Historia
ordinis predicatorum in Dacia
Presented,
commented and translated by J.G.G. Jakobsen, Centre for
Dominican Studies of Dacia, 2007.
Historia ordinis predicatorum in Dacia is a Dominican chronicle from the middle
of the thirteenth century. In regard of its content, it consists of three
parts. First part tells the story of the first arrival of Friars Preachers in
Scandinavia, and of the first convent foundations in Sigtuna and Lund. Second
part presents the first priors provincial. In the third part, the two attempts
to establish a convent in Tallinn are described; therefore, the chronicle is
thought to originate from Tallinn. At least the second part indicates to have
been written in 1261, as it knows about the death of Prior Provincial Absalon, who died on 10 April 1261, but not the name of his
successor Fr. Augustin, probably elected around 8
September 1261 (Halvorsen 2002, pp. 223 and 253). As
a possible author, at least of the third part, the first prior of the convent
in Tallinn, Fr. Daniel, has been suggested (Halvorsen
2002, p. 223).
The original manuscript is long lost. A
fourteenth-century transcript entitled De ordine
Prædicatorum de Tolosa in Dania ann. 1246 propagato was preserved in the Arnamagnæan Collection in
Copenhagen until 1728, when it was destroyed in the great city fire. Before that,
Thomas Bartholin (†1690) had made a transcript of the chronicle for his Collectanea,
which was, however, lost in the fire too. Fortunately, a third transcript based
on Bartholin’s transcript was saved by the collector and editor Jacob Langebek (†1775) for his ambitious publication series Scriptores
Rerum Danicarum, and this version was published by P.F. Suhm in 1783 in SRD
vol. V, pp. 500-502, as “Historia Ordinis Prædicatorum seu Dominicanorum in
Dania 1216-1246”. In addition, parts of the Historia...
has been published in various Scandinavian diplomataria.
Yet
another transcript of the chronicle has survived through the hand of Hans
Svanning (†1584). He appears, though, to have used the manuscript
somewhat freely in his own version “Quomodo ordo prædicatorum venerit in
Danicum”, which is preserved in the Royal Library, Copenhagen. In the early
twentieth century, Martin Clarentius Gertz (†1919)
took it upon him to recreate the original chronicle based on the two extant
transcripts, and the result was published in Scriptores minores historiæ
danicæ vol. II, pp. 370-374, from 1918-20. Whereas the grand master of
Dominican history in Scandinavia, Jarl Gallén (1946), used Gertz’ version in
his work, later historians tend to be rather critical towards it, as Gertz in
some places might have been more creative than just recreative.
A
new attempt to recreate the original manuscript from the transcripts and all
later interpretations has recently been carried out by Dominican historian
Simon Tugwell OP and published in 1996-2000 with critical comments in Archivum
Fratrum Predicatorum vol. 66, pp. 162-164 (part 1), vol. 68, pp. 111-112
(part 3), and vol. 70, p. 87. Shortly after, Tugwell’s version was included in
Per Bjørn Halvorsen’s book on Dominikus (Halvorsen 2002, pp. 218-220).
The present presentation of Historia... is based on the versions by
Langebek and Tugwell, provided with numerous notes to point out differences and
various interpretative possibilities, as well as more explanatory comments to
the historical information in the chronicle.
The chronicle, which is of course written in Latin,
has until now been translated to German, French and Norwegian (Scheeben 1927, pp. 364-366; Halvorsen 1995, pp. 249-265;
Halvorsen 2002, pp. 220-222). As far as I am aware, this is the
first translation into Danish, which aims to make the chronicle available to a
larger Danish audience than hitherto.
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Historia ordinis
predicatorum in Dacia |
Prædikantordenens
historie i Dacia |
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Anno Domini MCCXVI confirmatus est ordo
predicatorum de Tolosa. In Hispaniam, Franciam, Lombardiam mittuntur fratres;
sed quomodo in Daciam uenerunt est dicendum. |
I det Herrens år 1216 blev Prædikantordenen fra Toulouse godkendt.
