The Dominican History of Scandinavia (1)         

The Dominican Convents of Medieval Norway

 by Johnny Grandjean Gøgsig Jakobsen (2003)

Web-version of article in ‘Dominican History Newsletter’ vol. 12, Institutum Historicum Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum, pp. 211-221.

Map of the Dominican convents in medieval Norway, including the uncertain convent of Oddevoll (present day Uddevalla, Sweden).

Even though Scandinavia must have seemed like a rather dark and remote place for the founders of the Order of Preachers, it was almost from the beginning a quite integrated part of the Dominican world. The reason for this is probably partly due to the fact, that several Scandinavian students in Paris and Bologna are known to have joined the order in the early years. Another possible influence is, that Dominic himself on his first journey abroad on behalf of the Spanish king is quite likely - at least according to Scandinavian historians - to have been in Denmark and to have met with the both very intellectual and progressive Archbishop Anders Sunesen of Lund, in the middle of the preparations for a missionary crusade to the Baltic countries. Some scholars even suggest that it was Dominic’s wish to leave the Spanish chapter in order to join this Danish mission.

Whatever the reason, already on the first General Chapter, held in Bologna 1220, it was decided to send two Scandinavian fratres, Nicholas of Lund and Simon of Sweden, all the way back home to start a convent in the Swedish archiepiscopal city of Sigtuna. The year after, the first Dominican friar came to Norway - which was, however, most unintended and completely by accident! Frater Salomon of Aarhus had been sent on a similar mission as Nicholas and Simon to his homeland of Denmark with letters from Dominic and the pope to the Danish King Valdemar II and Archbishop Anders Sunesen. He travelled by foot until the coast of Flanders, probably Bruges, where he managed to get on board a ship destined for Copenhagen in Denmark. Unfortunately, the ship was caught by a storm and driven far up the North Sea, and when Salomon finally could put his feet back on solid ground, he had landed in the archiepiscopal town of Trondheim in the northern part of Norway - more than 1.000 kilometres sea journey away from his goal. Most likely, the exhausted Frater Salomon went to Archbishop Guttorm to plead for help, and here he was given a travel company southwards to the powerful magnate Earl Skule; probably much to his content, Frater Salomon this time was not going by sea, but through the steep and unknown paths (viarum asperitales) of the wild mountains to Oslo on the Norwegian south coast, where the earl arranged for his further journey to Denmark. The story of Frater Salomon, which is told in the Historia Ordinis Prædicatorum in Dania 1216-1246, has a happy ending, as he reached Denmark without further problems and received the most warm welcome by the Danish Archbishop Anders - which led to the founding of the first lasting Dominican convent in Scandinavia, the Convent of Lund. In this present paper, however, I will stay further north and give a presentation of the four Dominican convents in medieval Norway.

In the Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Norway was larger than it is today, where the former Norwegian districts of Jämtland and Bohus are now parts of Sweden. In 1380, the Norwegian throne was inherited by the Danish king, and for the rest of the Middle Ages, Danish monarchs ruled Norway, but even though the kings often made use of Danes in the administration, the Norwegian kingdom did in fact remain as an independent part of a so-called double monarchy. In the mountainous Norway, population has from the beginning been concentrated to the coastal regions from Trondheim and southwards, with major centres around Trondheim, the west coast, and Viken. Of Dominican convents, four were established in medieval Norway: Trondheim/Nidaros (the seat of the Norwegian archbishop), Bergen, Oslo and Hamar. A fifth convent may have been planned in the late fifteenth century in the town of Oddevoll. The only remaining Dominican building of the medieval period is the ground floor of the eastern wing in Oslo, together with a complete complex of ruins from the rest of the Oslo Priory. 

All four Dominican priories in medieval Norway were founded in episcopal cities, and - where it has been possible to identify the actual building place - quite close to the residence of the bishop and the canons. It is therefore the impression, that the Norwegian convents were founded on initiative of the bishops, with the purpose of strengthening the education of the clergy at the cathedrals. The sites and the money for the priory constructions, however, mainly seem to have been donated by the king. As in so many other places, the Friars Preachers of Norway had to take what they could get, and the priories in Oslo and Bergen did in fact not have very good locations in regards of contact with the town public.

