Beskrivelse: Beskrivelse: Beskrivelse: Beskrivelse: 1xDiplomatarium OP Dacie

 

Collected and edited by J.G.G. Jakobsen, Centre for Mendicant Studies of Dacia.

Intro

Vol. II (1300-1399)

Vol. III (1400-1499)

Vol. IV (1500+)

 

 

Vol. I (1220-1299)

(the volume is under continued construction and still far from completion)

Latest update: 2024.12.03

 

 

Index:

1219 15/8. Simon of Sweden and Nicolaus of Lund are admitted into the Order of Preachers in Bologna.

1220 22/3. Salomon of Århus is admitted into the Order of Preachers in Verona.

1220 spring. Provost Gaufred of Sigtuna meets Dominic in Rome and asks for Friars Preachers to be sent to Sweden.

1220 17/5. The First General Chapter of the Order of Preachers sends Fr. Simon de Suecia and Fr. Nicolaus Lundensis to Sigtuna.

1221 11/1. Pope Honorius III grants 20 days of indulgence to all who supports the newly founded monastery in Sigtuna.

1221 6/5. Pope Honorius III asks King Valdemar II of Denmark to welcome the Friars Preachers in his kingdom.

1220-21. Fr. Salomon and Fr. Paulus go to Friesach, where Salomon is temporarily installed as prior for the convent.

1221 30/5. The Second General Chapter of the Order of Preachers sends Fr. Salomon to Denmark.

1221 autumn. Fr. Salomon travels to Denmark via Cologne, Paris, Flanders and Nidaros, before he arrives in Copenhagen and is welcomed by Archbishop Anders Sunesen of Lund.

1222 (22/5). Archbishop Anders Sunesen donates a farm in Lund to found the first convent of Friars Preachers in Scandinavia.

1222 16/6. Archbishop Anders Sunesen exchanges property in Lund with the cathedral chapter, hereby acquiring a farm in Lund.

1222 Jun-Nov. Fr. Salomon is assistant and interpreter for Cardinal Gregorius de Crescentia on his legation around the dioceses of Denmark.

1221-23. Archbishop Olof Basatömir of Uppsala obstructs the plans of a Dominican convent foundation in Sigtuna and Knut Långe gives the Friars Preachers a site in Sko instead.

1222-24. Fr. Simon and Fr. Nicolaus Lundensis leave Sko to join Fr. Salomon in the new convent in Lund, where Fr. Simon is elected prior.

1225 8/1. Pope Honorius III permits the OP to celebrate quiet mass during interdict; copy of bull given to Fr. Rodulfus Dacus.

1227. “In this and the following years”, convents of Friars Preachers are founded in Jylland, Fyn and Gotland.

1228 (14/5). The general chapter promotes four new provinces, among them the province of Dacia.

1228. A convent of Friars Preachers in Ribe is founded with friars from Lund.

1230 13/9. Pope Gregory IX enjoins the Friars Preachers in various parts of Northern Europe to preach the Cross against the Prussians.

1230 17/9. Pope Gregory IX enjoins the Friars Preachers in various parts of Northern Europe, incl. Gotland, to preach the Cross against the Prussians.

(1225-30). King Valdemar II of Denmark complies with a request from Friars Preachers to allow the construction of a lighthouse on Falsterbo.

1231 18/7. Pope Gregory IX enjoins the Friars Preachers in Pomerania and Gotland to preach the Cross against the Prussians.

1231 26/7. Pope Gregory IX commissions the prior of the Friars Preachers in Bremen and Fr. Johannes de Wildeshausen OP to try accusations of heresy against the Stedingers.

1231. Friars Preachers arrive in Roskilde.

1232 5/2. Pope Gregory IX gives Friars Preachers in Dacia preaching the Cross against the Prussians certain mandates.

1232. Marshal Johannes Ebbesen dies in Acre and leaves 40 marks silver to the foundation of a convent in Roskilde.

1221-33. The death-days of four Friars Preachers of Lund – Fr. Jordanus, Fr. Nicolaus, Fr. Thomas and Fr. Johannes – are commemorated in the cathedral chapter of Lund.

1234 7/10. Pope Gregory IX proclaims the introduction of the Feast of St. Dominic to be celebrated on 5 August.

1234. A convent of Friars Preachers in Roskilde is founded.

1235. A convent of Friars Preachers in Schleswig is founded.

1231-70, 1236. Prior Johannes of Roskilde dies; perhaps identical to Fr. Johannes Cabbi.

1237 30/5. Pope Gregory IX enjoins all Friars Preachers preaching the Baltic crusade to hand over received redemption money to the Teutonic Order.

1237 9/12. Pope Gregory IX enjoins the archbishop of Uppsala and the Swedish episcopate to promote a crusade against the Tavastians.

1237. Master General Jordan of Saxony submerges in the Sea of Jerusalem, and convents of Friars Preachers arrive in Sigtuna and Skänninge.

1234-37. Archbishop Jarler of Uppsala donates a site for a priory in Sigtuna to the Friars Preachers.

1238 7/6. Fr. Johannes, Fr. Anfridus and Fr. Boninus (Boecius?) of the Friars Preachers testify the Stensby Settlement between King Valdemar II of Denmark and the Teutonic Order.

1238 16/7. Prior Provincial Rano dies and is buried at the priory in Roskilde.

1238. Fr. Analdus is elected prior provincial of Dacia.

1234-38. Friars Preachers arrive in Slesvig during the episcopacy of Bishop Tyge of Slesvig.

1239. Convents of Friars Preachers arrive in Skara and Schleswig.

1240 21/4. King Håkon Håkonsson of Norway leads his troops through the priory of the Friars Preachers in Oslo in order to attack the army of Earl Skule.

1240 21/5. The Friars Preachers in Nidaros offer monastic asylum to Peter Skulesson, to which he declines.

1240 (3/6). The general chapter concedes to the foundation of two convents in the province of Dacia.

1240 14/12. Pope Gregory IX enjoins the bishops of Denmark to preach the Cross against the infidels, who attack the Christians in Estonia.

1240 (at the latest). King Håkon Håkonsson of Norway grants the church of St. Olav in Oslo to the Order of Preachers.

1241. Prior Provincial Analdus is absolved by the general chapter, Fr. Absalon is elected new provincial of Dacia.

1241 13/4. Bishop Henricus OP of Ösel-Wiek is given missionary authority for the districts of Watland, Neva, Ingria and Karelia by the Teutonic Order.

1241 20/4. Pope Gregory IX charges the prior of the Friars Preachers in Nidaros together with two Norwegian abbots to investigate the claimed miracles in connection to the death of Archbishop Øystein of Nidaros.

1241 (19/5). The general chapter allows Dacia equal right to all other provinces in terms of number of delegates at the electoral general chapters.

1241 8/7. The prior provincial of Dacia is instated as papal examiner of King Håkon’s successional right in Norway.

1242 (8/6). The general chapter adds Dacia to the ‘Parisian group’ of provinces for announcement of the death of a master general.

1242. Convents of Friars Preachers are founded in Helsingør and Næstved.

1243 (31/5). The general chapter concedes to the foundation of one convent in the province of Dacia.

1243 23/9. Pope Innocent IV enjoins the prior provincial of Dacia and the prior of the Friars Preachers in Visby to preach in favour of the crusade to Prussia and Livonia.

1243 31/12. Pope Innocent IV enjoins Prior Petrus of the Friars Preachers in Lund to hand over collected redemption money for the crusade to the Holy Land to a papal chaplain.

1243. Convents of Friars Preachers arrive in Lödöse and Kalmar.

1244. Master General Johannes ‘Episcopus’ of the Order of Preachers ordains Count Adolf IV of Holstein to the rank of deacon.

1244. A convent of Friars Preachers arrives in Västerås.

1245 21/2. Pope Innocent IV charges the archbishop of Uppsala and the prior provincial of Dacia to receive the resignation of Bishop Thomas of Finland.

1245 4/6. The general chapter concedes to the foundation of a convent in the province of Dacia.

1245 17/9. Pope Innocent IV instructs the prelates of Denmark, Sweden and Norway to protect the privileges of the Friars Preachers against the secular clergy.

1245 23/12. Pope Innocent IV enjoins the Order of Preachers to announce the excommunication and deposition of Emperor Frederick II.

1246 27/6. Pope Innocent IV permits the Friars Preachers to stay at property belonging to excommunicated people and to receive necessities from them.

1246. The provincial chapter in Ribe selects 12 friars for a second convent foundation in Tallinn.

1247 (19/5). The general chapter concedes to the foundation of a convent in the province of Dacia.

1247 13/8. Papal Legate William of Modena enjoins the cathedral chapterof Bergen to stop harassing the local convent of Friars Preachers.

1247 3/9. Subprior Hermann of Lübeck meets Cardinal Legate Petrus de San Giorgio Velabro in Andernach as envoy of the city of Lübeck.

1248 18/2. Fr. Thomas, former bishop of Finland, donates some books to the Friars Preachers in Sigtuna.

1248. Fr. Thomas, former bishop of Finland, dies and is buried in the chancel of the Dominican church in Visby.

1248. A convent of Friars Preachers is established in Tallinn.

1249. A convent of Friars Preachers is established in Turku.

1250 (15/5). The general chapter enjoins a penance on the convent of Friars Preachers in Lund for an irregular reconstruction of their study house and Prior Provincial Absalon of Dacia is absolved.

1250 29/11. Pope Innocent IV enjoins the prior provincial of the Friars Preachers in Teutonia to prepare people in Norway, who have taken the Cross for the Holy Land, for departure.

1250. King Erik IV of Denmark is murdered in Schleswig and temporarily buried in the church of the local Friars Preachers.

1251. A convent of Friars Preachers in Haderslev is founded.

1244-51. Pope Innocent IV authorizes Friars Preachers working among the neophytes in Finland to grant them marriage dispensations and absolve minor offences committed against the Church.

1252 4/4. Prior Petrus and Fr. Astradus of the Friars Preachers in Ribe witness that Bishop Esger of Ribe gives the patronage of a parish church to Løgum Abbey.

1252 29/7. Prior Petrus and Fr. Astradus of the Friars Preachers in Ribe witness that the cathedral chapter of Ribe confirms a patronage of a parish church given to Løgum Abbey.

1252 (Aug.-Sep.). The provincial chapter of the Friars Preachers in Dacia is held in Odense. Several disciplinary regulations are implemented and friars are transferred between the convents.

1253 1/1. Papal Legate Hugo of Santa Sabina enjoins the prelates of Dacia to implement the Feast of St. Dominic as already introduced by Pope Gregory IX.

1253 (Aug.-Sep.). The provincial chapter of the Friars Preachers in Dacia prescribes intercessory prayers for laypeople, appoint diffinitors for the next general chapter and lists brethren deceased since the last chapter.

1253. The Order of Preachers receives a house in Vordingborg.

1254 8/9. The provincial chapter of the Friars Preachers in Dacia is held in Lund. Disciplinary regulations are implemented, friars are transferred between the convents, diffinitors and visitors are appointed and intercessory prayers for laypeople are prescribed.

1254. The church of Friars Preachers in Roskilde is dedicated to Saint Catherine.

1255 21/1. Pope Alexander IV enjoins all prelates of the Church to recognize the introduction of the Feast of St. Dominic in the liturgical calendar.

1255 14/3. Fr. Boecius of the Friars Preachers (in Roskilde?) is witness to a letter issued by King Christoffer I of Denmark.

1255 (16/5). The general chapter concedes to the foundation of two convents in the province of Dacia.

1255 22/7. King Henry III of England receives two Dominican envoys, Prior Bertholdus and Fr. Commer, from Earl Birger of Sweden; in return he sends Fr. Gilbertus de Bello and Fr. Rogerus de Refham to Sweden.

1255. Archbishop Jarler of Uppsala dies and is buried with the Friars Preachers in Sigtuna.

1256 (4/6). The general chapter concedes to the foundation of a new convent in the province of Dacia.

1256 24/8. Fr. Simon Preacher and Fr. Sigvardus are sent by King Håkon Håkonsson of Norway as envoys to King Christoffer of Denmark.

1256 (Aug.). Fr. Boecius of the Friars Preachers represents King Christoffer I of Denmark in a meeting with representatives of the archbishop of Lund.

1256. The Constitutions of the Order of Preachers state that when a master general dies, the province of Dacia is to be informed by the prior of the convent in Paris.

1256. Prior Lambertus dies.

1256-57. Fr. Simon Preacher is part of the retinue of Princess Kristina of Norway for her marriage in Spain.

1257 7/8. Pope Alexander IV urges the Order of Preachers to continue its preaching on behalf of the Teutonic Order and its crusade to Prussia and Livonia.

1257 11/8. Pope Alexander IV enjoins the priors provincial of Teutonia, Dacia and Polonia to instruct their brethren to preach the crusade to Prussia and Livonia on behalf of the Teutonic Order.

1257 (summer/autumn). Prior Provincial Absalon of Dacia meets King Håkon Håkonsson of Norway in Tønsberg as envoy of King Christoffer I of Denmark. He returns to Denmark with Prior Sigurd.

1257. Countess Ingerd of Regenstein leaves 20 marks, a silver dragon and a box to the Friars Preachers in Roskilde.

1258 (autumn). Fr. Simon Preacher returns with the rest of Princess Kristina’s retinue to Norway from Spain.

1259 6/3. The convent of Friars Preachers in Ribe testifies to a letter of protest from King Christoffer I of Denmark against the bishop and cathedral chapter of Roskilde.

1260. Provincial chapter of Dacia is held in Sigtuna. Fr. Eskillus and Lector Godwinus of the convent in Sigtuna die.

1261 18/3. Pope Alexander IV permits the Friars Preachers of Dacia to live with clergy, who are excommunicated for living with concubines.

1261 22/3. Peder Olufsen of Karise leaves 10 marks to the Friars Preachers in Roskilde.

1261 20/4. Prior Provincial Absalon of Dacia dies and is replaced by Fr. Augustinus.

1261 (12/6). The general chapter admonishes the province of Dacia to establish a studium logicalium.

1261. Prince Erik of Sweden dies and is buried with the Friars Preachers in Sigtuna.

1262 24/4. Pope Urban IV enjoins the Friars Preachers in Dacia, Polonia and Teutonia to preach the crusade to Livonia, Courland and Prussia on behalf of the Teutonic Order.

1262 15/5. Pope Urban IV instructs the prior provincial of the Friars Preachers in Dacia to accelerate the collection of monetary aid for the crusade to the Holy Land.

1262 31/10. Pope Urban IV enjoins the Friars Preachers in Dacia, Polonia and Teutonia to preach the crusade to Livonia, Courland and Prussia on behalf of the Teutonic Order.

1258-62. Fr. Nicolaus Crispus, lector in Roskilde, tells of a miracle to the abbot of Ringsted regarding King Saint Erik of Denmark.

1263 15/3. Princess Agnes of Denmark is admitted into the Second Order by Fr. Hermannus de Visby in the church of the Friars Preachers in Roskilde.

1263 17/5. Margrethe Stigsdatter donates 1 mark to the Friars Preachers in Roskilde.

1263 23/10. Pope Urban IV enjoins the archbishop of Nidaros to preach the crusade to the Holy Land in Norway, a task from which the Friars Preachers are recalled.

1263. Fr. Simon Preacher dies during King Håkon Håkonsson’s campaign in Scotland and he is buried with the Cistercians at Saddell Abbey on Kintyre.

1264 10/2. Princess Agnes of Denmark enters the Order of Dominican Sisters, makes a vow of chastity to Prior Provincial Augustinus of Dacia and donates her inheritary estates for a nunnery in Roskilde.

1264 4/4. Pope Urban IV enjoins the prior of the Friars Preachers in Halmstad and the subprior in Lund to urge and receive the resignation of Archbishop Jakob Erlandsen of Lund.

1264 spring. Princess Agnes of Denmark informs the general chapter that she has made a vow to the prior provincial af Dacia and asks for herself and the convent founded by her to be admitted into the Order.

1264 23/5. Fr. Hermannus of the Friars Preachers, papal penitentiary and chaplain, is referred to as blood-related to a secular priest in Lerbeck, Westphalia.

1264 6/6. Cardinal Guido of San Lorenzo in Lucina appoints Prior Provincial Augustinus of the Friars Preachers in Dacia as papal sub-commissioner in the conflict between Bishop Tyge of Århus and Øm Abbey.

1264 (8/6). The general chapter concedes to the foundation of a new convent in the province of Dacia.

1264 30/6. Prior Olavus of the Friars Preachers in Odense co-seals a letter of donation by Bishop Regnardus OFM of Odense to the Nunnery of St. Clare in Roskilde.

1264 1/7. Pope Urban IV appoints two Danish subdeacons to higher secular-ecclesiastical ranks after recommendation by Fr. Hermannus OP, papal chaplain and penitentiary of Dacia.

1264 7/7. Cardinal John of Porto e Santa Rufina asks Prior Provincial Augustinus of the Friars Preachers in Dacia to give Øm Abbey a just trial against the bishop of Århus.

1263-64. Prior Sigvardus Amundi and Fr. Clemens of the Friars Preachers in Nidaros settle a conflict between their convent and the cathedral chapter of Nidaros.

1264. Bishop Håkon of Oslo donates a farm in Heggum, which he has bought from the Friars Preachers, to the cathedral chapter in return for a perpetual mass, from which money shall be paid annually to all churches in Oslo.

1264. King Alexander III of Scotland sends two Dominican envoys, Fr. Malysius and Fr. Alexander de Berwick, to Norway for peace negotiations.

1265 17/4. Pope Clement IV enjoins the Friars Preachers in Dacia, Polonia and Teutonia to preach the crusade to Livonia, Courland and Prussia on behalf of the Teutonic Order.

1265 13/5. Prior Boecius of Roskilde witnesses a royal letter to Æbelholt Abbey.

1265 15/6. Pope Clement IV allows the Friars Preachers to keep using episcopal authorizations to preach in a diocese after the bishop in question has died.

1265 summer. Pope Clement IV enjoins the Friars Preachers and Friars Minor in Dacia to preach the crusade to the Holy Land.

1266 (16/5). Prior Provincial Augustinus of Dacia is absolved by the general chapter.

1266 Apr-Aug. Cardinal Legate Guido of San Lorenzo confirms the foundation of a (Dominican?) priory in Næstved.

1266 (8/9). Fr. Nicolaus is elected prior provincial of Dacia.

1266 30/9. Cardinal Legate Guido de San Lorenzo enjoins the Friars Preachers to comply with the interdict that he calls upon Denmark.

1266 10/11. Cardinal Legate Guido de San Lorenzo enjoins the Friars Preachers to comply with the interdict that he has called upon the kingdom of Denmark.

1266. Princess Jutta of Denmark is admitted into the Second Order of Dominican Sisters in Roskilde.

1267 (5/6). The general chapter concedes to the foundation of a new convent in the province of Dacia.

1267 10/9. Prior Provincial Augustinus of Dacia and five other Danish Friars Preachers are excommunicated by Legate Guido of San Lorenzo in Lucina.

1267. Princess Agnes is absolved as prioress of the Dominican Sisters in Roskilde and is replaced by her sister Princess Jutta.

1244-67. Bishop Kol of Strängnäs leaves 2 marks silver to the Friars Preachers in Sigtuna and some of his books to the Friars Preachers in Västerås.

1268 18/11. Gro Gunnesdatter Vint donates 2 marks to the Friars Preachers in Roskilde.

1268 (before 29/11). Pope Clement IV reprimands the prior provincial of Dacia and the Friars Preachers in Denmark for harassing the Danish Friars Minor for keeping the interdict.

1268. A convent of Friars Preachers is established in Strängnäs.

1231-70 19/8. Fr. Albertus of the Friars Preachers in Roskilde dies.

1238-70 23/2. Provost Sasser of Lund leaves an annual payment to the Friars Preachers in Lund.

1238-70 23/7. Archdeacon Laurids of Lund leaves an annual payment to the Friars Preachers in Lund.

1271 (24/5). The general chapter concedes to the foundation of a new convent in the province of Dacia.

1272 12/3. Bishop Jens of Børglum testifies that he witnessed the admissions and donations of Princess Agnes and Princess Jutta to the Dominican Sisters in Roskilde.

1272 4/4. Prior Provincial Augustinus and Prior Hemmingus of Roskilde witness a donation to the Dominican Sisters in Roskilde.

1272 (5/6). Prior Provincial Nicolaus of Dacia is absolved by the general chapter to become penitentiary at the Curia in Rome. He is replaced as prior provincial by Fr. Augustinus.

1272. Papal Penitentiary Hermannus OP seals a papal privilege at the Curia for Bishop Árni Þorláksson of Skálholt.

1274 16/8. Canon Niels Torkildsen of Lund leaves 1 mark to the Friars Preachers in Lund.

1274 2/10. Pope Gregory X enjoins the prior provincial of Dacia to make a payment from what the Order has collected as monetary aid the Holy Land.

1274 6/11. Master General Johannes de Vercelli informs Prior Provincial Augustinus of Dacia of the conciliatory agreement made between the Friars Preachers and the Friars Minor.

1274 13/11. Pope Gregory X authorizes the Friars Preachers in Dacia to preach the crusade for the Holy Land.

1275 16/4. Bengt Magnusson founds an altar dedicated to St. Peter Martyr in Linköping Cathedral.

1275. Convents of Friars Preachers are established in Helsingborg and Holbæk; the cemetery of the friars in Holbæk is consecrated by Bishop Peder of Roskilde the following year.

1275 (Aug-Sep). Provincial chapter of Dacia is held in Skara.

1275 (Aug-Sep). Prior Provincial Augustinus of Dacia informs the prior and convent in Sigtuna of the conciliatory agreement made with the Friars Minor.

1264-75. Prior Provincial Augustinus of Dacia sits in provincial commission to settle the terminii of the convents in Kamień and Strausberg.

1276 26/6. Prior Provincial Augustinus of Dacia participates at a royal meeting in Horsaberg as part of the retinue of King Magnus Haraldsson of Norway.

1277 1/2. King Magnus Håkonsson of Norway leaves 12 marks sterling to each of the convents of Friars Preachers in Nidaros, Bergen and Oslo.

(after 1277 15/8). The Friars Preachers in Lübeck certify a letter of privilege issued by King Erik V Klipping of Denmark in favour of the city of Lübeck.

1277 11/10. Lector Petrus de Dacia of the Friars Preachers in Skänninge invites Christina von Stommeln to join a community of beguines living under his guidance in Skänninge.

1277. Canon Rane of Roskilde donates land to the Benedictines of Skovkloster in return for their acceptance of Dominican presence in Næstved.

1278. Queen Helvig of Sweden takes refuge in the priory of the Friars Preachers in Skara, when the neighbouring royal castle is attacked by rebels.

1279 13/6. Pope Nicholas III enjoins the Friars Preachers in Denmark and Sweden to hand over collected aid for the Holy Land to the papal nuncio Bertrandus Amalrici.

1279 22/9. The pope confirms an excommunication of Princess Jutta given by the prior and Fr. Petrus Guthbrandi of Roskilde.

(after 1280 10/8). The Friars Preachers in Lübeck certify two letters of privilege issued by King Erik V Klipping of Denmark in favour of the merchants of Lübeck and Germany regarding trade on Estonia.

1280. Provincial chapter of Dacia is held in Oslo.

1281 14/3. Fr. Petrus and Fr. Boecius of the Friars Preachers take part in an ecclesiastical commission that rules in favour of the cathedral chapter of Nidaros.

1281 17/3. Bishop Narve OP of Bergen testifies to have witnessed Archbishop Jon of Nidaros protest to the regency of King Eirik last summer against laws violationg the rights of the Church.

1281 30/9. Pope Martin IV enjoins the prior of the Friars Preachers in Odense and two other prelates to investigate some accusations of fraud against the cathedral chapter of Odense.

1281 2/10. Archbishop Jakob Israelsson of Uppsala issues three letters of indulgence in favour of the Friars Preachers in Sigtuna for those who supports the construction of their church, visits it on certain days and listens to their sermons.

1281. Provincial chapter of Dacia is held in Visby.

1281. A convent of Dominican sisters arrives in Skänninge. Knight Ulf Karlsson dies and is buried with the Friars Preachers in Skänninge.

(1281). King Magnus III Ladulås of Sweden donates 100 marks silver to the foundation of the Dominican nunnery in Skänninge.

1258-81. Mrs. Kristina Fastesdotter de Landsjö leaves 5 marks to each monastery in Sweden, 3 øre land in Vestby and a silver box to the Friars Preachers in Västerås, 3 marks to Fr. Jakob of Västerås and 1 mark to Fr. Nils of Sigtuna.

1282 9/2. Prior Nicolaus of Roskilde witnesses a transaction of landed estate for the Dominican sisters in Roskilde.

1282 4/12. Queen Dowager Margrete of Denmark testifies to her nieces’ voluntary admission in the Dominican nunnery in Roskilde, which is co-sealed by her confessor, Fr. Petrus.

1283 2/4. Ex-Queen Sofia of Sweden donates a fishery in Norrköping to the Dominican Sisters in Skänninge.

1283 (6/6). The general chapter concedes to the foundation of a new convent in the province of Dacia.

1283 1/8. Archdeacon Hågen of Lund leaves 5 marks to the Friars Preachers in Lund.

1283 15/10. Pope Martin IV confirms the privileges and exemptions of the Dominican Sisters in Roskilde.

1279-83. Knud Snubbe leaves 1 mark for each of the convents of Friars Preachers in Schleswig and Ribe.

(after 1284 29/11). The Friars Preachers in Lübeck certify letters of privilege issued by King Erik V Klipping of Denmark in favour of Hanseatic merchants regarding trade in Denmark.

1285 23/8. Dean Bent of Lund leaves donations for the Friars Preachers in Lund, Helsingborg and Åhus, and a copy of Summa de casibus de poenitentia to the priest Ødder.

1285 2/9. Ex-Queen Sofia of Sweden donates a mill in Mjölby to her servant Ingrid, who is about to enter the convent of Dominican Sisters in Skänninge.

1285 29/9. Cecilie donates a farm in Greve to the Dominican Sisters in Roskilde.

1285 17/10. Dean Bent of Lund dies and his anniversary with annual donations to the Friars Preachers in Lund is initiated.

1285. Prior Provincial Augustinus dies.

1286 23/4. Karl Estridsson leaves donations to all convents of Friars Preachers in Sweden, especially Skänninge and Sigtuna; Prior Johannes of Sigtuna seals the will.

1286 2/5. Nils Ubbesson leaves 20 marks to the Friars Preachers in Sigtuna before going on crusade; Fr. Boecius and Fr. Bero of Sigtuna are witnesses.

1286. Provincial chapter of Dacia is held in Sigtuna, where Prior Oluf of Roskilde is elected prior provincial and Prior Johannes of Sigtuna is appointed bishop of Finland.

1287. The house of the Friars Preachers in Holbæk burns down.

1287. The priory of the Friars Preachers in Lund burns down.

1288 (9/5). The general chapter concedes to the foundation of a convent in the province of Dacia.

1288 13/8. The prior of the Friars Preachers in Bruges witnesses a payment by a canon from Ribe of a fee for Legate Johannes of Tusculum via the House of Ricciardi in Bruges.

(1288 4/9). Gaute de Talgje leaves 1 mark silver to the Friars Preachers in Bergen.

1288. The prior of the Friars Preachers in Visby promulgates and witness peace negotiations in Visby between the city and the countryside.

1288. The Dominican nunnery in Skänninge is destroyed (by fire?) and Princess Margareta of Sweden joins the convent.

1289 6/6. A Dominican commission confirms the decision by Prior Provincial Augustinus of Dacia, confirmed by Lector Nicolaus of Lund, regarding the terminii of the convents in Kamień and Myślibórz.

1289. Lady Sigrid, wife of lawspeaker Bengt of Östergötland, dies and is buried with the Friars Preachers in Skänninge.

1289. Bishop Johannes of Turku OP is elected archbishop of Uppsala.

1290 (21/5). Prior Provincial Olavus of the Friars Preachers Dacia represents his province at the general chapter in Ferrara and co-signs letters in defense of Master General Munius de Zamora.

(1290) 28/7. The Friars Preachers in Bergen complain to King Eirik Magnusson of Norway about harassment from the canons secular at the cathedral chapter in Bergen in spite of Bishop Narve OP’s attempt to mediate between them.

1289-90. Fr. Petrus and Fr. Nicolaus of the Friars Preachers in Kalmar are included as witnesses (or inquisitors?) in committee appointed by Bishop Bo of Växjö in case against Kettil of Näs.

1290. Bishop Johannes OP of Turku is translated to the archiepiscopal see of Uppsala.

1283-90. Helga Haraldsdotter leaves 3 marks silver to the Friars Preachers in Sigtuna, a chasuble to the convent in Västerås and 1 mark silver to the convent in Strängnäs.

1291 9/3. Prior Lodenius of the Friars Preachers in Nidaros takes part in an archiepiscopal trial against Lord Bjarne Erlingsson.

1291 14/3. Lave Lavesen of Høng leaves 5 marks to the Friars Preachers in Roskilde.

1291 19/5. Archielect Johannes OP of Uppsala and Lector Israel Erlandi of the Friars Preachers in Sigtuna are witnesses to the foundation of a vicariate for the Cistercian nuns of Sko Abbey.

1291 (10/6). The general chapter appoints two German visitors general for the province of Dacia and absolves Prior Provincial Olavus, who is reinstalled by the following provincial chapter.

1291 1/8. Pope Nicholas IV enjoins the prior provincial of Dacia to appoint qualified preachers for the crusade to the Holy Land.

1291 22/8. The provincial chapter of the Friars Preachers in Dacia is held in Västerås. Friars are transferred between the convents, disciplinary punishments are enjoined, diffinitors and visitors are appointed and intercessory prayers for people outside the Order are prescribed.

1291 30/8. Peder Ud leaves 1 mark to the Friars Preachers in Roskilde.

1291 (8/9 or 15/9). Elected archbishop Johannes OP of Uppsala dies in Provence and is buried with the Friars Preachers in Sigtuna.

1292 27/2. Prior Olavus of the Friars Preachers in Skara is witness to the admission of Katarina Matsdotter to the Cistercian nunnery in Gudhem.

1292 4/3. Gyde Skjalmsdatter Bang leaves 5 marks to the Friars Preachers in Roskilde.

1292 26/4. An exchange of real estate takes place in the chapter hall of the Friars Preachers in Skänninge and is witnessed by Lector Petrus.

1292 1/8. Magnus Johansson leaves donations for all the convents of Friars Preachers in Sweden.

1292 8/9. The provincial chapter of the Friars Preachers in Dacia is held in Lund.

1292. Karl Gustavsson leaves donations to all Dominican convents in Sweden along with the convent in Tallinn.

1293 6/1. Lector Israel Erlandi of the Friars Preachers in Sigtuna witness a donation by Magnus Johansson for the Cistercian nuns of Sko Abbey.

1294 6/8. King Erik VI of Denmark issues a letter of protection for the Friars Preachers in Lund concerning their terminario in Malmö; the letter is dated ‘on the day after the Feast of St. Dominic’.

1295 5/6. The prior of the Friars Preachers in Nidaros negotiates on behalf of Archbishop Jørund of Nidaros.

1295 5/11. King Erik VI of Denmark has appointed Fr. Knud, lector of the Friars Preachers in Åhus, to bishop of Tallinn.

1296 (13/5). The general chapter concedes to the foundation of two convents in the province of Dacia.

1296 11/6. King Erik VI of Denmark grants right to the Friars Preachers in Lund to collect alms at the herring markets in Malmö, Skanör and Falsterbo.

1296. Duke Håkon of Oslo donates a site in Oslo to the local Friars Preachers for the construction of sea booths.

1297 (Feb.). King Erik VI of Denmark states that he will not interfere in dispute between ducal brother and the Friars Preachers in Roskilde.

1297 12/11. The convent of Friars Preachers in Lund are witnesses to a last will and testament for Canon Gøde of the cathedral chapter in Lund.

1297. Archbishop Nils of Uppsala regulates the parochial privileges of visiting priests and allows the celebration of the Feast of St. Dominic in parish churches.

1298 20/4. The royal appointment of Fr. Knud of the Friars Preachers to bishop of Tallinn is declared invalid by Pope Boniface VIII.

1298 25/4. Juliana leaves a part of her demesne in Säby to the Friars Preachers in Sigtuna, with whom she wishes to be buried; also the convents in Strängnäs and Västerås, and the nunnery in Skänninge, are bequeathed.

1298 2/5. An exchange of real estate takes place in the priory of the Friars Preachers in Sigtuna and is witnessed by the prior and the convent.

1298 (25/5). The general chapter introduces the Feast of St. Wenceslaus in the Order’s calendar with a reading including a vision by the King of Denmark.

1299 13/6. Jakob Herbjørnsen leaves 1 pound of grain to the Friars Preachers in Roskilde and a hymn book to Father Peder.

1299 15/11. Margareta Gustavsdotter donates land for the foundation of a Dominican nunnery in Kalmar, with the consent of Prior Provincial Olavus of Dacia.

1270-1300 3/8. Fr. Magnus of the Friars Preachers in Lund dies.

1270-1300 21/11. Lector Tullius Dacus of the Friars Preachers in Lund dies.

 

 

 

 

1219 15/8

(Bologna)

Pre-province of Dacia, Convent of Bologna (prov. Lombardia)

Simon of Sweden and Nicolaus of Lund in Denmark, both clergy, are admitted into the Order of Preachers in Bologna.

 

Source: Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia.

Language: Latin.

 

Anno Domini MCCXIX in festo assumptionis beate virginis assumpti sunt Bononie ad ordinem duo clerici, frater Simon de Suecia, et frater Nicolaus Lundensis de Dacia.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

I det Herrens år 1219, på festen for den salige Jomfrus himmelfart, blev to gejstlige, broder Simon fra Sverige og broder Niels fra Lund i Danmark, optaget i ordenen i Bologna.

 

Comments: Fr. Simon of Sweden and Fr. Nicolaus Lundensis of Denmark are not known from any other sources, but they were most likely two secular clergy, who had been sent to Bologna to study canon law at the university, possibly to pursue a career as canons secular at their home cathedral chapters in Sweden and Lund respectively. Here, they would have met and heard the eloquent and magnetic Fr. Reginaldus Aurelianensis (Reginald d’Orléans), whom Dominic had installed in Bologna in December 1218, where a Dominican convent was established at San Nicolo in early 1219 – indeed, it seems likely that Simon and Niels were among the many hearts that Reginaldus won for the Order (Gallén 1946, 3). They most likely attended the general chapter held in Bologna in 1220 17/5, where they were instructed by St. Dominic to accompany a Swedish provost, Gaufred, whom Dominic had met in Rome in the preceding spring, to Sigtuna, where Gaufred wanted to establish a Dominican convent. The project in Sigtuna was, however, put to a stop by Archbishop Olof Basatömir of Uppsala in 1221-23, and the two friars were instead offered a refuge in nearby Sko by the magnate Knut Långe. Here they remained for some years, when they were informed of the more successful foundation project in Lund, which they then left to join in 1222-24. In Lund, Fr. Simon was elected the first prior of the convent. Nothing more is known with certainty about any of the two friars, but if Fr. Simon was young at the time of his admission, he could be identical to the Fr. Simon Preacher (broðir Simun predicari), who held an entrusted position with King Håkon of Norway in the 1250s (see 1256 24/8) and died on a journey with the king to Scotland in 1263. Likewise, Fr. Nicolaus Lundensis may be identical to the Fr. Nicolaus of the Friars Preachers in Lund, who according to an entry in the necrology of the cathedral chapter of Lund died on 18 April in the period 1221-33 (Jakobsen 2011, 15).

 

Published: Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. V, p. 500-502; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 66, pp. 162-164; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 218-220; Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia (online).

Literature: Gallén 1946, pp. 3-4; Jakobsen 2011, p. 7.

 

 

 

1220 (22/3)

(Verona)

Pre-province of Dacia, Convent of Verona (prov. Lombardia)

Salomon of Århus in Jutland, Denmark, is admitted into the Order of Preachers in Verona.

 

Source: Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia.

Language: Latin.

 

Eodem anno [MCCXX] in festo pasche frater Salomon, natus Arhusie in Jutia, intravit ordinem Verone in Lombardia.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

I påsken samme år trådte broder Salomon, født i Århus i Jylland, ind i ordenen i Verona i Lombardiet.

 

Comments: The exact day of the admission is not stated, but Easter Sunday in 1220 was on 22 March. ● Fr. Salomon of Århus is not known from any other sources. His reason for being in Verona is not indicated. There was no university in the city, but Verona was quite a mercantile centre, so Salomon may have been there in some lay business. According to the chronicle, he first accompanied a Fr. Paulus to Hungary, but on the way was installed himself as prior for a recently established community of Friars Preachers in Friesach, Carinthia (see 1220-21). In 1221 30/5, Salomon attended the general chapter held in Bologna, where St. Dominic appointed him for a different task, namely to go to Denmark with letters to the king and the archbishop, asking them to admit the Friars Preachers into their kingdom; such a papal letter to King Valdemar II is, in fact, extant from 1221 6/5. In the late summer and autumn of 1221, Fr. Salomon went via Cologne and Paris to Flanders, where he found a ship for Denmark, but the ship was caught by storm – and only survived through divine intervention by the now deceased St. Dominic – and ended up in Nidaros, Norway, from where Salomon travelled by land to Copenhagen. In Denmark, he was warmly welcomed by Archbishop Anders Sunesen of Lund in particular, just as Cardinal Legate Gregorius de Crescentia, who was in Denmark in June-November 1222, took the Dominican friar in his service as interpreter. In 1222 22/5, the archbishop donated a house in Lund for the foundation of a Dominican convent. Whether Fr. Salomon actually joined the convent in Lund is not stated, neither is anything more told about him (Tugwell 2000, 53). He may have received some local Dominican veneration as the ‘founding father of the province’, as the writing of the chronicle could indicate, and if so he may indeed be the “St. Salomon”, to whom a seaside chapel on the island of Bornholm, within the archdiocese of Lund, was dedicated in 1379 3/2 (Jakobsen 2009). ● The Order of Preachers had established a convent in Verona in 1219 with brethren from Bologna on the initiative of St. Dominic himself (Hinnebusch 1966, 66 and 104).

 

Published: Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. V, p. 500-502; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 66, pp. 162-164; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 218-220; Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia (online).

Literature: Gallén 1946, p. 6; Jakobsen 2011, p. 9.

 

 

 

1220 Spring

Rome

Order of Preachers, Pre-province of Dacia

Master General Dominic of the Order of Preachers meets Gaufred, a provost of the Church of St. Peter in Sigtuna, who are in Rome to collect the pallium for Archbishop Olof Basatömir of Uppsala, where the provost pleads Dominic to send some of his Friars Preachers to Sweden.

 

Source: Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia.

Language: Latin.

 

[...] Hos primitus misit beatus Dominicus in Sueciam in Siktuniam civitatem ad petitionem et instantiam domini Gaufredi, prepositi Sancti Petri Siktunie, euntis ad curiam Romanam pro pallio archiepiscopi Olavi dicti Basetømir. Qui prepositus anno Domini MCCXX, beatum patrem Rome inveniens, ab eodem ut fratres in Sueciam mitterentur impetravit. [...]

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Den salige Dominik sendte dem først til byen Sigtuna i Sverige på indstændig bøn fra hr. Gaufred, provst ved Skt. Peters Kirke i Sigtuna, som var kommet til den romerske kurie efter palliet til ærkebiskop Olov kaldt Basatömir. Provsten mødte den salige fader i Rom i 1220 og bad ham sende brødre til Sverige.

