Horder or Horderus, also known as the Djursland Master, was a Danish

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

who was active around the end of the 12th century. The name Horderus was found on a tombstone bearing twisted rope in Løvenholm in

Norddjurs Municipality Norddjurs Municipality () is a municipality (Danish language, Danish, ''Commune (subnational entity), kommune'') in Region Midtjylland in Denmark. It covers an area of 721.2 km² and has a population of 36,658 (1. January 2025). On 1 January ...

and was ascribed, perhaps wrongly, to the artist who decorated churches in the

Djursland Djursland () is a 1,417 km2 hilly lowland peninsula in Denmark at the entrance to the Baltic Sea, between Denmark and Sweden in Northern Europe. Djursland protrudes into the Kattegat sea, as part of the larger peninsula of Jutland, which its ...

area of eastern

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

and on the island of

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

. He is remembered above all for his finely executed baptismal fonts and portals with their shallow reliefs, frequently framed with twisted rope. Given their shallow dimensions, the reliefs may originally have been painted. They depict either Biblical scenes or animals. Horder's main works are the church portals of Rimsø,

Vejlby Vejlby is a north-eastern neighbourhood of Aarhus in Denmark. It is located 5km from the city centre and is administratively part of the district of Risskov. The neighbourhood of Vejlby was administratively merged with Risskov at the end of the 2 ...

and Ørsted and the font in Holbæk Church.Anne-Mette Gravgaard, "Stenmesteren Horderus"
, ''Folkekirken''. Retrieved 30 January 2012. The fonts are typically decorated with ropes along all the edges and foliage in one or two bands on the sides. Their bases also have ropes along the edges enclosing foliage or animal figures. A considerable number of baptismal fonts were once attributed to Horder but it is now thought that his rope-framed designs were copied by one or more other workshops.Søren Bo Christensen, "Horder"
''Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbachs kunstnerleksikon''. Retrieved 30 January 2012.

Works

*Gravestone from Løvenholm *Church portals in Rimsø, Vejlby, Ørsted *Fonts in the East Jutland churches of Hammelev, Holbæk, Hornslet, Karlby, Mygind, Nørager, Veggelev, Vejlby, Villersøe; in the Angel churches of Hyrup and Grumtofte; and on Fyn in the churches of Kærum and Dreslette.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horder Danish sculptors 12th-century sculptors 12th-century Danish people Medieval sculptors 12th-century births Date of death unknown

Works

See also

References