Brødre blev sendt til Spanien, Frankrig og Lombardiet, men hvordan de kom til
Dacia, skal nu fortælles. |
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Anno Domini MCCXIX in festo assumptionis
beate uirginis assumpti sunt Bononie ad ordinem duo clerici, frater Simon de
Suecia, et frater Nicolaus Lundensis de Dacia. |
I det Herrens år 1219, på festen for den salige Jomfrus optagelse,
blev to klerke, broder Simon fra Sverige og broder Niels fra Lund i Danmark,
optaget i ordenen i Bologna. |
|
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Hos primitus misit beatus Dominicus in
Sueciam in Siktuniam ciuitatem ad petitionem et instantiam domini Gaufredi,
prepositi Sancti Petri Siktunie, euntis ad curiam Romanam pro pallio
archiepiscopi Olaui dicti Basetømir. Qui prepositus anno domini MCCXX, beatum
patrem Rome inueniens, ab eodem (ut fratres in Sueciam mitterentur impetrauit.
Dicti ergo) fratres, de concilio generali Bononie sub beato Dominico
celebrato cum eodem preposito missi in Siktuniam, locum ibidem impediente
Olauo archiepiscopo supradicto obtinere non potuerunt. Quod attendens dominus
Canutus Longus locum eis in Sko assignauit. |
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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. 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
Olov lagde dem hindringer i vejen. Da hr. Knut Långe hørte dette, gav han dem
et sted i Sko. |
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Eodem anno in festo pasche frater Salomon, natus Arhusie in Iutia, intrauit ordinem Verone in Lombardia. Hic primum constituit ire in Ungariam cum fratre Paulo hic prior erat cuiusdam domus illius regni, sed cum uenissent in Frisacum in Theuthonia, inuenerunt fratres illius domus solatio sacerdotis destitutos. Tunc enim inter eos prior et sacerdos erat, quem satanas expetens cribrauit ad seculum extrahendo. Unde prior Paulus fratribus compatiens reliquit eis pro priore et sacerdote fratrem Salomonem. Ipse autem in Ungariam profectus. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Qui transitum faciens per Coloniam domum
recepit ibidem. De Colonia uero, quia socium uie uersus Daciam habere non
potuit, uenit Parisius et inde cum quodam conuerso Lombardo sibi in socium
dato uenit in Flandriam. Illic autem inueniens nauem euntem in Daciam
ascendit in eam. Sed insurgentibus tempestate grauissima et nebula
densissima, circumlegens Daciam, tandem post dies multos in Noruegia circa
partes Nidrosienses applicauit. Non pretereundum puto qualiter in augustiis
famulum suum consolatus fuerit adiutor in tribulationibus. Cum enim nauis in
mare hinc inde iactaretur et quasi fluctibus operiretur et omnes humano iam
destituti auxilio acerbe mortis indicium expectarent et deum toto corde
inuocarent, uisit dictus frater Salomon beatum Dominicum, qui eodem anno ad
regna migrauerat celestia, nauem ipsam brachiis suis sustentare subleuatam. |
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Da han rejste igennem Köln, anlagde 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. |
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Postmodum de Nidrosia, laboribus grauissimis propter uiarum asperitates et maris pericula, auxilio nobilis uiri Skule Iarl, uenit frater Salomon Copendehaafn et ibi dominum archiepiscopum inuenit. Qui, receptis litteris domini pape et beati Dominici et perlectis, fratrem benigne suscipiens eum sic alloquitur: Bene uenisti, utinam in omni ecclesia que est de cura nostra haberemus unum de tali ordine. |
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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”. |
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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. Tandem sequenti anno circa pentecosten, fauente 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 uenerunt Lundis ad fratrem Salomonem et
alii quamplures qui recepti fuerant Parisius et Bononie, et fratrem Simonem
sibi priorem constituunt. |
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På den tid befandt kardinallegaten hr. Gregor de 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. 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. |
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Circa idem tempus intrauit ordinem Parisius
frater Rano/Ranoldus qui in artibus rexerat et decanus fuerat Roschild et
electus in episcopum in eadem ecclesia, qui uadens pro confirmatione ad
curiam ueniens Parisius a beato Dominico ad ordinem est receptus. Hic
antequam annum compleuit in ordine fit prior prouincialis multis annis
prouinciam regens; post quem Analdus duobus annis, post quem Absolon annis
uiginti. |