 

Comments: The chronicle does not state when the meeting in Rome took place, but Dominic came to Rome from Viterbo in January or February 2020 and left again in May for the general chapter in Bologna (Gallén 1946, 5). ● The friars, to whom the text initially refers, are Fr. Simon de Suecia and Fr. Nicolaus Lundensis, who had been admitted into the Order in 1219 15/8 and who were sent to Sigtuna by Dominic at the general chapter held in Bologna 1220 17/5. ● Provost Gaufred of Sigtuna is not known from any other sources. Although based in Sigtuna, he was attached to the cathedral chapter of Uppsala, whereto the archiepiscopal see had been transferred in the 1160s from Sigtuna; thus, one of its prelates remained in charge of the church in the former see. In 1215-16, there were plans to re-transfer the see to Sigtuna, but this never happened (Douglas 1978, 10). ● According to the chronicle, Provost Gaufred was in Rome to collect the pallium for Archbishop Olof of Uppsala. This must, however, be a later misunderstanding by the chronicler. Olof’s predecessor, Archbishop Valerius, was probably still alive in the Autumn of 1220, and Olof Basatömir was not papally approved as archbishop until January 1224. Thus, if the Sigtuna provost indeed was in Rome in 1220, the occasion must have been something else – possibly a matter of the royal Swedish court. ● The background for Gaufred’s claimed request could be a wish for Dominican assistance to comply with the task enjoined by the Forth Lateran Council for improving teaching and preaching in the dioceses.

 

Published: Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. V, p. 500-502; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 66, pp. 162-164; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 218-220; Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia (online).

Literature: Gallén 1946, pp. 4-5; Redelius 1975, p. 112; Jakobsen 2011, pp. 7-8.

 

 

 

1220 17/5

Bologna

Pre-province of Dacia, Pre-convent of Sigtuna (prov. Dacia) and Convent of Bologna (prov. Lombardia)

The first General Chapter of the Order of Preachers in Bologna decides that Fr. Simon de Suecia and Fr. Nicolaus Lundensis are to accompany Provost Gaufred to Sigtuna.

 

Source: Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia.

Language: Latin.

 

[...] Dicti ergo fratres, de concilio generali Bononie sub beato Dominico celebrato cum eodem preposito missi in Siktuniam [...]

 

Dansk oversættelse:

[...] De før nævnte brødre blev af generalkapitlet, der blev afholdt i Bologna under den salige Dominik, sendt til Sigtuna sammen med provsten. [...]

 

Comments: On Fr. Simon and Fr. Nicolaus Lundensis, see 1219 15/8. ● Provost Gaufred of Sigtuna had met Dominic in Rome earlier in the spring of 1220. ● The chronicle use the term consilio generali, i.e. ‘general council’, although the Dominican term for the grand meetings of the Order from the beginning was capitulum generali, ‘general chapter’.

 

Published: Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. V, p. 500-502; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 66, pp. 162-164; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 218-220; Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia (online).

Literature: Hinnebusch 1966, pp. 86-87; Jakobsen 2011, p. 8.

 

 

 

1221 11/1

Rome

Convent of Sigtuna(?)

Pope Honorius III recommends all Christians in Sweden to visit the newly founded monastery in Sigtuna dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially on the feast of Her assumption, and to support its construction with donations and alms, for which all contributors gain 20 days of indulgence.

 

Source: Contemporary transcript in Regesta Vaticana. The Vatican Archives, Rome.

Language: Latin.

 

Universis Christi fidelibus per Suetiam constitutis. Quum ut ait apostolus etcetera usque vitam eternam. Cum igitur sicut accepimus in Sicthunia quoddam claustrum ad honorem beate virginis noviter sit constructum non sine multis laboribus et expensis, et ad substentationem fratrum inibi Domino famulantium proprie non suppetant facultates, universitatem vestram rogamus et monemus attente in remissionem vobis peccaminum injungentes, quatinus claustrum ipsum divino cultui dedicatum gratis beneficiis et piis elemosinis adjuvantes illud ad cultum divini nominis ampliandum saltem in festo assumptionis predicte virginis devote visitare curetis. Nos enim de misericordia divina et beatorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli auctoritate confisi omnibus illuc in predicto festo devote convenientibus viginti dies de injuncta sibi penitentia relaxamus. Datum Laterani, ∙iii∙ idus januarii, pontificatus nostri anno quinto.

 

Comments: The monastic order in question is not stated, but the monastery has traditionally been linked to the failed Dominican attempt to found a convent in Sigtuna from 1220 as described in the chronicle Historia (e.g. Gallén 1946, 5-6). Dominican historians have, however, argued against such an identification (Koudelka in MOPH  XXV 138; Tugwell 1996, 20). In favour of its Dominican reference is the dedication to Virgin Mary, who also became the patron saint of the Order’s lasting convent foundation in Sigtuna in 1237. An additional argument is that no other monastic foundation is known to have taken place in the town. ● The papal bull may have been obtained through Bishop Bengt of Skara, apparently a friend of the Friars Preachers, who stayed at the Curia in the winter 1220-21. ● The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was the 15 August.

 

Published: Diplomatarium Suecanum vol. I no. 205; Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica vol. XXV no. 138.

 

 

 

1221 6/5

Rome

Pre-province of Dacia

Pope Honorius III recommends the Order of Preachers to King Valdemar II of Denmark, and asks the king to welcome the friars, “who come to your country to evangelise the name of our lord Jesus Christ to the pagans and to minister the bread of God’s word to the faithful in Christ”.

 

Source: Original document. Landeshauptarchiv, Schwerin.

Language: Latin.

 

Honorius episcopus servus servorum Dei, carissimo in Christo filio, illustri regi Danorum, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Cum cui recipit prophetam in nomine prophete mercedem prophete accipiat, viros predicatores ecclesie sancte pernecessarios tue libenter magnitudini commendamus, ut ex hoc mercedem tibi compares incomparabilem apud Deum. Hin est quod cum dilecti filii fratres predicatores ex pio quem ipsis dominus inspiravit affectu ad partes tuas accedant, ut nomen evangelizent domini nostri Jhesu Christi gentibus et Christi ministrent fidelibus pabulum verbi Dei eos regali mansuetudini duximus propensius commendandos, rogantes attentius et hortantes, quatinus ipsis ministerio predicationis congruum impendas et impendi facias a tuis subditis consilium, auxilium et favorem ita quod dominus qui adhuc vocat operarios in messem suam cum multa sit et operarii pauuci tibi augeat et gratiam in presenti et gloriam in futuro. Datum Lateranii ∙ii∙ nonas maii pontificatus nostri anno quinto.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Honorius biskop, Guds tjeneres tjener, til sin kære søn i Kristus, de danskes berømmelige konge: Hilsen og apostolisk velsignelse. Da den, der modtager en profet i profetens navn, skal få en profets løn, anbefaler vi gerne de for den hellige kirke uundværlige prædikenens mænd til dig, for at du herigennem kan erhverve dig en uforlignelig løn hos Gud. Derfor har vi, da vore elskede sønner, prædikebrødrene, ifølge den fromme kærlighed, som Herren har indgivet dem, der kommer til dit land for at udbrede det glade budskab om vor herre Jesu Kristi navn for folkeslagene [: hedningene] og uddele Gudsordets brød til Kristi troende, ment indstændigt at burde anbefale dem til dig, højhjertede konge, og indtrængende bede og opfordre til, at du giver og sørger for, at der passende og velvilligt gives dem råd og hjælp af dine undergivne til prædikegerningen, således at Herren, som stadig kalder arbejdere til sin høst, da den er stor og arbejderne få, både kan vise dig des større nåde i det nuværende liv og des større hæder i det tilkommende. Givet i Lateranet den 6. maj i vort pavedømmes femte år.

 

English translation:

Bishop Honorius, servant for the servants of God, to his dear son in Christ, the illustrious king of Danes, [send his] greetings and apostolic blessing. Since he, who receives a prophet in the name of the prophet shall be given a prophet’s reward, we happily recommend to you the Holy Church’s indispensable men of preaching, so that you hereby can achieve incomparable reward from God. Thus, since our beloved sons, the Friars Preachers, according to the pious love given to them by the Lord now come to your country to evangelise the name of our lord Jesus Christ to the pagans and to minister the bread of God’s word to the faithful in Christ, we have decided to recommend them profoundly to you, clement king, and urgently request and endorse you to give, and to make sure that your subjects will give, them suitable and favourable advice and assistance for their preaching, so that the Lord, who still calls workers to His harvest, since it is huge and the workers are few, can show you even greater mercy in this life as well as greater honour in the one to come. Given in the Lateran on 6 May in the fifth year of our pontificate.

 

Comments: The bull appears to be one of the letters that St. Dominic gave to Fr. Salomon at the general chapter in 1221 30/5 to bring with him to Denmark. On the back of the document is written: Regi Danorum. ● The bull seems to be based on a general bull Cum qui recipit, widely issued in 1221 4/2-25/5 (BOP I Hon. III 20, 22 and 26), but it is unique by including comments on the friars preaching among pagans (Tugwell 1998, 74-75 and 81-82).

 

Published: Bullarium Danicum no. 170; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. V no. 194.

 

 

 

1220-21 (before 1221 30/5)

Pre-province of Dacia, Convent of Friesach (prov. Teutonia)

After his admission to the Order of Preachers, Fr. Salomon joins Fr. Paulus for a journey to Hungary, where the latter is prior, but as they pass Friesach on the way and find the convent there without a prior or a priest, Paulus decides that Salomon should stay in Friesach as prior, while Paulus himself continues to Hungary.

 

Source: Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia.

Language: Latin.

 

[...] Eodem anno [:1220] in festo pasche frater Salomon, natus Arhusie in Jutia, intravit ordinem Verone in Lombardia. Hic primum constituit ire in Ungariam cum fratre Paulo hic prior erat cuiusdam domus illius regni, sed cum venissent in Frisacum in Theuthonia, invenerunt fratres illius domus solatio sacerdotis destitutos. Tunc enim inter eos prior et sacerdos erat, quem satanas expetens cribravit ad seculum extra­hendo. Unde prior Paulus fratribus compatiens reliquit eis pro priore et sacerdote fratrem Salomonem. Ipse autem in Ungariam profectus. Anno autem Domini 1221 celebratur secundum concilium generale Bononie a beato Dominico. Huic concilio interfuit dictus Salomon [...].

 

Dansk oversættelse:

[...] I påsken samme år trådte broder Salomon, født i Århus i Jylland, ind i ordenen i Verona i Lombardiet. Han satte sig først for at tage til Ungarn sammen med broder Paulus, som var prior i et kloster i det kongerige, men da de kom til Friesach i Tyskland, fandt de brødrene i klosteret dér uden en præsts omsorg. For tidligere havde der iblandt dem været en prior og præst, som Satan havde lokket tilbage til verden. Prior Paulus følte medynk med brødrene og lod dem få broder Salomon til prior og præst. Selv drog han videre til Ungarn. Men i det Herrens år 1221 blev det andet generalkapitel afholdt i Bologna af den salige Dominik. Førnævnte Salomon var til stede ved kapitlet [...].

 

Comments: On Fr. Salomon, see 1220 22/3. ● The identity of Fr. Paulus is uncertain. An obvious candidate would be Fr. Paulus de Hungaria, who was a doctor of canon law and had been regent master at the university in Bologna, before joining the Order of Preachers as one of the first disciples of Dominic, who put him in charge of the convent in Bologna as its prior. He is, however, not known to have left Italy in 1220, and he attended the general chapter in Bologna in 1220 17/5, so a possible journey home to Hungary must have taken place between this and the following chapter in Bologna in 1221 30/5, where he also attended. At this chapter, both he and Fr. Salomon were sent by Dominic to their respective home provinces in order to establish the Order there (Hinnebusch 1966, 82 and 93). There were no Dominican convents in Hungary in 1220, so Paulus could not possibly have been a prior for any such house – thus, for his alleged prior’ status to make sense it rather refers to the convent in Bologna. Tugwell, however, fully dismisses an identification with Fr. Paulus de Hungaria and doubts that Prior Paul was even a Dominican (Tugwell 1996, 25). ● Friesach is a mountain village in the eastern Alp region of Carinthia (Kärnten). By chance it became home of the first Dominican convent in the German-speaking region, probably founded in 1219-20, when a local priest had joined the Order of Preachers during a stay in Bologna and decided to form a convent here at his return. Apparently, however, he soon gave up on the project and left his followers, among whom there were no priests. This was how Fr. Paulus and Fr. Salomon found them in 1220. In the spring of 1221 at the latest, Fr. Salomon went back to Italy – possibly alongside Fr. Paulus returning from Hungary? ­– to take part in the general chapter in Bologna in 1221 30/5, where Salomon reported on the situation in Friesach. As the 1221-chapter sent a range of recruited friars to their home regions to expand the Order, the Polish delegation, including Fr. Jacek Odrowaz (St. Hyacinth), was told by Dominic to make a stop in Friesach on their way to Poland, to sort out the problem of lacking leadership. When the Order did not just abandon this odd village location it was probably because Friesach constituted a highly useful place of accomodation for friars travelling through the Alps (Freed 1977, 30-32).

 

Published: Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. V, p. 500-502; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 66, pp. 162-164; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 218-220; Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia (online).

Literature: Hinnebusch 1966, p. 95; Halvorsen 2002, pp. 232-233.

 

 

 

1221 30/5

Bologna

Pre-province of Dacia, Convent of Bologna (prov. Lombardia)

At the second General Chapter of the Order of Preachers in Bologna Fr. Salomon is sent by Master General Dominic to King Valdemar II of Denmark and Archbishop Anders Sunesen of Lund with letters from the pope and from the master general himself.

 

Source: Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia.

Language: Latin.

 

Anno autem domini 1221 celebratur secundum concilium generale Bononie a beato Dominico. Huic concilio interfuit dictus Salomon et de eodem misit eum beatus Dominicus ad Waldemarum regem Dacie et Andream archiepiscopum Lundensem cum litteris domini pape et suis.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Men i det Herrens år 1221 blev det andet generalkapitel afholdt i Bologna af den salige Dominik. Førnævnte Salomon var til stede ved kapitlet, og derfra sendte den salige Dominik ham til Valdemar, Danmarks konge, og Anders, ærkebiskop af Lund, med breve fra hr. paven og sig selv.

 

Comments: On Fr. Salomon, see 1220 22/3. ● One such letter mentioned in the chronicle is indeed extant in the form of a letter of recommendation for the Order of Preachers issued by Pope Honorius III to King Valdemar II in 1221 6/5; thus, the plan to send friars to Denmark must have been conceived already by then.

 

Published: Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. V, p. 500-502; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 66, pp. 162-164; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 218-220; Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia (online).

 

 

 

1221 autumn

Pre-province of Dacia, Convents of Cologne (prov. Teutonia) and Paris (prov. Francia)

After being enjoined by Master General Dominic and the General Chapter of Friars Preachers to go to Denmark to introduce the Order there, Fr. Salomon first travels from Bologna to Cologne, where he receives a house, but as he is not able to find any travel company to Denmark, he goes to the convent in Paris, where a laybrother from Lombardy is assigned as his socius onwards to Flanders. Here, Fr. Salomon finds a ship bound for Denmark, but due to a terrific storm and dense fog, the ship passes Denmark to land near Nidaros in Norway. During the storm, the ship is miraculously saved from certain shripwreck, as the now deceased St. Dominic is seen by Salomon to keep the vessel safe and steady in his arms. In Norway, Fr. Salomon is received by Earl Skule, who provides escorte for him via a difficult land route from Nidaros to Copenhagen in Denmark. Here, the friar is received by Archbishop Anders Sunesen of Lund, who after having read the letters that Salomon has brought with him from the pope and St. Dominic, exclaims: »Welcome! May it so happen that we in all the churches under our jurisdiction may have such an order.«

 

Source: Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia.

Language: Latin.

 

Anno autem Domini 1221 celebratur secundum concilium generale Bononie a beato Dominico. Huic concilio interfuit dictus Salomon et de eodem misit eum beatus Dominicus ad Waldemarum regem Dacie et Andream archiepiscopum Lundensem cum litteris domini pape et suis. Qui transitum faciens per Coloniam domum recepit ibidem. De Colonia vero, quia socium vie versus Daciam habere non potuit, venit Parisius et inde cum quodam converso Lombardo sibi in socium dato venit in Flandriam. Illic autem inveniens navem euntem in Daciam ascendit in eam. Sed insurgentibus tempestate gravissima et nebula densissima, circumlegens Daciam, tandem post dies multos in Norvegia circa partes Nidrosienses applicavit. Non pretereundum puto qualiter in augustiis famulum suum consolatus fuerit adiutor in tribulationibus. Cum enim navis in mare hinc inde jactaretur et quasi fluctibus operiretur et omnes humano jam destituti auxilio acerbe mortis indicium expectarent et Deum toto corde invocarent, visit dictus frater Salomon beatum Dominicum, qui eodem anno ad regna migraverat celestia, navem ipsam brachiis suis sustentare sublevatam. Postmodum de Nidrosia, laboribus gravissimis propter viarum asperitates et maris pericula, auxilio nobilis viri Skule Jarl, venit frater Salomon Copendehaafn et ibi dominum archiepiscopum invenit. Qui, receptis litteris domini pape et beati Dominici et perlectis, fratrem benigne suscipiens eum sic alloquitur: Bene venisti, utinam in omni ecclesia que est de cura nostra haberemus unum de tali ordine. Illis temporibus erat in Dacia legatus cardinalis dominus Gregorius de Crescentia. Qui fratrem Salomonem, quia litteratus erat et facundus, sibi associans ipsum in predicationibus suis interpretem habuit.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Men i det Herrens år 1221 blev det andet generalkapitel afholdt i Bologna af den salige Dominik. Førnævnte Salomon var til stede ved kapitlet, og derfra sendte den salige Dominik ham til Valdemar, Danmarks konge, og Anders, ærkebiskop af Lund, med breve fra hr. paven og sig selv. Da han rejste igennem Köln, modtog han et hus dér. Fordi han ikke fandt nogen rejseledsager til Danmark, drog han fra Köln til Paris og derfra til Flandern sammen med en lombardisk lægbroder, som han havde fået til ledsager. Dér gik han ombord i et skib han fandt, som skulle til Danmark. Men da det kom til voldsom storm og meget tyk tåge, sejlede han udenom Danmark, og efter mange dage landede han i Norge i nærheden af Nidaros. Jeg synes ikke jeg kan undlade at berette om, hvordan han, som er en hjælper i prøvelser, trøstede sin tjener i hans trængsler. For mens skibet blev kastet hid og did på søen, næsten dækket af bølgerne, og alle, hinsides al menneskelig hjælp, ventede på denne bitre dødens dom og påkaldte Gud af hele deres hjerter, så førnævnte broder Salomon den salige Dominik, som samme år var vandret hen til Himmelens rige, holde skibet oppe med sine arme. Derefter kom broder Salomon med stor møjsommelighed på grund af ufremkommelige veje og havets farer, ved den ædle hr. Skule Jarls hjælp, fra Nidaros til København, og dér fandt han ærkebiskoppen. Efter at have modtaget og læst brevene fra hr. paven og den salige Dominik, tog han venligt imod broderen og sagde til ham: “Velkommen! Måtte det mage sig således, at Vi i alle kirker, der hører under Vor forvaltning, kunne få en sådan orden”.

 

Comments: On Fr. Salomon, see 1220 22/3. ● Although not said explicitly, it would appear that Fr. Salomon for the first part of his journey had joined a group of German friars, led by Fr. Christianus, whom at the same general chapter in Bologna had been enjoined to go to Cologne (Hinnebusch 1966, 93-94). When the chronicle claims that it was Salomon, who received a house in Cologne (and, thus, established a convent there), a more actual reading would probably be that he took part in the foundation along with his German companions. ● Afterwards, Fr. Salomon is likely to have accompanied one of the German friars from Cologne to Paris, where the Dominican convent of Saint-Jacques had been established in 1218 already. ● It is not clear what errand the Lombard laybrother could have had in Flanders, where no Dominican convents were established at this time, but he may have sought a shipping opportunity for either England or his Italian homeland. The most likely Flemish port of departure for both friars would have been Bruges. ● Master General Dominic died on 6 August 1221, suggesting that the voyage on the North Sea should have taken place after this date. Thus, this would appear to be one of the first recorded miracles worked by St. Dominic. ● Earl Skule Bårdsson (Skule Jarl, †1240) was a powerful magnate with residence in Nidaros. He became father-in-law to King Håkon Håkonsson and was for long de facto regent of Norway, with the northern third of the kingdom as his private earldom (from 1237 duchy). Skule’s relations to King Håkon gradually worsened during the 1230s, leading to his own claim for the throne in 1239. In the following war, he was killed by royal forces at Helgeseter Abbey in 1240. Earl Skule’s religious side is often overlooked, but he did establish annual masses with the cathedral chapter in Nidaros in 1225 and founded a nunnery (possibly Augustinian) at his family manor in Rein in the late 1220s. Although no explicit connections between Skule and the Friars Preachers are evidenced subsequent to his meeting with Fr. Salomon in 1220, the foundation of a Dominican convent in Nidaros some time before 1240 could hardly have taken place without Skule’s positive involvement. Lange even suggested that it was indeed the accidental meeting with Salomon that would have initiated a foundation in Nidaros shortly after (Lange 1856, 228). It is not known when this convent was established – Gallén (1946, 21) suggested the period 1228-34 – but the first extant reference to it is from 1240 21/5 actually concerns ducal relations, as it is said that when King Håkon’s forces attacked Nidaros, the duke’s son, Peter Skulesson, tried to escape through the Dominican priory, where the friars offered him asylum. But as he (justifiably) had little trust that his enemies would acknowledge such a refuge, he continued to join his father at Helgeseter Abbey outside the city, where they were both eventually driven out and killed by the king’s men. ● Archbishop Anders Sunesen of Lund (†1228) was in office 1201-1224. He is thought to have participated in the Lateran Council of 1215 in Rome and is considered by historians to be the best educated and most intelligent church leader of medieval Denmark. Furthermore, he was out of the Hvide family, the most powerful noble clan of high medieval Denmark, and played a leading role in Danish crusade policy to Estonia from 1203. He caught leprosy in Estonia and was absolved from office in 1224. If his alleged welcoming wording is to be taken literally, all the churches in our jurisdiction” should probably be understood as all the dioceses. Before the mid-thirteenth century, eight out of the nine dioceses within the Danish church province had indeed seen the foundation of a Dominican convent. Anders Sunesen himself very much appears to have been the primary initiator of the initial convent foundation in Lund, for which he most likely donated a site in 1222 22/5.

 

Published: Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. V, p. 500-502; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 66, pp. 162-164; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 218-220; Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia (online).

 

 

 

1222 (22/5)

(Lund)

Convent of Lund

Archbishop Anders Sunesen of Lund donates a farm with a chapel in Lund to the Friars Preachers, where the first (lasting) convent of the Order in Scandinavia is founded.

 

Sources: A. Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia, B. Annales Ripenses, C. Annales 1101-1313, D. Annales Petri Olavi.

Language: Latin.

 

A:

(...) Illis temporibus erat in Dacia legatus cardinalis dominus Gregorius de Crescentio. Qui fratrem Salomonem, quia litteratus erat et facundus, sibi associans ipsum in predicationibus suis interpretem habuit. Tandem sequenti anno circa pentecosten, favente Dei gratia et dicto cardinali suggerente, dominus archiepiscopus dedit fratribus Lundis locum anno domini 1221 et edificia fratribus apta construxit. Hoc audito fratres qui missi fuerant in Sueciam venerunt Lundis ad fratrem Salomonem et alii quamplures qui recepti fuerant Parisius et Bononie, et fratrem Simonem sibi priorem constituunt. (...)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

(...) På den tid befandt kardinallegaten hr. Gregor de Crescentio sig i Danmark. Han tog broder Salomon som assistent fordi han var både veluddannet og veltalende, og brugte ham som tolk, når han prædikede. Endelig, året efter ved pinsetid, ved Guds nådes hjælp og efter forslag fra den nævnte kardinal, gav hr. ærkebiskoppen brødrene en grund i Lund i det Herrens år 1221 og opførte bygninger egnede til brødrene. Da dette hørtes af de brødre, som var sendt til Sverige, kom de til broder Salomon i Lund, og ligeledes svært mange andre, som var blevet optaget i ordenen i Paris og Bologna, og de valgte broder Simon til deres prior. (...)

 

B og C:

1221. Fratres predicatores Lundis locum receperunt ab Andrea archiepiscopo.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1221. Prædikebrødrene i Lund modtog en grund af ærkebiskop Anders.

 

D1:

1221. Beatus Dominicus obiit. Eodem anno Andreas archiepiscopus dedit fratribus predicatoribus Lundis curiam suam cum capella. Et fundatus est conventus Lundensis, qui primus omnium est illius ordinis in regnis aquilonis.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1221. Den salige Dominik døde. Samme år gav ærkebiskop Anders prædikebrødrene i Lund sin gård med et kapel. Og konventet i Lund blev grundlagt, som det første af alle af denne orden i Nordens riger.

 

D2:

Hic Andreas (...) etiam dedit fratribus predicatoribus Lundis curiam suam cum capella circa annos Domini 1221. Et fundator est conventus Lundensis, qui primus omnium est illius ordinis in regnis aquilonis.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Denne Anders (...) gav også prædikebrødrene i Lund sin gård med et kapel omkring det Herrens år 1221. Og konventet i Lund blev grundlagt, som det første af alle af denne orden i Nordens riger.

 

Comments: Pentecost in 1222 took place on 22 May. ● Cardinal Gregorius de Crescentio came to Denmark as papal legate in the summer of 1222. During his stay, he travelled around Denmark and dealt with various ecclesiastical matters, mainly the classic issue of Danish priests’ problems with keeping the celibacy. It is probably on this tour around Denmark that Legate Gregor put good use to Fr. Salomon’s language skills. · The foundation year of the Dominican convent in Lund is highly disputed. Apparently, the confusion is caused by a simple error in one of the sources, which the others have repeated. In Historia, Fr. Salomon is clearly sent out on his journey to Scandinavia after the general chapter of 1221, and “in the following year around Pentecost”, the chronicle says, Archbishop Anders gave the site to the Order “in 1221”. Clearly, there is something wrong with the chronology of the text, when the year after 1221 can be 1221, and since the second mentioning of the year seems rather superfluous, it is likely that it is an erroneous addition made by a later transcriber - perhaps in accordance with his knowledge of the annals, in which the annalist then could have misread the original text of the Historia. ● The donated farm may be identical to a farm acquired by the archbishop in June 1222.

 

Published: A. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. V, p. 500-502; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 66, pp. 162-164; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 218-220; Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia (online). B. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. II, p. 172; Annales Danici, p. 152; Danmarks middelalderlige annaler, p. 260. C. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. IV, p. 24; Annales Danici, p. 201; Danmarks middelalderlige annaler, p. 313. D1. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. I, p. 183. D2. Annales Danici, p. 206.

 

 

 

1222 16/6

Glostorp

Convent of Lund?

Archbishop Anders Sunesen of Lund exchanges property in Lund with the cathedral chapter, so that the canons receive all property and privileges attached to the Major Church of St. Mary in Lund, while the archbishop in return gets a farm with gardens in Lund, which used to belong to Master Johannes.

 

Source: Transcript in Lundebogen.

Language: Latin.

 

Andreas, Dei gratia archiepiscopus Lundensis, Suecie primas, universis presentes litteras inspecturis, salutem et de bono in melius proficere. Noverint universi, quod nos, jus patronatus habentes ecclesie sancte Marie majoris in civitate Lundensi, de voluntate et consensu omnium parrochianorum ipsius ecclesie et aliorum jus habentium in eadem, damus et conferimus jure permutationis Lundensi capitulo eorumque successoribus in perpetuum, omnes possessiones supradicte ecclesie sancte Marie, ad habendum, tenendum, fruendum, possidendum, et quidquid eis eorumque successoribus de ipsis placuerit libere faciendum pro eo scilicet quod idem capitulum curiam cum ortis et aliis pertinenciis suis, que olim fuit magistri Johannis, nobis, nostrisque successoribus, eodem permutationis jure perpetualiter donaverunt renunciantes omni juris auxilio canonico et civili non obstante etiam exceptione deceptionis ultra medietatem justi precii, que nobis nostrisque successoribus posset competere in hoc facto. Si quis autem contra permutationem huiusmodi quam semper illibatam servari volumus venire presumpserit, centum marcas argenti penam incurrat, qua soluta, nichilominus permutatio ipsa, in sua permaneat firmitate. Datum in mansione nostra Glustorp ∙xvi∙ kalendas julii anno incarnationis Dominice MCCXXII.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Anders, af Guds nåde ærkebiskop af Lund, Sveriges primas, til alle, der får dette brev at se: Hilsen og fremgang fra godt til bedre. Alle skal vide, at vi, der har patronatsret til kirken Store Skt. Maria i byen Lund, med vilje og samtykke fra hele sognefolket ved samme kirke og fra andre, der har ret i samme, ved mageskifte giver og overdrager kapitlet i Lund og dets efterfølgere til evig tid alle ovennævnte Skt. Maria kirkes besiddelser til at have, eje, nyde, besidde og frit gøre med, hvad der passer dem og deres efterfølgere, og det til gengæld for, at samme kapitel ligeledes ved mageskifte til evig tid har givet os og vore efterfølgere den gård med haver og andre tilliggender, som tidligere tilhørte magister Johannes. Vi giver afkald på al retshjælp, hentet fra kanonisk og romersk ret, ligeså på indsigelse om svig for mere end det halve af den rette pris, som kunne tilkomme os og vore efterfølgere i dette forhold. Men hvis nogen fordrister sig til at handle imod dette mageskifte, som det er vor vilje altid skal bevares ukrænkeligt, pådrager han sig en bøde på 100 mark sølv. Når den er betalt, skal selve mageskiftet ikke desto mindre stå ved magt som før. Givet på vor gård Glostorp den 16. juni i året 1222 for Herrens menneskevorden.

 

Comments: See below.

 

Published: Diplomatarium Suecanum vol. I no. 212; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. V no. 203.

 

1222 (after 16/6)

Archbishop Anders Sunesen of Lund confirms the above-mentioned transaction to the canons of the cathedral chapter, in which it is furthermore told that the exchange of property was witnessed by Cardinal Legate Gregorius de Crescentio.

 

Source: Transcript in Lundebogen.

Language: Latin.

 

Andreas Dei gratia Lundensis archiepiscopus Suecie primas, dilectis in Christo filiis, decano, archidiacono ceterisque Lundensis ecclesie canonicis, salutem et paternam dilectionem. Quia defectum rerum necessariarum apud vos esse percepimus, defectum vestrum ex quo oportunitas se optulit intendimus supplere redditusque vestros, penuriam vestram relaxando ampliare curavimus et curamus. Huius rei intuitu notum facimus tam presentibus quam futuris quod ecclesiam sancte Marie in civitate Lundensi, que ecclesia sancte Marie major vocatur, vobis canonice a nobis collatam, presente venerabili Gregorio de [Cre]s[c]entio apostolice sedis legato, tituli sancti Theodori dyacono cardinali, super hoc negotio dispensante vobis et successoribus vestris in perpetuum confirmamus, ut predicta ecclesia, cum terris cultis et incultis sibi attinentibus et pratis et possessionibus et decimis episcopalibus, oblationibus, ceteris oventionibus annexis in usus vestros, jure perpetuo vobis cedat. Et ne super hoc facto, processu temporis, aliqua possit notiva vobis calumpnia gravari, presentem paginam, sigilli nostri testimonio dignum duximus roborare. Datum Lundis anno Dominice incarnationis millesimo ducentesimo vicesimo secundo. 

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Anders, af Guds nåde ærkebiskop af Lund, Sveriges primas, til sine elskede sønner i Kristus dekanen, ærkedegnen og de øvrige kannikker ved kirken i Lund: Hilsen med faderlig kærlighed. Da vi har forstået, at I mangler de nødvendigste ting, og det har været vor agt at udfylde manglerne for jer, når da en lejlighed bød sig, har vi sørget for og sørger nu for at mildne jeres armod og forøge jeres indtægter. Med henblik herpå gør vi vitterligt for så vel nulevende som tilkommende, at vi for jer og jeres efterfølgere til evig tid stadfæster den Skt. Maria kirke i byen Lund, som kaldes Store Skt. Maria og er overdraget jer af os på kanonisk vis i nærværelse af den ærværdige Gregorius de Crescentio, det apostoliske sædes legat, kardinaldiakon af San Teodoro, der gav dispensation hertil, således at førnævnte kirke med de dyrkede og udyrkede jorder med enge og besiddelser, der hører til, og bispetiende og offergaver og de øvrige indtægter, der er henlagt til den, med rette til evig tid skal tilfalde jer til jeres brug. Og for at der ikke i tidens løb skal opstå en for jer skadelig trætte om denne vor handling, har vi anset det for rigtigt at bestyrke dette brev med vort segls vidnesbyrd. Givet i Lund år 1222 for Herrens menneskevorden.

 

Comments: Nothing explicitly links the urban farm in Lund acquired by Archbishop Anders Sunesen to the Dominican convent foundation, but when taking into consideration the time (not a month after Pentecost), the presence of Cardinal Legate Gregorius de Crescentio at the transaction, the likely location of the formerly canon farm nearby the cathedral chapter (where the Dominican priory was built) and that the farm is not heard of again in the episcopal records, there seems to be strong indications that this was indeed the curia that Anders Sunesen gave to the Friars Preachers “around Pentecost in 1222” for their first lasting priory foundation in Scandinavia. ● On Gregorius de Crescentio, see 1222 Jun-Nov. The second letter seems to verify that Cardinal Legate Gregorius de Crescentio indeed was, as claimed by the chronicle, present in Skåne in the early summer of 1222. A former claim by Knut B. Westman that he still was in Bohemia by 2 July 1222 (Westman 1915, 269 and 280 note 2), which led Jarl Gallén to move the Dominican convent foundation in Lund to 1223 (Gallén 1946, 9-11), has subsequently shown to be based on a printing error in the Bohemian diplomatarium for what should have been 2 July 1221 (DD 1 V 203, commentary). ● Glostorp was an archiepiscopal mansion situated just south of Malmö.

 

Published: Diplomatarium Suecanum vol. I no. 213; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. V no. 204.

 

 

 

1222 (June-November)

Pre-province of Dacia

Cardinal Legate Gregorius de Crescentia takes Fr. Salomon of the Order of Preachers on as his assistant and interpreter while in Denmark, as he finds the friar both educated and eloquent.

 

Source: Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia.

Language: Latin.

 

Illis temporibus erat in Dacia legatus cardinalis dominus Gregorius de Crescentia. Qui fratrem Salomonem, quia litteratus erat et facundus, sibi associans ipsum in predicationibus suis interpretem habuit.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

På den tid befandt kardinallegaten hr. Gregor af Crescentia sig i Danmark. Han tog broder Salomon som assistent fordi han var både veluddannet og veltalende, og brugte ham som tolk, når han prædikede.

 

Comments: On Fr. Salomon, see 1220 22/3. ● Cardinal Gregorius de Crescentia came to Denmark as papal legate in the late spring of 1222 (DD 1 V 201). The major purpose of his arrival to Scandinavia seems to have been a disputed coronation in Sweden, but since the king in question had died a few months before Gregorius’ arrival, the problem had so to speak solved itself. Instead, the legate was able to travel around Denmark and deal with matters of a more ecclesiastical character. He began his Danish legate journey in Jylland, from where he went to Skåne, where he was present when Archbishop Anders Sunesen made an exchange of property with his cathedral chapter in 1222 16/6, which may have accommodated or at least enlarged the site that the archbishop donated to the Order of Preachers around 1222 22/5 to fascilitate a convent foundation, something which the cardinal legate is said to have advocated. One of the main issues on Cardinal Gregorius’ legation in Denmark was an actual implementation of celibacy among the parish clergy. It was probably on his tour around the Danish dioceses in the late summer and autumn of 1222 that Legate Gregorius put good use to Frater Salomon’s learnedness and language skills. In November 1222, the legate led an ecclesiastical meeting in Schleswig with attendance of all Danish bishops and many prelates, where the ecclesiastical celibacy were among the issues, along with a prohibition against dances, games, theatres and brawls in church buildings, whereas these could be used for asylum under certain conditions (DD 1 V 209). Thus, it is possible that Fr. Salomon may have taken part in this church meeting as well.

 

Published: Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. V, p. 500-502; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 66, pp. 162-164; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 218-220; Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia (online).

 

 

 

1221-23

Pre-convent of Sigtuna

The plans of establishing a convent of Friars Preachers in Sigtuna is obstructed by Archbishop Olof Basatömir of Uppsala. The friars are instead given a site in Sko by Lord Knut Långe.

 

Source: Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia.

Language: Latin.

 

Dicti ergo fratres, de concilio generali Bononie sub beato Dominico celebrato cum eodem preposito missi in Siktuniam, locum ibidem impediente Olavo archiepiscopo supradicto obtinere non potuerunt. Quod attendens dominus Canutus Longus locum eis in Sko assignavit.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

De før nævnte brødre blev af generalkapitlet, der blev afholdt i Bologna under den salige Dominik, sendt til Sigtuna sammen med provsten. Der kunne de imidlertid ikke finde noget sted at være, da den nævnte ærkebiskop Olof lagde dem hindringer i vejen. Da hr. Knut Långe hørte dette, gav han dem et sted i Sko.

 

Comments: The chronicle does not state any exact year for the events. Olof Basatömir’s predecessor as archbishop of Uppsala died on 7 April in either 1221, 1222 or 1223 (Halvorsen 2002, 229-230), and Olof – who had been Bishop of Strängnäs since 1219 – was elected as his successor shortly after; he was papally approved as archbishop in January 1224. The termination of the Dominican project in Sigtuna is likely to have occurred shortly after Olof’s election. ● The friars referred to in Sigtuna are Fr. Simon de Suetia and Fr. Nicolaus Lundensis (see 1219 15/8), who had been sent to Sigtuna along with Provost Gaufred by the general chapter in 1220 17/5. ● The reasons for the archbishop’s dislike to the Dominican plans in Sigtuna are not known, but it was probably partly in order to secure the young Swedish church province from influence of Danish ‘primacy’ (claimed by the Archbishop of Lund) and the Gregorian ideas of the Curia, where Olof may have seen the Friars Preachers as too closely related to both Lund and Rome. ● A Dominican convent was eventually founded in Sigtuna in 1237 – three years after the death of Archbishop Olof. ● Knut Holmgersson Långe was an ambitious magnate from Uppland, who later managed to take the Swedish throne from 1229 to 1234. Sko is the name of a place just outside of Sigtuna by Lake Mälarn, but as it in no way can be termed ‘urban’, it cannot have been very attractive to the friars, who shortly after left to join the new convent in Lund. Still, Knut Långe was apparently quite determined to establish a monastic convent in Sko, and in the early 1230s, after he had become king, he transferred a convent of Cistercian nuns from Småland to what was to be Sko Kloster. Knut’s affection for the place is proved by the fact that he himself chose to be buried there.

 

Published: Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. V, p. 500-502; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 66, pp. 162-164; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 218-220; Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia (online).

Literature: Halvorsen 2002, pp. 229-232; Jakobsen 2011, p. 8.

 

 

 

1222-24

Convent of Lund

When news of the foundation of a convent in Lund reaches the Friars Preachers sent to Sweden, they join Fr. Salomon in Lund, along with a great number of others, who have been recruited for the Order in Paris and Bologna, and they elect Fr. Simon as their prior.

 

Source: Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia.

Language: Latin.

 

Hoc audito fratres qui missi fuerant in Sueciam venerunt Lundis ad fratrem Salomonem et alii quamplures qui recepti fuerant Parisius et Bononie, et fratrem Simonem sibi priorem constituunt.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Da dette hørtes af de brødre, som var sendt til Sverige, kom de til broder Salomon i Lund, og ligeledes svært mange andre, som var blevet optaget i ordenen i Paris og Bologna, og de valgte broder Simon til deres prior.

