Ancient See of Børglum

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This article incorporates unedited text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia, which may be out of date, or may reflect the point of view of the Catholic Church as of 1913. It should be edited to reflect broader and more recent perspectives.

The ancient bishopric of Børglum, in Denmark, embraced the ancient districts of Vendsyssel and Thy, that is, the whole of the extreme north of Jutland peninsula beyond the Limfjord.^[1] The see was first at Vestervig, the diocese having been formed out of that of Viborg, which then included the whole of Jutland, on the death of Bishop Val in 1059. Magnus, first Bishop of Vestervig, was drowned in the Elbe about 1060, when returning home after his consecration by Adalbert I, Archbishop of Hamburg. Albrik, Dean of Bremen, was the second bishop (1066-85).

Vestervig was the residence of St. Thøger, a missionary from Thuringia (eastern Germany) and chaplain to the Norwegian king St. Olaf. After that king's death in 1030 Thøger retired to Vestervig, where he built a church of thatch and wattle, and preached Christianity to the inhabitants of the surrounding district. He died on 24 June, 1067, and was canonized in spite of the opposition of King Svend Estridsen and Bishop Albrik. Eventually St. Thøger became the patron saint of the diocese. Albrik's successor, Bishop Henry, was chaplain to King St. Canute IV, and was with him during his stay in Vendsyssel in June, 1086.

Bishop Sylvester (1134-36) transferred the see to the Premonstratensian Abbey of Børglum. It became the cathedral of the new diocese, and its canons formed the diocesan chapter with power to elect the bishop. The last two bishops led very inconsistent lives. Their names were Niels Stygge (Rosenkrantz) and his nephew, Stygge Krumpen. Niels Stygge (b. 1455) was Bishop of Børglum from 1486-1533. Stygge Krumpen became coadjutor bishop in 1519, and diocesan bishop in 1533. He made some efforts to stay the progress of Protestantism, but he was imprisoned from 1536 to 1542. He was then endowed with the property of the nunnery of Asmild near Viborg, though obliged to maintain the nuns; he died there in 1551.

In the territory of the former diocese of Børglum there are fine old churches at Vestervig and Børglum, the former dating from the beginning of the twelfth century. Besides the Abbey of Børglum (founded 1128) the diocese contained the following Benedictine nunneries: Frejlev (1268-1554), Hundslund (1268-1536) and Ø kloster (1160-1542). There were also the Abbey of Vestervig (Augustinian canons), which lasted from 1110 to 1526, the Commandery of the Knights of St. John at Dueholm (1351-1539), and the Carmelite Priory at Sæby (Mariested), which lasted from about 1460 to 1536.

A relatively unknown fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen is titled "The Bishop of Børglum and his Warriors"^[2].