Esrum Abbey
Encyclopedia
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
: Esrum or Esrom Kloster) was the second Cistercian monastery founded in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, located near Hillerød
Hillerød
Hillerød Kommune is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden . The municipality covers an area of 191 km² , and has a total population of 46,568...
in Region Hovedstaden
Region Hovedstaden
The Capital Region of Denmark is an administrative region of Denmark established on January 1, 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which replaced the traditional counties with five larger regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the...
, on the island of Zealand (Sjælland), on the north side of the Esrum Sø (Lake Esrum) near Esbønderup and Græsted
Græsted
Græsted is one of the main towns of the Gribskov municipality in the Danish Region Hovedstaden. The town is in northern Sjælland, just south of Gilleleje, and has a population of 3,526 . The whole of Græsted Parish had 4769 inhabitants ....
.
Monastery
Esrum Abbey began as a Benedictine foundation, perhaps in about 1140, and was built near a pre-Christian religious site, later called Esrum Spring, where a small wooden stave chapel may have existed before the abbey was established. The foundation was taken over by the Cistercians in 1151 on the authority of Archbishop Eskil of LundEskil of Lund
Eskil was a 12th century Archbishop of Lund, in Skåne, Denmark .He was one of the most capable and prominent princes of the Church in Scandinavia...
, and was counted as a daughter house of Clairvaux
Clairvaux Abbey
Clairvaux Abbey is a Cistercian monastery in Ville-sous-la-Ferté, 15 km from Bar-sur-Aube, in the Aube département in northeastern France. The original building, founded in 1115 by St. Bernard, is now in ruins; a high-security prison, the Clairvaux Prison, now occupies the grounds...
. Esrum in its turn became in the course of time the mother house of a number of other important Cistercian foundations: Vitskøl Abbey
Vitskøl Abbey
Vitskøl Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery near Ranum in Himmerland in Region Nordjylland, Denmark, one of the oldest existing monastic complexes in northern Europe.-Vitskøl:...
and Sorø Abbey
Sorø Abbey
Sorø Abbey was the preeminent and wealthiest monastic house in all of Denmark during the Middle Ages. It was located in the town of Sorø in central Zealand.- History :...
in Denmark; Ryd Abbey
Ryd Abbey
Ryd Abbey or Rüde Abbey was a Cistercian monastery in Munkbrarup that formerly occupied the present site of Glücksburg Castle in Glücksburg on the Flensburg Fjord in the Schleswig-Flensburg district of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.- History :...
, now in Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
; and Kołbacz Abbey near Stettin. Monks from Esrum also founded Dargun Abbey in Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
in 1172, but abandoned it after hostile military action in 1198, and the later history of Dargun rests on its re-foundation in 1208 from Doberan Abbey
Doberan Abbey
Doberan Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Bad Doberan, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The church continues in use as Doberan Minster ....
. The former community from Dargun went on however to found Eldena Abbey
Eldena Abbey
Eldena Abbey , originally Hilda Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery near the present town of Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany...
.
Esrum Abbey burned down in 1194 and again in 1204, resulting in the construction of a new church - a three-aisled basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
with transepts and a rectangular choir - and monastery built out of red brick, the most common building material of the time in the region.
In 1355 the Queen, Helvig of Schleswig, consort of King Valdemar IV of Denmark
Valdemar IV of Denmark
Valdemar IV of Denmark or Waldemar ; , was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375.-Ascension to the throne:...
(Valdemar Atterdag), became a lay sister at Esrum after being supplanted by King Valdemar's mistress, Tove. The queen was buried in the abbey church, which brought royal gifts of property for the abbey. Her daughter, Margaret I of Denmark
Margaret I of Denmark
Margaret I was Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden and founder of the Kalmar Union, which united the Scandinavian countries for over a century. Although she acted as queen regnant, the laws of contemporary Danish succession denied her formal queenship. Her title in Denmark was derived from her...
, continued Esrum's royal patronage, which attracted increased benefactions from other noble families on Zealand.
Codex Esromensis
A transcript of a collection of papers of the abbey between 1374 and 1497, consisting mostly of letters, has been preserved in Det Kongelige Bibliotek as the "Codex Esromensis" .Dissolution and after
Denmark became officially Lutheran in 1536 with the adoption of the Lutheran OrdinancesReformation in Denmark
The Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein was the transition from Roman Catholicism to Lutheranism in the realms ruled by the Copenhagen-based House of Oldenburg in the first half of the sixteenth century...
by the king and State Council, when Esrum became a crown estate. It was allowed to continue to function as a monastery until 1559, when the remaining 11 monks and the abbot were despatched to Sorø Abbey
Sorø Abbey
Sorø Abbey was the preeminent and wealthiest monastic house in all of Denmark during the Middle Ages. It was located in the town of Sorø in central Zealand.- History :...