 

Comments: The friars sent to Sweden were Fr. Simon and Fr. Nicolaus (see 1219 15/8), who since the termination of the project in Sigtuna had been accommodated in Sko, see 1221-23.

 

Published: Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. V, p. 500-502; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 66, pp. 162-164; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 218-220; Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia (online).

 

 

 

1225 8/1

Rome

Order of Preachers (incl. Dacia)

Pope Honorius III grants the master general and the brethren of the Order of Preachers the privilege to celebrate quiet mass during times of interdict, i.e. behind closed doors, with low voices, without bell-ringing, and without participation of anyone excommunicated. A Scandinavian copy of the letter may have been given to Fr. Rodulfus Dacus.

 

Sources: A. Original document. The Swedish National Archives, Stockholm. B. Register of Scanian Letters.

Language: A. Latin. B. Swedish.

 

A:

Honorius episcopus servus servorum Dei, dilectis filiis .. magistro et fratribus ordinis predicatorum: salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Favorabilibus precibus vestris benignum impertientes assensum, auctoritate vobis presentium indulgemus, ut generalis tempore interdicti, liceat vobis in ecclesiis vestris in quibus collegium fuerit non pulsatis campanis, januis clausis, excommunicatis et interdictis exclusis, submissa voce divina officia celebrare. Nulli ergo etc. Datum Laterani ∙vi∙ idus Januarii, pontificatus nostri anno nono.

 

B1 (registration of A):

Honorij Papae 3:tij åth Prädijke Brödrerna gifne Indulgentz breef på dess gudeligheetz idkesamma öfning.

 

English translation:

Pope Honorius III’s letter of indulgence given to the Friars Preachers on the practise of their piety.

 

B2 (registration of A):

Honorij Papae 3:tij confirmations och stadfästelse breef gifwet Prädijke bröderne att ingen uthi desz gudelige- sampt andächtigheet dhem må hindra som är intet ringa, intet bulra med dörarna etc.

 

English translation:

Pope Honorius III’s letter of confirmation and affirmation given to the Friars Preachers that no one may prevent them from their piety and devotion, which is no ringing, no rattling with the doors, etcetera.

 

B3 (registration of A):

Honorij Papae 3:tij confirmations och stadfästelse breef gifwet Prädijke bröderne att ingen uthi desz gudelige- sampt andächtigheet dhem må hindra med ringande eller döra slambrande.

 

English translation:

Pope Honorius III’s letter of confirmation and affirmation given to the Friars Preachers that no one may prevent them from their piety and devotion with ringing or slamming doors.

 

Comments: The name of the master general is left blank, but at this time the office was held by Jordan of Saxony (1221-1237). · The bull is obviously directed to the Order of Preachers in general with no special reference to the North, but the extant original copy of the letter has been kept at the priory in Lund (DD 1 VI 35 note). · On the back of the document is written fratri Rodulfo Daco, perhaps the initial recipient of the bull. No other knowledge of a contemporary Fr. Rodulfus Dacus is preserved.

 

Published: Diplomatarium Suecanum vol. I no. 230.

 

 

 

1227 and later

Convents of Haderslev, Odense, Ribe, Vejle, Viborg, Visby and Århus

(+ apocryphal convents of Flensburg, Husum and Tønder)

Dominican convents are established in Viborg, Århus, Vejle, Ribe, Tønder, Husum, Flensburg, Haderslev, Odense and Visby.

 

Source: Pontoppidan’s Annales ecclesiæ Danicæ.

Language: German.

 

In diesem Jahr und nächst folgenden Jahren breiteten sich die Dominicaner-Mönche hie zu Lande weit aus und baueten zu Wiborg, Aarhuus, Wedel, Ripen, Tondern, Husum, Flensburg, Hattersleben, Odense, Wisbye und andertwerts ihre Klöster, versichrend, niemand könte ein seeliger Werck thun, als wer ihnen in solcher Unternehmung hülfliche Hand reichte.

 

Comments: This eighteenth-century chronicle by Erich Pontoppidan has often been quoted for claiming that the named convents were established in 1227, thus ignoring that he does in fact date them much more openly to “In this year (i.e. 1227) and the following years”. If anything, the list shows that Pontoppidan did not know the exact years of foundation for these convents in contrast to various other Dominican foundations listed elsewhere in the chronicle. The sequence of the named convents seems to be strictly geographical (from northern to southern Jylland and then eastwards to Fyn and Gotland), and thus not even indicating any chronological order. · From where Pontoppidan has the year 1227 is unknown; no Dominican convent foundation in Dacia is known from this year, with Ribe (1228) being the closest one. His other datings of Dominican foundations do, however, also differ from preserved medieval sources, e.g. Roskilde. · To our knowledge, no Dominican convent has ever existed in Flensburg, Husum or Tønder, although Pontoppidan’s reference to them has caused some historical confusion later on. He is most likely to have mistaken them with Franciscan convents, perhaps from misreading Cypræus (see 1235).

 

Published: Annales ecclesiæ Danicæ vol. I, p. 642.

 

 

 

1228 (14/5)

Paris

Province of Dacia

The general chapter adds four new provinces to the eight provinces instituted by St. Dominic: Polonia, Dacia, Grecia and Terra sancta.

 

Source: Acta capitulorum generalium OP.

Language: Latin.

 

Anno Domini MCCXXVIII celebratum fuit a prefato magistro Jordane, primum capitulum generalissimum Parisius. In quo capitulo, ·viii· prefatis provinciis per beatum Dominicum institutis, ·iiiior· fuerunt superaddite scilicet Polonia, Dacia, Grecia, et Terra sancta. Et quedam alia que in constitutionibus continentur, fuerunt ibi instituta et ordinata.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

I det Herrens år 1228 afholdtes det første generalkapitel under førnævnte magister Jordan i Paris. I dette kapitel blev de otte førnævnte provinser oprettet af den salige Dominik suppleret med fire, nemlig Polonia, Dacia, Grecia og Det Hellige Land. (...)

 

Comments: See below.

 

Published: Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica vol. III, p. 3.

 

1228 (14/5)   Paris

At the same general chapter, a new set of constitutions is passed, in which the privileges of the four additional provinces (incl. Dacia) are established: The four provinces are allowed to send representatives to the general chapters in the same way as the eight old provinces. However, when a new master general is to be elected, the eight old provinces can each send two electors, the four new provinces only one.

 

Source: Transcript of the Constitutiones OP, 1228. Archivum Generalis Ordinis Praedicatorum, Rome.

Language: Latin.

 

Iste sunt constutiones primae ordinis fratrum praedicatorum, quae erant tempore magistri Jordani, beati Dominici immediate successoris, ex quibus formavit et ordinavit constitutiones alias, quae nunc habentur, frater Raymundus de Pennaforti, magister ordinis tertius.

   Anno ab incarnatione Domini MCCXXVIII convenerunt Parisius in domo sancti Jacobi duedecim priores provinciales unacum Jordano, magistro ordinis nostri, singuli cum duobus diffinitoribus, sibi a provincialibus capitulis deputatis (...).

                      II.5.2. Statuimus quod quatuor prouinciae, scilicet Jerosolimitana, Graecia, Polonia, Dacia, habeant singulis annis diffinitores in singulis capitulis generalibus.

   II.5.3.Tertio autem anno priores provinciales duodecim provinciarum generale capitulum celebrabunt (...).

   II.7.1. Isti autem duodecim diffinitores duobus annis et duodecim priores provinciales tertio anno cum magistro ordinis omnia diffinient et constituent et tractabunt (...).

   II.9.2. Mortuo autem magistro (...) priores dictarum provinciarum in omnibus (...) plenariam ipsius obtineant potestatem (...).

   II.10.1. Praedicti ergo priores provinciales praedictarum provinciarum octo singuli cum duobus fratribus, in capitulo provinciali electis, in quos ceteri ad electionem magistri faciendam compromittant, et quatuor priores provinciales de superadditis provinciis, scilicet Jerosolimitana, Graecia, Polonia, Dacia, singuli cum singulis ad hoc idem electis ad capitulum veniant generale.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

År 1228 efter Herrens menneskevorden mødtes 12 provincialpriorer i Paris i Sankt Jakobs hus med Jordan, vor ordensmagister, hver enkelt med to tilsynsmænd, der var udpeget for dem af provinskapitlerne (...).

    II.5.2. Vi bestemmer, at fire provinser, nemlig Jerusalem, Grecia, Polonia og Dacia hvert år skal have tilsynsmænd ved de enkelte generalkapitler.

    II.5.3. Hvert tredje år skal provincialpriorerne fra de 12 provinser holde generalkapitel (...).

    II.7.1. Disse 12 tilsynsmænd skal to af årene og de 12 provincialpriorer det tredje år afgøre, beslutte og forhandle om alt med ordensmagisteren (...).

    II.9.2. Når magisteren er død (...), skal priorerne fra de nævnte provinser i alle henseender (...) have hans fulde magt (...).

    II.10.1. De fornævnte otte provincialpriorer fra de fornævnte otte provinser skal altså, hver enkelt med to brødre, som er valgt på provinskapitlet, og som de øvrige udpeger til at foretage valg af magister, og de fire provinspriorer fra de tilføjede provinser, nemlig Jerusalem, Grecia, Polonia og Dacia, hver enkelt med en enkelt, som er valgt til dette samme, komme til generalkapitel (for at vælge ordensmagister).

 

Comments: The acts of the general chapter are not preserved until 1236. A brief account of the previous chapters was added to the acts at a later stage by Fr. Bernardus Guidonis. ● The constitutions of 1228 are preserved through Codex Ruthenensis and Ms Rodez, transcripts from the fourteenth century. ● Pentecost in 1228 took place on 14 May.  ● According to R.-J. Loenertz, the constitutions seem to be the source for Fr. Bernardus Guidonis: »Ce texte, qui est indubitablement la source de Bernard Gui, a été négligé, et le résumé inexact du compilateur des ‘Acta capitulorum’ a été cité et re-cité!« (Loenertz 1957, 33 note 41). ● The entry in the acts of the general chapter has traditionally been interpreted as the initial establishing of four new provinces, among them Dacia, but according to R.-J. Loenertz and Simon Tugwell, this is a misunderstanding, originally made by Bernardus Guidonis, based on the words of the constitutions. But according to the initial statement in the constitutions, 12 priors provincial met in Paris for the general chapter in 1228, each with two delegates appointed by the provincial chapters, and if this is to be taken literally, the four additional provinces to some extent must already have existed by then. Seen in this light, the four additional provinces were only granted extended privileges by the chapter of 1228 (Loenertz 1957, 32-33; Tugwell 2000, passim). This new interpretation is strongly supported by the fact that a provincial chapter was held in Polonia in the autumn of 1227, and according to a Polish chronicle, the first provincial, Fr. Gerardus, was appointed at the general chapter in 1225 (Loenertz 1957, 33 and 37). In the case of Dacia, the promotion may suggest that the province at this time had become its second convent (i.e. Ribe 1228). It is, however, disputed whether the initial numbering in the constitutions of the priors provincial to 12 is original or a later addition (Wilms 1939, 44-45; Thomas 1965, 278-280). ● The eight primary provinces instituted in 1221 were: Hispania, Provencia, Francia, Lombardia, Roma, Ungaria, Teutonia and Anglia. ● The electoral difference between the old and the new provinces was abolished by the chapters of 1239-41.

 

Published: Quellen und Forschungen zur Geschichte des Dominikanerordens in Deutschland vol. XXXVIII, pp. 48 and 68-70; De oudste constituties van de Dominicanen, pp. 309, 344 and 347; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VI no. 86.

 

 

 

1228

Convents of Lund and Ribe

A convent of Friars Preachers is founded in Ribe with friars from Lund.

 

Source: Annales Petri Olavi.

Language: Latin.

 

Et missus est conuentus fratrum predicatorum de domo Lundensi ad domum Ripensem scilicet anno Domini 1228.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Og et konvent af prædikebrødre fra huset i Lund sendtes til huset i Ribe, nemlig i det Herrens år 1228.

 

Comments: The explicit mentioning that the friars of the new convent all came from Lund is quite unusual and suggests that this was indeed only the second Dominican convent founded in the province of Dacia; in fact, this second convent may have promoted the enlarged provincial rights of Dacia at the general chapter of that same year.

 

Published: Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. I, p. 183; Annales Danici, p. 206.

 

 

 

1230 13/9

Anagni

Convent of Visby(?), Provinces of Polonia and Teutonia

Pope Gregory IX urges all Christian people of the church provinces of Magdeburg and Bremen, as well as in Poland, Pomerania, Moravia, Suravia, Holstein and Gotland, to support a crusade undertaken by Duke Konrad of Masovia and the Teutonic Order, who has been called in by the duke, against the pagan Prussians, who are ignorant to the name of Christ and attack Christians living among them. Those who join the crusade, to be led by the Teutonic Order, are granted a full remission of their sins for one year’s service or if they die during the campaign.

 

Source: Transcript in Regesta Vaticana (Epistolae Gregorii PP. IX, anno IV, ep. 61, fol. 30). Vatican Archives, Rome.

Language: Latin.

 

Gregorius episcopus servus servorum Dei. Universis Christi fidelibus per Magdeburgensem et Bremensen provincias, Poloniam, Pomeraniam, Moraviam, Suraviam, Holisantiam et Gothlandiam constitutis, salutem etcetera. Cum misericors et miserator dominus Dei filius Ihesus Christus, cuius miserationes super omnia opera sunt ipsius, attenderet hominem iuste dampnatum, iustitita exigente vindictam, et suggerente misericordia pietatem, de inextimabili habundantia caritatis pro ipso tradidit semetipsum, et crucis sustinendo tormentum redemit preciosi sanguinis sui pretio, quem creavit, sciensque ipsum pronum nimium ad peccandum, ne irrecuperabiliter, quem ad imaginem et sui similitudinem condidit, perderetur, si unde resurgeret non haberet, diversa constituit remedia, quibus posset veniam promereri. Nos ergo, qui licet immeriti vices eius in terris gerimus, affectantes super omnia desiderabilia comodum animarum inducimus, et ut fortius accendantur ad ipsa, suffragium impertimur. Ex litteris sane dilecti filii nobilis viri … ducis Mazovie intelleximus, quod pagani Pruteni nomen Christi, quem ignorant, ad cuius cognitionem venire non volunt, exterminare tanquam prophanum de suis finibus per exterminium christianorum ibidem existentium intendentes, ipsos vehementer impugnant, destruentes terras eorum, qui resistere pre paucitate non possunt, et personas etiam miserabiliter trucidantes; et licet idem dux ordinem fratrum hospitalis sancte Marie Theutonicorum in terram suam ad christianorum auxilium introduxerit, et cum ipsius ordinis fratribus ibi existentibus Deus misericorditer operetur, conterendo per eos mirabiliter sui nominis inimicos, quia tamen ad tam arduum negotium sufficere per se nequeunt, et egent fidelium subsidiis adiuvari: Universitatem vestram monemus et hortamur, et per omnipotentem Deum obsecramus, in remissionem vobis peccaminum iniungentes, quatinus ad nimiam caritatem, qua Christus nos dilexit et diligit, respectum habentes, ei ei retribuentes aliquid pro omnibus, que retribuit ipse vobis, in quos tamquam viros christianos et catholicos cadere obpropria exprobrantium sibi debent, potenter et viriliter accingamini, tamquam zelum Dei habentes, ad vindicandam iniuriam sui nominis, et ad liberandum proximos de manibus paganorum, profecturi et acturi secundum fratrum consilia predictorum, ita quod et vobis premium debeatur eternum, et infideles non possint, quod impune Christi nomen impugnaverint, gloriari. Cum autem multa necessitas exigat, ut illuc fidelium subsidium transmittatur, quatinus libentius securi de retributione procedant: Nos de omnipotentis Dei misericordia et beatorum Petri et Pauli apostolorum eius auctoritate confisi, omnibus, qui laborem istum in propriis personis subierint et expensis, et eis, qui non in expensis propriis illuc accesserint, ibidem per unius anni spatium servituri, seu illis, qui ad subventionem fidelium de propriis facultatibus ministrabunt, iuxta quantitatem subsidii et devotionis affectum peccatorum suorum veniam indulgemus, ita quod illi, qui in penitentia vera ibi decesserint, sicut transeuntes in Terre sancte subsidium plenam remissionem peccaminium consequantur. Datum Anagnie Idibus septembris, pontificatus nostri anno quarto.

 

Comments: Both in this and all later versions of the bull, a spot is left open for the name of the duke, who was Konrad (Conrado) of Masovia (1194-1247). In the mid-1220s, he had asked the Teutonic Order to help him with a crusade against the pagan Prussians, who allegedly had started to respond violently to the until then rather peaceful Christianisation process of the region under the leadership of the Cistercian Bishop Christian of Prussia (1212-1245). It was, however, not until the late summer of 1230 that Pope Gregory IX felt that his issues with Emperor Friedrich II were settled enough for him to allow the Teutonic Order to engage in the Baltic cause. This was done in a bull of 12 September 1230 (PrUB vol. I no. 80), to be followed by a series of additional bulls providing all the needed support and privileges for the campaign. ● Suravia (AE and UDO has Suraniam) probably refers to a district around Meissen and Lusitania (Lausitz) inhabited by the Slavic Sorbs. ●That Gotland was included as the only part of Scandinavia for this campaign is of little surprise. Whereas the kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden (to which Gotland nominally belonged) by this time were busy occupied with their own papally approved crusades against the pagans of Estonia and Finland respectively, the island of Gotland had for long constituted a centre for German trade and military engagements in the entire south- and east-Baltic region; thus, the city of Visby could justly be expected to produce both military and financial support for a Teutonic crusade.

 

Published: Annales Ecclesiastici vol. XIII no. 23 (pp. 372-373), in extracts; Monumenta Historica Poloniae vol. I no. 41 (full version); Urkundenbuch des Deutschen Ordens vol. II no. 39, missing introduction.

Literature: Jakobsen 2014.

 

              1230 13/9             Anagni

Pope Gregory IX enjoins the Friars Preachers, present in the abovementioned provinces and districts, to preach the Cross in favour of the crusade, as this has been humbly requested by the Teutonic Order.

 

Sources: A. Transcript in Regesta Vaticana (Epistolae Gregorii PP. IX, anno IV, ep. 62, fol. 30). Vatican Archives, Rome. B. Transcript (Ex Archivo Ordinis Libra A, fol. 305). General Archives of the Order of Preachers, Rome.

Language: Latin.

 

A:

Gregorius episcopus etcetera. Dilectis filiis ministris et fratribus ordinis predicatorum per predictas provincias constitutis, salutem etcetera.

   Cum misericors et miserator dominus etcetera ut supra usque consequantur.

   Quare nos ad instantiam predictorum fratrum humiliter supplicantium, ut vobis super hoc predicationis officium iniungere dignaremur, discretionem vestram monemus et obsecramus in Domino, in remissionem vobis peccatorum iniungentes, quatinus assumpto predicationis officio, propter Deum ad id fideles predictos monitis et exhortationibus secundum datam a Deo vobis prudentiam diligenter et solicite inducatis. Datum ut supra.

 

B:

Gregorius episcopus, servus servorum Dei, dilectis filiis fratribus ordinis predicatorum, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem.

   Cum misericors et miserator dominus Dei filius Iesus Christus, cuius miserationes super omnia opera sunt ipsius, attendens hominem juste dampnatum, justitia exigente vindictam et sugiente misericordie pietatem, de inestimabili abundantia caritatis pro ipso tradidit semetipsum et Crucis sustinendo tormentum redemit pretiosi sanguinis sui pretio, quem creavit, sciensque ipsum pronum nimium ad peccandum, ne irreparabiliter, quem ad imaginem et sui similitudinem condidit, perderet, si jam unde resurgeret, non haberet, diversa constituit remedia, quibus posset veniam promereri. Nos ergo, qui licet immeriti vices eius in terris gerimus, affectantes supra omnia desiderabilia commodum animarum, libenter fideles populos ad caritatis opera, que idem Dei unigenitus voluit causam esse salutis, inducimus et, ut fortius accendantur ad ipsa suffragium impertimur. Ex literis sane dilecti filii, nobilis viri ducis Mazouie intelleximus, quod pagani Prutheni nomen Christi, quem ignorant, ad cuius cognitionem venire non volunt, exterminare tanquam profanum de suis finibus per exterminium christianorum ibidem existentium intendentes, ipsos vehementer impugnant, destruentes terras eorum, qui resistere pre paucitate non possunt, et personas etiam miserabiliter trucidantes; et licet idem dux ordinem fratrum hospitalis sancte Marie Teutonicorum in terram suam ad christianorum auxilium introduxerit et cum ipsius ordinis fratribus ibi existentibus Dominus misericorditer operetur, conterendo per eos mirabiliter sui nominis inimicos, quia tamen ad tam arduum negotium sufficere pro se nequeunt et egent fidelium subsidiis adiuvari, universitatem vestram monemus et hortamur, et per omnipotentem Deum obsecramus, in remissionem vobis peccanium injungentes, quatenus ad nimiam caritatem, qua Christus vos dilexit et diligit, respectum habentes et ei retribuentes aliquid pro omnibus, que retribuit ipse vobis, in quos tanquam viros christianos et catholicos cadere opprobria exprobrantium sibi debent, potenter et viriliter accingamini tanquam zelum Dei habentes ad vindicandam injuriam sui nominis, et ad liberandum proximos de manibus paganorum, profecturi et acturi secundum fratrum consilia predictorum, ita quod et vobis premium debeatur eternum, et infideles non possint, quod impune Christi nomen impugnaverint, gloriari. Cum autem multa necessitas exigat, ut illuc fidelium subsidium transmittatur, et dignum sit, ut in tanto negotio laborantes debita pro labore stipendia consequantur.

   Quare ad instantiam predictorum fratrum humiliter supplicantium, ut vobis super hoc predicationis officium injungere dignaremur, discretionem vestram monemus et obsecramus in Domino, in remissionem vobis peccaminum injungentes, quatenus assumpto predicationis officio propter Deum ad id fideles predictos monitis et exhortationibus vestris secundum datam a Deo vobis prudentiam diligenter et sollicite inducatis. Datum Anagnie Idibus septembris pontificatus nostri anno quarto.

 

Comments: The precise address of the bull remains unclear. The Friars Preachers ‘present in the abovementioned provinces’ of A clearly refers to the bull above aimed at all Christians, but leaves it uncertain if it only means the here stated church provinces (Magdeburg and Bremen) or also the subsequently listed districts (of which only Suravia and Holstein were included in the provinces). Whereas a transcript of 1230 17/3 (below) explicitly addresses friars in all the listed districts, B has no geographical limitation at all and sees the bull as addressed to the entire Order. ● Also A’s address to ‘ministris et fratribus ordinis predicatorum’ is peculiar, as ‘ministers’ was an unknown rank in the Order of Preachers – which is probably why it has been omitted by the Dominican scribe in B. ● This is the first papal commission for the Friars Preachers in general to preach in favour of crusades. The stated request for it from the Teutonic Order must refer to Grandmaster Hermann von Salza (1210-1239), who may have been suggested or urged to do so by Legate William of Modena. ● Friars Preachers of the provinces of Teutonia, Polonia and Dacia subsequently received a number of papal enjoinments to preach the Cross on behalf of the Teutonic Order against Prussians and Livonians in 1231 18/7, 1232 23/1, 1232 3/2, 1232 5/2, 1233 6/10, 1236 22/2, 1236 23/2, 1243 23/9, 1243 7/10, 1252 13/1, 1253 23/8, 1256 11/3, 1257 27/6, 1257 7/8, and 1257 11/8. Until 1260, the Order was alone in handling the task, while joint commissions with other clergy were issued in 1260 20/2, 1260 13/6, 1260 9/9, 1261 4/2, 1261 23/12, 1262 24/4, 1262 11/8, 1262 31/10, 1262 12/12, 1263 23/5, 1263 23/6, 1265 17/4, 1265 2/6, and 1265 4/6. After that, the Friars Preachers of Northern Europe were no longer commissioned to preach the Baltic crusade, a task henceforth left for the Teutonic Order’s own clergy. In stead, Dominican friars of the northern provinces were enjoined to preach the Cross for the Holy Land from August 1265.

 

Published: A. Monumenta Historica Poloniae vol. I no. 42. B. Bullarium Ordinis Praedicatorum vol. I no. 40.

Literature: Jakobsen 2014.

 

              1230 17/9             Anagni

The exhortation above is repeated, this time explicitly for the Friars Preachers present in the church provinces of Magdeburg and Bremen, and in Poland, Pomerania, Moravia, Suravia, Holstein and Gotland.

 

Source: Original document (damaged) and transcript of 1506 (GStA PK, Historisches Staatsarhiv Königsberg, Pergamenturkunden, Schiebl. 2, nos. 15 and 16). Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin.

Language: Latin.

 

Gregorius episcopus servus servorum Dei. Dilectis filiis ministris et fratribus ordinis predicatorum per Magdeburgensem et Bremensem provincias, Poloniam, Pomeraniam, Moraviam, Surabiam, Holsatium et Gotlandium constitutis, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem.

   Cum misericors et miserator dominus Dei filius Ihesus Christus, cuius miserationes super omnia opera sunt ipsius, attenderet hominem iuste dampnatum, iustitia exigente vindictam et suggerente misericordia pietatem, de inextimabili habundantia caritatis pro ipso tradidit semetipsum et crucis sustinendo tormentum redemit preciosi sanguinis sui pretio, quem creavit, sciensque ipsum pronum nimium ad peccandum, ne irrecuperabiliter, quem ad imaginem et sui similitudinem condidit, perderetur, si, unde resurgeret, non haberet, diversa constituit remedia, quibus posset veniam promereri. Nos ergo, qui licet immeriti vices eius in terris gerimus, affectantes supra omnia desiderabilia commodum animarum, libenter fideles populos ad caritatis opera, que idem Dei unigenitus voluit causam esse salutis, inducimus et, ut fortius accendantur ad ipsa, suffragium impertimur. Ex litteris sane dilecti filii, nobilis viri ... ducis Mazovie intelleximus, [quod] pagani Pruteni nomen Christi, quem ignorant, ad cuius cognitionem venire non volunt, exterminare tamquam profanum de suis finibus per exterminium [christianorum ibidem] existentium intendentes, ipsos vehementer impugnant, destruentes terras eorum, qui resistere pre paucitate non possunt, et personas etiam miserabiliter trucidantes; et licet idem dux ordinem fratrum hospitalis sancte Marie Teutonicorum in terram suam ad christianorum auxilium introduxerit et cum ipsius ordinis fratribus ibi existentibus Deus misericorditer operetur, conterendo per eos mirabiliter sui nominis inimicos, quia tamen ad tam arduum negotium sufficere per se nequeunt et egent fidelium subsidiis adiuvari: Universos Christi fideles per Magdeburgensem et Bremensem provincias, Poloniam, Pomeraniam, Moraviam, Surabiam, Holsatiam et Gotlandiam constitutos per litteras nostras monemus et hortamur, et per omnipotentem Deum obsecramus, in remissionem eis peccaminum injungentes, ut ad nimiam caritatem, qua Christus eos dilexit et diligit, respectum habentes et ei retribuentes pro omnibus aliquid, que tribuit ipse eis, in quos tamquam viros christianos et catholicos cadere obprobria exprobantium sibi debent, potenter et viriliter accin[gantur, tamquam habentes] zelum Dei, ad vindicandam injuriam sui nominis et ad liberandum proximos de manibus paganorum profecturi, et acturi secundum fratrum consilia predictorum, ita quod eis pre[mium debeatur eternum] et infideles non possint, quod impune Christi nomen impugnaverint, gloriari. Cum autem multa necessitas exigat, ut illuc fidelium subsidium transmitt[atur et] [dignum sit, ut in] tanto negotio laborantes debita pro labore stipendia consequantur, quatinus libentius securi de retributione procedant: Nos de omnipotentis Dei misericordia et beati Petri et Pauli apostolorum eius auctoritate confisi, omnibus, qui laborem istum in propriis personis subierint et expensis, et eis, qui non expensis propriis illuc accesserint, ibidem per unius anni spatium servituri, seu illis, qui ad subventionem fidelium de propriis facultatibus ministrabunt, juxta quantitatem subsidii et devotionis affectum peccatorum suorum veniam indulgemus, ita quod illi, qui in penitentia vera ibi decesserint, sicut transeuntes in Terre sancte subsidium, plenam remissionem peccaminum consequantur.

   Quare nos ad instantiam predictorum fratrum humiliter supplicantium, ut vobis super hoc predicationis officium injungere dignaremur, discretionem vestram monemus et obsecramus in Domino, in remissionem vobis peccaminum injungentes, quatinus assumpto predicationis officio propter Deum, ad id fideles predictos monitis et exhortationibus vestris secundum datam a Deo vobis prudentiam diligenter et sollicite inducatis. Datum Anagnie ∙xv∙ kalendas octobris pontificatus nostri anno quarto.

 

Comments: Words in brackets are missing in CDPr due to holes in the original, but has been inserted in CPoD and PrUB from the 1230 13/9-version (AE) and the 1506-transcript. ● Although almost identical to the bulls of 1230 13/9 above, this original, which has been kept at the archives of Teutonic Order, clearly states to be written four days latter. Neither the Vatican nor the Dominican archive registers know any bulls from this date. ● Besides its date, the bull differs from the above-listed versions by having spelled out the geographical areas of the addressed Friars Preachers, apparently by a simple projection of the church provinces and districts listed in the initial bull for all Christian people to be preached to. ● This has led scholarship to see the bull as evidence for the existence of a Dominican convent in Visby on Gotland in 1230 (Gallén 1946, 47-49; Blomkvist 2011, 8), a view recently opposed by others (Maier 1994, 49; Jakobsen 2011, 18-19; Jakobsen 2014); for a discussion of the meaning of per…constitutis, see Jakobsen 2014, 11. The first explicit reference to a Dominican convent in Visby is from 1243 23/9. ● The first bull to explicitly engage Friars Preachers from the province of Dacia with the Baltic crusade is from 1232 5/2.

 

Published: Codex diplomaticus Prussicus vol. I no. 24; Codex Pomeraniae diplomaticus vol. I no. 182; Preussisches Urkundenbuch vol. I:1 no. 81.

Literature: Jakobsen 2014.

 

 

 

[1225-1230]

Convent of Lund (prov. Dacia) or Lübeck (prov. Teutonia)

King Valdemar II of Denmark complies with a request raised by the Friars Preachers that a lighthouse is constructed at Falsterbo to protect the seafarers from danger. He thanks all those who will support the construction and maintenance of such a work and firmly forbids anyone to destroy it in any way. Additionally, the king gives his permission for the necessary firewood to be collected in his kingdom.

 

Source: Original document. Archiv der Hansestadt Lübeck.

Language: Latin.

 

Waldemarus Dei gratia Danorum Slavomrumque rex, omnibus presentes litteras inspecturis salutem et gratiam. Cum id, quod rationabile est, petitur conveniens est ut pia exauditio subsequatur. Hinc universitati vestre notum facimus quod nos ad rogatum fratrum ordinis predicatorum et ob dilectionem omnium mercatorum indulgemus in Falsterbothe fieri signum aliquod discretivum pro vitando periculo navigantium, quin immo grates referimus omnibus tam pio operi operam exhibentibus efficacem. Ut autem opus huiuscemodi, postquam multis expensis et laboribus fuerit consumatum, inviolabile perseveret, inhibemus districte omnibus in nostro dominio constitutis sub obtentu gratie nostre, ne quis illud ausu temerario palam vel occulte infringere audeat vel vastare, et super hiis presentem paginam conscripsimus, sigilli nostri munimine roboratam. Ceterum prefatum opus favore debito prosequi cupientes, ligna ad hoc necessaria in regno nostro secandi liberam concedimus facultatem.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Valdemar, af de Guds nåde de danskes og venders konge, til alle, der får dette brev at se, hilsen i nåde. Når det, der bedes om, er fornuftigt, er det passende, at det følges af en bønhørelse i fromhed. Derfor gør vi vitterligt for jer alle, at vi efter anmodning fra brødrene af Prædikantordenen og af hengivenhed for alle købmænd bevilger, at der gøres skelneligt mærke i Falsterbo, for at de søfarende kan undgå fare, idet vi også takker alle, der virksomt yder bistand til så fromt et værk. Men for at et værk af denne art efter at være fuldført med stor bekostning og anstrengelse kan forblive ukrænkeligt, forbyder vi i strenghed alle under vort herredømme under vor nådes fortabelse, at nogen i dumdristig forvovenhed, åbenlyst eller skjult, vover at antaste eller ødelægge det, og vi har affattet dette brev herom, til stadfæstelse bestyrket med vort segl. Men da vi ønsker at omfatte fornævnte værk med tilbørlig gunst, tilstår vi fri adgang til at hugge det dertil nødvendige ved i vort rige.

 

Comments: The last sentence (Ceterum... ..facultatem) is a later addition by the same hand. ● The letter is undated. DS just dated it to the reign of the issuer, King Valdemar II, i.e. 1202–1241. LUB narrowed it down to after 1221”, which implicitly referred to the first recorded occurence of Friars Preachers in the region, with the arrival of Fr. Salomon to Denmark in 1221. The editor of DD, Niels Skyum-Nielsen, gave the issue more thought. He argued that the lighthouse would mainly have benefitted maritime merchants from Germany, and for this reason suggested that the friars most likely were affiliated to the first Dominican convent on the north coast of Germany, i.e. the one in Lübeck, founded in 1229. An additional argument for a Lübeck provenance is that the handwriting is identical to one found in a charter issued by the Bishop of Lübeck in 1225; based on this, DD dated the letter to 1229–1241, subsequently also followed by SDHK. Gallén agreed with the thesis that it had been promoted by the convent in Lübeck (Gallen 1998, 144). However, one may argue that Danish Friars Preachers based in Lund could just as well have raised the request before the Danish king on behalf of the Lübeck merchants visiting Falsterbo, Skanør and Malmö. Considering the dating of the Lübeck scribe hand to 1225 and the fact that King Valdemar II was imprisoned in Germany until 1225 and entered a truth with Bremen and Holstein in 1228-29 (which lasted to 1233), the period 1225–1230 is here suggested as the most likely period for the letter’s issue, with the entire period of 1222 (when a convent was founded in Lund) to 1241 (the death of King Valdemar II) as a the widest formal possibility. ● This is the oldest extant reference to the construction of a lighthouse in Scandinavia. Although it is not explicitly stated that the beacon should include a fire, this is implicitly shown by the added mentioning of a subsequent and continuous need for wood.

 

Published: Diplomatarium Suecanum vol. I no. 828; Lübeckisches Urkundenbuch 1. ser. vol. I no. 23; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VI no. 102.

 

 

 

1231 18/7

Rieta

Gotland (prov. Dacia?) and Pomerania (prov. Polonia)

Pope Gregory IX renews his exhortation for the Friars Preachers ‘present in Pomerania and Gotland’ to preach the Cross on behalf of the Teutonic Order against the pagan Prussians; this happens on request from Bishop Christian of Prussia. The friars are allowed to commute crusading vows aimed for the Holy Land to the Prussian cause, just as they can redeem vows of weak and poor crusaders.

 

Source: Original document (GStA PK, Historisches Staatsarhiv Königsberg, Pergamenturkunden, Schiebl. 2, no. 19). Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin.

Language: Latin.

 

Gregorius episcopus servus servorum Dei. Dilectis filiis … ministris et fratribus ordinis predicatorum per Pomeraniam et Gotlandiam constitutis, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Cum lux illa, que illuminat omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum, eos vocat de tenebris ad ammirabile lumen suum, qui relicto gentilitatis errore, quo fuerant obvoluti, fidem Christo recipiunt per baptismum, eis cibo spirituali prodesse ac materiali adesse substancia tanto cura diligentiori debemus, quanto ventus turbinis, egestatis amminiculis concitatus, plantas novas, que nondum potuerunt in fide firmiter radicari, facilius pertubare valeret, si utrumque vel alterum eisdem deficeret nutrimentum. Cum igitur venerabilis frater noster … episcopus Pruscie ac alii, qui per Dei gratiam ad fidem christiani nominis sunt conversi, a barbaris circumstantibus multipliciter molestentur, illorum presertim implorant auxilium ad resistendum barbare nationi, qui nondum crucis signaculum receperunt in Terre sancte subsidium profecturi, et qui, signo crucis accepto, viribus et facultatibus eisdem non suppetentibus, nequeunt exequi vota sua, nobis humiliter supplicantes, quatinus, ut religio noviter propagata celestis irrigui foveatur humore, vobis, qui sicut accepimus, potentes estis in opere ac sermone, quod ad subveniendum eis fideles per Pomeraniam et Gotlandiam constitutos diligentius animetis, onus predicationis iniungere dignaremur. Quocirca discretionem vestram monemus et obsecramus in domino, in remissionem vobis peccaminum iniungentes, quatinus, assumpto sancte predicationis officio propter Deum, in predictis Pomerania et Gotlandia pauperum et debilium crucesignatorum, cum quibus duximus dispensandum, vota peregrinationis in succursum fidelium de Pruscia commutetis, necnon predictos moneatis diligenter et efficaciter inducatis, ut saltem accepto calice salutari retribuant aliquid illi, qui pro eis tradidit semetipsum, accedentes ad Pruscie partes iuxta consilium memorati episcopi et dilectorum filiorum … preceptoris et fratrum hospitalis sancte Marie Theutonicorum, qui cum ipso assumpserunt in partibus Pruscie negotium fidei ex animo prosequendum, plantationem novellam fidei christiane tam spiritualibus armis quam materialibus defensuri, tam eis quam illis, qui aliquos illuc in suis mittent expensis vel ad eorum subventionem de suis facultatibus ministrabunt, concessa per nos iuxta quantitatem subsidii et devotionis affectum venia peccatorum, secundum quod transituris Ierosolimam indulgetur. Omnes etiam exhortemini diligenter, ut elemosinam amplexantes, qua data secundum prophetam sunt omnia nobis munda, de facultatibus sibi datis a domino subvencionis manus eis tam pie porrigant, quam libenter, ita quod, cum nove regenerationis infantiam beneficiis suis in fidem Ihesu Christi curaverint solidare, retributionis eorum efficiantur, qui eam in Christo parturierunt, participes et se religiosos probent eiusdem fidei zelatores. Datum Reate ∙xv∙ kalendas augusti pontificatus nostri anno quinto.

 

Comments: In PrUB, the pontifical year is erroneously given as quarto. ● On Dominican involvement in promoting the Baltic crusade, see 1230 13/9. ● On the existence of a Dominican convent in Visby by 1230-31, see 1230 17/9.

 

Published: Codex diplomaticus Prussicus vol. I no. 26; Codex Pomeraniae diplomaticus vol. I no. 186; Preussisches Urkundenbuch vol. I:1 no. 85.

Literature: Jakobsen 2014.

 

 

 

1231 26/7

Rieti

Convent of Bremen (prov. Teutonia)

Pope Gregory IX commissions the Bishop of Lübeck, the prior of the Friars Preachers in Bremen and the papal penitentiary, Fr. Johannes OP, to investigate reports received by the Curia from the clergy and nobility in both the city and archdiocese of Bremen, according to whom the Stedinger peasants practise several inappropriate beliefs and rituals.

 

Source: Original document. Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv, Stade.

Language: Latin.