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Omtrent på samme tid trådte broder Rano ind i ordenen i Paris, som
underviste i de frie kunster og var dekan i Roskilde. Efter at være blevet
valgt til biskop i denne kirke, og mens han var på vej til kurien for at
blive bekræftet, kom han til Paris og blev optaget i ordenen af den salige
Dominik. Inden han havde været ét år i ordenen, blev han provincialprior og
styrede provinsen i mange år; efter ham Analdus i to år, efter ham Absalon i
20 år. |
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Conuentus Reualiensis per fratres duabus
uicibus est receptus. Primo ad petitionis instantiam illustris principis
domini Waldemari, regis Dacie, qui per gladium Estones suo ducatui
subiugauerat, missi sunt fratres ad maius castrum Reualiense anno Domini
MCCXXIX, ubi meta fossata ad aquilonem castri minoris ecclesiam ac alias
domos monasterii construxerunt. Hec omnia facta sunt de consilio uenerabilis
patris domini Wilhelmi Mutinensis episcopi, tunc temporis in partibus Dacie
et Suecie summi pontificis nuncii et legati. Sed quia Estones in operibus
fidei rudes et inculti, ad miserabiles ritus infidelitatis proni et procliui,
crudeles erant contra personas ecclesiasticas atque seui, nam primum
episcopum cum suis clericis occiderunt, inde redire fratres ad conuentes de
quibus assumpti fuerant, paucis remanentibus, sunt compulsi. |
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Konventet i Reval blev grundlagt to gange af brødrene. Første gang
skete det på inderlig bøn fra den berømte fyrste hr. Valdemar, Danmarks
konge, som ved sværdet undertvang esterne sit hertugdømme. Brødre blev sendt
til den store borg i Reval i det Herrens år 1229. Ved grænsegraven nord for
den lille borg byggede de en kirke og andre klosterbygninger. Alt dette skete
efter råd fra den værdige fader hr. Vilhelm, biskop af Modena, som på den tid
befandt sig i både Danmark og Sverige som pavens nuntius og legat. Men da
esterne er rå og udannede i troens gerninger, henfaldne og tilbøjelige til
vantroens ynkelige riter, var de grusomme imod kirkens mænd, thi deres første
biskop og hans klerke blev dræbt, og derfor blev brødrene nødt til at vende
retur til de klostre, de var optaget fra, mens de tilbageblivende var få. |
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Secundo anno domini MCCXLVI missi sunt fratres de diuersis conuentibus in Reualiam per capitulum prouinciale Ripis celebratum. Quroum hec sunt nomina: frater Brotherus et frater Iohannes Woxmoth de conuentu Lundensi; frater Aaron de Randrus et frater Petrus Hartbo de conuentu Wibergensi; frater Michael de Horsnes et frater Angelus de conuentu Arosiensi; frater Engelbertus et frater Iohannes Theo(to)nici de conuentu Roschildensi; frater Paulus de conuentu S(ycht)onensi et frater Iohannes de conuentu Insulensi; frater Astolphus de conuentu Skeni(ng)ensi et frater Daniel de conuentu Wisbycensi. Iste frater Daniel in castro fuit primus prior et prelatus ordinarius inter fratres. |
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Anden gang i det Herrens år 1246, da der af provincialkapitlet, der
afholdtes i Ribe, blev sendt brødre fra forskellige konventer til Reval.
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 Angelus fra konventet
i Århus; broder Engelbert og broder Johannes Tysker fra konventet i Roskilde;
broder Poul 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. |
Notes and comments:
[1] Translation
of the word Dacia is often problematic, not least in regard of Dominican
history, as medieval texts use it for both the kingdom of Denmark and for the
entire region of Scandinavia. In this last sense, Dacia became the
official name for the Nordic provinces of both the Dominicans and the
Franciscans, which besides Denmark included the kingdoms of Norway and Sweden,
as well as the duchies of Schleswig, Finland and Estonia. If any of the orders
had established convents on Iceland - or Greenland even - that would have been
‘Dacian’ too. Until now, all transcripts have in their titles changed Dacia
to some form of Dania, a post-medieval term for Denmark alone, but in my
oppinion, this is wrong, as the chronicle clearly includes Sweden and Estonia
too - and to some degree even Norway - and with the list of the first priors
provincials, it is evidently concerned with the entire province of Dacia.
[2] According
to the chronicle, Provost Gaufred was in Rome to collect the pallium for the
newly appointed Archbishop Olov of Uppsala. However, Olov did not receive papal
approval until January 1224, and his predecessor Valerius was still alive in
the autumn of 1220, so 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.