. The buildings at Esrum were then largely dismantled for building materials, apparently for use at Kronborg Castle
Kronborg Castle
Kronborg is a star fortress situated near the town of Helsingør on the extreme northeastern tip of Zealand at the narrowest point of the Øresund, the sound between Denmark and Sweden...
to which the abbey estate was given.
In the 17th century the remaining structures were converted into a hunting lodge for the king and his courtiers, and the site was also used as a stud farm
Stud farm
A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry, is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud" comes from the Old English stod meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding" Historically, documentation of the breedings that occur on a stud farm leads to the...
until 1717, after which it became a barracks for dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
s until 1746. From then on the buildings were used for a variety of military and civil administrative offices, becoming the property of the local government administration of Frederiksborg Amt.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the site was temporarily taken over as secure storage for the Danish National Archives, and immediately after the war was used for the accommodation of Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n refugees.
Present-day
The site and structures were thoroughly restored in 1996. The surviving buildings - the south wing of the conventual buildings and a watermill - have received protected status as a national historic monument and are now used as a museum and a school for the study of nature and the environment. A number of other leisure facilities and activities are also provided, including medieval re-enactments.Legends
A number of legends survive concerning the abbey. One, about Brother Daniel, a monk at Esrum, illustrates the connection between religious houses. Brother Daniel fell ill and sent word to Abbot Vilhelm of Æbelholt AbbeyÆbelholt Abbey
Æbelholt Abbey was an Augustinian monastery situated in Tjæreby, 5 km west from Hillerød in Region Hovedstaden, Denmark.-William of Æbelholt:...
. Abbot Vilhelm laid his hand upon Daniel and told him to drink from the sacred spring at Esrum by which Daniel was healed. Thereafter the spring was believed to have healing power, especially for gout, rashes, and headaches.
Another well-known legend from Esrum is the story of Brother Rus. One day a wanderer knocked at the abbey's door and having no work offered his services to the abbot. A place was found for him in the kitchen as the kitchen master's helper. Brother Rus was clever and learned his duties quickly and was praised by the other monks for his diligence. Even the abbot came to hear of Brother Rus' efforts.
However, Brother Rus was an ambitious young man and came up with a plan to advance himself. The opportunity came one day when he found himself alone with the kitchen master, whom he struck so hard that he broke his skull. After making sure the kitchen master was dead, Brother Rus ran out to the other monks calling for help because his master had been injured. The monks hurried to the kitchen and found that the kitchen master was dead. Not knowing that Brother Rus had any responsibility, the abbot appointed him as the new master of the kitchen. The monks were so pleased at his good food that they suggested he become one of them, which he did.
Brother Rus hit upon other ways to ingratiate himself with the monks. He persuaded a local woman to enter the monastery to tempt the brothers into carnal sin, but the abbot discovered the woman and ordered her out of the abbey. Because of the monk's hood, she was unable to identify the brother who had who invited her.
Brother Rus then decided to tempt the brothers into eating meat, which they never did. One day he went into the forest and came upon a cow. Since no one was in sight, he slaughtered it and took a hind quarter back to the kitchen which he soon cooked iup for supper, hiding the rest in the woods. The monks enjoyed the meat so much that they asked for more. Brother Rus willingly obliged. The poor peasant whose cow it had been had found the place of slaughter and hid himself, to discover who the thief might be, and presently he saw Brother Rus meet with several other devils and tell them of the evils he had done. The peasant ran straight to the abbot and told him what he had seen and heard. The abbot ordered Brother Rus confined and then turned over to the bailiff to be punished. The brothers of Esrum Abbey repented and lived better lives thereafter.
Another story is that Esrum Abbey came into conflict with King Valdemar I
Valdemar I
Valdemar I is the name of:* Vladimir I of Kiev , grand prince of Kiev* Valdemar I of Denmark , King of Denmark from 1157 until 1182* Valdemar of Sweden...
, who, in order to complete the construction of Gurre Castle
Gurre Castle
Gurre Castle was a royal castle in North Zealand in Denmark which lies on the outskirts of Helsingør towards the town of Tikøb on the lake at Gurre . The castle, now a ruin, was built in the 12th century and added 4 towers and a perimeter wall in the 1350s; it was excavated in the 19th century and...
, supposedly forced the monks at Esrum to work as day labourers, much to the disgust of the abbot. When Valdemar died at Gurre Castle. God condmned him to him hunt forever through the fields round about.
Sources and external links
Further reading
- Hjortlund/Thomsen/Jørgensen, 1992: Esrum Kloster
- Elverskov/Jørgensen, 1996: Den hellige jomfru i Esrum