 

Gregorius episcopus servus servorum Dei, venerabili fratri ... episcopo Lubicensi et dilectis filiis ... priori sancte Catarine Bremensis et fratri Johanni penitentiario nostro de ordine predicatorum, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Si ea, que de hominibus, qui Stedigni dicuntur, nobis relata sunt, continent veritatem, plane posuerunt Deum sibi contrarium et se Deo, in illorum numero computandi, qui, prout Ysaias propheta commemorat, ipsi Deo dixerunt “Recede a nobis, quia nolumus vias tuas”. Ex parte siquidem venerabilis fratris nostri ... archiepiscopi et dilectorum filiorum capituli et totius cleri ac nobilium civitatis et provincie Bremensis nuper relatum est nobis et non absque stupore mentis audivimus et horrore, quod homines ipsi ecclesias spoliis et incendiis ausu sacrilego devastantes, preter id quod nulli parcunt etati vel sexui, sacerdotes et clericos captivare presumunt, et quod deterius est, passim vulnerant et occidunt, non timentes, cum depredantur ecclesias, corpus dominicum de vasis excutere et suis predibus conculare et, abjecto a se penitus timore divino, se ad culturam demonum convertentes. Licet propter hec at alia multa enormia, que committunt, fuerint per eundem archiepiscopum sententia excommunicationis abstricti, et prepositus Monasteriensis eiusque college auctoritate apostolica sententiam ipsam usque ad satisfactionem condignam mandaverint observari, non solum tamen redire contempnunt ad ecclesiasticam unitatem, verum etiam adversus Bremensem ecclesiam, cui jugo servitutis tenentur obnoxii, committere pejora prioribus non verentur. Cum igitur tantum Dei contemptum nos non deceat equanimiter tolerare, de discretione vestra plenam in domino fiduciam obtinentes, discretioni vestre per apostolica scripta mandamus, quatinus ad revocandos illos ab huiusmodi perversitatibus vice nostra intendere procuretis, quibus modis videritis expedire, nobiles et potentes vicinos ad edomandam illorum perfidiam invocando, ita quod per sollicitudinem vestram illi ab errore vie sue ad dominum convertantur, et nos preter retributionem divinam possimus prudentiam vestram dignis in domino laudibus commendare. Quod si non omnes hiis exequendis potueritis interesse, tu, frater episcope, cum eorum altero ea nichilominus exequaris. Datum Reate ∙vii∙ kalendas augusti, pontificatus nostri anno quinto.

 

Comments: The prior of the Friars Preachers in Bremen at this time was Fr. Burchardus, who earlier the same year had been appointed papal visitator to the nunnery of Bassum (ExDOP 1231 11/3). These are the first two contemporary references to a Dominican convent in Bremen, which according to a later source was founded in 1225. It is noteworthy that Fr. Burchardus already in 1231 is referred to as ‘prior of St. Catherine in Bremen’, even if it is traditionally thought that the friars were not given this church until 1233. ● The Dominican penitentiary Fr. Johannes is probably to be identified with Fr. Johannes de Wildeshausen (or Johannes Teutonicus), who had been apointed Apostolic Penitentiary by Honorius III in 1224. In 1230-31, he assisted Cardinal Otto on his legation to northern Germany and Denmark (e.g. ExDOP 1230 14/11), which among other issues was concerned with the Stedinger conflict (see below). Fr. Johannes later became the third master general of the Order (1241-1252). ● The bishop of Lübeck at this time was Johan I (1230/31-1247). ● It is noteworthy that the commission was appointed in 1231, the very same year that Pope Gregory IX launched the papal inquisition. Although not carrying the official title of an inquisition, the commission’s task was indeed to try the accusations of heresy that had been raised against the Stedingers, not least at an archdiocesan synod in 1231 21/3. The prelude to the conflict had been that the marshland peasants in Stedingen at the Lower Weser for years had rejected any claims of authority from both the archbishop and his brother, Count Herman II of Lippe, culminating in the slaying of the count in a battle in 1229. The infuriated archbishop then excommunicated the Stedinger peasants, and it was their lack of respect for this excommunication that let to the accusations of heresy. When Archbishop Gerhard II of Bremen then supplicated the Curia for a formal crusade against the Stedingers, Pope Gregory had his doubts about the legitimacy of the claims, which he therefore wanted to try by a qualified commission. When the commission apparently came to a conclusion that supported the archbishop, Gregory could officially declare the Stedingers as heretics in 1232 29/10, when an actual crusade was launched with significant Dominican involvement in terms of its promotion to the entire region – probably also way into Schleswig, and thereby Denmark and the province of Dacia.

 

Published: Bremisches Urkundenbuch vol. I no. 166; Oldenburgisches Urkundenbuch vol. II no. 62.

Literature: Freed 1977, pp. 146-147; Maier 1994, pp. 52-53; Jakobsen 2021:a, p. 100.

 

 

 

1231

Convent of Roskilde

Friars Preachers arrive in Roskilde.

 

Sources: A. Annales Visbyenses, B. Annales Petri Olavi.

Language: Latin.

 

A and B:

1231. Predicatores venerunt Roskildis.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1231. Prædikanterne ankom til Roskilde.

 

Comments: The Annales Petri Olavi also states that “a convent was sent to Roskilde” in 1234, which may be a rare Scandinavian evidence for a pioneer group of friars being send out to prepare the foundation of an actual convent established three years later.

 

Published: A. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. I, p. 254; Annales Danici, p. 137; Danmarks middelalderlige annaler, p. 148. B. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. I, p. 183; Annales Danici, p. 206.

 

 

 

1232 5/2

Rieto

Province of Dacia (Denmark)

Pope Gregory IX authorizes those Friars Preachers in Dacia or Denmark, who preaches the Cross against the infidel Prussians, to grant their audience 20 days of indulgence, and to remove the ban of certain criminals, if they join the crusade. Furthermore, the friars are authorized to stop false preachers of the Cross, who redeem crusade vows for money.

 

Source: Original document. The Swedish National Archives, Stockholm.

Language: Latin.

 

Gregorius episcopus seruus seruorum dei. Dilectis filiis prioribus et fratribus ordinis predicatorum in regno Dacie constitutis, predicantibus contra perfidiam Prutenorum, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Cum animarum lucrum quo nullum deo sacrificium est acceptius indefessa sollicitudine perquirentes uestrum ministerium honoretis et nostrum desiderium impleatis, ut eo uestris monitis obsecundent libentius auditores, quo potiorem gratiam consequentur; omnibus qui ad sollempnem predicationem uestram accesserint, de omnipotentis dei misericordia et beatorum Petri et Pauli apostolorum eius auctoritate confisi uiginti dies de injuncta sibi penitentia relaxamus, auctoritate uobis presentium concedentes, ut illis qui pro incendiis et injectione manuum uiolenta in clericos uel alias religiosas personas excommunicationis laqueum incurrerunt contra Prutenos pro defensione fidei accedentibus et ad tempus congruum in tam felici opere moraturis absolutionis beneficium impendatis, prouiso ut passis dampna et injurias satisfaciant competenter, illis dumtaxat exceptis quorum excessus adeo sunt difficiles et enormes, quod merito sint ad sedem apostolicam destinandi. Ceterum quia quidam pseudopredicatores que sua sunt non que Jhesu Christi querentes et intendentes potius uoluptatibus corporum quam profectibus animarum pro redemptione uotorum pecuniam uel questum a crucesignatis accipiunt, uolumus ut eos tamquam fraudulentes nuntios uerbi dei et fidelium deceptores ab huiusmodi errore desistere per censuram ecclesiasticam appellatione postposita compellatis. Datum Reate nonis februarii pontificatus nostri anno quinto.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Gregor, biskop, Guds tjeneres tjener, til sine elskede sønner priorer og brødre af Prædikantordenen i Danmarks rige, der prædiker imod de vantro prøjsere, hilsen og apostolisk velsignelse. Da I med utrættelig omsorg higer efter at vinde sjæle - intet offer er mere velbehageligt for Gud end dette - og derved hædrer jeres gerning og opfylder vort ønske, eftergiver vi, for at tilhørerne desto villigere skal rette sig efter jeres påmindelser, jo større en nåde de opnår af den almægtige Guds miskundhed og i tillid til hans apostle Sankt Peders og Sankt Paulus’ myndighed alle, som kommer til jeres højtidelige prædiken, 20 dage af den dem pålagte kirkebod og tilstår jer ved dette brevs myndighed, at I må tildele dem, som på grund af brandstiftelser og voldelig håndspålæggelse på gejstlige eller andre klostergivne personer, er faldet i bandlysningens snare, og som drager ud mod prøjserne for at forsvare troen og vil fortsætte et passende tidsrum i så lykkeligt et virke, afløsningens velgerning, forudsat at de yder de skadelidte og forurettede passende oprejsning, dog med undtagelse af dem, hvis forseelser er i den grad svære og grove, at de med rette bør sendes til det apostoliske sæde. Men eftersom nogle falske prædikanter, som søger deres eget, ikke hvad der hører Jesus Kristus til, og mere sigter mod kropslig vellyst end sjælelig fremgang og modtager penge eller indkomster af dem, der har taget korsets tegn, til afløsning af deres løfter, er det vor vilje, at I under Kirkens straf med tilsidesættelse af appel skal tvinge dem som svigagtige sendemænd for Guds ord og bedragere over for troende til at afstå fra en sådan vildfarelse. Givet i Rieti, den 5. februar i vort pavedømmes femte år.

 

Comments: The bull was most likely directed to Dominican crusade preachers in all of the Dacia (provincia Dacie) and not just Denmark (regno Dacie), but it is addressed to the latter. · On the back of the document is written: Sancta Maria. This has been interpreted as an indication that the bull came to the Dacian Dominicans through the Teutonic Order (DD 1.VI:132). · Later additions and the archival history of the bull indicate that it has been kept at the priory in Lund. · This bull is the first extant document involving Scandinavian Friars Preachers in the crusade-preaching cause for certain. The wording of the bull could, however, give the impression that the preaching had been going on in Denmark for some time already, and that this bull merely enhanced the friars’ privileges, but the formulation may also just be due to the use of a standard formula. ● An earlier bull from 1230 enjoined Friars Preachers to preach the Baltic crusade on Gotland, but this may have been directed on friars from the province of Teutonia. A series of papal bulls subsequently engaged the Dominican province of Dacia with Baltic crusade preaching in 1237, 1243, 1243, 1256, 1257 11/8, 1262 24/4, 1262 31/10 and 1265 17/4, whereas not until 1263 with preaching in favour of the crusade to the Holy Land.

 

Published: Diplomatarium Suecanum vol. I no. 263; Bullarium Danicum no. 235; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VI no. 132.

 

 

 

1232

Convent of Roskilde

Johannes Ebbesen, the king’s marshal, dies in Acre during the crusade. In his will, he leaves 40 marks silver to the Friars Preachers in Roskilde for the construction of a church and a priory.

 

Sources: A. Annales Dano-Suecani, B. Annales Petri Olavi.

Language: Latin.

 

A:

1232. (...) Obiit Johannes marscalcus in Accaron.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1232. (...) Johannes Marsk døde i Acre.

 

B:

1232. Obiit Johannes, marscalcus regis Waldemari, filius Ebbonis, in terra sancta in Achon, et sepultus est in Cimiterio b. Nicolai, qui contulit fratribus predicatoribus Roskildis ad ecclesiam et claustrum construendum quadraginta marchas puri argenti.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1232. Johannes, kong Valdemars marsk, søn af Ebbe, døde i Det Hellige Land i Acre og blev begravet på Skt. Nikolai kirkegård, som skænkede 40 mark rent sølv til prædikebrødrene i Roskilde til opførelsen af kirke og kloster.

 

Comments: Johannes Ebbesen was son of the knight and magnate Ebbe Sunesen of Knardrup, and he thereby belonged to the mighty and wealthy Hvide family, a noble clan, which at this time owned most of Sjælland and almost monopolized the episcopal office in Roskilde; Bishop Peder Sunesen of Roskilde (1192-1201) and Archbishop Anders Sunesen of Lund (1201-1223) were his uncles. Probably, he took part in a contingent of mainly German, English and Scandinavian crusaders, who sailed out of Palermo in the summer of 1227 (Jensen 2005, 166-167). If so, his will, and thus the plans of establishing a Dominican convent in Roskilde may go back to 1226-27. · The Cemetery of St. Nicholas, where Johannes Ebbesen is reported buried, is probably the cemetery attached to the hospital of the Teutonic Knights in Acre. · In Danish literature mentioning the donation, the amount is sometimes erroneous enumerated to 400 marks silver.

 

Published: A. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. II, p. 168; Scriptores Rerum Svecicarum vol. I no. 47; Annales Danici, p. 131; Annales Suecici, p. 256; Danmarks middelalderlige annaler, p. 15; Annales Ordinis Predicatorum Dacie (online). B. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. I, p. 183.

 

 

 

1221-33

Lund

Convent of Lund

The death-days of four Friars Preachers of the convent in Lund are commemorated in the cathedral chapter of Lund: Fr. Jordanus on 17 February; Fr. Niclaus on 18 April; Fr. Thomas on 22 May; and Fr. Johannes on 22 August.

 

Source: Necrologium Lundensis.

Language: Latin.

 

∙XIII∙ [kal.] Marcii. (…) Item obiit frater Jordanus, sacerdos, de ordine fratrum predicatorum Lundis. (…)

∙XIIII∙ kal. Maii. (…) Obiit frater Nicolaus, sacerdos et professus de ordine fratrum predicatorum Lundis. (…)

∙XI∙ kal. Junii. (…) Obiit Thomas, diaconus sancte Marie de ordine predicatorum Lundis. (…)

∙XI∙ kal. Septembris. (…) Item obiit frater Johannes, sacerdos, de ordine fratrum predicatorum Lundensium. (…)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

17. februar. (…) Ligeledes døde broder Jordan, præst, af prædikebrødrenes orden i Lund. [p. 38] (…)

18. april. (…) (...) Broder Niels, præst og gejstlig af prædikebrødrenes orden i Lund, døde. [p. 91] (…)

22. maj. (…) Broder Thomas, diakon ved Skt. Maria af prædikanternes orden i Lund, døde. [p. 130] (…)

22. august. (…) Ligeledes døde broder Johannes, præst, af prædikebrødrenes orden i Lund. [p. 208] (…)

 

Comments: The entries in this part of the necrology are not dated with years, but the section in question has been dated by Weeke to the first third of the thirteenth century (Weeke 1884-89, XIX); since no Friars Preachers came to Lund before 1221, the potential period then can be narrowed to 1221-33. ● Whereas three of the friars were ordained priests (sacerdos), Fr. Thomas was only a deacon. ● It is peculiar that the necrology connects Fr. Thomas to St. Mary (usually meaning the Holy Virgin), as the Dominican convent in Lund was dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene. The deacon may, therefore, have been specially connected to a certain altar in the priory church or to a secular parish church in Lund dedicated to Virgin Mary. ● Fr. Nicolaus may be identical to the Fr. Nicolaus Lundensis, who joined the Order of Preachers in 1219 15/8, was sent to established a convent in Sigtuna in 1220, but when this project had to be abandoned joined the convent in Lund c. 1223-24 (Historia ).

 

Published: Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. III, pp. 487, 507, 520 and 543; Liber daticus Lundensis, pp. 38, 91, 130 and 208.

 

 

 

1234 7/10

Perugia

Order of Preachers (incl. Dacia)

Pope Gregory IX proclaims to all prelates of the Church that he has decided to include the founder of the Order of Preachers, St. Dominic, in the liturgical calendar on 5 August, something which they all are enjoined to implement. Furthermore, the pope grants one year of indulgence to anyone, who visits the church on this particular day.

 

Source: Original document. The Swedish National Archives, Stockholm.

Language: Latin.

 

Gregorius episcopus servus servorum Dei, venerabilibus fratribus archiepiscopis et episcopis et dilectis filiis abbatibus prioribus decanis archidiaconis et aliis ecclesiarum prelatis ad quos littere iste pervenerint, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Fons sapiencie verbum patris dominus Jesus Christus, cuius natura bonitas opus misericordia redimens et renovans quos creavit, qui vineam quam de egipto transtulit usque ad consumationem seculi non relinquit, sapienter signa propter instabiles mentes innovat, et mirabilia contra diffidentiam incredulitatis immutat, dum in ecclesie nascentis exordio, post obitum Moysi videlicet finem legis ascensurus equos et in evangeliorum quadrigis que vere sunt sanitas arcu sacri eloquii quem donec judeus infirmetur intenderat, et juramentis que in patribus nobis disposuerat suscitatis confidentiam Jericho gloriam mundi quem predicationis fremitu ob stupefactis gentibus vicerat calcaturus, viam equis suis in mari faceret et in raab salutem latitudinis gentium signo coccineo figuraret. In prima quadrigarum quatuor egredientium in Zacharia de medio duorum montium ereorum protulit equos rufos populorum principes fortes terre, qui per obedientiam fidei Deo Habraham patris credentium in fundamentum novi federis adhaerentes ad ducis instar tinctis de Bosrah id est tribulationis angustia vestibus cuncta sue signa militie rubricarunt, ut pro future glorie gaudio presentem gladium non timentes effecti martires id est testes nove legis libro confessionis voce subscriberent, et forinsecis miraculorum signis ad stipulationum robur appositis, librum et tabernaculum quod Deus et non homo finxit, ac evangelici vasa ministerii non brutorum set rationabilium hostiarum sanguine tingerent, et in universam spatiosi maris faciem sagena predicationis expansa multiplicata super numerum de cunctis que sub celo sunt nationibus ecclesiam congregarent. Set quia presumptio multitudinem et malitia subsequta est libertatem in quadriga secunda sub colore qui lugentibus ac penitentibus congruit equestrem cuneum deputavit, qui ad claustrale desertum ductus per spiritum sub novi israelis auriga sanctissimo Benedicto velut sub altero Heliseo filii prophetarum communis vite bonum occasione multitudinis perditum in jocunde cohabitationis grata societate restituit et sic unitatis scissum rete reficiens, ac per opera pietatis ad terram aquilonis unde omne malum panditur proficiscens, cum fecit in inegressis thesauros nivis et contritis corde quiesceret, qui dedignatur in corpore peccatis subdito habitare. Post quos quasi lassum renovaturus excercitum et redditurus jubilum post lamentum applicitis ad quadrigam tertiam equis albis fratribus cisterciensis ordinis et Florensis, velut tonsarum greges gemine caritatis fetibus uberes de penitentie lavacro fecit ascendere sancto Bernardo ariete ovium in virtute spiritus qua ex alto indutus exstitit, et in habundantia frumenti vallium preeunte ut transeuntes liberati per eum in fortitudine clament ad dominum, dicant ymnum et ponant castra Dei excercituum supra mare. Novo igitur israele hiis tribus agminibus turmis totidem quas philistiim fecerant occurrente, hora undecima cum dies jam declinasset ad vesperum, et propter iniquitatis habundantiam caritate plurium frigescente, vergeret justitie radius ad occasum quia vineam ad quam paterfamilias operarios diversis temporibus denarii conductos conventione premiserat, et quam sua dextra plantarat, non solum vitiorum vepres et spine pervaserant, set jam prope modum vulpecule demolientes convertere in aliene vitis amaritudinem intendebant, adversus infestissimam multitudinem militiam adunare volvit promptiorem. Et sicut in presentiarum cernimus post trium signis dífferentium tyrocinia quadrigarum, in quadriga quarta equos varios et robustos predicatorum et minorum fratrum agmina cum electis ducibus simul in prelium directurus, spiritum sancti Dominici suscitavit, et ei velut equo sue glorie prebens fidei fortitudinem et fervorem divine predicationis hinnitum circumdedit collo eius, qui gerens a pueritia cor senile, ac in mortificatione carnis eligens vivere, vite requisivit auctorem, et Deo dedit ac in Nazareum sub beati Augustini regula consecratus, sedulum circa sancta Samuelis imitatus obsequium, in castigatione desiderii piissimum danielis continuavit affectum, justitie semitas et sanctorum vias strenuus, athleta custodiens, et vel ad momentlim de tabernaculo domini, de militantis ecclesie magisterio ac ministerio non discedens, carnem spiritum et sensualitatem subiciens rationi, et factus unus cum Deo spiritus totus in eum per excessum mentis pergere studuit, et sobrie compassionis studiis a caritate proximi non recessit. Quo sagittante delitias carnium et fulgurante mentes lapideas impiorum, omnis hereticorum secta contremuit, omnis ecclesia fidelium exultavit. Etate crescente crevit et gratia. Quandoquidem inexplicabile gaudium de zelo concipiens animarum ad eloquia Dei dedit animum, et quod evangelium Christi multos generans in conversione tam strenue multitudinis, evangelice dignitatis officium profitentis, nomen et opus in terra mervit obtinere majorem. Pastor et dux inclitus in populo Dei factus novum predicatorum ordinem instituit meritis, ordinavit exemplis, nec miraculis confirmare desiit, evidentibus et probatis. Nam preter opera sanctitatis et signa virtutis quibus in carne positus clarvit, diversorum curatis langoribus loquela mutis, visu cecis, surdis auditu, gressu paraliticis, et sanitate pristina multarum generibus invalitudinum restitutis, aperte patuit qualis spiritus in eiusdem sanctissimi gleba corporis habitavit. Cum igitur ex multa familiaritate quam nobiscum in minori constitutus officio habuit argumenta sanctitatis ipsius ex insignis vite testimonio constitissent, essetque postmodum de miraculorum veritate dictorum facta nobis per testes idoneos plena fides nos cum commisso nobis grege domini confidentes, eius posse suffragiis per Dei misericordiam adjuvari, ut cuius in terris solatium gratiose familiaritatis habere mervimus, eius in celis potenti patrocinio, gaudeamus, ipsum de fratrum nostrorum consilio et assensu, ac omnium tunc apud sedem apostolicam consistentium prelatorum cathalogo sanctorum ascribi decrevimus, statuentes firmiter ac universitati vestre presentibus injungentes ut nonas augusti ante diem quo posita carnis sarcina dives meritis penetravit in sancta, similis sanctorum factus in gloria, eius natalicia celebretis et faciatis sollempniter celebrari. Quatinus ipsius precibus Deus quem vivens colvit exoratus, gratiam in presenti seculo et gloriam nobis tribuat in futuro. Nos vero tanti confessoris venerabilem sepulturam que miraculorum fulgoribus generalem illustrat ecclesiam cupientes dignis christiane devotionis honoribus frequentari, vere penitentibus et confessis, illam in festivitate prefata annis singulis cum devotione ac reverentia debita visitantibus, de omnipotentis Dei misericordia et beatorum Petri et Pauli apostolorum eius auctoritate confisi, unum annum de injuncta sibi penitentia misericorditer relaxamus. Datum Perusii nonus octobris pontificatus nostri anno octavo.

 

Comments: The bull is not specifically directed at prelates in Scandinavia, but as an original version is extant at the Swedish National Archives, it is likely to have been kept in a Scandinavian church archive, perhaps even a Dominican one. ● Fr. Dominic was canonized by Pope Gregor IX on 3 July 1334, with his feast to be celebrated on 5 August (BOP vol. I no. 108). Dominic had died on the 6 August, but this day was already assigned in the liturgical calendar to St. Sixtus. In 1588, the Feast of St. Dominic in the Roman-Catholic Church was transferred to 4 August, and since 1969 it has been celebrated on 8 August (Hinnebusch 1966, 108; Halvorsen 2002, 154). ● The Feast of St. Dominic apparently did not implement all too well at first, as the injunction had to be renewed by Papal Legate Hugo de Santa Sabina in 1253 1/1 and by Pope Alexander IV in 1255 21/1, the former explicitly also for Dacia. In 1297, Archbishop Nils of Uppsala allowed for the feast to be celebrated in the parish churches of his archdiocese. The first extant use of the day to date Scandinavian diplomas is from 1294 6/8 (Denmark), 1311 5/8 (Sweden) and 1359 5/8 (Norway).

 

Published: Diplomatarium Suecanum vol. I no. 289.

 

 

 

1234

Convent of Roskilde

A convent of Friars Preachers is founded in Roskilde.

 

Sources: A. Annales Petri Olavi, B. Pontoppidan’s Annales ecclesiæ Danicæ.

Language: A. Latin, B. German.

 

A:

1234. Missus est conventus fratrum predicatorum Roskildis.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1234. Prædikebrødrenes konvent i Roskilde blev afsendt.

 

B:

Anno 1233. Liessen sich die Dominicaner, oder Prediger-Mönche, zu Roeschild nieder, und baueten ein herrlich Kloster.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

År 1233 slår dominikanerne eller prædikemunkene sig ned i Roskilde og bygger et herligt kloster.

 

Comments: It is unknown from where the eigthteenth-century chronicler of B, Erich Pontoppidan, has his dating, but in all cases concerning Dominican convent foundations, they differ from preserved medieval sources. ● It is unsaid from where the convent was sent, but most likely, the friars mainly came from Lund. It is worth noting that the same source also states that “Friars Preachers arrived in Roskilde” in 1231, which may be a rare Scandinavian evidence for a pioneer group of friars being send out to prepare the foundation of an actual convent established three years later.

 

Published: A. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. I, p. 184; Annales Danici, p. 206. B. Annales ecclesiæ Danicæ vol. I, p. 648.

 

 

 

1235

Convent of Schleswig

Friars Preachers arrive in Schleswig in 1235 and erect a splendid priory. Friars Minor arrive in Schleswig in 1240 and build a priory too. Other convents are established in Flensburg (1232), Tønder (1238), Ribe (1232), then in Haderslev, Husum and Kiel (1269).

 

Source: Cypræus’ Annales episcoporum Slesvicensium.

Language: Latin.

 

(…) Nam Prædicatores Slesuicum profecti, Anno 1235, cænobium splendissimum à fundamentis erexerunt, et ædificarunt quod postea dirutum fuit, vt infra dicemus. Sed et Fratres Minores, Slesuici, Anno Millesimo Ducentesimo quadragesimo, Cænobium erigere cæperunt. Flensburgi vero, anno 1232. in oppido Tunderensi, anno Christi 1238. Ripis, quæ Episcopum habet Peculiarem, anno 1232, vt et Hadersleby, Husij et Kiloniæ, Mathildis quoque Regina, vna cum fratre Nicolao, longo post tempore, hoc est, anno 1269. (…)

 

Comments: The authour of this chronicle published in 1634, Johannes Adolphus Cypræus, had his knowledge from unpublished works of his father and uncle, Paulus and Hieronymus Cypræus, whose sources to a large part are now lost. Some of the information brought by J.A. Cypræus is demonstrably untrue, whether this is caused by misreading of his originals or errors in these – or simple fabrications by himself. Since other of Cypræus’ data can be verified with more reliable sources, it is very hard to determine the validity of events only known through him. ● Most of the monastic foundation years listed by Cypræus are contradicted by other sources, usually held more reliable. According to these, the Dominican convent in Schleswig was founded in 1239, whereas the Friars Minor established convents in Schleswig 1232, in Flensburg 1268, in Husum 1494 and in Kiel some time before 1242. Along with all these apparent mistakes, his foundation years for the Franciscan convents in Tønder and Ribe are verified elsewhere.  ● Christian Radtke has suggested that the two different foundation years for the Dominican convent in Schleswig listed by Annales Skeningenses (1239) and Cypræus (1235) do not necessarily have to mean that (at least) one of them is wrong. Cypræus could have the year of the first arrival, Annales Skeningenses the actual year of foundation (Radtke 1974, 49-50). ● The mendicant convent in Haderslev was Dominican, not Franciscan, and founded around 1251. It is not completely clear from the wording, if Cypræus differed between the two mendicant orders in his listing of the convents in Flensburg, Tønder, Ribe, Haderslev, Husum and Kiel, but it seems to have caused misunderstandings for subsequent historians, starting with Erich Pontopiddan (see 1227).

 

Published: Annales episcoporum Slesvicensium, pp. 239-240; Braunschweig, Ulrich Petersen, pp. 273-274.

 

              1235

Friars Preachers build a magnificent priory in Schleswig and Friars Minor build a priory in Svendborg.

 

Source: Pontoppidan’s Annales ecclesiæ Danicæ.

Language: German.

 

Anno 1235. (…) Zwen Klöster der beyden neuen Orden sind in diesem Jahr erbauet, nemlich derer Dominicaner eins zu Schleswig, ein herrlich Gebäude, und derer Franciscaner eins zu Svenburg in Fühnen (…).

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1235. (…) To klostre af begge de nye ordener bliver bygget dette år, nemlig det dominikanske i Slesvig, et herligt byggeri, og det franciskanske i Svendborg på Fyn (…).

 

Comments: In regard of the Dominican foundation in Schleswig, the author Erich Pontoppidan clearly has his knowledge from Cypræus (see above).

 

Published: Annales ecclesiæ Danicæ vol. I, p. 648.

 

 

 

1231-70 (1236)

Lund

Convent of Roskilde

Fr. Johannes, prior of the Friars Preachers in Roskilde, dies on 2 May, which is noted in the necrology of Lund Chapter in a section dated to the period 1230-70. He may be identical to an otherwise unknown Fr. Johannes Cabbi, who according to the Annales Dano-Suecani dies in 1236.

 

Sources: A. Necrologium Lundensis, B. Annales Dano-Suecani.

Language: Latin.

 

A:

VI. Non. Mai. (...) Item obiit frater Johannes, prior predicatorum Roschildis.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

2. maj. Ligeledes døde broder Johannes, prædikanternes prior i Roskilde.

 

B:

1236. Obiit frater Johannes Cabbi.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1236. Broder Johannes ‘Cabbi’ døde.

 

Comments: Neither Prior Johannes nor Fr. Johannes Cabbi is known from other sources, but since the Annales Dano-Suecani according to Gallén probably originates from the Roskilde convent, the two references may point to the same person; surely, his mentioning in the annals indicates an important role among the first generation of Dacian Dominicans (Gallén 1946, p. 15).

 

Published: A. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. III, p. 511; Liber daticus Lundensis, p. 104. B. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. II, p. 168; Scriptores Rerum Svecicarum vol. I no. 47; Annales Danici, p. 131; Annales Suecici, p. 256; Danmarks middelalderlige annaler, p. 15; Annales Ordinis Predicatorum Dacie (online).

 

 

 

1237 30/5

Viterbo

Order of Preachers (incl. Dacia)

Pope Gregory IX enjoins priors and friars of the Order of Preachers, who preach against the pagan Livonians and receive redemptions for crusade vows, to hand over the money to the Teutonic Order in Livonia for the knights to purchase arms and horses.

 

Source: Not informed in LEKUB.

Language: Latin.

 

Gregorius etcetera dilectis filiis, prioribus et fratribus ordinis predicatorum, predicantibus contra paganos Livonie, salutem etcetera. Gravi considerato discrime, quod fidelibus in Livonie partibus pridem permissione divina noscitur accidisse, tanto plenius expedit eis opportunum provideri subsidium, quanto vehementius contra ipsos furit perfidia paganorum. Igitur cum dicti fideles, et precipue dilecti filii, fratres militie Christi de Livonia, quos nuper ordini hospitalis sancte Marie theutonicorum Jerusalemitan, duximus uniendos, in armis et equis, sine quibus inane dicitur exercitium militare, defectum plurimum sicut accipimus patiantur, devotioni vestre per apostolica scripta precipiendo mandamus, quatinus elemosinas et bona, que ad opus ipsorum et fidelium predictorum ad vos pro votorum redemptione perveniunt, vel hactenus pervenerunt, memoratis fratribus, pro emendis armis et equis ac aliis necessariis, sublato difficultatis obstaculo, assignetis, alias ipsis quod in Deo poteritis subventionis solatium procurantes, ut, dum pluribus fuerint roborati subsidiis, liberius perficere valeant, que sunt ad gloriam redemptoris. Datum Viterbii, ∙iii∙ kalendas junii, pontificatus nostri anno undecimo.

 

Comments: The bull appears addressed to priors and friars in all Dominican provinces preaching the Baltic crusade, something which the Friars Preachers of Dacia had been papally engaged with since 1232, perhaps even since 1230.

 

Published: Liv-, Est- und Kurländisches Urkundenbuch 1. ser. vol. I no. 51.

 

 

 

1237 9/12

Rome

Sweden

Pope Gregory IX enjoins the archbishop of Uppsala and the bishops of Sweden to promote a crusade against the Tavastians, among whom, he has been informed, numerous apostates have fallen from faith and started molesting those who remain faithful, e.g. by sacrificing them to demons and mutilating them and their priests in different barbaric ways. Those who take the Cross are to be promised the same indulgence and immunity as those who go to the Holy Land.

 

Source: Transcript in Registrum ecclesie Upsalensis.

Language: Latin.

 

Indulgentie concesse crucesignatis contra Tavestes hac si irent ultra mare Gregorii pape.

Gregorius episcopus servus servorum Dei venerabilibus fratribus Upsalensi archiepiscopo et suffraganeis eius salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Plantavit vineam dextera Domini eamque sanguine filii sui voluit irrigari, ut ex fluente de Christi latere rivulo fecundata, vinum produceret, cuius refectus dulcedine plantator altissimus exultaret. Sed prodolor ecce ab apro de silva exterminium patitur ecce singularis ferus eandem suis pastibus demolitur. Nam sicut transmisse ad nos vestre littere continebant illorum qui Tavesti dicuntur, natio que olim multo labore ac studio vestro et predecessorum vestrorum ad fidem catholicam conversa extitit nunc procurantibus inimicis crucis prope positis ad antiqui erroris reversa perfidiam cum quibusdam barbaris novellam ecclesie Dei plantationem de Tavestia funditus dyabolo coadiuvante subvertunt, parvulos quibus in baptismo Christi lumen illuxit, violenter de hac luce subtractos interimunt, quosdam adultos subtractis ab eis primo visceribus demonibus immolant, et alios usque ad amissionem spiritus arbores circuire compellunt, sacerdotes vero quosdam exoculant, et quibusdam eorum manibus et ceteris membris crudeliter multilatis, reliquos in combustionem et cibum ignis paleis involutos exponunt, sicque ipsorum paganorum seviciis regnum Sweorum opprimitur, quod de facili extremam fidei desolationem incurret, nisi sibi Dei et apostolice sedis auxilio succurratur, verum cum tanto libentius contra huiusmodi apostatas et barbaros inpugnandos sit a viris Deum timentibus assurgendum quanto majoribus ecclesiam Dei dampnis affligere cupiunt, qui jidem catholicam tam detestabili crudelitate confundunt fraternitati vestre per apostolica scripta mandamus quatinus viros catholicos in regno predicto, et vicinis insulis positos ut contra eosdem apostatas et barbaros crucis signaculum assumentes ipsis viriliter et potenter expugnent preceptis salutaribus inducatis. Nos, enim attendentes, quod Deo tanto gratior est defensio fidei, quanto ceteris virtutibus anime fides debet preciosior reputari, de omnipotentis Dei misericordia et beatorum Petri et Pauli apostolorum eius auctoritate confisi, illam ob id assumentibus signum crucis concedimus veniam peccatorum, et ipsos ea volumus immunitate gaudere quam habituri essent si in Terram Sanctam personaliter se transferrent. Datum Laterani quinto idus decembris pontificatus nostri anno undecimo.

 

Comments: The archbishop of Uppsala at this time was Jarler (1236-1255); see 1255. ● Nothing is stated about how the crusade was to be promoted to the Swedes, but it is quite likely that Archbishop Jarler made use of Dominican preachers, as he is known to have been very amicable with the Friars Preachers and a line of Dominican convents were founded in Sweden in these very years: Sigtuna and Skänninge (1237), Skara (1239), Kalmar and Lödöse (1243), Västerås (1244), and perhaps Visby (before 1243). ● A similar bull was issued in 1240 14/12 to the archbishop of Lund in favour of the renewed Danish crusade to Estonia.

 

Published: Diplomatarium Suecanum vol. I no. 298.

 

 

 

1237

Convents of Sigtuna and Skänninge

Fr. Jordan of Saxony, master general of the Order of Preachers, submerges in the Sea of Jerusalem, and convents of Friars Preachers are established in Sigtuna and Skänninge.

 

Sources: A. Annales Skeningenses, B. Annales 1160-1336.

Language: Latin.

 

A:

MMCCXXXVII obiit Benedictus episcopus Lincopensis, magister Jordanus in mari Gerosolimitano submergitur, interfeccio Nordmannorum in Skanør venit, et conventus Sictuniam et Skæningiam.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1237 døde biskop Bengt af Linköping, (general)magister Jordan gik under i Jerusalemshavet, nordmændene ødelagde Skanør, og konventer ankom til Sigtuna og Skänninge.

 

B:

MCCXXXVII obiit Benedictus episcopus Lincopensis, pridie nonas Januarii, et conventus fratrum venit Sigtoniam.

 

Comments: Jordan of Saxony shripwrecked and drowned near the coast of Syria after a pilgrimage and visitation to the Dominican priories in the province of the Holy Land. ● Either the chronicler or the transcriber seem to have mixed up the order of words in the last part, so that it should have read: ..interfeccio Nordmannorum in Skanør, et venit conventus Sictuniam et Skæningiam. ● A first attempt to establish a convent in Sigtuna had stranded in 1221-23. The Friars Preachers had previously received a site for their priory in Sigtuna by Archbishop Jarler, see 1234-37.

 

Published: A. Danske Samlinger 1. ser. vol. V, p. 372; Scriptores Rerum Suecicarum vol. III no. 1, p. 3; Annales Suecici, p. 260;  Annales Ordinis Predicatorum Dacie (online). B. Annales Suecici, p. 268.

 

 

 

1234-37

Convent of Sigtuna

Archbishop Jarler of Uppsala donates a site for a priory in Sigtuna to the Friars Preachers.

 

Source: Olavus Petri’s En Swensk Crøneka.

Language: Swedish.

 

Anno Domini MCCXXXIIII bleef erchebiscop Olaff Basatømer dødh, hwilken ther war konung Erics skyldman, och strax epter honom wardt Jerler erchebiscop, then ther rwmet gaff swartmunkom til closter i Sichtuna.

 

Comments: Although Archbishop Olof Basatömir of Uppsala died in 1234, his successor Jarler was not officially installed until 1236. On Archbishop Jarler of Uppsala, see 1255. ● The official year of foundation for the convent in Sigtuna was 1237.

 

Published: Samlade skrifter af Olavus Petri vol. IV, p. 64.

 

 

 

1238 7/6

Stensby

Province of Dacia, Convent of Riga (prov. Teutonia)

Fr. Johannes, Fr. Anfridus and Fr. Boninus (Boecius?) of the Friars Preachers are among the retinue to counsel and testify the Treaty of Stensby between King Valdemar II of Denmark and the preceptor of Teutonic Order concerning Danish interests in Estonia; the settlement takes place in the presence of Papal Legate Guillelmus de Modena.

 

Source: Transcripts of 1304 29/11 (a) and 1314 15/6 (b). The Swedish National Archives, Stockholm.

Language: Latin.

 

In nomine Domini nostri Jhesu Christi, anno Domini MCCXXXVIII, ∙vii∙ idus Junii, in presencia dominorum regis Dacie Waldemari, regis Erici, ducis Abel et Christofori, filiorum dicti domini regis Waldemari, item domini Uffonis, archiepiscopi Lundensis, domini Willehelmi, quondam Mutinensis episcopi, penitenciarii domini pape, apostolice sedis legati, item domini Petri, Arusiensis episcopi, domini Nicholai, Roskildensis episcopi, et domini Johannis, episcopi Burlanensis, item fratrum predicatorum Johannis, Anfridi (b: Amfridi), Bonini, et fratrum minorum Reynardi et Alberti, item dominorum comitis Alberti et comitis Ernesti, et domini Hermanni, preceptoris in Livonia et Prucia fratrum domus Theutonice hospitalis sancte Marie Jerosolimitani, item meliorum regni Dacie, quorum omnium voluntate, consilio et consensu peracta sunt omnia infra scripta. (…) Datum Stenby, regnante Domino nostro Jhesu Christo, cui est honor in secula seculorum, amen.