[3] In the
Langebek version, the wording is: »..ab eodem ac
fratres, de concilio generali Bononie...«, which Jarl Gallén suggested
changed to »..ab eodem benigne est suceptus, ac fratres dicti de concilio
generali Bononie...« (Gallén 1946, p. 4), while Simon Tugwell has chosen
this re-formulation: »..ab eodem ut fratres in Sueciam mitterentur
impetrauit. Dicti ergo fratres, de concilio generali Bononie...«.
[4] Both
transcripts 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’.
[5] The
first Dominican project in Sigtuna seem to have come
to a sudden stop in 1224 with the initiation of Archbishop Olov Basatömir. It
is disputed whether the construction of a Dominican priory in Sigtuna actually
had begun by then, but a papal letter of indulgence in favour of the
construction was issued in January 1221. The reason for the archbishop’s
dislike to the Friars Preachers is not clear, but probably, it was mainly due
to secure the independence of the young Swedish archbishopric from both the
Danish church centre of Lund and the Gregorian ideas of Rome, where Olov might
have seen the friars as too closely connected to both Lund and Rome. A new
Dominican convent in Sigtuna was not established until 1237 - three years after
Olov’s death.
[6] Knut Holmgersson Långe was an
ambitious magnate from Uppland, who later managed to take the Swedish thrown in
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.
[7] One of these original letters is preserved in the
Landeshauptarchiv of Schwerin, Germany. It is a letter dated 6 May 1221 from
Pope Honorius III to the Danish King Valdemar II, in which the pope asks the
king to welcome the Friars Preachers in his kingdom because of all their good
deeds. The letter is published in Diplomatarium Danicum 1. ser. vol. V
nr. 194 and online on Diplomatarium OP Dacie.
[8] Most
probably, they have sailed out from Bruges, which together with Lübeck on the
German north coast constituted the two main points of contact between
Scandinavia and the Continent.
[9] Nidaros or Trondheim was the northernmost city of Norway, and since the
mid-twelfth century the seat of the Norwegian archbishop.
[10] Dominic
died in Bologna on the 6 August 1221.
[11] Nidaros is situated more than 1000 kilometres of sea journey away from Frater
Salomon’s goal. Most likely, the exhausted friar went to Archbishop Guttorm to
plead for help, and it was probably much to his content that he this time was
given a travel company going southwards by land. As described, the trip through
the mountainous Norwegian inland was, however, no picnic either, and the trip
from Nidaros to the inner coast of Viken must have taken about a fortnight. The
chronicle indicates that Earl Skule, at the time the most powerful man of
Norway, was the one, who helped Salomon southwards from Nidaros, but it is more
plausible that the earl at this time was in one of his southern bases, Tønsberg
or Oslo, and that it was from here that he helped Salomon further on his way, probably
by ship to Copenhagen (Halvorsen 2002, pp. 242-244).
[12] By omni ecclesia (“every
church”), Archbishop Anders Sunesen undoubtedly means every diocese, either within
his archbishopric (i.e. the kingdom of Denmark) or the entire Scandinavia, as
the archbishop of Lund officially still held primacy over the newly established
archbishoprics of Nidaros and Uppsala.
[13] The
famous words of Archbishop Anders is referred slightly
different in the various text versions. The version used here is Tugwell’s
reconstruction. Langebek has »Bene venisti, utinam in omni ecclesia, quæ est
de curia nostra, haberemus unam de tali ordine.« Svanning
also has curia, but unum in stead of unam. Gertz
changed it to »..que est de cura nostra, haberemus vnam domum
de tali ordine.« Whatever the exact wording of Anders originally was, the
meaning seems clear: “It would be good, if every diocese within my jurisdiction
had a house of this order.”
[14] Cardinal
Gregor de Crescentia came
to Denmark as a papal legate in the summer of 1222. 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 Gregor’s arrival, the
problem had so to speak solved itself (at least for a time). Instead, the
legate was able to travel around Denmark and deal with matters of a more
ecclesiastical character - 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 Frater Salomon’s language skills.