As in the rest of Scandinavia, the Dominican Order in Norway seems to have had a good relationship with the Royal House. This is especially evident from around the middle of the thirteenth century, where King Håkon Håkonsson [1217-1263] chose a Dominican friar called Simon as his personal confessor and counsellor, and when Princess Kristina was sent off to Spain to be married, Friars Preachers were used as royal diplomats. Håkon’s son and successor, Magnus Lagabøtar [1263-1280], was generally very friendly towards the Church, but especially with the Franciscans. Still, among his personal friends was the Dominican friar Narve, who was elected Bishop of Bergen in 1278, and five years later his was chosen for Archbishop of Trondheim. This election, however, was soon disputed, and in 1287, Narve was once again back in his old seat as Bishop of Bergen until his death in 1304. We know of four other Dominican friars in Norway, who were elected for episcopal seats in Norway and Iceland in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The most famous of these is Bishop Jón Halldórsson of Skálholt on Iceland [1322-1339], a former lecturer of the Bergen Convent.

Bibliography

 

The Convent of Trondheim

The first Norwegian town to have a Dominican convent was the archiepiscopal city of Trondheim (or Nidaros). The convent is mentioned for the first time in 1234. From the place of its mentioning in a provincial chapter list, Jarl Gallén (1946) dated the Trondheim Convent to 1228. The exact location of the priory is still unknown, but possible ruins have been located during various sporadic construction works throughout the twentieth century. However, the priory complex still lacks a systematic excavation and interpretation.

Not much knowledge is preserved on the convent of Trondheim, neither written nor archaeological, but in a letter from the 1320s, the brethren of Trondheim are complaining, that they are in need of means to perform necessary repairs on the priory walls and roofs. Because of this, the priory of Trondheim is expected to have been built in bricks right from the beginning (contrary to the Oslo Priory and perhaps the Bergen Priory). In 1531, the priory miraculously escaped a severe city fire. After the Lutheran Reformation in 1537, the buildings of the convent were given to the citizens of Trondheim. 

The last prior in Trondheim was Frater Robert Jonsson, who served as provincial vicar for Norway and Sweden in the 1520s, until he was driven out of Sweden by the Lutheran Swedish king. After the dissolution of the convent in 1537, the prior worked as a hospital priest.

Bibliography

 

The Convent of Oslo

The first Friars Preachers in Oslo probably arrived in the period 1237-39, where the convent may have been founded shortly after. A Dominican convent is mentioned for the first time under the year of 1240 (in a later saga), where the king gave the friars an already existing church of St Olav, probably built a few years earlier on the king’s private site. The church was situated to the immediate north of the St Hallvard Cathedral, and on the east side of the bishop’s residence. Therefore, the rest of the priory complex had to be built on the north side of the church. But also on this side, space was soon restricted, as a parish church to the immediate north of the priory was consecrated in 1250. 

The oldest priory building seems to be the eastern wing, which had three rooms, supposed to be a sacristy, a library and the chapter hall. This early eastern building was built in natural stones only. After the construction of the eastern wing, the friars began an extension of the church eastwards, which meant the demolition of the old chancel. The inner size of the aisle was c.32 x 9,5 m, while the chancel measured c.8 x 6 m. In the summer of 1280, the provincial chapter was held in Oslo. From the number of convents in Dacia at that time, Alf Tore Hommedal (1987) estimated the total number of friars present at this chapter to about 70, and to his opinion, the only building at this early stage, that could have held them all, was the church itself. Therefore, the extension of the church must have been completed at 1280; it is even possible, that the allocation of the provincial chapter to Oslo was indeed meant to mark the finishing of the church. 

The Convent of St Olav in Oslo, as it may have appeared just before the reformation. The convent is seen from the west, with the priory church to the right. (Illustration by Øyvind Hansen)

Stones from the chancel were then used in the building of the western wing and an independent building to the west of this; the building of both of these is therefore dated to approximately the same period. The western wing contained four rooms, of which two are thought to have functioned as entrances, while one of the remaining two has been pointed out as a possible parlatorium. The isolated western building has been identified as a possible guesthouse. Also the western part of the church shows signs of several alterations, some of which are from before the time of the friars. In the late thirteenth century, both the rooms of the eastern wing and the cloister walk were vaulted. This is the oldest known use of brick building in Norway. The southern room and the middle room were given barren vaults, while the possible chapter hall to the north got a magnificent cross-vaulting, supported by a central pillar. A date for the vaulting of the St Olav Convent was suggested by Hommedal to c.1290. The reason for this is, that records from a provincial chapter dated to 1291 mention a lay brother called Erling the Bricklayer, who was to move from the convent of Oslo to the convent of Västerås in Sweden - which is known to have had its church extended and vaulted around 1300.