 

Comments: Fr. Anfridus and perhaps also Fr. Johannes can be identified with leading Friars Preachers of the convent in Riga, who shortly before (1238 21/4) testified to a settlement between the Teutonic Order and the bishop of Riga concerning the distribution of tithe: “Huius autem rei testes sunt: de ordine predicatorum frater Johannes, frater Tidericus, frater Paulus, frater Anfridus, frater Hermannus (…)” (LEKUB 1. ser. vol. III no. 159). Since this settlement was also made in the presence of Papal Legate Guillelmus de Modena, the two friars are likely to have accompanied the legate and the Teutonic preceptor on their journey from Livonia to Denmark, whereas Fr. Boninus/Boecius was more likely part of the Danish retinue (Gallén 1946, 50 note 21). ● The Treaty of Stensby took place at the royal demesne Stensby on the south coast of Sjælland near the habour castle of Vordingborg, from where King Valdemar II of Denmark was about to launch a naval attack on Livonia to reconquer Estonia. With the settlement such an attack was avoided by the Teutonic Order, who in return ceded the Estonian counties of Tallinn (Revalia), Virumaa (Vironia/Virland), Harjumaa (Harria) and Järvamaa (Gervia) to the Danish king; the latter county was, however, immediately after returned to the Teutonic Order as a token of good will. In addition to the exchange of lay lordship, the three counties were also returned from ecclesiastical supremacy of Riga to that of Lund. ● Guillelmus de Modena (Guglielmo di Modena, William of Modena, †1251) was an Italian secular clergy and papal diplomat, who became bishop of Modena in 1222. He was appointed papal legate on several occasions in the 1220s and 1240s, especially in concern of Northern Europe, where he appears to have been a good friend of the Friars Preachers; he occassionally appears in diplomas on Dacian-Dominican issues, as in 1247 13/8 and 1248. After resigning the see in Modena to devote himself fully to his diplomatic tasks, he was appointed cardinal bishop of Sabina by Pope Innocent IV in 1244. ● On Duke Abel of Schleswig, see 1250.

 

Published: Liv-, Est- und Kurländisches Urkundenbuch 1. ser. vol. I no. 160; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 9.

 

 

 

1238 16/7

Lund, Roskilde

Province of Dacia, convent of Roskilde

Fr. Rano, the first prior provincial of Dacia, dies. He is buried at the Dominican priory in Roskilde.

 

Source: A. Necrologium Lundensis, B. Necrologium OP Ripensis, C. Annales Dano-Suecani, D. Annales Skeningenses, E. Priores prouinciales in prouincia Dacie, F. Tombstone.

Language: Latin.

 

A:

XVII Kal. Aug. (...) Item obiit frater Rano prior provincialis fratrum predicatorum in Dacia.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

16. august. (...) Ligeledes døde broder Rano, provincialprior for prædikebrødrene i Dacia.

 

B:

XVII Kl. (Aug.) O[biit] fr. Rano primus p[rior provincialis...?]

 

Dansk oversættelse:

16. (august). Broder Rano døde, den første p(rovincialprior...).

 

C:

1238. (...) Obiit magister Rano. (...)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1238. (...) Magister Rano døde. (...)

 

D:

1238. (...) obiit Rano frater primus provincialis, Dacie.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1238. (...) Broder Rano døde, den første provincial i Dacia.

 

E:

Primus prior provincialis in provincia Dacie ordinis fratrum predicatorum fuit frater Rano, vir reverendus, diuque fuit prior provincialis. Et obiit in officio provincialatus.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Den første provincialprior i provinsen Dacia af Prædikebrødrenes Orden var broder Rano, en agtværdig mand, der længe var provincialprior. Og han døde i provincialembedet.

 

F:

Hic jacet frater Rano, primus prior provincialis fratrum Prædicatorum in Dacia, quondam decanus Roschildensis.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Her hviler broder Rano, den første provincialprior for prædikebrødrene i Dacia, tidligere dekan i Roskilde.

 

Comments: Fr. Rano’s past as dean at the cathedral chapter in Roskilde is confirmed by Historia, which also claims to know that he was elected bishop of Roskilde and on his way to the Curia, when he joined the Order of Preachers in Paris; if so, this must refer to the episcopal election after the death of Bishop Peder Jakobsen in 1225, which was won by Niels Stigsen. The past in Roskilde also explains why he chose to be buried at the priory here, where his tombstone was found among the priory ruins in 1670; unfortunately, the stone soon vanished again, but the text was preserved by Peder Resen in his ‘Atlas Danicus’.

 

Published: A. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. III, p. 534; Liber daticus Lundensis, p. 178. B. Kirkehistoriske Samlinger 1. ser. vol. II, p. 495. C. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. II, p. 168; Scriptores Rerum Svecicarum vol. I no. 47; Annales Danici, p. 131; Annales Suecici, p. 256; Danmarks middelalderlige annaler, p. 15; Annales Ordinis Predicatorum Dacie (online). D. Scriptores Rerum Svecicarum vol. III,  pp. 3-4; Annales Suecici, p. 260; Dominican annals of Dacia (online). E. Wedel-Jarlsberg, La Province de Dacia, p. 276; Karlsson, Handlingar, p. 6; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 70, p. 88; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 248; Priores prouinciales in prouincia Dacie (online). F. Atlas Danicus. Roskilde, p. 73.

 

 

 

1238

Province of Dacia

Fr. Analdus is elected second prior provincial of Dacia.

 

Source: A. Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia, B. Annales Dano-Suecani, C. Priores prouinciales in prouincia Dacie.

Language: Latin.

 

A:

(...) post quem Analdus duobus annis (...)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

(...) efter ham (dvs. Rano) (fulgte) Analdus i to år (...)

 

B:

1238. (...) Factus magister ordinis frater Remundus, prouincialis Dacie Analdus.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1238. (...) Broder Raymond blev ordensmester, Analdus (blev) provincial i Dacia.

 

C:

Secundus fuit frater Aynundus, qui non diuitius stetit in officio. (...)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Den anden var broder Ejnar, som ikke sad længe i embedet. (...)

 

Comments: The date of the election can probably be narrowed down to the late summer of 1238 in connection to the provincial chapter, which in Dacia usually was held in August or September; Analdus’ predecessor, Fr. Rano, died in office on 16 July 1238. The provincialate of Fr. Analdus lasted to 1240 or 1241.

 

Published: A. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. V, p. 501; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 70, p. 87; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 219; Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia (online). B. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. II, p. 168; Scriptores Rerum Svecicarum vol. I no. 47; Annales Danici, p. 131; Danmarks middelalderlige annaler, p. 15; Annales Ordinis Predicatorum Dacie (online). C. Wedel-Jarlsberg, La Province de Dacia, p. 276; Karlsson, Handlingar, p. 6; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 70, pp. 88-89; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 248; Priores prouinciales in prouincia Dacie (online).

 

 

 

1234-38

Convent of Slesvig

Friars Preachers and Friars Minor arrive in Slesvig during the episcopacy of Bishop Tyge of Slesvig.

 

Source: A. Cypræus’ Catalogus episcoporum Slesvicensium; B. Hamsfort’s Catalogus episcoporum Sliesuicensium.

Language: Latin.

 

A:

1216 [-1240]. Relligio his oris nova præsule visa Tucone est. Venit secta prius nigra, deinde minor. (…)

 

B:

Tuco, hoc episcopo dominicani introducti et minores, Cypræus, (…).

 

Comments: Cornelius Hamsfort is often quoted for saying that Bishop Tyge introduced the two mendicant orders in Slesvig. He does, however, also state his source, Hieronymus Cypræus, who only tells that the orders came to Slesvig during Tyge’s episcopacy. ● Bishop Tyge of Slesvig was in office from 1234 to his death in 1238. His follower Johannes was initiated in 1240.

 

Published: A. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. VII, 179; B. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. VII, 173.

 

 

 

1239

Convents of Skara and Schleswig

Convents of Friars Preachers are established in Skara and Schleswig.

 

Source: Annales Skeningenses.

Language: Latin.

 

MCCXXXIX venit conventus Skaris, et in Slæsvik. (…)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1239 ankom konventer til Skara og Slesvig. (…)

 

Comments: A post-medieval source dates the convent foundation in Schleswig to 1235; Annales Skeningenses, although otherwise primarily Swedish in its perspective, seem to be quite well-informed about events in Schleswig, and the yearbook generally appears more accurate than the post-medieval chronicle. An inscript from 1519 may indicate a final (official) convent foundation in Schleswig in 1241.

 

Published: Danske Samlinger 1. ser. vol. V, p. 372; Scriptores Rerum Svecicarum vol. III no. 1, p. 4; Annales Suecici, p. 260; Annales Ordinis Predicatorum Dacie (online).

 

 

 

1240 21/4

Convent of Oslo

During the Battle of Oslo between King Håkon Håkonsson of Norway and Earl Skule, the king leads his troops through the canons’ residence and from there through the priory of the Friars Preachers, where they break down a wooden fence into the neighbouring church of St. Olav.

 

Source: Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar ch. 236.

Language: Old Norse.

 

(…) Ok er Hakon konungr hafði skípat monnum til atsoknar við þat garðzlið sem hann var sialfr hia geck hann ínn i korsbræðragarð ok þaðan i predicara-garð. Enn millum Olafs-kirkiu ok predicara-garðz var sterkr skiðgarðr enn enginn steinmurr. Let konungrínn þar bera a suôrðu ok stor reip ok var sua skiðgarðrinn nídr brotínn. (…)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

(…) Da kong Håkon havde stillet sin hær op til angreb, som han ville, gik han ind i Korsbrødregården og derfra i prædikanternes gård. Imellem Skt. Olavs kirke og prædikanternes gård var en stærkt pæleværk, om end ingen stenmur. Kongen lod det rive ned ved hjælp af stærke reb. (…)

 

Comments: The manouvre enabled King Håkon’s men to take the ducal forces, who had taken position in the neighbouring cemetery of St. Halvard’s Church, by surprise, which led to a decisive defeat for Earl Skule. The earl and his son Peter fled to Nidaros, where Peter was captured and killed in 1240 21/5, Skule himself three days later. ● This is the first positive reference to the existence of Friars Preachers in Oslo. A later passage in the same saga, stating that King Håkon Håkonsson gave the Church of St. Olav in Oslo to the Friars Preachers, is, although undated, traditionally supposed to have taken place in the years before the battle (1240 at the latest). The reference to the fence between the friars’ house and the church could, however, also suggest that the latter at this time was still not part of the priory; indeed, it may even have become so to show the king’s gratitude with the decisive entry through the priory.

 

Published: Mundt, Hákonar saga…, p. 130.

 

 

 

1240 21/5

Convent of Nidaros

Peter, son of Earl Skule, enters the church of the Friars Preachers in Nidaros with four armed henchmen during an attempt to escape the forces of King Håkon Håkonsson of Norway. The friars offer him their protection, but he has no trust in that and in stead he continues to the archbishop’s house.

 

Source: Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar ch. 239.

Language: Old Norse.

 

(…) Pétr hertugason var litla hrið i kristzkirkiu ok fór þaðan i predicara-kirkiu. Predikarar buðu at giæta hans enn hann eigi traust a þat ok for i biskupsgarð ok ∙iiij∙ sueinar með honum. (…)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

(…) Peter hertugsøn var i Kristkirken en lille stund og gik derfra til prædikanternes kirke. Prædikanterne tilbød ham beskyttet ophold hos sig, men han havde ikke tillid dertil og drog derfra til bispegården med fire svende. (…)

 

Comments: Peter Skulesson (†1240) was son of the powerful Earl Skule, who was father-in-law to King Håkon and for long de facto regent of Norway. The still more troubled relations between earl and king, of whom Peter supported his father, finally led to open war between the two parties in late 1239, when Skule proclaimed himself king. The ducal forces had been decisively defeated in Oslo on 1240 21/4, and in the following weeks members of the ducal party were hunted down all over Norway. After the short stay with the friars, Peter Skulesson saught refuge at the Augustinian Abbey of Helgeseter just outside Nidaros, but was recognized by his enemies, taken outside the priory and killed. ● The passage is traditionally read as if Peter did not have trust in the friars and their promise (e.g. Hødnebø & Magerøy 1979, 234), but it can equally well be read as if he doubted his enemies’ intentions to acknowledge the monastic asylum (Lange 1847, 360). Both sides to such a doubt would certainly be justified, as royal forces just a month earlier had sneaked up on the earl’s troops in Oslo by going through the Dominican priory (1240 21/4), and the Birkebeiners’ disrespect for monastic peace was evidenced soon after, when not only Peter, but also his father Earl Skule were driven out of Helgeseter Abbey by force and slain just outside its gates (HHS ch. 239-241). ● This is the first positive reference to the existence of Friars Preachers in Nidaros. While the exact location of the priory has not yet been established archaeologically, the text suggests that it was situated close to Nidaros Christchurch as well as the archbishop’s residence.

 

Published: Mundt, Hákonar saga…, p. 133.

 

 

 

1240 (3/6)

Bologna

Province of Dacia

The general chapter of the Friars Preachers concedes to the foundation of two convents in the province of Hungaria (of which one is to be placed in Transylvania), two in Dacia, one in Francia (in Auxerre) and one in Polonia; for Dacia and Polonia, decision on the location of the foundations is left for the provincial chapters.

 

Source: Acta capitulorum generalium OP.

Language: Latin.

 

In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti, amen. Acta capituli generalis Bononie celebrati anno Domini MCCXL. (…)

   Concessiones domorum: Concedimus duas domos provincie Ungarie, unam ponendam in provincia Silvana; Dacie ∙ii∙ secundum quod videbitur capitulo provinciali; Francie ∙i∙ ponendam in Altisiodoro; Polonie ∙i∙ secundum quod videbitur capitulo provinciali. (…)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

I Faderens, Sønnens og Helligåndens navn, amen. Akter af generalkapitlet afholdt i Bologna i det Herrens år 1240. (…) Bevillinger af huse: Vi tilstår to huse til provinsen Hungaria, ét at placere i provinsen Transsylvanien; i Dacia to, som i overens­stemmelse med provincialkapitlet; i Francia et placeret i Auxerre; i Polonia et andet, som i overensstemmelse med provincialkapitlet. (...)

 

Comments: The act is undated, but the chapter was usually held at Pentecost. ● It is not possible to identify the concrete convent foundations in question for Dacia. Most likely candidates are Schleswig (1239), Skara (1239), Nidaros (1230-40), Oslo (1237-40) and Visby (before 1243)  ● The general chapter of 1240 also had the second reading of the decision to grant Dacia the same electoral rights as other provinces in the election of masters general (see 1241 19/5) and the first reading of the decision to add Dacia to the ‘Parisian group’ of provinces to be informed of the death of masters general (see 1242 8/6).

 

Published: Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica vol. III, p. 18; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 66.

 

 

 

1240 14/12

Rome

Convents in Denmark?

Pope Gregory IX enjoins the Archbishop of Lund and his suffragan bishops in Demark to preach a crusade against the infidels, who attack the Christians in Estonia. Those who take the Cross are to be promised the same indulgence and immunity as those who go to the Holy Land.

 

Source: Transcript in Regesta Vaticana. The Vatican Archives, Rome.

Language: Latin.

 

Archiepiscopo Lundensi et suffraganeis suis. Ad similitudinem Dei conditus et ad ipsius ymaginem homo factus, qui cum in honore esset et in invisibilia Dei per ea que facta sunt intellecta conspicere potuisset, sempiternam quoque virtutem ac divinitatem ipsius, ita ut excusationem aliquam non haberet, quia non intellexit comparatus jumentis insipientibus, illis similis est effectus; et obscuratum insipiens cor eiusdem, ut mutans gloriam incorruptibilis Dei in similitudinem ymaginis corruptibilis hominis et volucrum quadrupedum, et serpentum elegit creature quam creatori potius deservire. Et licet omnipotens Deus ne ille periret ex toto quem inter ceteras creaturas extulerat privilegio dignitatis, exurgens propter miseriam inopum et gemitum pauperam per fidem in sanguine ipsius propitiatorum proposuerit Jhesum Christum propter remissionem precedentium delictorum princeps tamen mundi huius quorundam infidelium mentes adeo excecavit, ut illuminatio evangelii in eos non valeat radiare, sed adhuc infidelitatis tenebris obvoluti, non solum nolint Dominum invocare; qui prope est omnibus invocantibus eum in veritate, quia omnis quicumque invocaverit nomen Domini salvus erit, sed etiam sicut olim in filiis Abrae is qui secundum carnem genitus fuerat ex ancilla persequebatur illum qui secundum spiritum ex libera natus erat, ita et nunc filii Agar, id est infidelium populus qui adhuc in tenebris ambulans, necdum videre mervit lucem magnam; nos qui jam non sumus filii ancille se libere, qua libertate Christus nos liberavit persequi non desistant, qui sic evanuerunt in cogitationibus suis, ut ipsum qui venit jugum captivitatis eorum dissolvere nolint agnoscere redemptorem, ipso eos ineffabilis providente sue consilio tolerante; ut vel ad eum redeant utendo felicius libertate arbitrii vel demum justas querelas non habeant contra ipsum tamdiu misericorditer expectati, necnon ut fidelibus ad exercitium virtutis existant, laborum suorum qui non perit fructum exinde habituris. Cum igitur hii qui de Estonie partibus per Dei gratiam ad fidem Christiani nominis sunt conversi, a barbaris circumstantibus multipliciter molenstentur; ac per hoc petant sibi a Christi fidelibus suveniri; fraternitatem vestram monemus et obsecramus in Domino ac in remissionem vestrorum injungimus peccaminum quatinus subjectos vobis populus moneatis attentius et efficaciter inducatis, ut ad tante felicitatis bravium properantes et ponentes cum Moyse gladium supra femur, contra huiusmodi gentes idolatras et populum murmurantem currant in splendore armorum Domini accincti ad eius prelium preliandum, qui coronam legitime certantibus repromittit. Nos enim de omnipotentis Dei misericordia et beatorum Petri et Pauli apostolorum eius auctoritate confisi omnibus vere penitentibus et confessis, tam crucesignatis vestrarum diocesium pro succursu Terre Sancte volentibus vota sua in huiusmodi subsidium commutare, quam aliis earundem diocesium qui contra fidei nostre hostes ad partes illas accesserint ibidem saltem per annum in huiusmodi Jhesu Christi servitio moraturi, illam indulgentiam elargimur, que transeuntibus in Terre Sancte subsidium est concessa. Datum Laterani, ∙xviiii∙ kalendas januarii anno ∙xiiii∙.

 

Comments: The archbishop of Lund at this time was Uffe Thrugotsen (1228-1252). While he took a leading part in the foundation of the convent of Friars Minor in Lund 1238-39, his attitude towards the Friars Preachers is not positively known, but he was most likely the initiating founder of their convent in Åhus (Gallén 1946, 28) and commemorative prayers were prescribed for him after his death at the Dominican provincial chapters in 1253 Aug-Sep and 1254 8/9. It is neither evident from the wording just who the attacking infidels were, nor who was meant to lead the crusade against them. It is, however, commonly believed that rather than to be seen as a papal call against the ongoing uprisings of pagan Oesilians at Saaremaa or elsewhere in and around Estonia, the bull was aimed to engage Denmark in a joint Scandinavian campaign against the Orthodox Russians in Novgorod (Jensen 2005, 195). A familiar bull had been issued in 1237 9/12 to the archbishop of Uppsala to promote a crusade against the Tavastians in central Finland, which in 1240 was successfully led by Earl Birger of Sweden, but when the Swedes tried to continue the expansion eastwords into Ingermanland around the river Neva towards Lake Ladoga, they were defeated by the Novgorod Rus’ in a battle on 15 July 1240, from which the earl himself only just managed to escape. It was most likely the continued efforts after the Battle of Neva to subdue the Orthodox Novgorodian Rus’ under the papacy that the call to the Danish episcopacy was meant to promote; a familiar call was made to King Håkon Håkonsson of Norway in 1241 6-8/7. The call may have had some effect, as a Danish force was in fact engaged in the Neva region as part of a Catholic alliance in 1241-42. It was initially led by Prince Abel of Denmark and the Danish Duke Knud of Estonia, but they both left the campaign to return to Denmark, when they had learned that King Valdemar II had died in March 1241. The remaining Danish forces were part of the joint Catholic attack on Novgorod in the spring of 1242, which led to a decisive western defeat on the frozen Lake Peipus on 5 April (Jensen 2005, 195-197). Nothing is stated about how the crusade was to be promoted to the Danes, but it is quite likely that the Danish bishops would have been encouraged to make use of Dominican preachers, whom since 1230 13/9 and 1232 respectively had held a role as expert crusade preachers in the region on behalf of the Teutonic Order against the pagan Prussians and the Archbishop of Bremen against the heretic Stedingers. From 1232 5/2 onwards, also the increasing number of Dominican convents within the province of Dacia were papally enlisted with the task of preaching the Baltic crusade on behalf of the Teutonic Order, and in the years around 1240 new Dominican convents had been founded in virtually all Danish dioceses.

 

Published: Liv-, Est- und Kurländisches Urkundenbuch 1. ser. vol. I no. 167; Bullarium Danicum no. 303; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 62.

Literature: Jakobsen 2021(a), p. 102.

 

 

 

1240 (at the latest)

Convent of Oslo

King Håkon Håkonsson of Norway grants the church of St. Olav in Oslo to the Order of Preachers.

 

Source: Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar ch. 333.

Language: Old Norse.

 

(…). Hann let giora berfættubrædra-kirkiu i Tunsbergi ok var hun sidan færd sudur i Dragsmork ok let hann þar giora mariu-kirkiu ur steine ok gaf til fimtige-markabol hann let giora borg a valkabiorgum ok let sidan færa til nicolaskirkiu i Oslo. Hann gaf þar olafskirkiu predikorum ok let husa kongsgard vt a eyrum i bænum. (…)

 

Comments: The reference to the donation is included in the king’s concluding memorial in the final part of the saga, from which it cannot be dated more accurately. Traditionally it is believed to have taken place shortly before the first dated reference to the priory in 1240 21/4, but since this refers to a strong fence between the friars’ house and the church, it could suggest that the latter at this time was still not part of the priory; indeed, it may even have become so to show the king’s gratitude with the decisive entry through the priory. ● The church of St. Olav was situated to the immediate north of Oslo Cathedral. It has been dated to the twelfth century; its original function is unknown.

 

Published: Mundt, Hákonar saga…, p. 209.

 

 

 

1240-41

Province of Dacia

Prior Provincial Analdus is absolved by the general chapter and Fr. Absalon is elected new provincial of Dacia.

 

Source: A. Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia, B. Annales Dano-Suecani, C. Priores prouinciales in prouincia Dacie.

Language: Latin.

 

A:

(...) post quem Absolon annis uiginti.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

(...) efter ham (dvs. Analdus) (fulgte) Absalon i tyve år.

 

B:

1241. Factus prouincialis Dacie frater Absalon, magister ordinis frater Iohannes.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1241. Broder Absalon blev provincial i Dacia, broder Johannes (blev) ordensmester.

 

C:

(...) Fuit absolutus in capitulo generali [MCCXXXV]. Tertuis fuit frater Absalon, uir reuerendus et bonus. (...)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

(...) Han (dvs. Analdus) blev afløst på generalkapitler [i 1235]. Den tredje var broder Absalon, en agtværdig og god mand. (...)

 

Comments: The absolution of Fr. Analdus is only recorded by Bernard Gui. The added year, 1235, is obviously wrong, as he did not come into office until 1238. Rather, he was absolved in 1240 or 1241; however, the general chapter acts of neither the years mention him. Annales Dano-Suecani dates the substitution to 1241. Absalon stayed in office, with a short intermezzo in 1250, till his death in 1261.

 

Published: A. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. V, p. 501; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 70, p. 87; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 219; Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia (online). B. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. II, p. 168; Scriptores Rerum Svecicarum vol. I no. 47; Annales Danici, p. 131; Annales Suecici, p. 256; Danmarks middelalderlige annaler, p. 15; Annales Ordinis Predicatorum Dacie (online). C. Wedel-Jarlsberg, La Province de Dacia, p. 276; Karlsson, Handlingar, p. 6; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 70, pp. 88-89; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 248; Priores prouinciales in prouincia Dacie (online).

 

 

 

1241 13/4

Riga

Convent of Riga (prov. Teutonia), Bishop of Ösel-Wiek

Bishop Henricus OP of Ösel-Wiek declares that he has entered an agreement with the Teutonic Order, which extends his episcopal jurisdiction into “the lands between the Estonians already converted and the Russians, i.e. the lands Watland, Neva, Ingria and Karelia”, where there is hope of a soon conversion after an expected military conquest by the Teutonic Knights. The agreement leaves the entire spiritual authority in the district to the bishop, who for this is to receive a tenth of all tithes, except of certain skins, whereas the Teutonic Order is to keep patronage of the churches and all other ecclesiastical income, as the knights singlehandedly bear the trouble, costs and danger of subjugating the pagans. The agreement is co-witnessed by Fr. Sinderammus and Fr. Hugo of the Friars Preachers in Riga.

 

Source: Original document. The Swedish National Archives, Stockholm.

Language: Latin.

 

Frater Henricus de ordine predicatorum Osilie et Maritime divina miseratione episcopus, cunctis Christi fidelibus, ad quos presens scriptum pervenerit, salutem in domino Jhesu Christo. Ne labantur cum tempore, que geruntur in tempore, perennari solent litteris ac testibus roborari. Notum ergo facimus tam posteris, quam presentibus, quod fratres domus s. Marie Theutonicorum in Livonia nobiscum concordaverunt, cum a sede apostolica postularent, jurisdictionem nostram extendi ad terras inter Estoniam jam conversam et Rutiam, in terris videlicet Watlande, Nouve, Ingrie et Carele, de quibus spes erat conversionis ad fidem Christi, eum jam occupate essent a predictis fratribus per quoddam castrum, multorum de ipsis terris consensu, sub hac forma compositionis, ut videlicet nos, in spiritualibus in terris illis providentes, decimam decime perciperemus in omnigenis proventibus, exceptis variis pelliculis, ipsis autem fratribus omne reliquum cederemus emolumentum, tam in jure patronatus ecclesiarum, quam piscationibus, advocatiis et ceteris imperalibus [temporalibus?], pro eo, quod ipsis incumberet labor, expensa et periculum in barbarorum subjugatione. Neque vero possit in posterum suboriri calumnia, compositionem nostram litteris mandari fecimus, sigillo nostro communitis ac testibus, qui presentes fuerunt, cum hac fierent, fratres Sinderammus [et] Hugo ordinis predicatorum; frater Henricus et frater Wernerus ordinis fratrum minorum; fratres domus s. Marie Theutonicorum Andreas commendator, Wernerus marscalcus, Gerardus camerarius, Remboldus et alii quam plures. Actum publice Riga, Dominice incarnationis anno MCCXLI idus aprilis. Insuper jam infeodati Theutonici in eodem castro ab agrorum suorum decimis sint exemti, et insuper fratrum de domo Theutonica agricultura.

 

Comments: Fr. Sinderammus and Fr. Hugo of the Friars Preachers in Riga are not known from any other sources. ● Fr. Henricus was a Friar Preacher of probably German origin, of whom there are no records before he was appointed bishop of Ösel-Wiek by Legate William of Modena in 1234. He remained in office until 1260. ● The bishopric of Ösel-Wiek, based around the island of Saarema (Ösel) and the north-westernmost corner of Estonia, was segregated into a missionary diocese in 1228 to comply with a wish of King Heinrich VII of the Holy Roman Empire, placed directly under the papacy, until transferred to the new church province of Riga in 1255. It was soon abandoned by its first Cistercian bishop, Gottfried, in 1229, and after five years of vacancy, his Dominican successor was appointed by Legate William. ● Watland, Neva, Ingria and Karelia were all tribal districts located a long way east of the bishopric, around Neva Bay in the innermost part of the Gulf of Finland, and thus separated from Ösel-Wiek by the (Danish-administered) diocese of Tallinn. ● To which extent Bishop Henricus may have used his own Dominican brethren based in Tallinn and/or Riga to comply with these missionary tasks is unknown, but he must have been inclined to, partly due to his own orderly affiliation, partly since alternative options were extremely scarce.

 

Published: Liv-, Est- und Kurländisches Urkundenbuch 1. ser. vol. III no. 169 a (col. 33-34).

 

 

 

1241 20/4

Rome

Convent of Nidaros

Pope Gregory IX charges the prior of the Friars Preachers in Nidaros together with the abbots of Tuterø and Nidarholm to investigate the claimed miracles taking place after the death of Archbishop Øystein of Nidaros.

 

Source: Transcript in Regesta Vaticana. Vatican Archives, Rome.

Language: Latin.

 

Gregorius episcopus etc. .... abbati Tautrensi, Cisterciensis, et … Holmensi sancti Benedicti, Nidrosiensis diocesis, et fratrum predicatorum Nidrosiensis ordinum prioribus. Ut corda fidelium in sui amorem rex celestis accendat, et incredulos convertat ad fidem, sanctos suos miraculis magnificat gloriosis, devotiores enim fideles ipsi redduntur altissimo, dum vident electos ipsius post exitum hujus vite felicem virtutibus corruscare, ac reliqui eum sequi desiderant, cum se sequentibus eterna premia largiatur. Sane dignas domino referimus gratias, quod sicut venerabiles fratres … Nidrosiensis archiepiscopus et ejus suffraganei, ac carissimus in Christo filius noster … Norwagie rex illustris suis nobis litteris intimarunt, recolende memorie Augustinum, Nidrosiensem archiepiscopum, cum pie vixisset in hoc seculo, viam salutis docendo verbis pariter et exemplis, tandem presentis vite cursu feliciter consumato, multis miraculis omnipotens decoravit. Unde, cum non deceat eum apud homines sine veneratione relinqui, quem merita et miracula sanctum ostendunt, nobis humiliter supplicarunt, ut ipsum ascribere sanc torum cathalogo curaremus. Quia vero nobis non constitit de predictis, discretioni vestre, de qua plenam in domino fiduciam gerimus, per apostolica scripta mandamus, quatinus de vita et miraculis ipsius diligenter ac sollicite inquirentes, que inveneritis nobis per vestras litteras fideliter intimetis. Quod si non omnes etc. Datum Laterani XII kal. Maii, anno XV.

 

Comments: All places for the names of the charged commissioners are left blank in the register; the abbot of Nidarholm at this time was called Bjørn. ● The monasteries of Tuterø and Nidarholm (Holm) were Cistercian and Benedictine repsectively. ● Øystein Erlendsson (Augustinus Nidrosiensis) was archbishop of Nidaros from 1158-59 till his death in 1188. He was declared saint by the bishops of Norway in 1229, and a minor cult was celebrated around his grave in Nidaros. ● This first papal commission to investigate the sainthood of Archbishop Øystein apparently did not come to any conclusion, as four subsequent commissions were appointed in 1246, 1251, 1255 and 1268; the one in 1251 also had Dominican appointees. All commissional appointments remained futile and no further attempts of gaining papal canonization were made.

 

Published: Diplomatarium Norvegicum vol. I no. 23.

 

 

 

1241 (19/5)

Paris

Province of Dacia

The general chapter of the Friars Preachers grants the provinces of Polonia, Dacia, Terra sancta and Grecia the same electoral rights as the other eight provinces in the election of masters general, which means that they may each send their prior provincial and two diffinitors to the electoral chapters.

 

Source: Acta capitulorum generalium OP.

Language: Latin.

 

In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti, amen. Acta capituli generalis Parisius celebrati anno Domini MCCXLI.

   Confirmamus hanc constitutionem (…). Item hanc ut ∙iiiior∙ provincie scilicet Polonia, Dacia, Jherosolimitana, Grecia aliis provinciis in omnibus adequentur tam in duobus electoribus magistri ordinis quam in habenda potestate, quam habent priores provinciales, magistro ordinis mortuo vel amoto. Ubicumque ergo in constitutionibus fit mentio de octo provinciis, ponatur ∙xii∙. Et hec habet ∙iii∙ capitula. (…)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

I Faderens og Sønnens og Helligåndens navn, amen. Akterne af generalkapitlet afholdt i Paris i det Herrens år 1241.

    Vi vedtager følgende konstitutioner: (…) Ligeledes at disse fire provinser, nemlig Polonia, Dacia, Jerusalem [og] Grecia skal stilles lige med andre provinser i alle forhold såvel med hensyn til de to, der skal foretage valg af mester, som med hensyn til den magt, som provincialpriorerne har, når ordensmesteren er død eller afsat. Hvorend der i konstitutionerne omtales “otte provinser” indsættes [nu i stedet] “tolv”. Og dette har tre kapitler [vedtaget]. (…)

 

Comments: The act is undated, but the chapter was usually held at Pentecost. The four ‘new provinces’ had until then only been allowed to send one diffinitor along with the prior provincial to the electoral chapters. ● The general chapter of 1241 also had the second reading of the decision to add Dacia to the ‘Parisian group’ of provinces to be informed of the death of masters general (see 1242 8/6).

 

Published: Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica vol. III, p. 18.

Literature: Galbraith 1925, 93; Gallén 1946, 13.

 

              1239 (15/5)          Paris

The above-mentioned change has its first reading at the general chapter.

 

Source: Acta capitulorum generalium OP.

Language: Latin.

 

Hec sunt acta capituli generalis Parisius celebrati anno Domini MCCXXXIX. (…) Inchoamus has constitutiones. Statuimus ut ∙iiiior∙ provincie Polonia, Dacia, Syria, Grecia aliis provinciis per omnia adequentur tam in duobus electoribus magistri quam in potestate quam habent priores provinciales magistro ordinis mortuo vel amoto. (…)

 

Published: Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica vol. III, p. 11; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 37.

 

              1240 (3/6)            Bologna

The above-mentioned change has its second reading at the general chapter.

 

Source: Acta capitulorum generalium OP.

Language: Latin.

 

In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti, amen. Acta capituli generalis Bononie celebrati anno Domini MCCXL. (…) Item, approbamus ut ∙iiiior provincie videlicet Polonia, Dacia, Jerosolimitana, Grecia aliis octo provinciis per omnia adequentur tam in duobus electoribus magistri; quam in habenda potestate quam habent priores provinciales magistro ordinis mortuo vel amoto. Et hec habet ii capitula. (…)

 

Published: Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica vol. III, p. 14; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 66.

 

 

 

1241 8/7

Rome

Province of Dacia

Pope Gregory IX instates the Benedictine abbot of Bergen and the Dominican prior provincial of Dacia to investigate and evaluate the succesional right of King Håkon Håkonsson to the Norwegian throne.

 

Source: Transcript in Regesta Vaticana. Vatican Archives, Rome.

Language: Latin.

 

Gregorius episcopus etc. … abbati sancti Michaelis ordinis S. Benedicti Bergensis diocesis, et … priori provinciali fratrum predicatorum Norwagie. Venerabiles fratres nostri … archiepiscopus Nidrosiensis et eius suffraganei per suas litteras nobis humiliter supplicarunt, ut cum carissimus in Christo filius noster H. Norwagie rex illustris recolende memorie … patri suo, cuius erat filius naturalis, deficientibus legitimis aliisque propinquis consanguineis, qui possint de iure succedere ipsi patri, secundum legem et consuetudinem patrie in regno succedat, sibi quod non obstante defectu natalium inungi et coronari possit in regem, presertim cum nulli subsit principi seculari, concedere curaremus. Licet igitur regem ipsum tamquam catholicum principem et apostolice sedi devotum specialis dilectionis prosequamur affectu, et eius honori quantum cum deo possumus intendamus, quia tamen in tanto negotio non est leviter procedendum, nos de circumspectione vestra plenam in domino fiduciam obtinentes mandamus, quatinus inquisita super premissis diligentius veritate, que inveniretis nobis per vestras litteras et sollempnes nuntios fideliter intimetis, ut ex relatione vestra instructi securius in ipso negotio, auctore domino, procedamus. Datum Laterani .VIII. Id. Julii anno XV.

 

Comments: The bull is addressed to “the prior provincial of the Friars Preachers in Norway”, who was, of course, the provincial of the entire province of Dacia. · In the Vatican register, both the Benedictine abbot and the Dominican prior provincial are unnamed, and whereas the abbot can be identified with a Fr. Sigurd (Sigurdus), it is uncertain who the provincial of Dacia actually was at the time in question. The bull may have been sent during a provincial ‘interregnum’, between the absolution of Fr. Analdus at the general chapter around Pentecost and the election of his successor Fr. Absalon at the provincial chapter in the late summer, a substitution that either took place in 1240 or 1241. · Furthermore, it is uncertain whether the task was ever implemented. King Håkon had held the throne since 1217, but as an illegitimate child of his royal father, his claim was constantly challenged, and he therefore on several occasions asked the Church for its approval and an ecclesiastical coronation. This did not come, however, until 1247, and the investigation initiated by Pope Gregory in July 1241 may have stopped with the pope’s death in August that same year.

 

Published: Diplomatarium Norvegicum vol. I no. 25.

 

 

 

1242 (8/6)

Bologna

Province of Dacia

The general chapter of the Friars Preachers adds to the existing constitutions that when a master general dies, it is now also the obligation of the prior of the convent in Paris to inform the province of Dacia, whereas the prior in Bologna is to inform the provinces of Polonia, Terra sancta and Grecia.

 

Source: Acta capitulorum generalium OP.

Language: Latin.

 

In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti, amen. Acta capituli generalis Bononie celebrati anno Domini MCCXLII.

   (…) Item, confirmamus has constitutiones. Ubi dicitur de annunciatione mortis magistri, addatur, quod domus Parisiensis anunciet provincie Dacie; Bononiensis vero Polonie, Terre sancte, Grecie, et illud deleatur de constitutionibus et aliis quibus poterit anunciare. Et hec habet ∙iii∙ capitula. (…)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

I Faderens og Sønnens og Helligåndens navn, amen. Akterne af generalkapitlet afholdt i Bologna i det Herrens år 1242.

    (…) Fremdeles, vi vedtager følgende konstitutioner: Hvor det gælder forkyndelsen af døde [general]magistre, tilføjes huset i Paris forkyndelsen til provinsen Dacia, men Bologna [tilføjes] Polonia, Det Hellige Land og Grecia, og dette annullerer konstitutioner og andet der vedrører forkyndelsen. Og dette har tre kapitler [vedtaget]. (…)

 

Published: Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica vol. III, p. 21; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 105.

 

              1240 (3/6)            Bologna

The above-mentioned change has its first reading at the general chapter.

 

Source: Acta capitulorum generalium OP.

Language: Latin.

 

In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti, amen. Acta capituli generalis Bononie celebrati anno Domini MCCXL. (…) Approbamus hanc constitutionem. (…) Item, ubi dicitur de annunciatione mortis magistri, addatur quod domus Parisiensis annunciet provincie Dacie, Bononiensis vero Polonie, Terre sancte, Grecie, et deleatur de constitutionibus illud aliis quibus poterit. (…)

 

Published: Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica vol. III, p. 13; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 66.

 

              1241 (19/5)          Paris

The above-mentioned change has its second reading at the general chapter.

 

Source: Acta capitulorum generalium OP.

Language: Latin.

 

In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti, amen. Acta capituli generalis Parisius celebrati anno Domini MCCXLI. (…) …

Item, ubi dicitur de annunciatione mortis magistri, addatur, quod domus Parisiensis annunciet provincie Dacie; Bononiensis vero Polonie, Terre sancte, Grecie, et deleatur illud de constitutionibus et aliis quibus poterit. Et hec habet ∙ii∙ capitula. (…)

 

Published: Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica vol. III, p. 19; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 92.

 

 

 

1242

Convents of Helsingør and Næstved

Convents of Friars Preachers are founded in Helsingør and Næstved.

 

Source: Pontoppidan’s Annales ecclesiæ Danicæ.