[15] The
single most disputed word in the whole chronicle is a number, namely the year
of foundation for the convent in Lund. If transcribed correctly, the chronicle
clearly contradicts itself: Frater Salomon was sent to Denmark after the
general chapter in 1221, and now, “the following year at Pentecost”, the friars
are given a locum, which happens in »..anno Domini 1221«!? The
logical reasoning would be that the chronicle has got the last year wrong, and
that it should be saying 1222. Both original transcripts (Langebek and
Svanning) do, however, explicitly dates “the following year” to 1221, so an
error has to go back to a common source, either the original manuscript or the
transcript from the fourteenth century. Gertz concluded that this was the case,
so he simply changed it to 1222 in his reconstructed version, a solution which
was repeated by Gallén, who did not even mention the problem. In fact, since
Gregor did not arrive to Denmark until the summer of 1222, Gallén even
suggested that the following Pentecost must be in 1223 (Gallén 1946, pp. 9-10)!
Tugwell has pointed to the fact that the mentioning of the year 1221 in the end
of the sentence seems unnecessary and inserted, which would point to an error
by the transcriber. Nevertheless, Tugwell himself has chosen the “original”
1221 in his reconstructed version. Certainly, the error-thesis is not without
its own problems, as a different and probably independant source, the Annales
Ripenses, just like the chronicle has the year 1221: »1221. Fratres predicatores Lundis
locum receperunt ab Andrea archiepiscopo.« This is repeated in two later
annals (Annales 1101-1313 and Annales Petri Olavi), which do,
however, probably have their information from the former (all the mentioned
annals are published in Annales Danici medii ævi by E. Jørgensen, Copenhagen
1920).
Still,
I would personally put my money on Gertz’
interpretation: that the donation of a locum in Lund did in fact take
place in 1222. Firstly,
because this year is, to my oppinion, best supported
by the inner chronology of the chronicle. Secondly, I would like to
point to a source, which I have not seen taken into consideration in the whole
question before. On 16 June 1222, Archbishop Anders Sunesen
performed an exchange of property with the cathedral chapter of Lund, by which
he obtained a curia within the city with gardens and other belongings (curiam cum ortis et aliis pertinenciis
suis), which had earlier belonged to one of the
canons. This is according to a lost letter kept in the cathedral archives,
which content is preserved through a transcript from 1494 (Diplomatarium
Danicum 1. ser. vol. V nr. 203). The letter says
nothing about what the archbishop did with the property afterwards, but it is
my convinced guess that this is indeed the locum, which was then given
to the Friars Preachers for the first (lasting) Dominican convent in
Scandinavia. Certainly, the time of the exchange fits perfectly with the words
of the chronicle, and a final support for my feeling is the fact, that the
letter ends by stating that the exchange was indeed witnessed by Cardinal
Legate Gregorius de Crescentio!
The
whole discussion is, of course, a bit academic: the exact year of a convent
foundation will always be questionable, and the archbishop did probably agree
to the establishment of a Dominican convent in Lund already at his first
meeting with Frater Salomon in 1221.
[16] If we are right to assume that the Dominican project in Sigtuna was not given up on before the initiation of
Archbishop Olov Basatömir
in 1224, fraters Simon and Niels are not likely to
have joined the new convent in Lund before the mid-1220s.
[17] Svanning calls him Rano, while Langebek has Ranoldus. In
this case, Gertz has followed Langebek,
whereas most later historians prefer Rano. This form
is also used on his tombstone (see note 18) and two annals.
[18] Also
according to his tombstone, Frater Rano was dean in the cathedral chapter of Roskilde, before
he joined the Order of Preachers: »Hic jacet frater Rano, primus prior provincialis fratrum Prædicatorum in Dacia, quondam decanus
Roschildensis.« The
stone was found in 1670 on the site of the then demolished Dominican priory in
Roskilde. Unfortunately, the stone itself soon vanished, but the inscription is
preserved by Peder Resen in his Atlas Danicus (c.1674).
[19] No
other source mentions that Rano was elected bishop in
Roskilde. Schück suggested that Dean Rano might have been acting bishop in Roskilde during an episcopal vacancy from 1214 to 1216 (Schück
1916, p. 36). Halvorsen finds it more plausible that Rano could be a rival candidate to Niels
Stigsen in the episcopal
election in 1225 (Halvorsen 2002, pp. 250-251).