The possible chapter hall of the St Olav Convent in Oslo, as it appears today. The door and windows are placed in the western wall.

The next major construction phase has been dated to the first half of the fourteenth century, where the northern wing was built. Here we find the kitchen and the refectory, and perhaps a calefactory and a lavatory. The northern wing also gave room for a narrow passage to the churchyard east of the buildings. Probably all the wings were built in two storeys, but none of the remaining ruins give any knowledge of the conditions of the first floors. Around the entire cloister garth stood a cloister walk, of which decorated pieces of pillars have been found. To the north of the priory, a few medieval wooden buildings have been discovered, and they may have belonged to the convent, probably as storage facilities.

Contrary to the Dominican convent in Bergen, the relationship between the friars and the episcopal chapter in Oslo seems rather friendly throughout the Middle Ages. Three letters of donations to the brethren from canons of the Oslo Chapter are preserved from 1304, 1331 and 1517. Still, 300 years of neighbourhood can hardly pass by without some differences, and in 1373, a papal investigation was appointed due to a complain from the bishop and the episcopal chapter in Oslo against the Dominican convent over some disputed matter.

Also, the local craftsmen and tradesmen were related to the Oslo Convent. In 1461, the Guild of St Ann in Oslo founded an altar in the Dominican church to their saint, which was to be kept with cloth, candles and masses. Earlier on, the local guild of shoemakers had received a letter of fraternity with the Friars Preachers. In addition, the written sources contain quite a list of donations of money and land from various private persons, mainly women of possibly some significant social status. In a will from 1400, we have one of very few possible examples from Scandinavia of an individual fraternity relation with a Mendicant convent, as a layman called Jon Martinsson gave 2 marks to the Dominican brethren in Oslo “..because I am their brother…”, and another half a mark given in God’s name “..to the poor people living there”; the latter words have been interpreted as an indication of some sort of social work and a house for the poor in connection to the priory, perhaps situated in the building to the west of the actual priory. Finally, several letters of various commercial and legal settlements specifically mention, that they have been contracted in the priory before named friars as witnesses - even though, that the matters dealt with in the settlements very often seem to have no relation with the convent as such. Also non-Dominican meetings are known to have taken place in the Oslo Priory, of which the most prominent was an assembly of several of the national leaders in 1527. Thus, the Dominican priory in Oslo seems to have played quite an integrated part on several levels of the medieval society. 

The exact time of abandoning is unknown. It is most likely, that the brethren had left as a consequence of the Reformation in 1537. Apparently, the church was already demolished in 1542. In 1546, the northern wing was given to the Cathedral School of the neighbouring episcopal chapter. As the house of the bishop was given to the citizens of Oslo by the king after the Reformation, a new episcopal residence was built near the eastern wing of the old convent in 1552, and after a major rebuilding in 1623, the eastern wing was made the ground floor of a two storey main building of the episcopal residence. By the early eighteenth century, all but the eastern wing had disappeared, and the site was used as garden for the bishop. The remaining eastern wing went through several changes in both architecture and use; in the late seventeenth century, the medieval rooms were used as a larder. In 1860, the condition of the remaining building was so poor, that it was decided to tear it down, but fortunately, nothing happened until 1882, when the Norwegian parliament decided to preserve the medieval part of the building. 

The only surviving building is the ground floor of the eastern wing, which in 1883-84 was incorporated into an otherwise new house for the bishop, built in neo-gothic style, as the cellar of the house. For the next century, the house served as private residence for the Bishop of Oslo, but in 1986, it was taken into use by the growing episcopal administration. What seem to be all the remaining ruins of the convent buildings have been excavated, and are today part of the Memorial Park in the Old Town of Oslo. The major excavations were conducted by C.C.A. Lange (in 1856), Nicolay Nicolaysen (in 1865) and Gerhard Fischer (from 1924 to the 1950s). The findings of these were only presented in minor articles, until Alf Tore Hommedal gave all the results of his predecessors a thorough and systematic analysis and interpretation in an academic paper at Oslo University in 1986, of which the main results were published in 1987.

