Roman Catholic bishopric of Ribe
Encyclopedia
Ribe
Ribe , the oldest extant Danish town, is in southwest Jutland and has a population of 8,192 . Until 1 January 2007, it was the seat of both the surrounding municipality, and county...
, Vejle
Vejle
Vejle is a town in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle and Grejs Rivers and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality and the Region of Southern Denmark...
and Ringkøbing
Ringkøbing
Ringkøbing is a town in Ringkøbing-Skjern municipality in Region Midtjylland on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. The town has a population of 9,742 .-History:...
, and part of South Jutland. The first church built at Ribe was founded by Saint Ansgar in 860, served by his biographer and successor, Saint Rembert, and destroyed during the heathen reaction after the latter's death in 888. It was rebuilt towards 948, in which year Saint Leofdag, first Bishop of Ribe, was consecrated by Archbishop Adaldag
Adaldag
Adaldag was the seventh archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, from 937 until his death.He was of noble birth, a relation and pupil of Adalward, Bishop of Verden, and became canon of Hildesheim...
of Hamburg, probably at the Council of Ingelheim (Germany), which the Jutlandic
Jutlandic
Jutlandic or Jutish is a term for the western dialects of Danish, spoken on the peninsula of Jutland....
bishops attended. Leofdag is said to have been martyred by the heathen at Ribe. Until the death of his third known successor Vale (1044–59) the bishops of Ribe, Schleswig, and Aarhus wandered about Jutland on missionary tours.
In 1060, Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
north of the Kongeå
Kongeå
The river Kongeå defines the border between North and South Jutland in Jutland in Denmark.In 1864-1920 it was the border between Denmark and Germany....
was divided into the four Dioceses of Ribe, Aarhus, Viborg
Diocese of Viborg
The Diocese of Viborg is a diocese within the Danish National Church, covering the western part of central Jutland. The diocese has the highest ratio of church members in Denmark, about 91 %....
and Vestervig (Børglum). Originally the diocese was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen until 1104, when the Diocese of Lund
Diocese of Lund
-External links:* from Nordisk Familjebok, in Swedish...
, elevated to a new archdiocese, became its metropolitan. Bishop Thure (1125–34) began the construction of the fine Cathedral of Our Lady
Ribe Cathedral
Our Lady Maria Cathedral is located in the ancient city of Ribe on the western coast of southern Jutland, Denmark- History :Ribe is Denmark's oldest surviving city. Ribe began as an open trading market on the north bank of the Ribe River where it runs into the ocean...
at Ribe, which was finished under Bishop Elias (1142–66), who founded the chapter in 1145. His successor Radulf (1170–71), an Englishman and chancellor to 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...
, translated to the cathedral the relics of Saint Leofdag, who was never formally canonized. He began the foundation of the Cistercian Løgum Abbey
Løgum Abbey
Løgum Abbey was a Cistercian monastery in the present town of Løgumkloster in North Schleswig in Denmark.- History:Løgum Abbey was founded in 1173 by Bishop Stefan of Ribe who had previously been at Herrevad Abbey in Skåne, the first Cistercian foundation in Denmark. Løgum was in a sense a...
(Løgumkloster; Locus Dei) in the present Løgumkloster
Løgumkloster
Løgumkloster , is a town in Tønder municipality in Region of Southern Denmark on the Jutland peninsula in south Denmark with a population of 3,618...
in Northern Schleswig, which was completed by his successor Stephen (1173–77), formerly abbot of Herrevad Abbey
Herrevad Abbey
Herrevad Abbey was a Cistercian monastery near Ljungbyhed in Klippan Municipality, Scania, in the south of present-day Sweden, but formerly in Denmark until 1658. It is now a country house known as Herrevad Castle .- History :...
(in Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
). Bishop Omer (1178–1204) reduced the number of the canons of Ribe to twelve. Bishop Christian II (1288–1313) in 1298 greatly enriched the cathedral school
Cathedral school
Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools...
, which had been founded in 1145. Bishops Eskil (1388–1409) and Henry Stangberg (1455–65) published synodal statutes with a view to reforming both clergy and laity.
Ivar Munk was elected bishop in 1499 but not consecrated till 1513. Although he was unable to prevent Duke Christian from protestantizing Northern Schleswig, he kept Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
out of the rest of his diocese. Ivar Munk opposed Christian's election as King Christian III of Denmark
Christian III of Denmark
Christian III reigned as king of Denmark and Norway. He was the eldest son of King Frederick I and Anna of Brandenburg.-Childhood:...
in 1533, being however compelled as a privy councillor for Jutland to join that monarch's party, Ivar Munk resigned his bishopric in 1534 in favour of his nephew, Olaf Munk. The bishop's palace at Ribe was bestowed upon Ivar Munk and there he died in 1539. Like the other Danish bishops Olaf Munk was imprisoned on 12 August 1536. When released he had to promise to marry as well as to comply with the conditions imposed upon all the Danish bishops. On the fulfilment of his promise the premises and lands of the former Tvis Abbey
Tvis Abbey
Tvis Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Denmark. It was situated a few kilometres south of Holstebro in Jutland, on a small island between the Storå and the Tvis Å rivers.-History:...
were bestowed upon him. He was later readmitted to the privy council, and he lived the life of a rich nobleman until his death in 1569.