[20] If Rano indeed met with Dominic in Paris, this most probably
have happened in 1219. Halvorsen suggests that it was Jordan, and not Dominic,
that Rano was received by, and that this took place in 1225-26 (Halvorsen 2002,
pp. 250-252).
[21] Frater Rano is termed prior prouincialis by Svanning, but
only prior by Langebek. Again in this case, Gertz follow Langebek.
However, there seems to be no doubt that Frater Rano - at least eventually -
became the first prior provincial of Dacia, when the province was established
by the general chapter in 1228. Rano acted as provincial to his death in 1238.
His past in Roskilde and the fact that he chose to be buried at the Roskilde
priory, led Gallén to the likely assumption that the establishment of Friars
Preachers in Roskilde in the early 1230s not least was due to Rano’s personal
effort (Gallén 1946, p. 26).
[22] Practically
nothing is known about the second prior provincial, Frater Analdus, but he is also
mentioned in Bernard Gui’s list of the eight first provincials of Dacia: »Secundus
fuit frater Aynundus, qui non diuicius stetit in officio. Fuit absolutus in
capitulo generali MCCXXXV.« Bernard’s year of
absolution for Analdus is obviously wrong, as Frater Rano is stated to have
died in the office, and several sources date this event to 1238, e.g. Annales
Predicatorum: »1238. Obiit magister ordinis (sic!) Rano. Factus
magister ordinis frater Remundus, prouincialis Dacie Analdus.« The
provincialship of Analdus can be dated to 1238-1241.
Analdus’
successor Frater Absalon is well known as Dacian prior provincial. According to
Bernard Gui, Absalon was a »..vir reuerendus et bonus. Prior prouincialis
fuit annis xx et amplius, priorque prouincialis existens obiit in Rusquillis
anno Domini MCCLIIII vel LV.« Again, Bernard has got the years wrong. Annales
Predicatorum dates Absalon’s election to 1241 and his death - in office -
to 1261: »1261. Obiit prior prouincialis Absalon 4. ferie ante pascha.
Frater Augustinus institutus.« However, Frater Absalon was not acting
provincial in the entire intervening period. Acts of the general chapter in
1250 let us know that the Dacian provincial this year was absolved for reasons
unnamed, but apparently he was soon re-installed.
[23] King Valdemar II of Denmark had defeated an army of Estonian
pagans at Reval in 1219, and a Danish fortress Daneborg or Tallinn
was erected as the central stronghold for Danish supremacy in north-western
Estonia. Soon, rivalry between Danes and the militant order of the German Sword
Brothers (led by Bishop Albert of Riga) broke out and threatened the entire
Christianization of Balticum. For this reason, Cardinal William of Modena was
sent to the North in 1225-27 and 1228-30 as papal legate in order to reconcile
the two Christian parties. Alledgedly, William had been a personal friend of
Dominic, and at both legation journeys he seems to have advocated the use of
Dominican friars in the Baltic mission. In 1227, the Sword Brothers gained
entry to Reval and started the construction of a small fortress close to
Daneborg; this is probably the castri minoris that the friars built
their first priory next to. Remnants of the first priory church has been found
in the choir of the present cathedral.
The
relation between the Danes and the Sword Brothers continued to worsen, and when
a new papal legate, Balduin, decided to solve the dispute by putting the
control of Reval directly under the pope, the Sword Brothers rioted. In 1233,
they drove out the last Danes and their suspected allies of the Friars
Preachers. The chronicle is, therefore, not completely true, when it blames the
pagan Estonians for the expulsion of the first Dominican convent
(Walther-Wittenheim 1938, pp. 8-11).
It
should be noted, though, that this tradition does not stand undisputed. Gallén
found that the chronicle’s dating of the events is erroneous, and that the
friars were expelled already in 1227, when the Sword Brothers took power in
Reval (Gallén 1946, pp. 46-47). Tugwell, on the other hand, has suggested that
the year of the first convent foundation was indeed 1239! William of Modena was
back in the Baltic area in 1234-43, where he - with Dominican assistance -
managed to bring about a famous settlement in 1238 (the Stensby Settlement),
which brought the Danes back to Reval. If this is the case, then the chronicle
might be right in blaming the pagans, as the friars then could have been
expelled during a pagan uprising in 1240 (Tugwell 1998, pp. 112-116).