Bibliography

 

The Convent of Bergen

The Dominican convent of Bergen was founded between 1243 and 1247. The actual building complex has not been discovered, but according to the written sources, the priory was located on the small island of Holmen, close to the royal castle of the city. The founder is therefore expected to be King Håkon Håkonsson.

The original buildings of the priory may have been built in wood only, but around 1500 we are told, that the church was (re-)built in stone, together with the construction of priory buildings with large vaulted rooms. These were in 1524 used for a meeting of the national council. The former (wooden?) priory housed an earlier national assembly in 1453. There are no mentioning of whom the Bergen Convent was dedicated to, but figures on the convent seal have been identified - with some uncertainty - to the Scandinavian “King Saints” Olav and Eric. 

While an actual General School (studia generalia) of the Dominicans never seem to have been established in the province of Dacia, some of the convents may have housed the more advanced schools (studia solemnia). Such a one is expected to have been allocated in the Convent of Bergen, as the Bergen School is known to have had two lectores in the 1320s, and also received students from priories abroad. 

When the Dominican and Franciscan friars came to a new town with plans of founding a convent, they were sometimes met with some degree of aversion and resistance from the Benedictines and the Cistercians, when these older orders had already established themselves in the towns. For instance, such a dispute seems to have postponed both the Franciscan and the Dominican foundations in Naestved, Denmark, for about 30 years. The Mendicants, however, when first established in a town, did not always give other newcomers a much warmer welcome. This is illustrated in Bergen, where the old Benedictine monastery of Munkeliv was converted into a Brigittine convent in the 1420s. The idea was supported by the king and the local bishop, but heavily opposed by the Mendicants, who even tried to stop the new foundation with help from the German Church. In a way, the Brigittine project was put to an end with help of the German allies of the Mendicant Orders in Bergen, as the Hanseates burned down the priory in 1455, and even though the place was rebuilt, the economy of the Brigittine convent was damaged for good. 

Nowhere in Scandinavia, we have so many examples of bad feelings between the Friars Preachers and the Secular Church as in Bergen. The strife began soon after the arrival of the friars, as the canons of the episcopal chapter already in 1247 apparently were so unhappy with their new neighbours and colleagues, that they had put up provisional toilets on the top of a hill above the Dominican priory, so that the dirt and the smell would keep away the townspeople from the priory church and cemetery. This particular year, Bergen was visited by a cardinal, who castigated the canons and made them stop their dirty competitive tricks. However, apart from the period of 1278 to 1304, where the Dominican friar Narve sat in the episcopal seat of the town, the atmosphere between the secular chapter and the Friars Preachers was more or less permanently hostile. A reason for this could be that the friars in Bergen seem to have been particularly popular among the townspeople. This assumption builds on the fact, that a significant large number of letters of donations to the convent in Bergen is preserved. An explanation for a possible extraordinary Dominican stronghold in this particular city may be that Bergen was a Hanseatic town, and therefore had a large German-speaking population. In the Hanseatic centre of Lübeck, there was a strong tradition of preference for the Mendicant churches instead of the secular ones, and during a long and dramatic strife in the beginning of the fourteenth century in Lübeck between the city council and the bishop, a smaller version of the same ecclesiastical conflict appeared in Bergen 1307-11 (after the death of the Dominican Bishop Narve in 1304). Seemingly, the relation between the chapter and the convent never really improved. In 1476, the Bishop of Bergen was complaining about the moral standard of the Friars Preachers, who were said to spend more time with dubious women in the streets of Bergen, than with celebrating mass in the convent church. And finally, a local rumour has it, that the fatal fire in 1528 was started by the prior himself, as a part of a secret deal with the commander of Bergen Castle, who wanted all churches in the neighbourhood of the castle cleared away for military reasons.

Bibliography

 

The Convent of Hamar

Our knowledge of a Dominican convent in Hamar is purely based on one single reference from 1511. The site of the buildings has not been located, but it is possible, that the priory (also dedicated to St Olav) was situated close to the cathedral and the residence of the bishop.

Bibliography

 

The possible/planned convent of Oddevoll (Uddevalla)

A reference from the late fifteenth century could indicate that another foundation was planned - and perhaps even implemented - in the town of Oddevoll, present day Uddevalla in the now Swedish district of Bohuslän.

