Ringsted Abbey (Ringsted Kloster) was one of the earliest and most influential Benedictine houses in Denmark, active from the late 11th-century until the Danish Reformation. It was located at Ringsted on the Danish island of Zealand.
Ringsted Abbey (Ringsted Kloster) was one of the earliest and most influential Benedictine houses in Denmark, active from the late 11th-century until the Danish Reformation. It was located at Ringsted on the Danish island of Zealand.
Ringsted was one of Denmark's earliest towns and in Viking times a center for worship. The town had a royal mint in 1020 and a Benedictine priory was established by King Sven Estridsen before his death in 1076, but not completed until 1081 or 1082 under Svend Norbagge, Bishop of Roskilde. It was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The first priory church was constructed out of limestone. According to tradition the monks were brought by the king from one of his campaigns in Britain. Ringsted Abbey owed its importance to its being the resting place of Knud Lavard who was murdered at Haraldsted forest just north of Ringsted in 1131 and was canonized in 1170 as Saint Knud Lavard. [1] [2] [3]
It is unclear what happened to the original priory, but in 1135 King Erik Emune refounded Ringsted Priory with Benedictine monks from Odense. The abbey received its recognition by Pope Innocent II in 1138. St. Mary's Church (Danish: Sct Maria Kirke) is the oldest brick church in Scandinavia, a successor to the travertine church of 1080. Knud Lavard's bones were moved into a new chapel in the priory church at Ringsted in 1157 with the approval of his son, King Valdemar I of Denmark. The church became an immediate pilgrimage site. With the funds raised from pilgrims and royal patronage the abbey church was expanded and dedicated in 1170 with great ceremony. Subsequently Ringsted Priory became the location of the burials of many of Valdemar's descendants from 1182 until 1341. King Valdemar Sejr and Queen Dagmar were buried there. The church was later renamed St. Bendt's Church (Sankt Bendts Kirke). For centuries, the church served as the monastery church. After the Reformation in 1571 it became a parish church. [4] [5] [6]
Ringsted Priory became an abbey in the mid-13th century and by that time was so influential that its abbot was a permanent member of the State Council (Danish: Rigsråd) which advised Denmark's kings until the Reformation. His rank was equal to that of the bishops. Ringsted Abbey enjoyed almost continuous royal support as well as that of the most powerful noble families and bishops of Denmark. Its royal connections brought it extensive land holdings in Zealand and other parts of Denmark. The abbey also had papal protections and in 1193 received permission to hold mass even when Denmark lay under interdict as happened periodically in the stormy years of the 13th century. The abbey suffered damaging fires in 1241 and 1300, but with the amount of income available quickly rebuilt.
Denmark became a Protestant nation with the adoption of the Lutheran Ordinances in October 1536. Ringsted once again received special treatment. All other monastic houses were closed, but Ringsted remained open, though under the direction of a Lutheran superintendent. The monks eventually abandoned their abbey with some travelling south to join other Benedictine houses in Germany. In time the abbey and all its properties reverted to the crown.
Unfortunately, during the Reformation the entire archive of the monastery was destroyed. The national archives contain a few letters from the 15th century and bit of the Ringsted Book which outlines monetary privileges. In 1592 Ringsted Abbey was given to the nobleman Lave Beck who was appointed sheriff and county judge. He transformed it into a large manor house. In the 17th century the abbey's outbuildings gradually fell into disrepair and were torn down. In 1806 a fire destroyed the entire complex except for St. Bendt Church, the only building left of Ringsted Abbey.
St. Canute's Cathedral, also known as Odense Cathedral, is named after the Danish king Canute the Saint, otherwise Canute IV. It is a fine example of Brick Gothic architecture. The church's most visited section is the crypt where the remains of Canute and his brother Benedict are on display.
Ringsted is a city located centrally in the Danish island of Zealand. It is the seat of a municipality of the same name.
Canute Lavard was a Danish prince. Later he was the first Duke of Schleswig and the first border prince who was both a Danish and a German vassal, a position leading towards the historical double position of Southern Jutland. He was killed by his cousin Magnus, who saw him as a rival to the Danish throne. Canute Lavard was canonized in 1170.