Language: German.

 

Anno 1242. (…) Um diese Zeit wurden zu Helsingöer und Nestved 2. Dominicaner oder Schwartz-Brüder-Klöster gestiftet.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

År 1242. (…) Omkring denne tid blev der stiftet to dominikaner- eller sortebrødreklostre i Helsingør og Næstved.

 

Comments: It is unknown from where the eighteenth-century chronicler, Erich Pontoppidan, has his datings, but in all cases concerning Dominican convent foundations, they differ from preserved medieval sources. ● While Friars Preachers are otherwise not recorded in Helsingør until 1425, with a formal convent foundation in 1441 3/3, the first certain reference to Dominican presence in Næstved is from 1277, with a possible preceding record in 1266 Apr-Aug. ● In the case of Næstved, an initial foundation around 1242 is not completely unthinkable, as the Friars Minor are known to have received a friary site in the town around 1240, but were kept from using it by the Benedictine town lords in Skovkloster until 1270. A similar process for the Friars Preachers may explain why no Dominican convent apparently existed in Næstved in 1254 8/9 and 1261 22/3.

 

Published: Annales ecclesiæ Danicæ vol. I, p. 656.

 

 

 

1243 (31/5)

Bologna

Province of Dacia

The general chapter of the Friars Preachers concedes to the foundation of three convents in the province of Lombardia, two in Teutonia and one in Dacia.

 

Source: Acta capitulorum generalium OP.

Language: Latin.

 

In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti, amen. Acta capituli generalis Bononie celebrati anno Domini MCCXLIII. (…) Concedimus ·iii· domos provinciae Lombardie, Theutonie ·ii·, Dacie ·i·. (…)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

I Faderens, Sønnens og Helligåndens navn, amen. Akter af generalkapitlet afholdt i Bologna i det Herrens år 1243. (…) Vi tilstår tre huse til provinsen Lombardia, Teutonia to [og] Dacia ét. (…)

 

Comments: The act is undated, but the chapter was usually held at Pentecost. ● It is not possible to identify the concrete convent foundation in question for Dacia. Most likely candidates are Visby (before 1243), Kalmar (1243), Lödöse (1243) and Västerås (1244).

 

Published: Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica vol. III, p. 30; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 159.

 

 

 

1243 23/9

Anagni

Provinces of Dacia and Teutonia, Convent of Visby

Pope Innocent IV enjoins the prior provincials of Dacia and Teutonia, along with the prior and brethren of the Friars Preachers in Visby specifically, to preach the crusade to Livonia and Prussia on behalf of the Teutonic Order on Gotland. The crusaders and their families are promised papal and ecclesiastical protection; those who due to illness or poverty cannot fulfill their vows are to be redeemed in return for material help for the crusade handed over to the friars; people who support the crusade financially or pay for others’ participation are given remission and privileges similar to those given for the actual crusaders, and similar to those given for the crusade to The Holy Land; 20 days of indulgence are given to anyone listening to the crusade sermons of the friars; and full absolution are offered to people excommunicated for arson or violence against priests, if they take the Cross and if they beforehand have paid full compensation, and their crime does not demand a pilgrimage to Rome.

 

Sources: A. Transcript in Regesta Vaticana. Vatican Archives, Rome. B. Transcripts in Örnhielm’s Bullarium and Peringskiöld’s Bullarium. The Swedish National Archives, Stockholm.

Language: Latin.

 

A:

Priori provinciali fratrum ordinis predicatorum in Alemannia. Qui justis causis hominum promovendis promptum favorem impendimus, tanto libentius vigilanti cura prosequi pia debemus negotia Jhesu Christi, quanto Deus homini preferendus esse dinoscitur, et omnis sibi deberi reverentia comprobatur. Igitur cum, sicut relatu fidedignorum percepimus exultantes; conditor omnium in Livonie ac Pruscie partibus dilectorum filiorum fratrum hospitalis sancte Marie Teutonicorum Jerosolimitani ac aliorum fidelium triumphanti dextera faciente sit multipliciter exaltatus; et spes sit, quod ibidem magis ac magis sui nominis gloria protendatur, si plantationi sue partium earumdem favorem, quem in ipso possumus, impendentes, oportunum illi per devotos ecclesie subsidium procuremus, devotionem tuam rogamus et hortamur in domino per apostolica tibi scripta mandantes ac in remissionem peccaminum injungentes, quantinus priores et fratres tui ordinis constitutos in Madeburgensi et Bremensi provinciis, Ratisponensi, Pataviensi, Alberstatensi, Ildesemensi et Verdensi diocesibus huiusmodi negotio quaque postposita difficultate deputare studeas et eosdem attentius exhortari, quod assumpto sancte predicationis officio propter deum fideles dictarum provinciarum et diocesium ad nimiam caritatem, qua Christus nos dilexit et diligit, respectum habere et ei retribuere aliquid pro omnibus, que tribuit ipse illis, piis exhortationibus secundum datam sibi a deo prudentiam studeant informare diligenter et sollicite, petituri, ut ipsi redempti pretio glorioso, in quos tamquam viros christianos et catholicos cadere opprobria exprobrantium Christo debent, se viriliter et potenter accingant tamquam zelum dei habentes ad ampliandam gloriam crucifixi et liberandum proximos de manibus paganorum, profecturi et acturi secundum fratrum consilia predictorum, ita quod et ipsis premium debeatur eternum, et infideles non possint quod impune Christi nomen impugnaverint, gloriari. Illos vero de provinciis et diocesibus memoratis, qui crucis signaculo in Livonie seu Pruscie subsidium insigniti propter paupertatem seu debilitatem illuc nequeunt personaliter proficisci, a voto crucis absolvant, dummodo de bonis suis juxta proprias facultates congruam subventionem exhibeant per manus eorumdem fratrum in idem subsidium convertendam. Nos enim, ut, quod pro nomine redemptoris tam digne deposcitur, effectu facili compleatur, omnes dictarum provinciarum et diocesium in succursum eorumdem fidelium suscepto propter hoc crucis signaculo processuros necnon eorum familiam et bona omnia, donec de ipsorum reditu vel obitu certissime cognoscatur, sub protectione ac defensione sedis apostolice admittentes illis ac aliis, qui juxta facultatem et qualitatem suam illuc bellatores idoneos in expensis propriis duxerint destinandos, necnon qui ad subventionem dictarum Livonie vel Pruscie de bonis propriis congrue ministrarunt, vel qui in alienis expensis illuc accesserint, ibidem ad minus per unius anni spatium servituri, juxta quantitatem subsidii et devotionis affectum illam indulgentiam idemque privilegium elargimur, que transeuntibus et subvenientibus in Terre Sancte subsidium conceduntur. Preterea, ut prefatum negotium, quo pluribus contingit juvari remediis, prosperitatis optate suscipiat incrementum, prioribus et fratribus per te supradicto negotio deputandis presentium auctoritate concedimus, quod illis earumdem provinciarum et diocesium, qui ad eorum sollempnem predicationem accesserint, viginti dies de injuncta penitentia relaxare ac eorum singulis illuc sumpto propter hoc crucis caractere processuris, qui pro incendiis et injectione manuum in clericos vel alias religiosas personas excommunicationis laqueum incurrerunt, absolutionis beneficium juxta formam ecclesie valeant impertiri, proviso ut passis dampna et injurias satisfaciant competenter, illis dumtaxat exceptis, quorum excessus adeo sunt difficiles et enormes, quod merito sint ad sedem apostolicam destinandi. Datum Anagnie ix kalendas octobris anno primo.

   In eundem modem..priori provinciali fratrum ordinis predicatorum in Dacia per regna Dacia, Svecie et Norweie...

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Til provincialprioren for prædikebrødrenes orden i Tyskland. Vi, som redebont yder støtte til at befordre menneskenes retfærdige sager, bør med årvågen omsorg fremme Jesu Kristi fromme anliggender ligeså meget mere villigt, som Gud vides at stå over mennesket, og al ærefrygt beviseligt skyldes Ham. Da altså alles skaber, efter hvad vi med jubel har set af troværdiges indberetning, er blevet ophøjet på mangfoldig vis i Livlands og Preussens egne ved vore elskede sønner, brødrene af de Tyskes Skt. Mariahospital i Jerusalems og andre troendes triumferende højre hånd, og der er håb om, at Hans herlige navn kan udbredes mere og mere dersteds, hvis vi bringer Hans udplantning i samme lande den støtte, vi kan i Ham, og skaffer den behørig undsætning gennem dem, der er Kirken hengivne, beder og opfordrer vi i Herren dig, hengivne søn, idet vi ved denne vor apostoliske skrivelse befaler og pålægger dig til syndernes forladelse, at du ivrigt arbejder på med tilsidesættelse af alle vanskeligheder til denne sag at udpege priorer og brødre af din orden i kirkeprovinserne Magdeburg og Bremen og i stifterne Regensburg, Passau, Halberstadt, Hildesheim og Verden og indtrængende maner til dem, at de for Guds skyld påtager sig det hellige prædikehverv og i fromhed maner og i overensstemmelse med den af Gud givne klogskab ivrigt arbejder på omhyggeligt og omsorgsfuldt at fortælle de troende i nævnte kirkeprovinser og stifter, at de med den overvættes kærlighed for øje, hvormed Kristus har elsket og elsker os, skal yde Ham noget til gengæld for alt det, som Han har ydet dem, og beder om, at disse, der er genløst for den herlige pris og som kristne og rettroende mænd rammes af forhånelserne fra dem, der bespotter Kristus, mandigt og mægtigt væbner sig af nidkærhed for Gud og for at udbrede den Korsfæstedes herlighed og befri dem, der bor nærmest, fra hedningenes hånd, idet de drager ud og handler i overensstemmelse med fornævnte brødres råd, således at der på én gang tilkommer dem en evig løn, og de vantro ikke kan bryste sig af, at de anfalder kristenheden uden at lide straf. Men de folk fra omtalte kirkeprovinser og stifter, der skønt prydet med korsets tegn til undsætning for Livland eller Preussen ikke personligt kan drage derhen på grund af fattigdom eller svaghed, skal frigøres for korsløftet, når blot de af deres gods udreder en understøttelse, der stemmer med deres midler, og denne skal ved samme brødres hånd anvendes til nævnte undsætning. Thi vi tager, for at det, som på så værdig en måde fordres i Genløserens navn, med lethed kan iværksættes og opfyldes, alle fra nævnte kirkeprovinser og stifter, der vil drage ud for at bistå samme troende efter at have taget korsets tegn på grund heraf, og desuden deres undergivne og alt deres gods under det apostoliske sædes beskyttelse og forsvar, indtil der haves fuldstændig sikre efterretninger om deres tilbagekomst eller død, og skænker gavmildt dem og andre, som i overensstemmelse med deres midler og stilling mener at burde sende hertil skikkede krigere derhen på egen bekostning, og ligeså dem, som giver en passende del af deres gods til understøttelse for nævnte Livland eller Preussen, og dem, som drager derhen på fremmed bekostning for at tjene der i det mindste i ét år, i henhold til undersætningens størrelse og den hengivne følelse af samme aflad og samme privilegium, som bevilges dem, der drager afsted for at hjælpe og undsætte Det Hellige Land. Endvidere bevilger vi, for at fornævnte sag, jo flere veje, der benyttes for at fremme den, kan vokse og styrkes så heldigt, som vi ønsker det, ved dette brevs myndighed de priorer og brødre, der skal udpeges af dig til ovennævnte, at de må eftergive dem fra samme kirkeprovinser og stifter, som kommer til deres højtidelige prædiken, 20 dage af den dem pålagte kirkebod og i overensstemmelse med Kirkens regler tildele dem befordrende syndsforladelse til hver enkelt af dem, der vil drage derhen efter at have taget korsets mærke på grund heraf, og som har pådraget sig bandlysningens dom på grund af brandstiftelse og håndspålæggelse mod gejstlige eller andre fromme personer, forudsat at de yder dem, der har lidt skade og uret, erstatning på passende måde, dog med undtagelse af dem, hvis forseelser er i den grad særegne og grove, at de med rette bør sendes til det apostoliske sæde. Givet i Anagni den 23. september i vort første år.

    Et ligelydende brev er skrevet til provincial­prioren for prædikebrødrenes orden i Dacia for rigerne Danmark, Sverige og Norge.

 

B:

Innocentius papa ∙iv∙. Priori ac fratribus ordinis predicatorum de Wisbu Lingacopensis diocesis per Gothlandiam. Qui justis causis (…) quatenus in Wisbu Lingacopensis diocesis et per Gothlandiam assumpto sancte predicationis officio propter Deum fideles constitutos in illis ad nimiam charitatem (…). Datum Anagnie ix calendas octobris anno primo.

 

Comments: Identical bulls for specific convents similar to B were issued on the same day to various priors and convents in German, Bohemian and Polish dioceses. ● On Dominican preaching in Dacia in favour of the Baltic crusade, see 1232. ● Source B is the first certain evidence of a Dominican convent in Visby. For possible earlier reference, see 1230. ● Bulls almost identical to A were issued by Pope Alexander IV in 1256 11/3 and 1257 7/8.

 

Published: A. Bullarium Danicum no. 310; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 112. B. Diplomatarium Suecanum vol. I no. 307; Liv-, Est- und Kurländisches Urkundenbuch 1. ser. vol. I no. 174.

 

 

 

1243 31/12

Rome

Convent of Lund

Pope Innocent IV enjoins Fr. Petrus, prior of the Friars Preachers in Lund, to hand over collected money received as redemption from people in Denmark in support for the crusade to the Holy Land to the papal chaplain Giovanni of Piacenza, whom the prior is furthermore instructed to assist in his work.

 

Source: Original document. The Swedish National Archives, Stockholm

Language: Latin.

 

Innocentius episcopus servus servorum Dei, dilecto filio fratri Petro priori domus fratrum predicatorum Lundensium, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Cum in regno Danorum auctoritate pie memorie G. pape predecessorius nostri, de redemptione votorum crucesignatorum eiusdem regni pro subsidio Terre Sancte, receperis sicut pro certo didicimus quandam jam nobis expressam pecunie quantitatem; devotioni tue presentium auctoritate mandamus atque precipimus, quatinus pecuniam ipsam dilecto filio magistro Johanni de Placentia acolito et capellano nostro quem pro hiis et aliis apostolice sedis et Terre Sancte negotiis ad partes illas duximus destinandum, non differas assignare, ac in eisdem negotiis pro reverentia beati Petri et nostra ipsi prudenter assistens, illud sibi per te ac fratres ordinis tui exhibeas consilium, auxilium et favorem, quod nos tue sinceritatis affectum de qua in Domino plene confidimus, propter hoc commendare merito valeamus nobis quamcito poteris rescripturus, quid et quantum per te ipsi fuerit assignatum. Datum Laterani ∙ii∙ kalendas januarii pontificatus nostri anno primo.

 

Comments: On the back of the document is written: Priori fratrum predicatorum Lundensium. ● Fr. Petrus, prior of the Friars Preachers in Lund, is not known with certainty from other sources, but he may be identical to the Fr. Petrus of the convent in Lund, who according to the necrology of the cathedral chapter in Lund died on 28 July in the period 1230-1270. ● This is the first extant instance of the Friars Preachers in the province of Dacia being involved in any way with the crusade to the Holy Land. The friars of Dacia had been papally enjoined to preach the Baltic crusade on behalf of the Teutonic Order since 1232 5/2, but they were not otherwise formally engaged with promoting the crusade to the Holy Land until the 1260s (see 1262 15/5 and 1265).

 

Published: Diplomatarium Suecanum vol. I no. 308; Bullarium Danicum no. 321; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII nr. 122.

Literature: Jakobsen 2021(a), p. 104.

 

 

 

1243

Convents of Kalmar and Lödöse

Convents of Friars Preachers are established in Lödöse and Kalmar.

 

Source: Annales Skeningenses.

Language: Latin.

 

MCCXLIII venit conventus Lodhosiam et Kalmarniam.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1243 ankom konventer til Lödöse og Kalmar.

 

Published: Danske Samlinger 1. ser. vol. V, p. 372; Scriptores Rerum Svecicarum vol. III no. 1, p. 4; Annales Suecici, p. 260; Annales Ordinis Predicatorum Dacie (online).

 

 

 

1244 (22/4-20/12)

Order of Preachers

Fr. Johannes Episcopus, master general of the Order of Preachers, ordains Adolf, former count of Holstein, to the rank of deacon, before he is later ordained priest by Bishop Johannes of Lübeck and admitted to the convent of Friars Minor in Hamburg.

 

Sources: A. Annales Stadenses. B. Annales Hamburgenses.

Language: Latin.

 

A:

Anno Domini 1244. (…) Frater Adolfus, olim comes Holtzatie, sedem adiit apostolicam pro dispensatione, quia ordines ardentissimo desiderio affectabat, et rediens dispensationem largam cum tali littera reportavit: Universis presents litteras inspecturis frater Reynardus et frater Gherardus, domini pape poenitentiarii, salutem in Domino. (…) Datum Lateranum 10. kalendas maii, pontificatus domini Innocentii pape ·iv· anno primo. Et idem frater Adolfus subdiaconus rediens, a Johanne Episcopo, ordinis predicatorum magistro, in diaconum, et a Johanne Lubicensi episcopo in adventu Domini 13. kalendas januarii est in presbiterium ordinatus, qui etiam in dominica Omnis terra primam missam in Zwentina, loco valde solitario et fratrum minorum heremitorio, et in Hamborch, ubi comes fuerat, in quadragesima apud minores fratres die Gregorii celebravit.

 

B:

Anno 1244. Frater Adolfus, olim comes, sedem adiit apostolicam pro dispensatione, et rediens subdiaconus, a Johanne Episcopo, magistro ordinis predicatorum, in diaconum, et a Johanne Lubicensi episcopo est in presbyterium ordinatus, et in Hamborg, missam apud minores fratres die Gregorii celebravit.

 

Comments: The date of Adolf’s ordination as deacon is not stated, but it must have taken place between the issue of the apostolic dispensation in Rome on 22 April 1244 and his ordination as priest in Lübeck on 20 December. His meeting with the Dominican master general either happened in Rome or rather, according to the wording of the text, on his way home through Germany. ● Fr. Johannes de Wildeshausen or ‘Johannes Teutonicus’ (†1252), who was master general of the Order of Preachers in 1241-1252, was also commonly known as ‘Johannes Episcopus’ or ‘frater magister episcopus’ as he before his election as master general had been bishop of Bosnia in 1233-1237. It is not known why Master General Johannes ended up ordaining the former count to the rank of deacon, when the latter already then obviously wanted to join the Friars Minor, but it may have been done in gratitude for his foundation of the Dominican convent in Hamburg in 1236. ● Count Adolf IV of Schauenburg-Holstein (†1261) had been count of Holstein since 1227, when he led a north-German alliance to victory against King Valdemar II of Denmark at the Battle of Bornhöved; by doing so, he regained the county lost by his father, Adolf III, to the Danish king in 1203. During the battle, he allegedly swore an oath that he would join the Friars Minor if God would let him win, and he fulfilled the promise in 1239, when he entered the Franciscan convent in Hamburg, founded by himself in 1231. For a time he continued governing as a ‘Franciscan count’, founding yet another friary in 1242 in Kiel, a young town he had established in 1235, but he obviously also was favourable towards the Friars Preachers, as he around 1236 gave the former comital residence Alsterburg to the foundation of a Dominican priory in Hamburg. Adolf appears to have stepped down as count in 1243-44, leaving his two young sons in the custody of Duke Abel of Schleswig (who also happened to be Adolf’s son-in-law, see 1250), while he himself went to Rome to get the pope’s permission to become a priest. According to the Annales Stadenses, he then made a quick ecclesiastical career, returning from Rome with the rank of subdeacon, promoted to deacon shortly after by the Dominican master general, and finally ordained to priesthood by the bishop of Lübeck, before becoming a fully professed Friar Minor on 12 March 1245. From 1246 onwards, Fr. Adolphus OFM lived with the convent in Kiel until his death in 1261. ● Bishop Johannes I of Lübeck held the episcopal office from 1230-31 to 1247.

 

Published: A. Monumenta Germaniae Historica (Scriptores) vol. XVI, pp. 368-369. B. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. I, pp. 208-209.

 

 

 

1244

Convent of Västerås

A convent of Friars Preachers is established in Västerås.

 

Source: Annales Skeningenses.

Language: Latin.

 

MCCXLIIII (…) et venit conventus Arosiam.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1244 (…) og et konvent ankom til Västerås.

 

Comments: According to a later source, the so-called ‘Episcopal Chronicle of Västerås’, allegedly compiled and written by Peder Svart in the years of the Reformation, the convent of Friars Preachers in Västerås was founded during the episcopacy of the ninth bishop of Västerås: “Bengt, son of Germund, the justiciary of Attundaland, founded the Dominican priory on a site in Västerås, which had been donated to the bishop and the cathedral chapter by Knut Långe in 1231, and here the Friars Preachers have remained almost until this day.”. As credible as the entry at first may seem, along with most other entries in the chronicle, the entire source has been proved to be a complete fraud authored by a local vicar, Nils Rabenius, in the early eighteenth century. Even the identity of the bishop is fabricated, as no Bengt Germundsson has ever held the episcopal office in Västerås; the bishop of Västerås at the time was Magnus (1233-1258) (Kumlien 1971, 40-47).

 

Published: Danske Samlinger 1. ser. vol. V, p. 372; Scriptores Rerum Svecicarum vol. III no. 1, p. 4; Annales Suecici, p. 260; Annales Ordinis Predicatorum Dacie (online).

 

 

 

1245.02.21

Lyon

Province of Dacia

Pope Innocent IV charges the archbishop of Uppsala and the prior provincial of the Friars Preachers in Dacia to receive the resignation of Bishop Thomas of Finland.

 

Source: Transcript in Regesta Vaticana. Vatican Archives, Rome.

Language: Latin.

 

Innocentius episcopus, servus servorum dei, venerabili fratri …. archiepiscopo Upsalensi et dilecto filio …. priori provinciali ordinis fratrum predicatorum in Dacia salutem etc. Thomas, episcopus Fillandie, nobis humiliter supplicavit, ut cum idem quendam fecerit mutilari, qui hujusmodi occasione mortem incurrit, ac quasdam litteras apostolicas presumpserit diabolico instinctu falsare, propter quod non potest licite pastorale officium exercere, cessionem ejusdem recipere curaremus. Nos igitur ipsius saluti providere volentes mandamus, quatenus cessionem eandem vice nostra recipere procuretis. Datum Lugduni VIIII kalendas martii anno secundo.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Biskop Innocens, Guds tjeneres tjener hilser sin ærværdige broder … , ærkebiskop i Uppsala, og sin kære søn … , provincialprior for prædikebrødrenes orden i Dacia osv. Biskop Thomas af Finland har i ydmyghed bønfaldet os om, at vi ville sørge for at modtage hans tilbagetræden, da han har ladet en mand lemlæste, der som følge heraf er afgået ved døden, og har dristet sig til ved en djævelens indskydelse at forfalske nogle apostoliske breve, hvorfor han ikke efter loven kan udøve sit pastorale embede. Vi befaler derfor i ønsket om at drage omsorg for hans frelse, at I sørger for at modtage denne tilbagetræden på vore vegne. Givet i Lyon den 21. februar i vort andet år.

 

Comments: The archbishop of Uppsala at this time was Jarler (1236-1255), the Dominican prior provincial was Absalon (1241-1261). · Thomas is believed to be the first bishop of Finland, installed in 1209 (Lindström 1895, 266-267) or around 1220, although he is not actually accounted for until 1232. According to the bull he resigned due to misuse of his office, including having a man tortured with fatal consequences and falsifying papal letters. The sixteenth-century Chronicon episcoporum Finlandensium says that he was forced out of office by Russians and Couronians. The chronicle also knows that before becoming a bishop, the English-borne Thomas was a canon at the cathedral chapter in Uppsala. · The involvement of the Dominican prior provincial in the resignation procedure was probably no coincidence, as Thomas appears to have joined the Order of Preachers immediately after. Certainly, he left some books for the Dominican convent of Sigtuna before his death in 1248, and according to the chronicle he was buried in the chancel of the priory church in Visby. Although there is no evidence of any Dominican activity in Finland before the convent foundation in 1249, it is according to Jarl Gallén difficult to explain the close ties between Thomas and the Friars Preachers in Sigtuna and Visby from 1245-48 without a preceding contact during his episcopate; most likely, therefore, Friars Preachers from Sigtuna and Visby were involved with the missionary work among the Tavastians and the crusade against the Russians previous to 1249 (Gallén 1946, p. 55).

 

Published: Diplomatarium Suecanum vol. I no. 321; Bullarium Danicum no. 348; Finlands Medeltidsurkunder vol. I no. 88; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 166.

Literature: Gallén 1946, pp. 54-55.

 

 

(1245)

Pope Innocent IV also charges the abovementioned archbishop and prior provincial to make sure that Bishop Thomas is secured financially after his resignation with revenues from the episcopal estate.

 

Source: Transcript in Regesta Vaticana. Vatican Archives, Rome.

Language: Latin.

 

[Innocentius episcopus, servus servorum dei, venerabili fratri archiepiscopo Upsalensi et dilecto filio priori prouinciali ordinis fratrum in Dacia salutem etc.]. Ex parte dilecti filii fratris Thome episcopi Finlandie nobis extitit intimatum, quod cum olim de mandato eiusdem receperitis cessionem, quia in litteris nostris vobis super hoc transmissis nulla de ipsius provisione mentio habeatur, vos eius cessione recepta nullam provisionem assignastis eidem, quare nobis humiliter supplicavit, ut providere sibi super hoc, ne mendicare cogatur, de benignitate sedis apostolice curaremus; mandamus quatenus, si est ita, dicto episcopo de bonis espiscopalibus ecclesie Finlandie provisionem, ex qua possit congrue sustentari, auctoritate nostra assignare curetis, contra etc.

 

Comments: The register is undated, but logically it must succeed shortly after the abovementioned instruction. · Neither is the bull formally addressed, the register only has jud (=judicibus), but with great certainty this points to the executives of the former instruction (FMU vol. I no. 89).

 

Published: Finlands Medeltidsurkunder vol. I no. 89.

 

 

 

1245.06.04 (Pentecost)

Cologne

Provinces of Dacia, Hispania, Provincia and Saxonia

The General Chapter of Friars Preachers concedes to the foundation of one convent in the province of Dacia, three in Provincia, two in Hispania and one in Saxonia, “if the bishop asks for it and the provincial chapter allows it”.

 

Source: Acta capitulorum generalium OP.

Language: Latin.

 

In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti, amen. Acta capituli generalis Colonie celebrati anno Domini MCCXLV. (…) Concedimus unam domum in Dacia ∙iii∙ in Provincia ∙ii∙ in Hispania ∙i∙ in Saxonia, si episcopus pecierit, et capitulum provinciale concesserit. (…)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

I Herrens, Sønnens og Helligåndens navn, amen. Akterne af generalkapitlet afholdt i Köln i det Herrens år 1245. (...) Vi bevilger ét hus i Dacia, tre i Provincia, to i Hispania, ét i Saxonia, hvis bispen beder om det og provincialkapitlet tillader det. (...)

 

Comments: It is not possible to identify the concrete convent foundation in question for Dacia. Most likely candidates are Västerås (1244), Bergen (c.1245), Reval (1245-46), and Åbo (1249).

 

Published: Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica vol. III, 33; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 197.

 

 

 

1245 17/9

Lyon

Province of Dacia

Pope Innocent IV instructs the secular and regular prelates of Denmark, Sweden and Norway to help protect the privileges of the Friars Preachers against the secular clergy, who injures them in various ways. Amongst other things, the friars are allegedly denied the right to hear confessions, to celebrate Holy Communion and to bury their own brethren, they are forced to accept episcopal jurisdiction and their benefactors are excommunicated without reason.

 

Source: Transcript in Regesta Vaticana. Vatican Archives, Rome.

Language: Latin.

 

Innocentius episcopus etc. Archiepiscopis et episcopis, et abbatibus, prioribus, prepositis, et aliis ecclesiarum prelatis per regnum Sicilie constitutis. Nimis iniqua vicissitudine largotori bonorum omnium respondetur, dum hii qui de Christi patrimonio inpingvati luxuriant dampnabiliter in eodem, Christum patenter in famulis suis persequi non verentur, ac si factus sit impotens dominus ultionum. Cum enim dilecti filii fratres predicatores abnegantes salubriter semetipsos elegerint in altissima paupertate Christo pauperi ad placitum famulari tanquam nichil habentes et omnia possidentes, non desunt plerique tam ecclesiarum prelati quam alii qui ceca cupiditate traducti proprie aviditati subtrahi reputantes, quicquid predictis fratribus fidelium pietas elargitur, quietem ipsorum multipliciter inquietant, molestiarum occasiones exquirentes varias contra ipsos. Volunt namque etsi non omnes ipsis invitis eorum confessiones audire ac eis injungere penitentias et eucharistiam exhibere, nec volunt ut corpus Christi in eorum oratoriis reserveter, et fratres ipsorum defunctos apud ecclesias suas sepeliri compellunt; et illorum exequias celebrari. Et si quis decedentium fratrum alibi quam in ecclesiis suis eligit sepulturam, funus primo ad ecclesias suas deferri cogunt, ut oblatio suis usibus cedat, nec sustinentes eos habere campanam vel cimiterium benedictum, certis tantum temporibus permittunt ipsos celebrare divina. Volunt etiam in domibus eorundem certum numerum fratrum sacerdotum clericorum et laicorum necnon cereorum, lampadarum et ornamentorum pro sua voluntate taxare, ac residuum cereorum quando nouiter apponuntur exigunt ab eisdem, nec permittunt ut novi sacerdotes eorum alibi quam in ecclesiis suis celebrent primas missas, eos nichilominus compellentes, ut in cotidianis missis quas in suis locis et altaribus celebrant, oblationes ad opus eorum recipiant et reservent. Quicquid etiam eis dum celebrant missarum sollempnia intra domorum suarum ambitum pia fidelium devotione donatur, ab ipsis extorquere oblationis nomine contendentes, quod eisdem tam in ornamentis altaris quam in libris ecclesiaticis absolute confertur, vendicant perperam juri suo cogendo eo ad sinodos suas accedere ac suis constitutionibus subiacere; nec hiis contenti, capitula et scrutinia in locis fratrum pro hiis corrigendis facturos se comminantur fidelitatem juramento firmatam ab eorum prioribus exigentes, eis quoque ut tam extra civitates quam intra cum eis processionaliter veniant ex levi causa mandantes excommunicationis sententiam fulminant in benefactores eorum, et id ipsum fratribus comminantes, eos de locis in quibus domino famulantur satagunt amovere; nisi eis obediant in omnibus supradictis. Ad hec ne fratres ad honorabiles civitates et villas ubi religiose ac honeste valeant commorari a populis devote vocati accedere audeant inhibentes, tam in accedentes fratres quam in receptatores eorum presumunt excommunicationis sententiam promulgare. Ab eis etiam de ortorum fructibus decimas, necnon de habitaculis fratrum sicut de Judeorum domibus contendunt redditus extorquere, asserendo quod nis fratres morarentur ibidem, eis ab aliis habitatoribus proventus aliqui solverentur. Et ut ipsos subdant sue totaliter ditioni, eisdem priores volunt preficere pro sue arbitrio volantatis. A quibus omnibus fratrum molestiis nec vos omnes omnino ut dictur abstinetis. Cum igitur ordo predictorum fratrum a bone memorie Honorio et Gregorio predecessoribus nostris et nobis ipsis dignis eorum sit exigentibus meritis approbatus, ne apostolice sedis statuta que humiliter suscipere ac reverenter servare tenemini contempnere videamini, universitatem vestram monemus attente, firmiter precipiendo mandantes quatinus conscientie ac fame vestre salubriter consulentes, universi et singuli a prenotatis et aliis predictorum fratrum gravaminibus penitus desistatis, subditos vestros ab hiis artius compescendo. Alioquin venerabilibus fratribus nostris ... Neapolitano ... Salernitano et ... Barensi archiepiscopis damus nostris litteris firmiter in mandatis, ut vos ad omnia supradicta servanda monitione previa auctoritate nostra sublato cuiuslibet contradictionis et appelationis impedimento compellant, non obstante constitutione de duabus dietis edita in concilio generali. Si vero nec sic mandatis nostris curaveritis obedire, noveritis nos super hoc memoratis fratribus aliter auctore domino provisuros. Qvod si non omnes etc. Datum Lugduni XV kalendas Octobris, anno tertio.

   In eundem modum archiepiscopis, et episcopis, ac abbatibus, prioribus, decanis, archidiaconis, archipresbiritis, prepositus, et aliis ecclesiarum prelatis per Datie, Suetie, et Norvegie regna constitutis.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Til ærkebiskopper og biskopper og abbeder, priorer, provster, og andre prælater ved kirkerne i Siciliens rige. På en uhørt nedrig måde gør man gengæld over for Ham, der gavmildt skænker alt godt, når de, som er opfedet på Kristi fædrene gods og på fordømmelig vis lever overdådigt heraf, ikke viger tilbage for åbent at forfølge Kristus i hans tjenere, som var Hævnens Herre blevet afmægtig. Thi selv om vore elskede sønner prædike­brødrene på frelsebringende måde har fornægtet sig selv og har valgt at gøre tjeneste i den yderste fattigdom, den fattige Kristus til behag, som om de intet har, men ejer alt, findes der mange, både prælater ved kirkerne og andre, som ledet af blindt begær mener, at de selv i deres havesyge går glip af alt, hvad fromme troende gavmildt skænker fornævnte brødre, og foruroliger og forstyrrer dem på mangfoldig vis og søger forskellige påskud til at fortrædige dem. Det er nemlig deres, omend ikke alles ønske, at tvinge dem til at gå til skrifte hos sig og pålægge dem bod og tildele dem nadveren, og de tillader ikke, at Kristi Legeme opbevares i deres kapeller og tvinger dem til at lade deres afdøde brødre begrave og holde begravelsen i de andres kirker. Og hvis nogen af de brødre, der afgår ved døden, vælger sit gravsted andetsteds end i deres kirker, gennemtvinger de, at liget først bringes til deres kirker, for at offeret kan tilfalde deres brug, og de tåler ikke, at de har klokketårn eller indviet kirkegård og tillader dem kun at forrette guds­tjenester på visse tidspunkter. De ønsker lige­ledes efter forgodtbefindende at bestemme og fastsætte antallet af brødre, præster, gejstlige og verdslige, og desuden af vokslys, lamper og prydelser i deres huse og fordrer det over­skydende af vokslysene af dem, når der sættes nye op, og tillader ikke, at deres nye præster forretter deres første messer andetsteds end i deres kirker og tvinger dem lige så vel til, at de ved de daglige messer, som de forretter i deres egne stiftelser og for deres egne altre, skal modtage og opbevare, hvad der ofres til deres behov. Endvidere søger de under navn af offer at fravriste dem alt, hvad fromme og hengivende troende skænker dem, når de forretter højtidelige messer inden for deres huses omkreds, det, som ligefrem overdrages disse samme til alter­prydelser såvel som kirkelige bøger, gør de falskelig krav på som deres, tvinger dem til at komme til deres synoder og underkaste sig deres bestemmelser, og de har ikke nok heri, men truer med, at de vil holde kapitler og anstille under­søgelser i brødrenes stiftelser for at retlede dem og kræver troskab, bestyrket med ed af deres priorer, befaler dem tillige, at de skal følge dem i procession såvel udenfor byerne som inde i dem, og slynger af ubetydelige årsager bandlysnings­dom mod deres velgørere og truer brødrene med det samme og arbejder ivrigt på at fjerne dem fra de steder, hvor de gør tjeneste for Herren, hvis ikke de adlyder dem i alle ovenfor nævnte ting. Dertil nedlægger de forbud mod, at brødrene, der er hidkaldt af de hengivne menigheder, skal vove at komme til ansete stæder og byer, hvor de kan tage ophold på from og agtværdig måde, og fordrister sig til at fælde bandlysningsdom såvel mod de brødre, der kommer, som mod dem, der modtager dem. Endvidere søger de efter at fravriste dem tiender af havernes frugter og desuden indkomster af brødrenes boliger ligesom af jødernes huse, idet de forsikrer, at nogle indtægter skulle betales dem af andre beboere, hvis brødrene ikke boede der. Og for helt og holdent at lægge dem under deres herredømme vil de sætte priorer i spidsen for dem efter deres ønske og forgodtbefindende, og alle disse fortrædigelser af brødrene kan I ikke alle sige jer helt fri for. Da altså fornævnte brødres orden takket være deres fortjenester er fundet værdig til at blive anerkendt af vore forgængere Honorius og Gregor, salig ihukommet, og os, påminder vi jer alle indtrængende, for at I ikke skal synes at ringeagte det apostoliske sædes bestemmelser, som I er forpligtet til at antage i ydmyghed og overholde i ærbødighed, og påbyder urokkeligt som vor befaling, at alle og hver enkelt af jer på frelsebringende måde skal tage vare på jeres samvittighed og rygte og afstå fuldstændig fra ovenfornævnte og andre tynger mod fornævnte brødre og med strenghed tvinge jeres undergivne til det samme. I modsat fald giver vi med dette brev vore ærværdige brødre ærkebiskopperne ... af Napoli, ... af Salerno og ... af Bari urokkelig befaling til efter forudskikket påmindelse på vor myndighed med tilsidesættelse af enhver hindrende modsigelse eller appel at tvinge jer til at overholde alt det fornævnte uanset bestemmelsen om de to dagsrejser, der blev bekendtgjort på det almindelige koncilium. Men hvis I end ikke på denne måde sørger for at adlyde vore befalinger, skal I vide, at vi på anden vis med Herrens bistand vil drage omsorg for omtalte brødre i så henseende. Givet i Lyon den 17. september i vort tredie år.

    Et ligelydende brev til ærkebiskopper og biskopper og abbeder, priorer, dekaner, ærkedegne, ærkepræster, provster og andre gejstlige prælater i Danmarks, Sveriges og Norges riger.

 

Comments: As the bull explicitly states that “you cannot all completely deny all these molestations”, it is hardly to be read as if all of them were carried out in every diocese of Scandinavia. Furthermore, since the bull for the Scandinavian kingdoms was a copy of a similar bull sent to Sicily, the whole content bears the sign of a standardized formula. ● Shortened versions of the bull with references to this one was issued for the Friars Minor in Sicily, Denmark, Casubia and Pomerania. For the north European Franciscans, three named bishops of Bremen, Hildesheim and Schwerin were appointed their papal protectors (DD 1. ser. vol. VII no. 182-183).

 

Published: Diplomatarium Norvegicum vol. I no. 29; Bullarium Danicum no. 362; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 188.

 

 

 

1245 23/12

Lyon

Order of Preachers, Province of Dacia

Pope Innocent IV enjoins the master general and the priors provincial of the Order of Preachers to have their friars announce the verdict of the Council of Lyon about the excommunication and deposition of Emperor Frederick II at suitable places and times, for which 40 days of indulgence is granted to all listeners.

 

Source: Original document. The Swedish National Archives, Stockholm.

Language: Latin.