[24] The transcripts has Johannes Theonici, conventu
Schyhitonensi and conventu Skeniensi, which can be corrected to Johannes
Theutonici, conventu Sychtonensi (or Siktunensi)
and conventu Skeningensi.
[25] “The
first prior on the castle” clearly refers to the location next to the fortress
Daneborg/Tallinn on the hill Toompea above the actual town of Reval, but the
second priory of the Friars Preachers was actually constructed in downtown
Reval, at quite a distance from the military area.
Publications of Historia ordinis
predicatorum in Dacia:
Langebek: Scriptores
Rerum Danicarum vol. V, pp. 500-502, Copenhagen 1783. Reprint Wiesbaden
1969.
Gertz: Scriptores
minores historiæ danicæ vol. II, pp. 369-374, Copenhagen 1918-20.
Tugwell: Archivum
Fratrum Prædicatorum vols. 66 (pp. 162-164), 68 (pp.
111-112), 70 (p. 87), Rome 1996-2000.
Halvorsen: Dominikus, P.B. Halvorsen, Oslo
2002, pp. 218-220.
Other sources and publications referred to
in the introduction or notes:
Annales 1101-1313. Arnemagnæan Collection, University
of Copenhagen. Published in Scriptores
Rerum Danicarum vol.
IV, p. 22; and in Annales Danici medii ævi,
pp. 200-201.
Annales Danici medii ævi. Various
medieval annals of Danish origin or Danish content. Published and
commented by E. Jørgensen, Copenhagen 1920.
Annales Petri Olavi. My name for the annalistic part of
the chronicle of Petrus Olavi’s
Collectanea (c.1533-34). Arnamagnæan Collection, University of Copenhagen. Published in Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol.
I, pp. 171-197. Also published in extracts in Annales Danici medii ævi, pp. 206-211.
Annales Predicatorum, a.k.a. Dominican Yearbook, Dominikanerårbogen. A supposedly East Danish
yearbook for the period 916-1263 of Dominican origin with a Swedish
continuation; dated to the 1250-60s. University Library of Uppsala, Sweden.
Published in Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. II, pp. 166-168; in Scriptores
Rerum Suecicarum vol. I no. 47; and in Annales Danici medii ævi, pp.
130-131.
Annales Ripenses. Published
in Scriptores Rerum Danicarum vol. II, p. 169; and in Annales
Danici medii ævi, pp. 149-156.
Atlas Danicus. Roskilde, by Peder Hansen Resen, Copenhagen 1674. Reprint Copenhagen 1929.
Bernardi Guidonis
Historia Ordinis Dominicanorum. Scandinavian content in: K.H.
Karlsson, Handlinger
rörande Dominikaner-Provinsen
Dacia, Stockholm 1901, p. 6.
Diplomatarium Danicum. All registered letters
concerning medieval Denmark; pro tem going to c.1412. Published by Det danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab,
Copenhagen 1938 ff.
Gallén, Jarl (1946): La Province de
Dacie de l’ordre des Frères Prêcheurs 1 - Histoire générale jusqu’au Grand
Schisme, Helsingfors.
Halvorsen OP, Per Bjørn (1995): Aux
Origines de l’Ordre des Prêcheurs dans les Pays Nordiques, in: Mémoire
dominicaine vol. 6, pp. 249-265.
Halvorsen OP, Per Bjørn (2002): Dominikus
- En europeers liv på 1200-tallet, Oslo.
Scheeben, Heribert Christian (1927): Der
heilige Dominikus,
Freiburg.
Schück, Henrik (1916): Vår förste
författar - En själshistoria från medeltiden, Stockholm.
Tamm, Marek (2009): ‘When
did the Dominicans arrive in Tallinn?’, in: Past: Ajalookultuuri
ajakiri vol. 4 (‘Special issue on the history of
Estonia’), 35-45.
Tugwell OP, Simon
(1998): Notes on the Life of St Dominic, in: Archivum
Fratrum Prædicatorum
vol. 68, pp. 5-116.
von Walther-Wittenheim,
G. (1938): Die Dominikaner in Livland
im Mittelalter - Die Natio Livoniae, Rome.
Centre for
Dominican Studies of Dacia
Johnny G.G. Jakobsen, Department of Nordic Research, University of
Copenhagen
Postal address: Njalsgade 136, DK-2300
Copenhagen, Denmark ● Email: jggj@hum.ku.dk