Hovedøya Abbey
Encyclopedia
Hovedøya
Hovedøya or Hovedøen is one of several small islands off the coast of Oslo, Norway in the Oslofjord. The island is quite small, no more than 800 metres across in any direction, the total area is 0,4 square kilometre. It is well known for its lush and green nature, with a wide variety of trees,...
in Oslo Fjord, founded in 1147 and dissolved in 1532 just before the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
.
History
The monastery was founded on 18 May 1147 by monks from Kirkstead AbbeyKirkstead Abbey
Kirkstead Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Kirkstead, Lincolnshire, England.The monastery was founded in 1139 by Hugh Brito, , lord of Tattershall, and was originally colonised by an abbot and twelve monks from Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on Hovedøya
Hovedøya
Hovedøya or Hovedøen is one of several small islands off the coast of Oslo, Norway in the Oslofjord. The island is quite small, no more than 800 metres across in any direction, the total area is 0,4 square kilometre. It is well known for its lush and green nature, with a wide variety of trees,...
island, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Edmund
Edmund the Martyr
St Edmund the Martyr was a king of East Anglia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom which today includes the English counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.D'Evelyn, Charlotte, and Mill, Anna J., , 1956. Reprinted 1967...
. A church dedicated to Edmund already stood on the island, and the monks took this over as the abbey church, modifying it to meet Cistercian requirements. The rest of the monastery follow a modified Cistercian building plan, to take into account a small local hill. The church itself is built in Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style; the rest of the monastery was presumably Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
. During the medieval period the abbey was one of the richest institutions in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, holding over 400 properties, including a fishery and timber yards.
End of the abbey
Political turmoil during the succession to the throne of Denmark-Norway led to the end of the monastery. The abbot, having supported the Protestant King Christian IIChristian II of Denmark
Christian II was King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden , during the Kalmar Union.-Background:...
, possibly in a bid to gain support in the face of the coming Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, came into conflict with the commandant of Akershus Fortress
Akershus Fortress
Akershus Fortress or Akershus Castle is a medieval castle that was built to protect Oslo, the capital of Norway. It has also been used as a prison.- Construction :...
, Mogens Gyllenstierne, who ironically had supported the Roman Catholic Prince Frederick I
Frederick I of Denmark
Frederick I of Denmark and Norway was the King of Denmark and Norway. The name is also spelled Friedrich in German, Frederik in Danish, and Fredrik in Swedish and Norwegian...
. In 1532 the abbot was thrown into prison for his political involvements, and the abbey was looted and then set ablaze, thus ending 400 years of monastic activity at Hovedøya. Any hope the order might have had in restoring the rich abbey was dashed 4 years later, when the Reformation swept over Denmark-Norway.
The site was later used as a quarry for stone for Akershus Castle. The remaining ruins are nevertheless among the most complete of a medieval Norwegian monastery.