St. Catherine's Priory, Roskilde
Encyclopedia
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
of Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
friars located in Roskilde
Roskilde
Roskilde is the main city in Roskilde Municipality, Denmark on the island of Zealand. It is an ancient city, dating from the Viking Age and is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network....
. It was dissolved in the Reformation
Reformation in Denmark
The Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein was the transition from Roman Catholicism to Lutheranism in the realms ruled by the Copenhagen-based House of Oldenburg in the first half of the sixteenth century...
and a private house built on the site, which in 1699 became the Lutheran Roskilde Adelige Jomfrukloster (now known as Roskilde Kloster), a women's collegiate foundation.
St. Catherine's Priory, Roskilde
The Dominicans established St. Catherine's Priory in Roskilde (the ancient capital of Denmark and the seat of the most important Danish diocese, the Diocese of RoskildeDiocese of Roskilde
The Diocese of Roskilde is a diocese within the Evangelical Lutheran National Church of Denmark. The seat of the Bishop is Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde.-History:...
, or Zealand) in 1231. Source material for the Dominican priory in Roskilde is sparse, but it is clear that Roskilde ranked second only to Lund
Lund
-Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund...
among the Dominican houses of Scandinavia during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. On several occasions the head of the regional order, the prior provincial, was elected from Roskilde.
Only a few of the friars are named. Friar Bo is named in a 1267 letter connected with the conflict between Archbishop Jacob Erlendsen and King Valdemar. Friar Bo was excommunicated for violating the decree of interdict
Interdict
The term Interdict may refer to:* Court order enforcing or prohibiting a certain action* Injunction, such as a restraining order...
laid down by the archbishop. Prior Petrus Brackæ gave all his worldly possessions to Sorø Abbey
Sorø Abbey
Sorø Abbey was the preeminent and wealthiest monastic house in all of Denmark during the Middle Ages. It was located in the town of Sorø in central Zealand.- History :...
in 1312 and then became a Dominican at Roskilde. Perhaps the most famous Dominican friar of Roskilde was Johannes Nyborg who was made Bishop of Roskilde in 1330.
The geatest patron of the Dominican friars of Roskilde was the immensely powerful Dowager Duchess Ingeborg
Ingeborg of Norway
Ingeborg of Norway , was a Norwegian and by marriage Swedish princess and royal duchess with a position in the regency governments in Norway and Sweden...
(1301-c.1360), mother of King Magnus IV of Sweden and VII of Norway
Magnus IV of Sweden
Magnus Eriksson as Magnus IV was king of Sweden , including Finland, as Magnus VII King of Norway , including Iceland and Greenland, and also ruled Scania . He has also vindictively been called Magnus Smek...
, who made them frequent gifts from at least 1330 onwards and also remembered them in her will.
The main work of the friars was to preach and teach, so it has been supposed that a school of some sort formed part of the duties of the priory at Roskilde, perhaps in conjunction with the town's cathedral school. The Black Friars, as they were known, were a mendicant order, which means that they relied on donations to keep food on the table, candles burning, and the work of the friars. The Roskilde friars forged over time a close connection with the cathedral chapter in the city, which to an extent insulated them from the ebb and flow of events in Denmark's turbulent Middle Ages. After St. Agnes' priory for Dominican nuns was built, the friars also became responsible for the priestly functions required there.
Few details are known of the priory buildings, which were sited a little to the north of the modern Roskilde Kloster, but they consisted of a brick church consecrated to Saint Catherine
Catherine of Alexandria
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius...
in 1254, dormitory, scriptorium
Scriptorium
Scriptorium, literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic scribes...
, refectory
Refectory
A refectory is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries...
and a garden, which included an apple orchard. To the north of the buildings the friars owned a spring and by 1329 dams had been constructed to build at least one mill. The priory also owned at least one farm outside Roskilde, at Slagelse
Slagelse
Slagelse, a town in east Denmark, is in Slagelse municipality on the island of Zealand. It is about 100 km southwest of Copenhagen. The population is 31,979 ....
.
St. Agnes' Priory, Roskilde
In 1263 St. Agnes' Priory, Roskilde, a Dominican nunnery, was built north of the city outside the walls. The nuns seemed to attract more financial support than the friars, and eventually owned more than 70 farms all over Zealand which had been donated to them for maintenance and income. They also owned two bath houses in the town as additional income properties. At its height there was room for 30 nuns. King Erik MenvedEric VI of Denmark
Eric VI Menved was King of Denmark and a son of Eric V and Agnes of Brandenburg.He became king in 1286 at age 12, when his father was murdered 20 November by unknown assailants...
gave a large property including a mill to the nuns in 1295. The most famous incident relating to St. Agnes' Priory was the case of Princesses Agnes and Jutta who joined the community, endowing it with several valuable properties. When the princesses left, they took back their property and for 60 years afterwards the courts heard the complaints of the nuns' legal representatives.
Dissolution
The ReformationReformation in Denmark
The Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein was the transition from Roman Catholicism to Lutheranism in the realms ruled by the Copenhagen-based House of Oldenburg in the first half of the sixteenth century...
brought both the friary and the nunnery at Roskilde to an end. The properties of the nuns were confiscated as early as 1527. In 1532 the friary sold the farm at Slagelse because of the community's great need.
In 1536 Denmark became officially Lutheran, rejecting all Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
institutions and most traditions. Christian III, who with many Danes opposed the constant appeal for funds by the mendicant orders, commanded the closure of the priory in 1537 and the Dominican friars were turned out. Many simply put off their habits and became residents of Roskilde. Others fled Denmark south to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in the search for new religious houses where they could live their lives without interference.
The friary including the church was demolished in 1557 by the town of Roskilde on direct orders from the king. The site lay vacant until 1565 when a house was built on the site by Mogens Godske, a local nobleman, which he called Sortebrødregård ("Black Brothers Farm") after the Dominicans who had occupied the site for hundreds of years. The nunnery, which had become crown property, was levelled in 1579, and the brick taken away with royal permission.
Roskilde Adelige Jomfrukloster
Godske's mansion house was enlarged several times and in 1699 was made into a Lutheran collegiate foundation for unmarried noblewomen, the Roskilde Adelige Jomfrukloster, which developed into a highly prestigious institution. It was amalagmated in 1974 with an equivalent institution in OdenseOdense
The city of Odense is the third largest city in Denmark.Odense City has a population of 167,615 and is the main city of the island of Funen...
, the Odense Adelige Jomfrukloster, and is now known simply as Roskilde Kloster.