Buried infants under the floor in Uvdal stave church

Under the floor in Uvdal stave church many infants have been buried. In the Middle Ages, the dead should all be buried on consecrated ground within the walls surrounding the church. Through this, people kept their place in the Christian fellowship, also in death. Those who were not baptized, however, did not have the same rights to a Christian burial and it was serious business being accused of burying an unbaptized infant within the church grounds. Written laws connected to this is clearly stated in Norwegian medieval law, in such as Gulating- and Frostating law collections.

In the past, infants were often seen as especially exposed to the dangers of non-Christian supernatural powers. They had to be protected from this through baptism and inclusion into the Christian fellowship of the Church. It is unknown whether the infants buried in church walls and under church floors in Norwegian medieval churches , were placed there to sneak them into hallowed earth or just to give them increased protection from the non-Christian supernatural. Maybe both? 

Many infants have been wrapped in birch bark and buried under the floors at Uvdal stave church. Most of the bodies were placed under the veranda surrounding the outside of the church building. The veranda dates to the earliest phase of the church construction and shows how the practice of burying infants here was part of early medieval custom. We can only speculate whether the steady use of the veranda as a burial site was because of easy access and practicalities or if the access gave a way to easily hide a deceased unbaptized infant to protect it from the non-Christian powers.