 

Innocentius episcopus servus servorum Dei. Dilectis filiis ... magistro et universis prioribus provincialibus ordinis fratrum predicatorum. Salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Dei filii qui pro salvando humano genere de alto celorum ad ima terre descendit ut suo descensu homini ad superna pararet ascensum. Vicarii licet immeriti constituti saluti omnium vigilanter intendere hanc totis amplecti desideriis omnisque diligentie studio procurare tenemur unde id ex officii nostri debito ardenter appetimus, et ad hoc operam juxta insufficientie nostre possibilitatem efficaciter adhibemus. ut singuli erectis ad Deum oculis affectibus directis ad ipsum, sibi placita operantes, tutis ad eum sub conscientie fiducia tendant gressibus secum sine fine victuri, qui ad ipsos ne absque termino morerentur accessit. Sane cum ordinem vestrum hiis temporibus disponente Domino in eius ecclesia salubriter institutum apostolica sedes oportuni favoris curaverit munire presidio et beneficio gratie attollere specialis, ipsiusque ordinis fratres tantum eiusdem sedis benevolentia velut gratitudinis filii plenitudine devotionis et obedientie promptitudine reverenter agnoscant, nos per eos tamquam catholice fidei et justitie fervidos zelatores paratos semper nostra beneplacita ad implere, sollicite, processum contra Fredericum quondam Romanorum imperatorem in concilio quod nuper Lugduni annuente Domino celebravimus habitum volumus publicari. Set ut clarius vobis liqueat processum eundem justitie plenitudine fore munitum, scire vos volumus quod expositis in ipso concilio prefati, f. nephandis excessibus eodemque concilio discusione deliberante vigili super eis, nos tandem de communi tam fratrum nostrorum quam concilii eiusdem consilio sententialiter contra memoratum, f. duximus procedendum, prout ex tenore sententie quam sub bulla nostra transmittimus, vobis plenius innotescet. Unde ne Christi fideles predicto, f. contra eandem sententiam per ignorantiam pareant vel intendant, et ut sententie ipsius equitas omnibus nota fiat. Universitatem vestram monemus et hortamur attente, in remissionem vobis peccaminum injungentes, quatinus processum huiusmodi per vos et alios nostri ordinis fratres providos et discretos in locis oportunis publicare curetis. Nos enim vobis vestrisque fratribus convocandi propter hoc tam clerum quem in huiusmodi negotio vobis favorabiliter assistere mandamus, quam populum festivis diebus et aliis ac relaxandi misericorditer omnibus vere penitentibus et confessis qui ad vestras predicationes in quibus processum publicaveritis supradictum accesserint, quadraginta dies de penitentiis injunctis eisdem liberam tribuimus auctoritate presentium potestatem. Et si forte propter huiusmodi publicationem contumelias, exilia, vincula, carceres, verbera seu quecumque supplicia vel corporis cruciatus uos sustinere contigerit, concedimus de omnipotentis Dei misericordia et beatorum Petri et Pauli apostolorum eius auctoritate confisi, ut hec omnia vobis velud constantibus fidei justitie et ecclesiastice libertatis adletis ad plenam remissionem peccaminum et eterne premium vite cedant. Datum Lugduni, xkalendas januarii, pontificatus nostri anno tertio.

 

Comments: The bull is directed to the Order of Preachers in general with no special reference to the province of Dacia, but the extant original copy of the letter has been kept at some unknown convent archive in Scandinavia, most likely the one in Lund. ● While attempts by Pope Gregory IX to excommunicate Emperor Frederick II in 1227 and 1239, and to engage the mendicant orders in the cause, had but little effect, his successor Innocent IV were more successful. On 17 July 1245 Innocent pronounced the excommunication and deposition of Frederick at the First Council of Lyon, in agreement with 150 attending bishops, while imperial troops held Rome under siege, and the Order of Preachers and the Order of Friars Minor were officially enlisted to make the council’s decision public. The papal injunction included a mendicant promotion of a regular crusade against the heretical emperor, both by preaching and collecting money for a military campaign against him. In Germany it was especially the Friars Minor who became deeply involved with the anti-imperial campaign, which led to severe persecutions of the friars by imperial supporters. Although several Dominican convents and friars in Germany maintained good relations to the imperial party, also the bulk of Friars Preachers here seem to have complied with the papal and orderly orders to side actively with the papacy. Especially at the instalment of Count Willem of Holland as German anti-king in 1247, the mendicant skills as crusade preachers came to their right as it was not least due to the joint Dominican-Franciscan efforts of promoting the campaign that enabled Willem to conquer the imperial city of Aachen in 1248 with recruited crusader assistance from all the western districts of Germany. Also the Dominican involvement led to repercussions, especially in southern Germany, where Friars Preachers were attacked and some even killed, while whole priories were burned to the ground. In spite of the obvious negative impact, the general chapters of the Order of Preachers in 1246, 1247 and 1248 repeatedly admonished its friars to commit wholeheartedly on the side of the papacy against the emperor (MOPH III, 37, 39 and 42). The continued Dominican support throughout these years was probably to some degree motivated – or at least rewarded – by an extensive series of new papal privileges for the order (see 1244 24/3, 1244 25/3, 1244 26/3, 1245 27/6, 1245 17/9, 1245 17/9, 1246 9/6, 1246 16/6, 1246 22/6, 1246 27/6, 1246 27/6). When Emperor Frederick II died in 1250, the papal-imperial conflict gradually died out as well (Freed 1977, 136-153; Maier 1994, 72-73). ● Being situated outside the Holy Roman Empire, no part of the province of Dacia was directly involved in the conflict. Pope Innocent IV did, however, maintain good relations to King Erik IV of Denmark as a potential ally against the emperor, and among other things enjoined the Danish bishops in 1245 to promote the king’s planned crusade to Estonia, which was equalled to the crusade to the Holy Land (DD 1. ser. VII nos. 165 and 168-170). It would therefore be relatively safe for the Friars Preachers in Denmark and elsewhere in the province to pronounce the council’s decision, and although a crusade against Emperor Frederick II hardly was likely to gain much actual support in Dacia, it would not have met any serious opposition either. A second injunction to preach crusade against Emperor Frederick in Germany, Denmark and Poland was given to an Italian cardinal, Pietro Capocci, in 1247, with no mentioning of any Dominican involvement (DD 1. ser. VII no. 255). It may be noteworthy or just coincidental that no similar papal call against the emperor is known for the Friars Minor in Scandinavia.

 

Published: Diplomatarium Suecanum vol. I no. 329.

Literature: Jakobsen 2021(a), pp. 100-101.

 

 

 

1246 27/6

Lyon

Province of Dacia

Pope Innocent IV permits the Friars Preachers to stay on property belonging to excommunicated people and to receive necessities for their living from them.

 

Source: Original document. The Swedish National Archives, Stockholm.

Language: Latin.

 

Innocentius episcopus servus servorum Dei dilectis filiis … magistro et universis fratribus ordinis fratrum predicatorum presentes litteras inspecturis salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Vobis extremam patientibus pro Christi nomine paupertatem, digne conceditur ab apostolice sedis gratia per quod et necessitati vestre consulitur et benefactoribus vestris salutis meritum procuratur. Hinc est quod nos quorum deposcit officium justis annuere desideriis devotorum, vestre precibus humilitatis inducti ut nos qui exhortationis pie studio bonos ad potiora dirigitis et errantes in rectitudinis semitam laudabiliter revocatis in excommunicatorum terris libere commorari, et ab eis tunc, ac etiam quando vos per ipsas transire contingit, necessaria vite deposcere, ac recipere valeatis, vobis auctoritate presentium concedimus facultatem. Nulli ergo etcetera nostre concessionis etcetera. Datum Lugduni ∙v∙ kalendas julii pontificatus nostri anno tertio.

 

Comments: The bull is obviously directed to the Order of Preachers in general with no special reference to the province of Dacia, but the extant original copy of the letter has been kept at the priory in Lund. · The bull was part of a series of privileges granted by Pope Innocent IV in June 1246 to the Order in general, with copies preserved in the province of Dacia. · The name of the master general is left blank, but at this time the office was held by Fr. Johannes Teutonicus (1240-1254).

 

Published: Diplomatarium Suecanum vol. I no. 323.

 

 

 

1246   

Ribe

Convents of Lund, Ribe, Roskilde, Sigtuna, Skänninge, Tallinn, Viborg, Visby, Västerås and Århus,

Province of Dacia

At the provincial chapter in Ribe, 12 friars are chosen for the second foundation of a convent in Tallinn: Fr. Broder and Fr. Johannes Woxmoth of the convent in Lund, Fr. Aron ‘of Randers’ and Fr. Peder Hartbo of the convent in Viborg, Fr. Mikkel ‘de Horsens’ and Fr. Angelo of the convent in Århus, Fr. Engelbert and Fr. Johannes ‘German’ of the convent in Roskilde, Fr. Paul of the convent in Sigtuna, Fr. Johannes of the convent in Västerås, Fr. Astolf of the convent in Skänninge, and Fr. Daniel of the convent in Visby; Fr. Daniel was appointed the first prior of the new convent.

 

Source:  Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia.

Language: Latin.

 

Conventus Revaliensis per fratres duabus vicibus est receptus (...) secundo anno domini m.cc.xlvi missi sunt fratres de diversis conventibus in Revaliam per capitulum provinciale Ripis celebratum. Quorum hec sunt nomina: frater Brotherus et frater Johannes Woxmoth de conventu Lundensi; frater Aaron de Randrus et frater Petrus Hartbo de conventu Wibergensi; frater Michael de Horsnes et frater Angelus de conventu Arosiensi; frater Engelbertus et frater Johannes Theo[to]nici de conventu Roschildensi; frater Paulus de conventu S[ycht]onensi et frater Johannes de conventu Insulensi; frater Astolphus de conventu Scheni[ng]ensi et frater Daniel de conventu Wisbycensi. Iste frater Daniel in Castro fuit primus prior et prelatus ordinarius inter fratres.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Konventet i Tallinn blev grundlagt to gange af brødrene. (...) Anden gang i det Herrens år 1246, da der af provincialkapitlet, der afholdtes i Ribe, blev sendt brødre fra forskellige konventer til Tallinn. Deres navne var følgende: broder Broder og broder Johannes Woxmoth fra konventet i Lund; broder Aron af Randers og Peder Harbo fra konventet i Viborg; broder Mikkel af Horsens og broder Angelo fra konventet i Århus; broder Engelbert og broder Johannes Tysker fra konventet i Roskilde; broder Paul fra konventet i Sigtuna og broder Johannes fra konventet i Västerås; broder Astolf fra konventet i Skänninge og broder Daniel fra konventet i Visby. Denne broder Daniel var den første prior på borgen og ordineret prælat blandt brødrene.

 

Comments: The time of the first convent foundation in Tallinn (medieval Reval) is rather disputed (see Historia...), but at some point, the friars were expelled. · According to the Annales Skeningenses, the convent in Tallinn was established in 1248; this may indicate that a couple of years went on from the friars were sent out to the official foundation of the convent. · None of the named friars can be identified with other known Dacian friars. · The references to Aaron de Randrus and Michael de Horsnes have led some early historians to suggest the existence of Dominican convents in the towns of Randers and Horsens (Jutland, Denmark), but the place-names clearly only function as urban surnames. · The ‘castle’, which Daniel was the first prior in, probably refers to the castle built in the upper town (Toompea), where remnants of the first priory has been found in the walls of the cathedral.

 

Published: Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. V, p. 501; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 234; Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum vol. 68, pp. 111-112; Halvorsen, Dominikus, p. 220; Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia (online).

 

 

 

1247 (19/5)

Montpellier

Provinces of Dacia, Francia, Polonia and Provincia

The general chapter of the Friars Preachers concedes to the foundation of three convents in the province of Provincia, two in Francia, two in Polonia and one in Dacia.

 

Source: Acta capitulorum generalium OP.

Language: Latin.

 

In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti, amen. Acta capituli generalis in Montepesulano celebrati anno Domini MCCXLVII.

   (…) In provincia Provincie concedimus tres domos, in provincia Francie ∙ii∙, in Polonia ∙ii∙, in Dacia ∙i∙. (…)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

I Faderens, Sønnens og Helligåndens navn, amen. Akter af generalkapitlet afholdt i Montpellier i det Herrens år 1247.

    (…) I provinsen Provincia bevilges tre huse, i provinsen Francia to, i Polonia to, i Dacia et. (…)

 

Comments: The act is undated, but the chapter was usually held at Pentecost. ● It is not possible to identify the concrete convent foundation in question for Dacia. Most likely candidates are Tallinn (1246), Bergen (before 1247) and Turku (1249). Walter Senner seems to take for certain that it was Tallinn (Senner 2001, 36).

 

Published: Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica vol. III, p. 40; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 270.

 

 

 

1247 13/8

Bergen

Convent of Bergen

Papal Legate William of Sabina settles a dispute between the convent of Friars Preachers in Bergen and the cathedral chapter in Bergen concerning a number of privies put up by the canons on a slope above the neighbouring priory, which cause the sewage to flow downhill to the nuisance of the friars’ garden and house; an arrangement that the canons are enjoined to refrain from henceforth.

 

Source: Transcript of copy (see below).

Language: Latin.

 

Wilelmus miseratione divina Sabinensis episcopus apostolice sedis legatus omnibus presentes literas inspecturis salutem in nomine Jesu Christi. Cum venissemus in Bergensem civitatem Norvegie, invenimus domum fratrum predicatorum juxta majorem ecclesiam satis in arto constructam et ad instantiam et preces nostras diocesanus eorum locum aliquantulum dilatavit, sed canonici eiusdem ecclesie domos edificaverant inter majorem ecclesiam et domum predicatorum et erant domus canonicorum in altiori loco posuerantque cameras privatas contra domus fratrum ita quod sordes in ortum et domum fratrum continue defluebant et erat ibi fetor continuus, quem non poterant fratres commode sustinere, propter quod cogitavimus predictas domos amovere de loco illo quia lignee et leves erant et deponi in alio loco ibi prope ad hoc satis conveniente. Rogaverant autem nos canonici quod sufficeret nobis et fratribus quod permanentibus domibus private camere penitus tollerentur, quod et factum est de bona omnium voluntate, verumptamen quia generatio advenit et generatio preterit timebant ne alii canonici supervenientes vel forte predicti ex illa parte aliquas cameras instaurarent, quod in perpetuum fieri prohibemus ferentes excommunicationis sententiam in omnes qui contra statutum nostrum venerint hoc scientes. Datum Bergis idus augusti pontificatus domini Innocentii pape ∙iiii∙ anno quinto.

 

Comments: This is the first instance referring to a Dominican convent in Bergen, which must have been founded at some point before that in the 1230-40s. ● Whereas cathedral canonry elsewhere in Scandinavia appears to have received the Friars Preachers very well, it is unknown what had triggered the differently tense situation in Bergen from such an early point. Whatever the initial reason, the relation between the two ecclesiastical neighbours remained exceptionally poor throughout the Middle Ages. Around 1290 28/7, the cathedral chapter had prohibited all parish clergy of the diocese from helping the friars in any way or permitting them to beg in their parishes; Prior Provincial Petrus of Dacia tried to settle the issues with Bishop Arne of Bergen in 1306 11/6, but apparently in vain; the same bishop in 1309 31/5 prohibited the Friars Preachers from breaking an interdict laid upon the German settlers of the city; the convent and the bishop disputed over a green common in Bergen in 1311 14/5 and 1320 20/6; around 1326, Lector Gunnerus of the convent in Oslo asked a canon of Bergen to ease up a little on the local Dominican convent; rebellious peasants, who would not pay tithe, assembled at the Dominican priory in 1328 Feb-Mar; and not until 1328-30, a settlement between the two parties was made, naming all the concerned issues at this time. However, in 1422 22/1 the Dominican convent in Bergen strongly joined the local Benedictines and Franciscans in a protest against the bishop’s transfer of Munkeliv Abbey to the Brigittine Order; and, finally, in 1443 4/11, the Friars Preachers in Bergen once again had provoked their secular neighbours, this time by burying an excommunicated criminal at their cemetery, for which the friars were threatened with excommunication and interdict. ● On William of Modena/Sabina, see 1238 7/6.

 

Published: Historie af Danmark vol. X, pp. 965-966; Diplomatarium Norvegicum vol. II no. 7.

 

              1247 15/8             Bergen

Papal Legate William of Sabina informs King Håkon Håkonsson of Norway of the abovementioned settlement, with a full copy of the letter, and urges the king to see to that the injunction is obeyed by the canons.

 

Source: Transcript in Bartholin’s Collectanea.

Language: Latin.

 

Magnifico et prudenti viro Haquino Dei gratia Norvegie regi illustrissimo Wilelmus divina miseratione Sabinensis episcopus et apostolice sedis legatus salutem in nomine Jesu Christi. Cum venissemus (…) hoc scientes. Presertim quoniam ille camere sunt super cimiterio consecrato posite unde contra ordinem honestatis et justitie est ut super consecrato loco camere huiusmodi construantur, ideoque nobilitatem vestram rogamus, quatinus si aliqui contra statutum nostrum in prejudicium cimiterii et fratrum attemptare presumpserint, vos ipsos studeatis quantum licet et convenit impedire, scilicet per subtractionem carpentariorum et aliorum que de vestra jurisdictione consistunt. Datum Bergis ∙xviii∙ kalendas augusti pontificatus domini Innocencii ∙iiii∙ anno quinto.

 

Comments: See above. ● Bartholin had entitled the letter (or two letters) De domibus edificandis in cimiterio.

 

Published: Historie af Danmark vol. X, pp. 965-966; Diplomatarium Norvegicum vol. II no. 8.

 

 

 

1247 3/9

Andernach

Convent of Lübeck

Cardinal Legate Petrus de San Giorgio in Velabro urges the city council of Lübeck to make peace with King Erik IV Plovpenning of Denmark, after he has been contacted in Andernach by the city’s representative, Fr. Hermann, subprior of the Friars Preachers in Lübeck, whom is highly praised by the cardinal for his learnedness and eloquency.

 

Source: Original document. Staatsarchiv Lübeck.

Language: Latin.

 

Petrus miseratione divina S. Georgii ad Velum aureum dioaconus cardinalis apostolice sedis legatus dil. in Christo filiis consulibus, scabinis et universis civibus Lubicensibus salutem in Domino. Fratrem Hermannum latorem presentium fratrum predicatorum Lubicensium suppriorem ex parte vestra gratanter recepimus et eum audivimus diligenter, utpote virum quem bonorum studiorum virtus amabilem et facundia reddit gratum. (...) Datum aput Andernachum 3. non sept. anno Domini 1247.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Peter, af Guds nåde kardinaldiakon af San Giorgio i Velabro og det apostoliske sædes legat, til sine kære sønner i Kristus rådmænd, delegerede og alle borgere i Lübeck: vær hilset i Herren. Vi har med glæde modtaget jeres udsending broder Hermann, nærværende brevfører, underprior hos prædikebrødrene i Lübeck, og lyttet omhyggeligt til ham, eftersom han er en mand, elskværdig ved sin fortrinlige og gode uddannelse og kærkommen for sin veltalenheds skyld. (...) Givet ved Andernach den 3. september i det Herrens år 1247.

 

Comments: On King Erik IV Plovpenning of Denmark, see 1250.

 

Published: Lübeckisches Urkundenbuch 1. ser. vol. I no. 126; Bullarium Danicum no. 408; Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. VII no. 263.

 

 

 

1248 18/2

Skänninge

Convent of Sigtuna (and Skänninge?)

Papal Legate Guillelmus de Sabina confirms a donation by Fr. Thomas, former bishop of Finland, of some books to the convent of Friars Preachers in Sigtuna.

 

Source: Transcript in Örnhielm’s Bullarium. The Swedish National Archives, Stockholm.

Language: Latin.                                                                                         

 

Willelmus miseratione divina Sabinensis episcopus apostolicæ sedis legatus viris religiosis fratribus domus de Sictunia ordinis prædicatorum Upsalensis diæcesis salutem in nomine Jesu Christi. Cum a nobis petitur quod justum est, tam vigor æquitatis quam ordo exigit rationis, ut id per sollicitudinem officii nostri ad debitum perducatur effectum. Cum igitur, sicut ex parte vestra propositum extitit coram nobis, venerabilis frater T. quondam Finlandensis episcopus, quosdam libros pertinentes ad se domui vestræ pro suorum remedio contulerit peccatorum, nos quod ab eo provide factum est, in hac parte ratum habentes, illud auctoritate qua fungimur apostolica confirmamus, et præsentis scripti patrocinio communimus. Nulli ergo etc. nostræ confirmationis etc. Datum Scheningiæ XII. Kal. Martii, pontificatus domini Innocentii Papæ IV. anno quinto.

 

Comments: On Guillelmus de Modena/Sabina, see 1238. · On Fr. Thomas, former bishop of Finland, see 1245. · At least one of the donated books is preserved at the University Library of Uppsala (as C 134), a commentary to the Book of Joel, with an inscription dated to the fifteenth century: Iste est liber ffratrum predicatorum Siktonie quem contulit eis felicis recordacionis dominus Thomas episcopus Finlandensis (FMU vol. I no. 92). · When the books were given to the convent in Sigtuna, while Fr. Thomas himself presumably lived with the friars in Visby, where he was buried, it may reflect an earlier contact to the Sigtuna convent during his time as bishop in Finland and/or as canon in Uppsala. · Although nothing is stated about the actual location in Skänninge of the confirmation, it is not at all unlikely that it took place at the Dominican priory.

 

Published: Diplomatarium Suecanum vol. I no. 358; Finlands Medeltidsurkunder vol. I no. 92.

 

 

 

1248

Convent of Visby

Bishop Thomas of Finland, formerly a canon of Uppsala and now of the Order of Preachers, dies and is buried in the chancel of the Friars Preachers in Visby, with whom he has resided.

 

Source: A-B. Chronicon episcoporum Finlandensium. C. Annales Skeningenses.

Language: Latin.

 

A:

D. Thomas, natione Anglicus, ordinis Prædicatorum, prius canonicus Upsalensis, obiit anno Domini 1248, in Visby Gotlandie, quo se contulerat Ruthenorum et Curorum furorem.

 

B:

Thomas Anglicus, de ordine fratrum predicatorum, Visby resedit; tum propter Anglicos illuc se transtulit tum Meonum et Ruthonorum furorem; ibi obiit anno Domini MCCXLVIIIo et in summo choro aput eosdem sepelitur.

 

C:

MCCXLVIII. obiit Thomas, episcopus Finlandensis. (…)

 

Comments: The sixteenth-century chronicle is preserved in two editions, of which B is considered the most corrupted, but contrary to A it does contain the additional information of the burial place. ● Bishop Thomas resigned from his see in 1245 and seems to have joined the Order of Preachers immediately after. He donated some books to the Dominican convent of Sigtuna in February 1248. ● The chronicle is the only explicit reference to Thomas as member of the Order of Preachers and to his allocation to Visby. Even in the Dominican Annales Skeningenses and the Order’s provincial chapter acts of 1253, he is only referred to as bishop, not as frater. The authour of the episcopal chronicle, Paulus Juusten (1516-1576), may have had his additional Dominican knowledge from his master at the Turku cathedral school in 1534-36, Fr. Martin Skytte OP, himself a bishop of Turku (Åbo) in 1528-1550.

 

Published: A. Porthan, Opera selecta vol. 1, p. 126. B. Scriptores Rerum Svecicarum vol. III, p. 32; Finlands Medeltidsurkunder vol. I no. 95. C. Danske Samlinger 1. ser. vol. V, p. 372; Scriptores Rerum Svecicarum vol. III:1, p. 4; Annales Suecici, p. 260; Annales Ordinis Predicatorum Dacie (online).

Literature: Gallén, 1946, pp. 52 (note 25) and 55 (note 36).

 

 

 

1248

Convent of Tallinn

A convent of Friars Preachers is established in Tallinn.

 

Source: Annales Skeningenses.

Language: Latin.

 

MCCXLVIII (…) conventus venit Ravaliam.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1248 (…) et konvent ankom til Tallinn.

 

Comments: According to the Historia…, this was the second attempt to establish a Dominican convent in Tallinn. At the provincial chapter in 1245-46, 12 friars were selected to form the first convent. If the foundation year in Annales Skeningenses is correct, it would imply that a couple of years went on from the decision to send out the friars to the official foundation of the convent.

 

Published: Danske Samlinger 1. ser. vol. V, p. 372; Scriptores Rerum Svecicarum vol. III no. 1, p. 4; Annales Suecici, p. 260; Annales Ordinis Predicatorum Dacie (online).

 

 

 

1249

Convent of Turku

A convent of Friars Preachers is established in Finland.

 

Source: Annales Skeningenses.

Language: Latin.

 

MCCXLIX venit conventus Finlandiam.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1249 ankom et konvent til Finland.

 

Comments: The term ‘Finland’ was in the Middle Ages concentrated to a small populated area on the south-western coast of present-day Finland. Traditionally it is believed that the Dominican convent right from the beginning was based at Turku (Åbo), where the river Aurå meets the Baltic Sea, but the first explicit Dominican reference to Turku is as late as 1309. When the Friars Preachers arrived in 1249, nothing much seems to have existed in Turku. It was not until 1290 that the seat of the Finnish bishop was moved here from Räntämäki a few kilometres upstream. The bishop may have decided to place his residence closer to the friars, but it is also possible that an early Dominican convent in Räntämäki moved along with him.

 

Published: Danske Samlinger 1. ser. vol. V, p. 372; Scriptores Rerum Svecicarum vol. III no. 1, p. 4; Annales Suecici, p. 260; Annales Ordinis Predicatorum Dacie (online).

 

 

 

1250 (15/5)

London

Convent of Lund, Provinces of Dacia, Hungaria and Terra sancta

The general chapter of the Friars Preachers enjoins a penance of five psalms, five disciplinas and five masses on the convent in Lund, where the friars have torn down a building used for studies before a substitute studium is constructed, thereby hindering studies from being properly performed; until a new study house is completed, neither the prior nor the subprior are to be reelected for their offices. Furthermore, the priors provincial of Hungaria, Dacia and Terra sancta are absolved.

 

Source: Acta capitulorum generalium OP.

Language: Latin.

 

In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti, amen. Acta capituli generalis Londoniis celebrati anno Domini MCCL. (…)

   Injunctiones penitenciarum. Item, de parte Lundons in Dacia, et damus ei ∙v∙ psalteria, ∙v∙ disciplinas, ∙v∙ missas, quia cum habuisset edificia competencia pro studio, illa destruxit et nova inchoavit, et studium impedivit, et non reeligatur de cetero in priorem, impolimus in eodem suppriorem pariter, et volumus quod nullus istorum absolutorum ad officium prioratus vel supprioratus usque ad annum reeligantur.

   Absolvimus priores provinciales Ungarie, Dacie et Terre sancte. (…)

 

Comments: The act is undated, but the chapter was usually held at Pentecost. ● Neither the prior nor the subprior of the Friars Preachers in Lund of this time are known. No other details of the irregular construction process in Lund are available. ● The prior provincial of Dacia from 1241 to 1261 was Fr. Absalon. The reason for his absolution is not stated. It is, however, obvious to connect it to Fr. Absalon’s neglect of a papal order in 1247 19/12 to intervene in a dispute between Bishop Niels Stigsen of Roskilde and King Erik IV of Denmark (whom the friars supported), something which the pope complained about in 1249 27/7. A similar forced absolution may have hit the Franciscan minister provincial of Dacia, Fr. Thidericus, who also neglected the bull and was replaced in office in the period 1245-53. The duration of Fr. Absalon’s absolution does not seem to have been long. Indeed, he may very well have been reelected at the following provincial chapter of that same year; no replacing prior provincial is known.

 

Published: Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica vol. III, p. 54.

 

 

 

1250 29/11

Lyon

Provinces of Dacia (Norway) and Teutonia

Pope Innocent IV enjoins the prior provincial of the Friars Preachers and the minister provincial of the Friars Minor in ‘Alemannia’ to remind all those who have taken the Cross in Frisia and Norway that they shall prepare to leave for the Holy Land at the next collective departure, which is to be arranged by Queen Blanche of France; if necessary, the friars are authorized to implement ecclesiastical punishment.

 

Source: Transcript in Regesta Vaticana. Vatican Archives, Rome.

Language: Latin.

 

Innocentius episcopus, servus servorum Dei, dilectis filiis priori predicatorum et ministro minorum fratrum provincialibus Alemannie, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem. Cum ad presens Terra Sancta indigeat presidio bellatorum, nos attendentes, quod multi frisones acceperunt accensi zelo devotionis et fidei signum crucis, quodque solent frisones in transmarinis partibus prosperare, mandamus quatenus omnes crucesignatos de partibus Frisie et Norvegie, quod in proximo passagio a vobis ad beneplacitum carissime in Christo filie nostre Blanche illustrissime regine Francie statuendo transfretent in subsidium Terre Sancte per vos, ac alios, quos expedire videritis moneatis attentius et efficaciter secundum datam vobis a Deo prudentiam inducatis eos ad id, si necesse fuerit, per censuram ecclesiasticam appellatione postposita compescendo. Non obstantibus aliquibus privilegiis apostolice sedis vel indulgentiis seu literis obtentis et obtinendis et quibuslibet aliis per que id impediri vel differri valeat et de quibus oporteat in presentibus fieri mentionem, et constitutione de duabus dietis edita in concilio generali. Quod si non ambo etcetera. Datum Lugduni ∙iii∙ kalendas decembris, pontificatus nostri anno octavo.

 

Comments: While all of Germany at this time constituted one Dominican province of Teutonia, the region was divided into several Franciscan provinces. It is noteworthy that it was the mendicant provincials in Germany, and not their colleague provincials of Dacia, who were told to take care of business in Norway. Unless it reflects a simple error on part of the Curia, it could suggest that the promotion in Scandinavia of the crusade to the Holy Land at this point was assigned to the mendicant orders in Germany, while the Scandinavian friars themselves were to concentrate on the Baltic crusade. The Friars Preachers of Dacia were not formally enlisted to preach the crusade to the Holy Land until 1265. ● The prior provincial of the Friars Preachers in Teutonia at this time was Fr. Edmundus (1249-1251 and 1266-1269).

 

Published: Bullarium Ordinis Praedicatorum vol. I no. 215.

Literature: Maier 1994, p. 71; Jakobsen 2021(a), p. 104.

 

 

 

1250

Convent of Schleswig

King Erik IV Plovpenning of Denmark is murdered by henchmen of his brother, Duke Abel of Schleswig, who take him out on Slien, decapitate him and throw his body overboard. The king’s corpse is later found by fishermen, who bring it to the church of the Friars Preachers in Schleswig, where he is buried, and the friars show “more than little rejoice and enthusiasm for such a great and valuable treasure’s suffering and death”. After some time, the dead body of the king is translated, by the order of King Abel, to the nunnery church in Schleswig and from there to Schleswig Cathedral on request of the bishop.

 

Sources: A. Genealogia regum Daniæ. B. Annales Stadenses. C. Chronica Majora. D. Annales Hamburgenses. E. Annales 1101-1313. F. Holsteinische Reimchronik.

Languages: A-E. Latin. F. Middle Low German.

 

A:

Qui Ericus regni libere nactus habenas potestatem regiam honestis decoravit moribus, suis benevolus et adversariis terribilis. Sustinuit quoque multas ab emulis suis adversitates, donec prevalente malignantium consilio in vigilia sancti Laurentii cum eo, qui se oderat, quasi amico colludens inopinate capitur, injuriose trahitur, ferreis mancipatur compedibus et sic in cymbam absque Dei reverentia projectus per fluvium Slæ ad ulteriores partes eiusdem fluminis velociter transuehitur. (...) arrepto gladio bis feriens caput amputavit regium. Peracta igitur cede tam miserabili et inaudita tollentes corpus exanime, alligata galea ipsius imposito capite, ne ab aliquo hominum possit inveniri, ad ipsius martyris brachium dextrum, submerserunt in flumen. (...) Altera autem die, que miserande neci fuit proxima, piscatores pro opere suo in eundem locum devenientes et retia sua in capturam piscium laxantes trahebant ad littus maris martyris venerabilis venerabile corpus. (...) Et impositum in navim sic cum casside et indumentis compedibusque circa tibias existentibus cum honore, quo poterant, transtulerunt ad civitatem Sleswicensem, ad ecclesiam predicatorum, sepelientes illud ibidem, eisdem fratribus devote coadjuvantibus et ad passionem tanti talisque thesauri gaudio exultantibus non modico. Quod ibidem aliquanto tempore requievit humatum, donec per episcopum eiusdem civitatis ad majorem ecclesiam beati Petri apostoli honorifice transfertur; translatum condigno honore colitur et jugibus miraculis illustratur. (...)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Da Erik havde fået fri rådighed over rigets tøjler, var han ved sin ærefulde færd en pryd for kongemagten, vennehuld og fjendegram. Han måtte også døje megen modgang af sine avindsmænd lige til den stund, da de ondes råd sejrede, og han på den hellige Laurentius’ aften, just som han sad og spillede med sin avindsmand som med en ven, ganske uventet toges til fange og mod al lov og ret slæbtes bort, lagdes i jernlænker, slængtes således på ugudelig vis ned i en båd og førtes hastigt ud ad Slistrømmen til den ydre del af denne. (…) og skilte i to hug det kongelige hoved fra kroppen. Da sådant ynkeligt og uhørt mord var fuldbragt, tog de det livløse legeme, bandt hjelmen, der sad på hans hoved, fast til martyrens højre arm, for at han aldrig skulle kunne findes af noget menneske, og kastede liget i strømmen. (…) På den næstfølgende dag efter det ynkelige mord kom nogle fiskere i deres dont hen til det selvsamme sted, satte deres garn ud og fik den hæderkronede martyrs hæderkronede lig i nettet, da de trak det op på stranden. (...) De bragte så liget ombord på et fartøj, sådan som det var, med hjelm og klædningsstykker og lænker om benene, og førte det med så stor hæder, som de kunne vise det, til prædike­brødrenes kirke i Slesvig by, og gravlagde det her, hvormed disse brødre fromt hjalp dem, idet de viste ikke ringe jubel og glæde over en så stor og kostbar skats lidelse og død. Der lå det så begravet i nogen tid, indtil det af bispen dér i byen med hæder føres over til den større kirke, som var viet til den hellige Peder apostel, og efter at være ført herover, dyrkes det med skyldig hæder og forkerliges af stadige jærtegn. (...)

 

B:

(...) Non multum post corpus inventum est a piscatoribus, ipso ferro onustum et capite adhuc ad collum pendente. Sepelierunt eum predicatores in ecclesia sua Slesvich. Postea frater eius Abel fecit eum extumulari et ibidem in nova monialium ecclesia sepeliri. (...)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

(...) Ikke længe efter fandtes liget, belæsset med al jernet, af nogle fiskere; hovedet hang endnu ved halsen. Prædikebrødrene gravlagde det i deres kirke i Slesvig. Senere lod hans broder Abel det grave op og begrave i nonnernes nye kirke sammesteds. (...)

 

C:

De obito regis Dacorum, scilicet Henrici.

Eodem anno [:1251] (...) Abel primogenitus, qui potius Cain dicendus erat, insidiatus est Henrico, et dum luderet ad aleas balneaturus post ludum, supervenit Abel subito, et fratrum suum nequiter et proditiose interfecit, et projecit in mare interfectum. Mare autem ter rejecit ad aridam cadaver. (...) Corpus igitur fratres minores, qui illud postulaverant, in ecclesia sua honorifice sepulture tradiderunt, ubi Deus supplicatus miraculorum prestat beneficia.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Om danerkongen Henriks død

Samme år [:1251] (...) lagde Abel, der rettere burde hedde Kain, onde råd op imod Erik, og engang, da denne havde leget tavlebord og ville gå i bad efter legen, kom Abel brat over ham, dræbte sin broder på lumsk og skændig vis, og kastede ham i vandet. Men havet bar tre gange liget oip på tør strand. (...) De små brødre jordfæstede med ære i deres kirke hans lig, som de havde krævet at få. Her lader Gud i sin nåde undere ske for dem, der påkalder ham.

 

D:

Anno MCCL. (...) Huius regis corpus inventum fratres predicatores in ecclesia sua Sleswich sepelierunt; sed frater eius Abel postea fecit eum ibidem in nova ecclesia monialium sepeliri.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

År 1250. (...) Denne konges lig blev fundet af prædikebrødrene, [og] begravet i deres kirke i Slesvig, men hans broder Abel fik ham efterfølgende begravet i nonnernes nye kirke.

 

E:

MCCL. Dux Abel fratrem suum Ericum regem, ad aleam ludentem, captum proditiose in Sleswik in nocte sancti Laurentii, per Laghonem Gudmundsen militem occidi fecit in Myosund et submergi. Sepultus primo apud predicatores, extra menia tunc manentes, postea apud sanctam Mariam in Holm, tertio in ecclesia beati Petri. Inventus per piscatorem.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1250. Hertug Abel lod troløst sin broder kong Erik gribe i Slesvig, da han sad ved terningspil, i den hellige Laurentii nat, og lod ham dræbe ved Mysund og sænke i vandet af ridderen Lave Gudmundsen. Han blev først begravet hos prædikebrødrene, der da boede uden for murene, senere hos Vor Frue på Holmen, tredje gang i Skt. Peders kirke. Han blev fundet af en fisker.

 

F:

(...) Des eddelen koninges licham wart gevunden, unde de brodere van deme predekerorden begroven ene to Sleswik in ere kerken. Dar god bi eme bewisede mennigerleie wunderwercke in de tuchnisse siner hillicheit. Dar na leth en sin broder Abel wedder upgraven unde in de nigen kerken des juncfrowenclosters wedder graven. (...)

 

Dansk oversættelse:

(...) Den ædelige konges lig blev fundet, og brødrene af Prædikantordenen begravede det i deres kirke i Slesvig. Der lod Gud ved ham ske mangfoldige undere til vidnesbyrd om hans hellighed. Derefter lod hans broder Abel ham atter grave op igen og gravlægge i den ny kirke ved nonneklosteret. (...)

