the development of the Western Church,
he was referred to by a number of authors across Europe, e.g. St. Gregory
of Tours, St. Isidore of Seville and St. Ildephonsus of Toledo. He was also
mentioned in Vita Antiquissima, written around AD 713 by an anonymous monk
of Whitby. Venerable Bede mentions him in his Historia ecclesiastica gentis
3

An alternative name of this feast is Annunciation of the Lord (Metford 1991: 76).

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Anglorum and Paul the Deacon narrates on his involvement with the Lombard
in Vita Gregorii Magni, from the second half of the 8th century. Aside from
these direct authorities, the works of various contemporaneous chroniclers and
historians shed considerable light on the period of St. Gregorys life (Huddleston
1909).
When one considers textual evidence however, there is the potential for
debate as to the signicance of this date. For example, in the medieval pocket
calendar, the day is written in black ink indicating a simple feast; in contrast, it
is considered a duplex in the Aquileian Missal denoting a feast of a higher rank
(Dolar 1986; Peressotti 2007: 5; Holweck 1909).
The second date that is of signicance for the western horizon is September
21st: the feast of St. Matthew, an apostle and evangelist (November 16th in
the East). The oldest ecclesiastical feasts pertain to Easter and Lords days. In
the course of centuries, the ecclesiastical calendar expanded considerably. The
rst fesivals that were added to it, already in the 4th century, were the feasts
of the apostles and martyrs (Coppieters 1907). We dont know much about the
apostle, especially not how September 21st became St. Matthews feast, but
the same date is also traditional Greek autumn equinox day (McCluskey 2007:
336).
In contrast to the March date, there is consensus between the written
sources with this date marked in red ink in the pocket calendar and noted as a
duplex in the Aquileian Missal (Dolar 1986; Peressotti 2007: 11; Holweck 1909).
The distribution of dates in the second half of the year (Figure 7) exhibits
the highest concentration around September 8th and 9th, which in the rst half
corresponds to the April 4th and 5th (Figure 6). The most signicant of these
dates is September 8th, the Nativity of Mary in the ecclesiastical calendar.
The earliest writings commemorating this feast are from the 6th century.
The festival may have originated in Syria or Palestine at the beginning of the
6th century. In Rome, this festival was celebrated from the late 7th century
or, according to the writings of St. Andrew of Crete, even earlier. It is found
in Gelasian (6th and 7th century) and Gregorian (8th to 9th century) Sacramentaries and it was ocially introduced by Pope Sergius I. (687-701). In 799,
the 10th canon of the Synod of Salzburg prescribes four feasts in honour of the
Mother of God: the Purication (2nd of February); the Annunciation (25th of
March); the Assumption (15th of August) and the Nativity (8th of September)
(Holweck 1911).
Regarding the pocket calendar, which holds the 8th of September as a feast
of a higher rank, and the Aquileian Missal, which notes this day as maius duplex,
double feast, we can clearly establish the feast of Nativity of Mary as being very
important festival for Christian community in the Romanesque period (Dolar
1986; Peressotti 2007: 11; Holweck 1909).

5.

Concluding Remarks

While only the most pertinent results of the on-going research have been presented here, a non-uniform distribution of declinations and corresponding dates
reveals intentionality of orientations. According to the stage of progress of the
presented research, we can comprehend that the Romanesque churches in Slove-

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nia were generally aligned to sunrises and sunsets on the Christian feasts that
were particularly important in that period. The orientations to patron saints
cannot be conrmed; while some correspondences have been found, this apparently was not a dominant practice.
The results I presented here are, in a way, similar to those reached by McCluskey (2007) for churches in England. Focusing on the churches dedicated only
to certain patron saints, he concluded that most of their orientations fall relatively close to equinoctial sunrise and sunset, possibly referring to March 25th
(Annunciation of Mary) and September 24th (Conception of John the Baptist).
Further analyses of the alignment data presented above, in combination with the
study of relevant historical sources and archaeological as well as ethnographic
evidence should lead to a deeper understanding of the signicance of astronomical orientations in medieval architecture, particularly in, but not restricted to,
Slovenia.
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