Ribe Cathedral
Ribe Cathedral
Our Lady Maria Cathedral is located in the ancient city of Ribe on the western coast of southern Jutland, Denmark- History :Ribe is Denmark's oldest surviving city. Ribe began as an open trading market on the north bank of the Ribe River where it runs into the ocean...
(restored in 1904), a 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,...
building with 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....
additions and a tower dating from 1440, contained besides the shrine of Saint Leofdag a chapel dedicated to Saint Lambert, which was a great centre for pilgrimages. Saint Lambert was the patron of Ribe as well as of Liège
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and his cultus at Ribe is doubtless due to the trading connection between that city and the Low Countries. The abbey church of Løgum Abbey
Løgum Abbey
Løgum Abbey was a Cistercian monastery in the present town of Løgumkloster in North Schleswig in Denmark.- History:Løgum Abbey was founded in 1173 by Bishop Stefan of Ribe who had previously been at Herrevad Abbey in Skåne, the first Cistercian foundation in Denmark. Løgum was in a sense a...
, the Romanesque churches near Ribe, like the cathedral built of volcanic stone brought from Andernach
Andernach
Andernach is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, of currently about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of the Neuwied basin on the left bank of the Rhine between the former tiny fishing village of Fornich in the north and the mouth of the...
on the Rhine, and the earliest Christian monument in Denmark, the great carved stone set up by King Harold Bluetooth near the funeral mounds of his parents, King Gorm the Old
Gorm the Old
Gorm the Old , also called Gorm the Sleepy , was the first historically recognized King of Denmark, reigning from to his death . He ruled from Jelling, and made the oldest of the Jelling Stones in honour of his wife Thyra. Gorm was born before 900 and died .-Ancestry and reign:Gorm is the reported...
(d. 940) and Queen Thyra Danebod (d. 945) at Jellinge near Veile, are all memorials of the Roman Catholic past of the Diocese of Ribe.
The cathedral chapter
Cathedral chapter
In accordance with canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese in his stead. These councils are made up of canons and dignitaries; in the Roman Catholic church their...
consisted of four prelates and twenty-one prebendaries (twelve resident). There were eight minor canons and nearly fifty chaplains.
In the city of Ribe there were also the Benedictine nunnery of St. Nicholas (founded before 1215), a Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
friary and the Dominican
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
St. Catherine's Priory, both dating from 1259, a hospital of the Holy Ghost
Order of the Holy Ghost
The order was responsible for running hospitals - Hospitals of the Holy Ghost - throughout Europe for centuries, and in its heyday the number of its houses ran into many hundreds...
and a commandery of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, both dating from about 1300.
Elsewhere in the diocese were the Cistercian monasteries of Tvis Abbey
Tvis Abbey
Tvis Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Denmark. It was situated a few kilometres south of Holstebro in Jutland, on a small island between the Storå and the Tvis Å rivers.-History:...
, near Holstebro
Holstebro
Holstebro Municipality is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 790 km², and has a total population of 57,020 . Its mayor is H. C...
(founded by Prince Buris in 1163), of Løgum Abbey
Løgum Abbey
Løgum Abbey was a Cistercian monastery in the present town of Løgumkloster in North Schleswig in Denmark.- History:Løgum Abbey was founded in 1173 by Bishop Stefan of Ribe who had previously been at Herrevad Abbey in Skåne, the first Cistercian foundation in Denmark. Løgum was in a sense a...
and of Seem Abbey, the last having been Benedictine till 1171. There were Benedictine nunneries at Gudum
Gudum Priory
Gudum Priory was a small Benedictine nunnery located in west central Jutland, Denmark.- History :Gudum Priory was one of three in the isolated sand hills near Lemvig in northwest Jutland under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Ribe...
and at Stubber
Stubber Priory
Stubber Abbey was a small Benedictine nunnery in Sevel Parish, Ginding Herred in west central Jutland near Ringkøbing.- History :Stubber Priory was a small Benedictine house isolated in the sand hills of far western Jutland. The priory was built on an island in Stubber Lake connected to the...
, a Dominican priory at Vejle
Vejle
Vejle is a town in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle and Grejs Rivers and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality and the Region of Southern Denmark...
and a Franciscan friary at Kolding
Kolding
Kolding is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in Region of Southern Denmark . It is the site of the council Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companies, principally geared towards shipbuilding...
.
In 1912 there were Catholic churches, schools and hospitals at Esbjerg
Esbjerg
Esbjerg Municipality is a municipality in Region of Southern Denmark on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. Its mayor is Johnny Søtrup, from the Venstre political party...
, Kolding, Fredericia
Fredericia
Fredericia is a town located in Fredericia municipality in the eastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark, in a sub-region known locally as Trekanten, or The Triangle...
and Vejle.