 

Comments: According to A, the royal corpse was found and brought by the fishermen to the Dominican church in Schleswig already on the day after his murder, i.e. 11 August 1250. According to Chronica Sialandie, written in the late thirteenth century (which, as many other younger version, does not mention the first burial with the Friars Preachers), the corpse was found a couple of weeks after the murder: Transactis vero aliquantis hebdomadis a piscatoribus inventus ad civitatem adducitur et in ecclesiola monialium sepultus est (VSD, 431). ● B has that the corpse was found by p̅catoribus; in SRD and MGH (and in D) this has been read as p[redi]catoribus, whereas VSD reads the more likely p[is]catoribus, in line with A. ● Although C must be quite close in time to the events (written in 1259 at the latest), it is amazing how much information the author, Matthew Paris, has got wrong. Not only has he altered the Friars Preachers to Friars Minor (and let them demand to have the corpse for their burial, a claim not made anywhere else), he has also missed such central elements as the year and the name of the king! ● King Erik IV Plovpenning of Denmark reigned from 1241 to 1250, as the oldest son of King Valdemar II. Most of his regency was marked by a power struggle with his brother, Duke Abel of Schleswig, which from 1246 evolved to open war. To fund the continued warfare, Erik is said to have issued a new plough tax, which in later history writing earned him the byname Plovpenning (‘plough penny’). Eventually, Abel was forced to submission in 1250, and it was while King Erik was in Schleswig to manifest his victory that he was killed by Abel’s supporters. The reason why the fishermen decided to bring the corpse of the dead king to the Dominican priory may have been completely practical, as the priory at this time was situated outside the city wall right down by the water. It may, however, also suggest that the Friars Preachers were known for being friends and allies of the slain king. Whereas King Erik IV is traditionally known as a friend of the Friars Minor, it is less clear how he stood with the Friars Preachers, but relations generally appear positive. In his lifetime, King Erik also engaged in several conflicts with the Church, particularly with the bishop of Roskilde regarding the lordship of Copenhagen, in which the Danish Friars Preachers were papally instructed to mediate (1247 19/12), but apparently refrained to do in support of the king (1249 27/7). Also, among his ecclesiastical allies was the cathedral provost of Roskilde, Bo (Boecius), who later joined the ranks of the Friars Preachers (see 1255 14/3). And, eventually, his daughters Agnes and Jutta funded and joined the first Dacian convent of Dominican Sisters in Roskilde (1266). Thus, the text should hardly be read as if the Friars Preachers rejoiced on the horrible death of King Erik, but rather on their fortune of becoming the burial site for the martyred saint king. After the repeated transfers of his corpse between churches in Schleswig, the remains of King Erik was finally moved to the Benedictine abbey church of Ringsted in 1257-58. After this transfer, the Benedictine monks compiled a list of miracles performed by the blessed king, to which also Fr. Nicolaus Crispus of the Dominican convent in Roskilde could add a tale in 1258-62. Although the claimed sainthood of King Erik IV, eagerly promoted by his younger brother, King Christoffer I of Denmark, received some national and even international recognition, he was never officially sanctified or even beatified by the Church. ● The claim that wonders already began to happen while Erik was still buried with the Dominicans is only noted in F, i.e. around 1400, and may be a free interpretation added by its (supposedly Franciscan) chronicler. ● It is noteworthy that the initial burial with the Friars Preachers in Schleswig is not mentioned in any of the Dominican yearbooks of the time. ● Abel, duke of Schleswig 1232-1252, followed his murdered brother, Erik IV, as king of Denmark in 1250. He was married to Mechtilde, the daughter of Count Adolf IV of Holstein (see 1244), who put his two young sons in the custody of Abel, when the count himself withdraw to monastic life in 1246; this meant that Abel’s ducal power increased significantly, and the duchy and county effectively merged into one ‘double duchy’ of Schleswig-Holstein. As king, Abel denied any involvement with the killing of his brother and predecessor. He was, however, himself killed after less than two years of regency in a battle against the Frisians in 1252. If the Friars Preachers were considered political friends of King Erik IV, one would expect an unfriendly relation between the Order and Abel, but this cannot be seen from the sources – except for his possibly instruction to remove Erik’s corpse from the Dominican church to the nunnery church in Schleswig. On the contrary, King Abel is known to have issued some privileges for the Friars Preachers in Lund in 1251 26/5, friars from the convent in Haderslev allegedly witnessed a donation performed by him in 1252 4/4, and the foundation of a Dominican convent in Haderslev in 1251 could hardly have taken place without his explicit support. ● Lave Gudmundsen was a Danish knight, who held a strong position at the court of Duke Abel throughout the late 1240s. It apparently was important for the opposition of Abel to name him as the ring leader of the murder, and in one of the numerous versions it is added that Knight Lave was killed shortly after in Kiel. His son, Lave Lavesen Litle (see 1291 14/3), was later accused of following in his father’s footsteps, as he was among the suspects of the murder of King Erik V Klipping in 1286. ● The chronicles have differing information about the churches of Schleswig in which King Erik was buried. According to B, D, E and F his corpse was at first transferred from the Dominican church to the new nunnery church on Holmen, situated just outside the city to the sourth-east. This is in fact the oldest instance on the existence of this Benedictine nunnery, eventually dedicated to St. John. According to B, D and F this (first) reburial was instigated by King Abel. ● According to A, the corpse was moved directly from the Dominican church in Schleswig to the Church of St. Peter, i.e. Schleswig Cathedral, on the instruction of the bishop. Only E appears to have the double transfer from the Dominicans to the nuns, and then from the nuns to the cathedral. ● The bishop of Schleswig, who requested the transfer of King Erik’s corpse from the nunnery church to Schleswig Cathedral, must have been ‘Sorte’ Eskil (1244-1255), see 1247 19/12.

 

Published: A. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. I, pp. 20-25; Vitae Sanctorum Danorum, pp. 426-428; Danish translation by Olrik 1906-08, pp. 34-37. B. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. V, p. 499 (as entry in other chronicle); Monumenta Germaniae Historica (Scriptores) vol. XVI, p. 373; Vitae Sanctorum Danorum, pp. 433. C. Chronica Majora vol. V, pp. 221-222; Danish translation by Olrik 1906-08, pp. 48-49. D. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. I, p. 209; Monumenta Germaniae Historica (Scriptores) vol. XVI, p. 383; Vitae Sanctorum Danorum, p. 433. E. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. IV, p. 24; Annales Danici, p. 201; Danmarks middelalderlige annaler, p. 313. F. Quellensammlung Schleswig-Holstein-Lauenburg vol. IV, p. 440; Monumenta Germaniae Historica (Scriptores) vol. II, pp. 632-633; Danish translation by Olrik 1906-08, p. 45.

 

 

 

1251

Röbel

Convent of Haderslev

The foundation of the Dominican convent in Haderslev is dated to 1251.

 

Source: Inscription in choir stools in the Church of St. Nicholas, Röbel, Germany.

Language: Latin.

 

Bremensis 1225. Erfhordensis 1229. Halberstadensis … . Sovauiensis 1241. Rupinensis 1246. Haderslauensis 1251. Strusbergensis 1254. Rostochensis 1256. Prinslauensis 1275. Poswalkcensis 1277. Brandenburgensis 1292. Wismariensis 1293. Berlinensis 1297. Maldorpensis 1389. Bruswickcensis 1310. Tarbatensis 1300. Robolensis 1285. Hallensis 1271. Sehusensis 1255. Gripswaldensis 1254. Sundensis 1251. Rigensis 1244. Hamburgensis … . Lipzensis 1229. Lubicensis 1229. Magdeburgensis 1224.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

Bremen 1225. Erfurt 1229. Halberstadt […]. Slesvig (?) 1241. Neuruppin 1246. Haderslev 1251. Straussberg 1254. Rostock 1256. Prenzlau 1275. Pasewalk 1277. Brandenburg 1292. Wismar 1293. Berlin 1297. Meldorf 1389. Braunschweig 1310. Dorpat 1300. Röbel 1285. Halle 1271. Seehausen 1255. Greifswald 1254. Stralsund 1251. Riga 1244. Hamburg […]. Leipzig 1229. Lübeck 1229. Magdeburg 1224.

 

Comments: The High Gothic choir stools in oak originally belonged to the Dominican priory in Röbel, but after the Lutheran Reformation and the demolition of the priory they were moved to the local parish church of St. Nicholas. · The inscription of the convent names and years is made along the top piece of the stools. In addition to this, an inscription is made on the back of each of the 30 stools, most of them giving short references to Dominican provinces, among them Dacia; one backside inscription states that the writing was done Anno domini 1519 per me fratrem Urbanum Schuman. · The listed years in the top piece undoubtedly dates the foundation of each convent, of which most fit with dates known from elsewhere, while some, however, differ slightly. They all refer to convents within the province of Saxonia, as it appeared in 1519, although the list is far from complete. From a Nordic perspective, we miss the convent of Tallinn and perhaps that of Schleswig, whom along with convent of Haderslev were transferred from Dacia to Saxonia in 1517 5/2. · However, the mentioned convent Sovauiensis (MUB has Soraciensis), allegedly founded in 1241, cannot be easily identified with any other Saxonian convent, so perhaps it is an error for Schleswig, where the convent elsewhere is stated established in 1239. · The foundation year for the convent in Haderslev is not known from elsewhere, but the first reference is in the acts from the provincial chapter of 1254 8/9, so a foundation in 1251 is not at all unlikely.

 

Published: Mecklenburgisches Urkundenbuch vol. II no. 761; Quellen und Forschungen zur Geschichte des Dominikanerordens in Deutschland vol. IX, pp. 5-6.

 

 

 

1244-51

Convents of Visby and/or Turku

Pope Innocent IV informs a prior of the Friars Preachers that all newly converted ‘neophytes’ in Finland are allowed to remain in marriages entered (by pagan custom) before their conversion, and the prior is authorized to grant similar dispensations to thirty persons, who after their conversion have entered pagan marriages to spouses within the third or fourth degree of consanguinity; this can either be granted by the prior himself or by friars, who are appointed for preaching among these people.

 

Source: Transcript in letter collection of Marinus de Ebulo. Vatican Apostolic Library, Rome.

Language: Latin.

 

Priori ordinis predicatorum. Quod conversi de novo ad fidem possint in quibuscunque contractis matrimoniis remanere.

   Delectat sedis apostolice pietatem generosi favoris affluentiam circa illos exponere, qui divine inspirationis illustrati gratia relictis infidelitatis tenebris provenerunt ad lucem catholice veritatis. Hinc est quod nos digne volentes, ut dilectis filiis neophitis Philandie redundet in letitiam paganorum spurcicias reliquisse, ac etiam quod firmum, et inviolabile sit eis propositum ad divini honorem nominis legem colere cristianam nos eorum desideriis affectu benivolo concurrentes, ut cum predictis neophitis quod in matrimoniis que in quocunque gradu juxta ritum suum ante catholice professionem fidei contraxerunt, necnon ut ∙xxx∙ ex eis, que tercia vel quarta linea consanguinitatis post susceptum sacramentum baptismatis contraxerunt possint libere permanere, per te vel fratrem idoneum, quem predicationis negotio circa huius [terre] gentem duxeris deputandum dispensara valeas, tibi auctoritate presentium concedimus facultatem.

 

 

Comments: The transcript is undated, but since it is included in a letter collection of Marinus de Ebulo, who was vice chancellor of Pope Innocent IV from 1244 to 1251, it is likely to origin from this period, something which also fits well with the content. Jarl Gallén has narrowed the potential time period down to 1245-1248/49, suggesting that it was issued in the episcopal interregnum for Finland between the resignation of Bishop Thomas in 1245 21/2 and the election of his successor, Björn, in 1249 (Gallén 1946, 56-57). ● The transcript neither names the issuing pope nor the addressed prior, but if issued during the office of Marinus de Ebulo, it has to be from Pope Innocent IV (1243-1254). ● As Gallén advocated its dating to the years just before the Dominican convent foundation in Finland, he suggested that it was directed at the prior of the convent in Visby (Gallén 1946, 57). Alternatively, it was aimed for the new convent in Turku itself, founded in 1249.

 

Published: Gallén, La Province de Dacia…, encl. 1 (p. 246).

 

              1244-51

Pope Innocent IV authorizes a prior of the Friars Preachers to absolve neophytes in Finland, who have incurred ecclesiastical punishment according to promulgated Church regulations, if these are not of an extent and degree that falls under the Apostolic See.

 

Source: Transcript in letter collection of Marinus de Ebulo. Vatican Apostolic Library, Rome.

Language: Latin.

 

Priori ordinis predicatorum de … . De neophitis absolvendis.

   Quos ad lucem convertit de tenebris misericordia Dei patris decet per sedem apostolicam illius dono foveri gratie, per quam salutis materia, et devotionis augmentum ipsis valeat pervenire. Cum itaque non nulli ex neophitis de Filandia sicut accepimus in canonem inciderint sententie promulgate, nos circa ipsos affectum salubris benivolentie dirigentes presentium tibi auctoritate committimus ut ipsis hac vice juxta formam ecclesiastice absolutionis beneficium largiaris, dum modo passis injuriam satisfecerint competenter, et eorum excessus non sit adeo enormis et gravis, quod propter hoc debeant ad sedem apostolicam destinari.

 

Comments: See above.

 

Published: Gallén, La Province de Dacia…, encl. 2 (pp. 246-247).

 

 

 

1252 4/4 (a)

(Ribe)

Convent of Ribe

Fr. Petrus, prior of the Friars Preachers, and Fr. Astradus (of the same convent in Ribe?) witness that Bishop Esger of Ribe, along with King Abel of Denmark, gives the patronage of the parish church in Brede to Løgum Abbey.

 

Source: Genuine? Transcripts in the Løgum Book.

Language: Latin.

 

Esgerus Dei gratia Ripensis episcopus universis Christi fidelibus ad quos presentes litere pervenerint salutem in omnium salvatore. Cum secundum constitutionem felicis memorie domini pape Alexandri ecclesia vivente persona possit locis conferri religiosis, patroni assensu ad hoc accedente, scire volumus tam posteros quam presentes, nos claustro Loci Dei ecclesiam de Brewadt, cum consensu domini regis Abel, canonice contulisse, jure perpetuo possidendam, ita quod cum dicta ecclesia primitus vacaverit abbas prefati loci ipsam ad voluntatem suam ordinabit. Ne igitur super hac collatione nostra tam legitime facta, dicto loco possit in posterum suboriri calumnia, presens scriptum sibi comisimus ad cautelam sigilli nostri munimine roboratum. Presentes fuerunt huic collationi multi nobiles, dominus videlicet rex Abel superius memoratus, eiusdem domini regis marscalcus Iwarus, dapifer Petrus F[ii]nssun, Petrus Johannis filius, Johannes Friis frater eius, prior Petrus de ordine predicatorum et frater Astradus, magister Symon canonicus noster, Absalon et Mauritius clerici nostri, multi etiam alii clerici et laici. Datum anno ab incarnatione Domini MCCLII pridie nonas aprilis.

 

Comments: Neither the original letter nor a certified copy made by Bishop Bonde and the cathedral chapter of Schleswig on 4 June 1277 (DD 2 II 290) are preserved. Transcripts of both versions are extant in the Løgum Book from 1578, along with a number of transcript extracts from a legal process held in 1575-76. ● The letter is suspected to be falsely fabricated by the Cistercians in Løgum Abbey to be used in a legal dispute with the parishioners of Brede in 1276-77 (DD/DRB 2 I 69 note (2)). The fabrication of this and a handful of other letters is, among other things, indicated by their unusual strong wording; that the exact same group of witnesses allegedly confirmed an additional letter of confirmation from the cathedral chapter of Ribe in 1252 29/7 (see below); and that this latter letter also claims to be witnessed by King Abel – in spite of the fact that he died on 29 June 1252, and thus a month before it was issued! In defence of the letter’s genuinity it could be argued that King Abel was in fact in Ribe on 1252 4/4 (b), along with Marshal Ivar and Master Simon, also in a matter concerning Bishop Esger; at that occasion, the written outcome was witnessed by Fr. Adolphus and Fr. Reinerus (OP or OFM?). ● Even if this and the letter of 1252 29/7 are fabrications, one may assume that the Cistercian forger has used names on actual Friars Preachers, but neither Prior Petrus nor Fr. Astradus – both supposedly to be affiliated to the convent in Ribe – are known from any other sources. ● On King Abel of Denmark, see 1250. ● Bishop Esger of Ribe (1246-1273) was one of the youngest canons at the cathedral chapter in Ribe, when he was elected bishop in 1246, possibly due to influence from King Erik IV Plovpenning (see 1250). He generally remained a loyal support of the Crown, particularly during the first years of the archiepiscopal strife, where he took the side of King Christoffer I and the young King Erik V Klipping against the archiepiscopal alliance. Bishop Esger is known as a benefactor of the Cistercians in Løgum Abbey, with whom he was buried, but he may also have been the initiator of the Dominican convent foundation in Haderslev (1251), just as his prominent role in the royal party inevitably must have placed him close to leading Danish Friars Preachers, who were also to be found in the inner circle around the kings at this time; see 1255 14/3 and 1259 6/3. ● The parish church of Brede is situated 6 km west of Løgum Abbey and 30 km south of Ribe.

 

Published: Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. VIII, pp. 114 and 123; Diplomatarium Danicum 2. ser. vol. I no. 59.

 

              1252 29/7             (Ribe)

Prior Petrus and Fr. Astradus also witness that the cathedral chapter of Ribe confirms the abovementioned donation of patronage.

 

Source: Genuine? Transcripts in the Løgum Book.

Language: Latin.

 

Universis hoc scriptum cernentibus capitulum sancte Marie Ripensis ecclesie salutem in perpetuum. Cum secundum constitutionem felicis memorie domini pape Alexandri, ecclesia vivente persona possit conferri locis religiosis patroni consensu ad hoc accedente, scire volumus tam posteros quam presentes, quod venerabiles fratres nostri monachi Loci Dei ecclesiam de Bredwath cum consensu omnium fratrum nostrorum canonice sunt adepti, ita quod cum primitus ipsam vacare contigerit, dominus abbas dicti claustri eandem ad voluntatem suam libere ordinabit. In cuius collationis testimonium presentem cedulam sigillo capituli nostri fecimus roborari. Presentes autem fuerunt huic collationi plerique nobiles domini videlicet rex Abel, Iwarius eiusdem domini regis marscalcus, dapifer Petrus Fiinssun, Petrus Jonnessun frater eius, Johannes Friis, prior Petrus de ordine predicatorum, et frater Astradus, Absalon et Mauritius clerici domini episcopi, multi etiam alii tam clerici quam laici. Actum anno ab incarnatione Domini MCCLII quarto kalendas augusti.

 

Comments: See above.

 

Published: Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. VIII, pp. 114-115 and 124; Schleswig-Holstein-Lauenburgische Regesten und Urkunden vol. II no. 24; Diplomatarium Danicum 2. ser. vol. I no. 69.

 

 

 

1252 (Aug.-Sep.)

Odense

Province of Dacia, Convents of Bergen, Kalmar, Lund, Nidaros, Odense, Oslo, Ribe, Roskilde, Sigtuna, Skara, Schleswig, Viborg and Århus

The provincial chapter of the Friars Preachers in Dacia is held in Odense. Several regulations decided on the general chapter are transmitted, especially about the individual friar’s observance to community life and disciplinary restrictions. Among these it is stated that no friar is allowed to hear confession of nuns without being especially appointed for the task, and even then he is not allowed to enter a nunnery without a socius and a specific permission; and priors are licensed to seek, apprehend and expel apostate friars within and from their termini. Furthermore, the following transfers of individual friars between convents are decided: Fr. Bertoldus, Fr. Matheus of Viborg, Fr. Johannes Parvus of Århus, Fr. Andreas of Sigtuna and Fr. Nicolaus of Oslo are all assigned to the convent in Lund; Fr. Brotherus of Oslo and Fr. Johannes of Viborg are assigned to the convent in Ribe; Fr. Haquinus of Bergen and the laybrother Fr. Othincarus of Odense are assigned to the convent in Roskilde; Fr. Thorstanus and Fr. Thorgotus of Skara are assigned to the convent in Sigtuna; Fr. Sigwardus of Nidaros and the laybrother Fr. Bertoldus of Kalmar are assigned to the convent in Skara; Fr. Jacobus Primus of Roskilde and Fr. Reginaldus of Skara are assigned to the convent in Viborg; and Fr. Gusterus and Fr. Godefridus Parvus are assigned to the convent in Odense.

 

Source: Acta capituli provincialis OP Dacie.

Language: Latin.

 

In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti amen. Acta capituli provincialis Othonensis celebrati anno Domini MCCLII.

   Quod per correctiones etiam firmius in capitulis status ordinis huius conservetur et reformetur; firmiter observari volumus, quod fratres non decumbentes nullatenus a capitulo se subtrahant nec priores sine causa evidenti dent licentiam remanendi, fratres etiam hospites ad idem astricti sint postquam una nocte in domo remanserint. Similiter minuti secunda sue imminutionis. Qui autem neglexerint correctionem in sequenti capitulo accipiant. Item juxta admonitionem capituli generalis statuimus ut singuli fratres quocienscunque communicandum est confiteantur suo priori vel fratribus maturis et discretis, nec sine consilio sui prioris, vel eius qui preest, si prior presens non fuerit, a communione se subtrahant. Priori etiam suo saltem quarter in anno confiteri teneantur. Item prioribus et omnibus capitula tenentibus districte injungimus ut penitentias taxatas in constitutionibus precipue in irreverentia, contentionibus et dissensionibus injungere non ommitant. Item volumus ut injungentes in capitulis psalteria jejunia et disciplinas, terminum assignent, et injuncta compleantur infra terminum assignatum. Item prohibemus ne quis frater recipiat exequutiones causarum sine licentia prioris provincialis speciali. Item volumus ut quicunque frater secularibus prelatis vel principus seu quibuscunque aliis in causis negotiis in gravamen fratrum et in ordinis favuerit prejudicium, quicunque personas spectabiles ab hordine avertuerit, seu secreta ordinis talibus revelavuerit suffragiis ordinis, preventus in morte, non resipuverit. Item volumus et mandamus ut quicunque contra formam prescriptam in constitutionibus et in aliis capitulis provincialibus aliquid receperunt vel retinuerunt perlectis hiis actis, suo id priori representent et relinquant. Quare si deinceps aliquid sic receperint vel extra domum reposuerint, ipso fratres eo careant. Item volumus ut ponatur certus frater qui sit custos denariorum fratrum cui etiam fratres exeuntes, omnes claves suas committant. Item diligenter observandum statuimus ut fratres litteras quas extra domum recipiunt et earum transcriptum quas extra scribunt; suo priori representent, qui autem ex certa deliberatione litteras sibi missas suppresserunt; tres dies in pane et aqua jeiunent. Item firmiter observari volumus ut qui ordinem in potu scandalizavuerit vel in potu excessuerit, secundum formam et statuta preteritorum capitulorum puniatur. Item prohibemus ne quis frater confessionem monialium audiat nisi ad hoc fuerit specialiter deputatus et ne quis adeat claustra monialium nisi cum socio ydoneo et licentia speciali. Item inhibemus ne quis deinceps calcios clausos deferat seu habitum communi consuetudini ordinis repugnantem. Item injungimus prioribus ac fratribus quod pro sumtibus assignatis saltem unam marcam puri argenti hos anno ad quaternos mittant et qui non miserunt anno precedenti mittant duas et duas dies in pane et aqua jejunent. Similiter qui alio anno ad vestes noviciorum tres sollidos sterlingorum parisius non miserunt, hoc anno ∙vi∙ sollidus ripis mittant et duas dies in pane et aqua jejunent, ceteris tres mittant. Item volumus ut priores attenti sint in collationibus faciendis injungentes penitentiam hiis qui non faciunt et diligenter observent quod de studio et sermonibus faciendis in capitulo statutum est precedenti. Volumus etiam ut vigilias juxta modum prescriptum in nova natalia dici faciant. Item injungimus prioribus et depositariis ut diligentes sint in depositis servandis ne vel mutuentur vel alienentur. Item mandamus prioribus ut apostatas in terminis suis inventos vel capiant vel expellant. Item injungimus capitula tenentibus ut frequentur de actis capitulorum faciant mentionem.

   Ad domum Lundensem assignamus fratrem Bertoldum, fratrem Matheum Wibergensem, fratrem Johannem Parvum de Arus, fratrem Andream de domo Sictuniensi, fratrem Nicolaum Asleonsem. Ad domum Ripensem fratrem Brotherum Asleonsem, fratrem Johannem Wibergensem. Ad domum Roskildensem assignamus fratrum Haquinum Bergensem, fratrem Othincharum conversum de domo Othonensi. Ad domum Sictunensem assignamus fratrem Thorstanum, fratrem Thorgotum de domo Scarensi. Ad domum Scarensem assignamus fratrem Sigwardum de Nitharosia, fratrem Bertoldum conversum de Kalmarnia. Ad domum Wibergensem assignamus fratrem Jacobum Primum de domo Roskildensi, fratrem Reginaldum de domo Scarensi. Ad domum Othonensem assignamus fratrem Gusterum, fratrem Godefridum Parvum. Ad domum Sleswicensem […..].

 

Comments: The last part of the acts is missing since the parchment on which it was written was later cut to fit as binding for an otherwise unrelated book. ● The date of the provincial chapter is not stated, but traditionally they were held in August or September. ● Only two of the seventeen transferred friars are known from other sources: The laybrother Fr. Othincarus, who was transferred from Odense to Roskilde, was subsequently moved on from Roskilde to the convent in Visby at the provincial chapter in 1254 8/9; and Fr. Gusterus, who was assigned to the convent in Odense, was in 1254 8/9 transferred again to the convent in Tallinn.

 

Published: Kirkehistoriske Samlinger 1. ser. vol. I, pp. 551-553.

Literature: Jakobsen 2018a, 371-372.

 

 

 

1253 1/1

Liège

OP (Scandinavia, Germany, Poland, Bohemia, Moravia)

Fr. Hugo OP, cardinal priest of Santa Sabina and papal legate, enjoins all regular and secular prelates in Germany, Dacia, Bohemia, Poland and Moravia to implement the Feast of St. Dominic as already introduced by Pope Gregory IX along with the indulgences attributed to it.

 

Source: Transcript in undated certification. Landesarchiv Sachsen-Anhalt.

Language: Latin.

 

- - -

Datum Leodii kalendas Januarii pontificatus nostri domini Innocentii pape ∙iiii∙ anno decimo.

 

Comments: The letter was certified by “Albertus decanus, Theodericus scolasticus, Conradus archipresbiter ecclesie sancte Marie in Erfordia”. ● On the Feast of St. Dominic, see 1234 7/10. ● Fr. Hugo de Saint-Cher (†1263) was a French Friar Preacher, who originated from Saint-Cher in Dauphiné. While studying at the University of Paris, he entered the Order in 1225, and was subsequently appointed both prior of the convent in Paris and prior provincial of Francia (1226-1230 and 1236-1244), before he was made cardinal priest of Santa Sabina by Pope Innocent IV in 1244. In this capacity, he was used as papal legate on several occasions, especially in Germany.

 

Not published. Summary with extracts in Urkundenbuch der Erfurter Stifter und Klöster vol. I no. 305; Codex diplomaticus et epistolaris regni Bohemiae vol. IV no. 456.

 

 

 

(1253 Aug.-Sep.)

Province of Dacia, Convents of Bergen, Lund, Ribe, Roskilde, Sigtuna, Viborg and Visby

At the provincial chapter of the Friars Preachers in Dacia intercessory prayers are prescribed in all convents for a number of recently deceased lay persons and clergy. The priors of the convents in Ribe and Roskilde are appointed diffinitors and electors of Dacia for the forthcoming general chapter, and Fr. Oliverus is appointed socius for the prior provincial. The priory in Lund is chosen as venue for the next provincial chapter to be held in a year’s time on 8 September. Finally, the following friars have died in the province since the latest chapter: Fr. Esbernus and laybrother Fr. Iao of the convent in Ribe; Fr. Andreas, priest of the convent in Visby; Fr. Alanus, priest, and Fr. Thorstanus, deacon of the convent in Bergen; Fr. Jacobus and Fr. Nicolaus, both priests of the convent in Viborg; and Fr. Wilhelmus, priest of the convent in Sigtuna.

 

Source: Acta capituli provincialis OP Dacie.

Language: Latin.

 

….. pro domino preposito de Brunna, Aquone, Cristiarno et aliis familiaribus ordinis: sacerdotes ∙i∙ missa cleri[ci …]; pro domina Helena Erici, Johanna de Monte, abbatissa de Sco, priorissa Ripensi, priorissa de Weretis: sacerdotes ∙i∙ missa de dominica, alii ut supra; pro omnibus cobenefactoribus capituli recipientibus euntes et redeuntes aliisque familiaribus: sacerdotes ∙i∙ missa, alii ut supra; pro domino archiepiscopo defuncto: sacerdotes ∙iii∙ misse, clerici psalterium, laici quingentos pater noster; pro dominis episcopis Thoma, Nicholao, Gunnero: sacerdotes ∙i∙ missa, alii ut supra, pro una missa; pro dominis comite de Reinstæn, Jacobo, Petro filio Pincerne, Hemming et aliis: sacerdotes, clerici et la[ici …]; pro domino Ivaro: sacerdotes, clerici et laici ut supra; pro dominabus Ingerd, Margareta et aliis: sacerdotes, clerici et laici ut supra.

   Electores magistri ordinis prior Ripensis, prior Roskildensis. Diffinitor capituli generalis prior Ripensis, socius prior Roskildensis. Socius prioris provincialis frater Oliverus. Capitulum provinciale anno fu[turo] celebretur in domo Lundensi in nativitate beate virginis. Ita quod diffinitores eligantur in dominica prece[denti.]

   Isti sunt fratres mortui de provincia: de domo Ripensi frater Esbernus, frater Iao conversus; de domo Visbyensi frater Andreas sacerdos; de domo Bergensi frater Alanus sacerdos, frater Thorstanus diaconus; de domo Vibergensi frater Jacobus, frater Nicholaus, sacerdotes; de domo Sictunensi frater Willielmus sacerdos.

 

Comments: Only the last part of the acts is preserved since the parchment on which it was written was later cut to fit as binding for an otherwise unrelated book. ● The fragment is without a date, but on the same folio it is continued by the acts of the chapter of 1254 8/9 held in Lund, which the present acts indeed state will be the next venue, thus pointing convincingly to 1253. This year is furthermore supported by the appointment of electors for the forthcoming general chapter, since such had been called in for the chapter of 1254 held in Buda around Pentecost, where Fr. Humbertus de Romanis was elected master general of the Order. Traditionally the provincial chapters were held in August or September. ● The finder and publisher of the acts, George Stephens, suggested the priory in Ribe as venue for the 1253 chapter (“[? Acta capituli provincialis Ripensis, 1253]”, KS 1. ser. vol. I, 554), but I have not been able to identify what this assumption was based upon. ● None of the two priors appointed diffinitors are named. The one from Ribe may be Fr. Petrus, referred to in 1252 4/4 and 1252 29/7; the one from Roskilde is probably identical to the likewise unnamed prior of Roskilde, who at the following chapter in 1254 8/9 was appointed preacher general. ● The prior provincial of Dacia at this time was most likely Fr. Absalon (1241-1261). Since the general chapter of 1254 was an electing chapter, both the appointed diffinitors and the prior provincial were to participate. ● None of the named friars can be identified with friars known from other sources. It is possible, though, that the deceased Fr. Jacobus of the convent in Viborg was the Fr. Jacobus Primus, who was transferred from Roskilde to Viborg at the chapter in 1252. ● The recently deceased archbishop, for whom intercessory prayers were prescribed, was most likely Uffe Thrugotsen of Lund (1228-1252) (see 1240 14/12), while the three bishops probably were Bishop Thomas of Finland (?-1245, †1248), Bishop Niels Stigsen of Roskilde (1225-1249) and Bishop Gunner of Viborg (1222-1251). Of the laypeople it is possible to identify Count Konrad III of Regenstein, who died in the early 1250s. ● It is worth noting that intercessory prayers also were prescribed for three anonymous mothers superior of female convents belonging to other monastic orders: the Cistercian nunneries of Sko and Vreta (Sweden) and the Benedictine nunnery of Ribe. ● Generally, it seems as if the intercession program consisted of one mass for the initiated priests, one psalter to be sung by the uninitiated clerical friars, and a number of Paternosters to be said by the laybrothers; an extra effort was prescribed for the archbishop (three masses) and the mothers superior (a Sunday mass).

 

Published: Kirkehistoriske Samlinger 1. ser. vol. I, pp. 554-555.

 

 

 

1253

Convent of Vordingborg

The Order of Preachers receives a house in Vordingborg.

 

Source: A. Annales Dano-Suecani, B. Annales Petri Olavi.

Language: Latin.

 

A:

1253. (…) et domus accepta Warthingæburg (…).

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1253. (…) og et hus blev modtaget i Vordingborg (…).

 

B:

MCCLIII. Fratres predicatores domum in Wartingburg ceperunt edificare.

 

Dansk oversættelse:

1253. Prædikebrødrene modtog et opført hus i Vordingborg.

 

Comments: The Dominican house in Vordingborg is only known from three extant incidents; the acquisition in 1253, a transfer of a friar to domum Castrensem at the provincial chapter in 1254 and a donation in a will from 1261. As a convent was established in nearby Næstved in the 1260s, probably after a yearlong struggle before the Benedictine townlords accepted this, it is traditionally believed that the convent in Vordingborg was transferred altogether to the new location in Næstved. Indeed, the house in Vordingborg, of which the location is unknown, may just have been a ‘waiting room’ for the friars to go to Næstved. On the other hand, whereas Næstved was of far larger economical interest for the Order, Vordingborg held one of the most important royal castles on Sjælland and was the main port for Danish crusade campaigns; an activity that was, however, on a significant retreat in the second half of the thirteenth century, which may also explain the decision to move the convent.

 

Published: A. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. II, p. 168; Annales Danici, p. 131; Annales Suecici, p. 257; Danmarks middelalderlige annaler, p. 15; Annales Ordinis Predicatorum Dacie (online). B. Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. I, p. 185; Annales Danici, p. 207.

 

 

 

1254 8/9

Lund

Province of Dacia, Convents of Bergen, Haderslev, Kalmar, Lund, Lödöse, Nidaros, Odense, Oslo, Ribe, Roskilde, Skara, Skänninge, Tallinn, Turku, Viborg, Visby, Vordingborg, Västerås, Åhus and Århus (prov. Dacia), and Lübeck (prov. Teutonia)

The provincial chapter of the Friars Preachers in Dacia is held in Lund. Several regulations decided on the general chapter are transmitted, among them an admonition that all friars shall act humble towards secular prelates and abstain from provoking complaints; priors are to make sure that all friars of their convents study and follow lessons eagerly; youngfriars can be dispensed from other duties in order to help promote their studies; and young preachers shall be trained in preaching in the vernacular within the priory and only be allowed to preach outside the priory when evaluated sufficiently skilled and disciplined.

     The following transfers of individual friars between the convents are decided: Fr. Nicolaus ‘Bishop’ and Fr. Ingvarus of Roskilde are assigned to the convent in Lund; Fr. Rodulphus of Viborg, laybrother Fr. Nicolaus of Odense and laybrother Fr. Hermannus of Åhus are assigned to the convent in Ribe; Fr. Svenung of Skänninge, Fr. Arnulphus and Fr. Petrus of Finland are assigned to the convent in Visby; Fr. Nicolaus Kac, Fr. Haquinus of Oslo, Fr. Thorleifus of Bergen and laybrother Fr. Alanus are assigned to the convent in Nidaros; Fr. Nicolaus Kari, Fr. Bertoldus, Fr. Birgerus, Fr. Johannes Dacus, Fr. Joseph and Fr. Carolus are assigned to the convent in Roskilde, the former as lector; Fr. Philippus, Fr. Olavus and Fr. Johannes Anglicus of Lödöse are assigned to the convent in Skänninge; Fr. Laurentius of Århus and Fr. Othincarlus of Odense are assigned to the convent in Visby/Viborg; Fr. Johannes of Roskilde is assigned to the convent in Skara; laybrother Fr. Ascerus of Visby is assigned to the convent in Århus; Fr. Olavus of Roskilde, Fr. Esbernus of Roskilde and laybrother Fr. Michael of Ribe are assigned to the convent in Odense; Fr. Tuco is assigned to the convent in Oslo; Fr. Albertus of Skara and novice Fr. Andreas are assigned to the convent in Lödöse; Fr. Joseph Primus and Fr. Wibrandus are assigned to the convent in Åhus; Fr. Gunnarus of Lödöse and Fr. Abel are assigned to the convent in Kalmar; Fr. Asmundus of Odense, Fr. Nicolaus Bulk, laybrother Fr. Hervordus and Fr. Adam are assigned to the convent in Bergen; Fr. Gusterus, Fr. Laurentius of Odense and Fr. Johannes of Lübeck are assigned to the convent in Tallinn; Fr. Laurentius of Visby and cantor Fr. Thomas of Skänninge are assigned to the convent in Turku (‘Finland’); Fr. Johannes Holbøl and laybrother Fr. Bondo of Århus are assigned to the convent in Haderslev; and laybrother Fr. Alvardus is assigned to the convent in Vordingborg. In addition, the priors of the convents in Lund, Visby, Århus, Åhus and Turku, and the subpriors in Skänninge and Västerås, are all absolved from their offices, some to be assigned to other convents: the subprior from Skänninge to Lödöse, the prior from Åhus to Lund, the prior from Turku to Visby and the subprior from Västerås to Turku.

     The prior of the convent in Roskilde, subprior Fr. Sveno in Lund, lector Fr. Nicolaus in Lund and lector Fr. Jacobus in Skara are all appointed preachers general of the province. The subprior of the convent in Roskilde is appointed visitator of the convents in Skåne, Sjælland and Fyn; the subprior in Lund shall visit the convents in Jylland; Fr. Lagho shall visit the convents in Norway with Fr. Monandus as his socius; Fr. Petrus ‘Abbot’ of Västerås shall visit the convents in Götaland; Fr. Robertus of Visby shall visit the convents in Kalmar and Svealand; and Fr. Thomas of Visby shall visit the convents in Visby, Tallinn and Turku. Fr. Nicolaus, lector of the convent in Lund, is appointed diffinitor of the province for the next chapter general, whereto he will go with Fr. Helmricus as his socius, and ask the chapter for two new convent foundations.

     Commemorational prayers are prescribed for the Archbishop of Lund with three masses by each priest (one to the Holy Spirit, one to the Blessed Virgin, and one to his deceased parents and relatives); for the King and Queen of Denmark and their children with one mass; for the King of Sweden, the Duke and Queen and royal children of Norway with one mass; for the Archbishop of Uppsala and for the elected Bishop of Roskilde with one mass. One mass is also prescribed or recommended for Prefect Peder Olsen of Lund, his wife, servants and brothers; for all bishops, friends of the Order and benefactors of this particular provincial chapter; and for Lord Esbern, Lady Margrethe and their children. Prayers for the deceased are prescribed for the Duchess of Sweden, Archbishop Uffe of Lund, the Archbishop of Nidaros, Lady Ingeborg and others in Sweden; and four psalters are prescribed for all living and deceased clergy and laity.

     Finally, a number of disciplinary issues are admonished upon the provincial delegates, for instance that hospitals and infirmaries of the convents are to be kept closed from morning to evening except for those truly in need of it; that student masters carefully shall follow the constitutions in order to promote studies; on the extent of fists used for punishment; on funerals in the cloister and in the church; on fallen and evil spirits; that friars shall not repeat accusations against brethren at the provincial chapter; that priors may not indebt their houses without consent of the convent; on baptism; about not celebrating mass in the homes of knights; on the observance of the admonitions by the constitution; on the peace of lectors; that the Constitutions of the Order placed in newly founded convents may not be taken by the prior provincial(?); on the rejected seal of Visby; that music only extraordinarily may be kept after breakfast and Compline; on the use of books; and on the necessity of having ministering priests in the convent.

     The next provincial chapter shall be held in Skara on 9 September (1255).

 

Source: Acta capituli provincialis OP Dacie.

Language: Latin.

 

In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti, amen. Acta capituli provincialis Lundis celebrati anno Domini MCCLIII[I].

Ad consolendum paci fratrum et animarum profectui efficacius providendum volumus monemus injungimus omnib[us] fratribus quod humiliter se habeant ad prelatos seculares, ne proni sint ipsos contra se provocare, dictis eorum vel factis inter se vel coram secularibus detrahendo et qui contra fecerint, deprehensi gravius puniantur. Item volumus quod fratres qui causas fratrum periculosas, vel ipsas causas contingentia, adversariis eorum vel aliis secularibus per quos gravari possunt, prodidisse deprehensi fuerint pene gravioris culpe subiciantur. Item fratres non intromittant se de negotiationibus affinium vel familiorium suorum nec fideiubiant pro eis vel aliis nec mutuum recipi[ant] aliquid sine licentia prelati. Item contentiones et comminationes secundum constitutiones corrigantur et priores qui in talibus corrigendis negligentes inventi fuerint habeant duos dies in pane et aqua. Item collation[es] fiant in domibus fratrum singulis septimanis secundum consuetudinem ordinis et lectiones audiantur diligenter et priores graviter puniant illos qui lectiones contempnunt vel de lectoribus contemtibiliter loquntur. Item volu[mus] firmiter observari quod excessus in potu secundum statuta capitulorum precedentium puniantur. Item fratres juniores sacerdotes sive alii ad officium predicationis in vulgari exerceantur in domo, nec ad predicandum extra mittantur nisi morum honestas, et etas et maturitas hoc requirat et domo prius bene fuerint probati. Junioribus autem qui habiles sunt ad studium, parcant priores quantum possunt, ne subtrahantur a studio suo, sed foveant eos in omnibus que profectui ordinis et eorum viderint expedire. Injungimus etiam omnibus subprioribus quod acta ca