Absalon from Lund
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Absalon (* 1128 in Fjenneslev ; † March 21, 1201 in Sorø on Zealand in Denmark ) was a bishop of Roskilde and archbishop of Lund (now Sweden ), church and monastery founder, military leader and advisor to the Danish kings Waldemar I the Great (1157 –1182) and Knut VI. (1182-1202). The archbishop is also known as Axel von Lund and went down in the annals as one of the most important figures in Danish church history in the Middle Ages . He pushed the Danish claims to power in the Baltic Sea region.
Life
Absalon comes from the influential noble family of the Hvide (Weiss); his father was Asser Rig (about 1080-1151), friend of Knud Lavard and the most powerful man in the empire, his mother probably his wife Inger Eriksdatter. The future King Waldemar I grew up in his parents' house . He had a lifelong foster brother friendship with him. Absalon's older brother was Esbern Snare .
Absalon studied theology and canon law in Paris . He became friends with the canon Vilhelm of St. Genoveva Monastery , whom he learned to appreciate so much that he later appointed him abbot first through Eskilsø Monastery and later on Æbelholt Monastery . In 1157 he was in the entourage of Waldemar in the settlement negotiations between fellow kings Knut and Sven in Roskilde , where he barely escaped the assassination attempt by Sven . Later Absalon and his brother Esbern Snare took part in the battle on Grathe Hede (near Silkeborg ), in which Sven, a competitor of Waldemar for the throne of Denmark, was killed.
At the age of 30 he became Bishop of Roskilde and at 50 Primate of the Danish-Swedish Church and as successor of Eskil Archbishop of Lund in Skåne . The fact that he founded a monastery on Öresund in 1167 , from which the Danish capital Copenhagen grew, has since been refuted. With Waldemar I and Absalon, Denmark, weakened by the "Prince's War", received two capable and energetic potentates at the secular and spiritual head of the empire, who promoted Danish hegemony in the Baltic region. Both initially concentrated on the conquest of the Slavic island of Rügen and the destruction of the pagan idol worship of the local Ranen .
In May 1168 the time was ripe for it. A united naval and army power of the allied Danes, Mecklenburg and Pomeranians under the command of Absaolon landed on the west coast of Rügen . Then the troops marched towards Cape Arkona under the leadership of Waldemar and Absalon . A siege of the island's main sanctuary began for weeks. The ranic defenders Arkonas under their princes Jaromar I and Tezlaw capitulated in view of the hostile superiority on June 15, 1168, according to other sources, already at Pentecost, without major resistance. Ranic negotiators submitted to Absalon, who had the great wooden idol Svantovite burned, the surrender and thus prevented the storming and burning of the temple castle. The archaeological site Jaromarsburg on Arkona still reminds of this today. In addition, the priesthood had to deliver the temple treasures and guarantee the acceptance of Christianity . The campaign ended with Mecklenburg being subjected to German rule and the Principality of Rügen to Danish rule. The Pomeranian Dukes Bogislaw I and Casimir I saw themselves cheated in the settlement and withdrew as allies of Denmark. Absalon and his king were now determined opponents of Pomerania.
When Archbishop Eskil resigned from office in 1177, he appointed Absalon against his will as his successor. Absalon feared losing his power base in Zealand. Therefore, the Pope allowed him to remain Bishop of Roskilde in addition to his archbishopric.
His insistence on paying tithes and strict implementation of the priestly celibacy led to the peasant and priest uprising in Skåne and u. a. to the "Battle of the Dösjebro".
His equestrian statue is on Højbro Square in Copenhagen. His successor (1201-1222) in Lund was Andreas Sunononis (Danish Suneson).
At Absalon’s instigation, Saxo Grammaticus wrote the 16 books of the Gesta Danorum or Historia Danica , one of the source works on the Nordic world of history and legends, between 1185 and 1208 .
Absalon's older brother Esbern Asserson Snare had Kalundborg Castle built. In 1179 he built or purchased Ubby Church .
Namesake of the ship class
The class of command and support ships of the Danish Navy and its associated ship Absalon are named after Absalon von Lund .
literature
- Aksel E. Christensen: Absalon. In: Dansk biografisk leksikon . 3. Edition. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
- Alfred Haas : Arkona in 1168. Arthur Schuster, 2nd edition, Stettin 1925.
- Hans Olrik: Absalon . 2 vols. Copenhagen 1908/09.
- Lutz Mohr : The Vikings and their time in modern visual arts. To the history pictures of the Stralsund painter and graphic artist Eckhard Buchholz and the historical background. In: Bull and Griffin. Sheets on the cultural and regional history in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Year 12, Schwerin 2001, pp. 15-25.
- P. Norlund, CM Smidt: Sorø Klosteret. Skolen, Akademiet I, 1924.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Aksel E. Christensen: Absalon. In: Dansk biografisk leksikon. 3. Edition.
- ↑ Copenhagen was a big city long before Absalon
- ^ Alfred Haas: Arkona in the year 1168. 1925, p. 28 ff.
- ^ AD Jørgensen: Absalon . In: Carl Frederik Bricka (Ed.): Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Tillige omfattende Norge for Tidsrummet 1537-1814. 1st edition. tape 1 : Aaberg – Beaumelle . Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, Copenhagen 1887, p. 70–81 (Danish, runeberg.org - here p. 79).
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Asker |
Bishop of Roskilde 1158–1191 |
Peder Sunesen |
| Eskil from Lund |
Archbishop of Lund 1177–1201 |
Sunesen is different |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Absalon from Lund |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Absalon Assersen |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bishop of Roskilde and Archbishop of Lund |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1128 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Fjenneslev in Denmark |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 21, 1201 |
| Place of death | Sorø on Zealand in Denmark |