 

Literature on the Dominican convents of medieval Norway

Literature on the Dominicans in Norway in general

Gallén, Jarl (1946): “La Province de Dacie de l’ordre des Frères Prêcheurs 1 - Histoire générale jusqu’au Grand Schisme”, Helsingfors. (The classic and still the primary (as well as the only) complete description of all the Dominican convents in medieval Scandinavia in the 13th and 14th centuries. The convents of Norway are described in several nationally divided chapters. In French.)

Halvorsen OP, Per Bjørn (2002): “Dominikus - En europeers liv på 1200-tallet”, Novus Forlag, Oslo. (“Dominic - The Life of a European in the 13th Century”. A general description of the life of Dominic and the early years of the Order, including the beginning in Scandinavia. Contains a name list of all Dominicans known in Norway in the Middle Ages. In Norwegian.)

Helle, Knut (1993): “De norske klostrenes kulturelle rolle”, in Seminaret »Kloster og by« 11.-13. november 1992’, ed. by J.E.G. Eriksson & K. Schei, Tønsberg, pp. 113-122. (“The Culturel Role of the Norwegian Monasteries”. Informations on the Dominican convents, especially in Bergen and Oslo, are found on pp. 115-116. In Norwegian.)

Lange, C.A. (1856): “De norske Klostres Historie i Middelalderen”, 2. edition, Christiania. (“The History of the Norwegian Monasteries in the Middle Ages”. Apparently still the primary broad presentation of Norwegian monastic history, although outdated and rather Lutheranian in its view upon its topic. The Dominican Order in Norway is described on pp. 46-52. In Norwegian.)

Lunde, Øivind (1987): “Klosteranleggene”, in Årbok 1987’, Foreningen til norske fortidsminnesmerkers bevaring, Oslo, p. 85-119. (“The convent complexes”. A short and exact briefing on present (in 1987) knowledge of all Norwegian monastic settlements in the Middle Ages. In Norwegian.)

Ullern, Inger-Johanne (1997): “Tiggerordnene i de norske middelalderbyene”, University of Oslo. (“The Mendicant Orders in the medieval cities of Norway”. A dissertation in History at the University of Oslo. In Norwegian.)

Wreden OP, Gun Jeanne (1989): “Dominikanerne: Klosterliv i Norge”, Dreyers Forlag, Oslo. (“The Dominicans - Convent life in Norway”. An general introduction to the Order of Preachers and the medieval establishment in Scandinavia, followed up by a presentation of modern day Dominican life in Norway. In Norwegian.)

 

Literature on the convent of Trondheim

Blom, Grethe Authén (1956): “Trondheim bys historie” vol. 1 ’St. Olavs by - ca.1000-1537’, Trondheim. (“The History of Trondheim Town”. A general town history with a brief passage on the Dominican convent pp. 337-339. In Norwegian.)

Lunde, Øivind (1977): “Trondheims fortid i bygrunnen”, ’Riksantikvarens skrifter’ vol. 2, Trondheim. (“The Past of Trondheim in the Town Site”. A presentation of the medieval town of Trondheim based on archaeological findings. On the Dominican priory, pp. 58, 75-79 and 216-218. In Norwegian.)

Lunde 1987 (see above); p. 116

  Available websites:

Øivind Lunde : Norges klostre i middelalderen - Dominikanerklosteret i Trondheim (in Norwegian)

 

Literature on the (medieval) convent of Oslo

Fischer, Gerhard (1950): “Oslo under Eikaberg”, Oslo. (A presentation of all the archaeological findings made by Fischer in Oslo, of which the priory of the Friars Preachers is described on pp. 112-126. In Norwegian.)

Hauglid, Lars (1998): “Konserveringsarbeider i Olavsklosteret i Oslo 1989-1997. En kilde til økt kunn­skap om klosterets bygningshistorie”, ’NIKU fagrapport 007’, Norsk Institutt for Kulturminne­forskning, Trondheim. (“Conservation work in the Priory of St Olav in Oslo 1989-1997. A source of more knowledge on the architectural history of the priory”. A description of the remaining eastern wing, signs of its building phases, the post-medieval alterations and conservation work performed on it. In Norwegian.)

Hommedal, Alf Tore (1986): “Olavsklostret i Oslo - Bygningshistorikk, med dateringsforsøk av klosteranlegg og eldre bygningsdelar” vol. 1-2, University of Bergen. (“The Priory of St Olav in Oslo - The History of the Buildings, with an attempt to date the foundation and the oldest buildings”. For a description, see below.)