Løgum Abbey was a Cistercian monastery in the present town of Løgumkloster in North Schleswig, Denmark. In 1548, the monastery was closed down. The site is now occupied by Løgumkloster Church.
Sebber Priory was a religious house located at Sebbersund, near Nibe in northcentral Jutland, Denmark. The site is now occupied by Sebber Church was well as Sebber Kloster Golf Club and Sebber Abbey manor house.
Our Lady's Priory, Aarhus was an early Dominican foundation just outside the original walls of Aarhus, Denmark. The buildings are part of the Church of Our Lady complex, now part of the inner city of Aarhus, but they have been repurposed.
Tvilum Priory was a monastery of Augustinian Canons at Tvilum near Gjern, to the north of Silkeborg, Denmark.
Dagmar of Bohemia was Queen of Denmark as the first spouse of King Valdemar II. She was the daughter of King Ottokar I of Bohemia and his first wife, Adelaide of Meissen.
Halsted Priory, formerly a small Benedictine house, is a manor house and estate located close to Nakskov on the island of Lolland in southeastern Denmark. The estate was renamed Juellinge when the Barony of Juellinge was restored for Jens Juel-Vind in 1721, but its old name was restored when the barony was dissolved in 1921. Holsted Priory is still owned by the Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs family. The Neo-Gothic main building is from 1847-49. It is flanked by Halsted Church to the north and the old main building from 1591 to the south. The old main building has been renovated with support from Realdania and is now operated as a local cultural centre. The Baroque-style park covers approximately 6.5 hectares of land. The estate is also home to a golf club.
St. Canute's Abbey, Odense, a Benedictine monastery, was built to support the pilgrimage centre for the relics of the royal Danish martyr Saint Canute, and was the successor to the priory of St. Mary and St. Alban, Denmark's earliest monastic house. Located in Odense, it was the island of Funen's most important medieval religious institution.
St. Catherine's Priory was an important early Dominican friary, located in Ribe, Denmark from 1228 until 1536. The buildings still stand, although there is no monastic community there. Known as Ribe Kloster, it is Denmark's most complete extant monastic building complex.
St. Nicholas' Priory was a Benedictine nunnery founded in 1170 in Ribe, Denmark.
Vrejlev Priory is a former Danish priory which dates back to the 13th century. The priory located at Vrejlev, near Vrå, Region Nordjylland, Denmark. Between 1165 and the Protestant Reformation, it was operated as a Premonstratensian nunnery.
Slangerup Abbey was a nunnery first of Benedictine nuns, then of Cistercian nuns. It was in operation between 1170 and 1555 and was located in Slangerup, Denmark. It has left no visible remains.
Veng Abbey was one of Denmark's earliest Benedictine monasteries. It was located in the village of Veng near Skanderborg, Region of Southern Denmark. Veng Church, the former abbey church, is still in use as a parish church and is the oldest remaining in the country.
St. Bendt's Church is a church in Ringsted, Denmark, which was originally part of a Benedictine monastery that burnt down in the 18th century. Built in the Romanesque style, it is the oldest brick church in Scandinavia, dating back to about 1170 when it replaced a travertine church from about 1080. It is considered to be one of Denmark's architecturally finest churches. Furthermore, it is of special historical interest as it is first Royal church in Denmark and it houses the tombs of many of Denmark's earlier monarchs and noblemen.
Skjalm Hvide, was the Earl of Zealand in Denmark in the end of the Viking Age (793–1066) and up to his death. Skjalm's father was Toke Trylle, whose father was Slag, based on Absalon, a medieval account scanned, translated and published by Google.
Halsted Church stands in the little village of Halsted some 6 km east of Nakskov on the Danish island of Lolland. Dating from the second half of the 12th century, the church has a Romanesque chancel and nave, a large burial chapel from 1636 and a tower from 1877. The church was closely associated with Halsted Priory, which has not survived.
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