Hommedal, Alf Tore (1987): “Olavsklostret i Oslo - Eit dominikanaranlegg frå høgmellomalderen”, in ’Årbok 1987’, Foreningen til norske fortidsminnesmerkers bevaring, Oslo, pp. 129-154. (“The Priory of St Olav in Oslo - A Dominican construction from the High Middle Ages”. A brief version of his academic paper from 1986. The results of earlier excavations are presented and used in a systematic and critical way to date the various buildings and determine their functional use. In Norwegian, with an English summary.)

Hommedal, Alf Tore (1993): “Olavsklosteret i Oslo og dei andre norske dominikanaranlegga i mellomalderen. Opprettinga av konventa og utforminga av ordenshusa”, in Tverrfaglige seminarer i Tønsberg nr. 1: Seminaret »Kloster og By«, 11.-13. november 1993’, pp. 154-173. (“The Convent of St Olav in Oslo and the other Norwegian Dominican priories in the Middle Ages - Foundation of convents and structure of houses”. A summary of his former papers on the Oslo Convent, supplemented with knowledge and thesis on the remaining Norwegian convents. In Norwegian.)

Lunde 1987 (see above); p. 91

Nedkvitne, Arnved & Per Norseng (1991): Byen under Eikaberg: Fra byens oppkomst til 1536”, ’Oslo bys historie’ vol. 1, Oslo. (“The Town below Eikaberg: From the Foundation of the Town to 1536”. The medieval volume of yet another general town history of Oslo. In Norwegian.)

Nicolaysen, Nicolay (1866): “Om Udgravningen i Aaslo 1865”, in ’Illustreret Nyhedsblad’ vol. 9-11 (1866). (“On the Excavation in Oslo 1865”. A series of articles in a local illustrated newspaper. In Norwegian.)

Schia, Erik (1997): “Oslo innerst i Viken - Liv og virke i middelalderbyen”, 2. edition, Aschehoug, Oslo. (“Oslo in the inner part of Viken - Life and entreprise in the medieval city”. A general town history of Oslo (written by an archaeologist), with a number of big coloured illustrations of how the medieval Oslo is supposed to have looked - including the Dominican priory. A separate chapter on the Convent of St Olav, pp. 73-81. In Norwegian.)

  Available websites:

Øivind Lunde: Norges klostre i middelalderen - Dominikanerklosteret (Olavsklosteret) i Oslo

 

Literature on the convent of Bergen

Helle, Knut (1982): “Kongsete og kjøpstad - Fra opphavet til 1536”, Bergen bys historie’ vol. 1, Bergen. (“Royal residence and market town - From the beginning to 1536”. A general town history of Bergen, in which the convent of the Friars Preachers plays an important part. In Norwegian.)

Lunde 1987 (see above); p. 105

Vihovde, Anne Brit (1998): Kirkesenteret på Holmen”, Bergen. (“The ecclesiastical centre at Holmen”. A pamphlet on the ecclesiastical environment in the district of Holmen in medieval Bergen. On the Dominican priory, pp. 31-37. In Norwegian.)

  Available websites:

Øivind Lunde: Norges klostre i middelalderen - Dominikanerklosteret i Bergen (in Norwegian)

Åsta Vadset : Kloster i Bergen - Dominikanerklosteret (in Norwegian)

Anne Brit Vihovde : Kirker og klostre (i Bergen) (in Norwegian)

 

Literature on the convent of Hamar

Lillevold, E. [ed.] (1949): “Hamars historie”, Hamar. (“The History of Hamar”. A general town history of Hamar with rather few notes on the Dominican convent. In Norwegian.)

Lunde 1987 (see above); p. 98

Available websites:

Øivind Lunde : Norges klostre i middelalderen - Dominikanerklosteret (Olavsklosteret) på Hamar (in Norwegian)

 

Historical sources mentioned in the text

Historia Ordinis Praedicatorum in Dania, 1216-1246; published by J. Langebek & P.F. Suhm in Scriptores rerum danicarum medii aevi’ vol. V, Copenhagen 1783, pp. 500-502. (Including the tale of Frater Salomon’s adventurous journey to Denmark via Norway in 1221. In Latin.)

 

 

Centre for Dominican Studies of Dacia

Johnny G.G. Jakobsen, Department of Scandinavian Research, University of Copenhagen

Postal address: Njalsgade 136, DK-2300 Copenhagen, Denmark ● Email: jggj@hum.ku.dk