St. Catherine's Priory, Roskilde
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St. Catherine's Priory was an important Dominican house located in Roskilde, the ancient capital of Denmark.
[edit] History
St. Catherine's Priory, Roskilde, was established by the Dominicans in Roskilde relatively late compared to other orders. Roskilde was the ancient capital of Denmark and the seat of the most important Danish diocese, Zealand. Source material for the Dominican priory in Roskilde is lacking to a great degree, but what has been learned is that Roskilde ranked second only to Lund in Dominican houses in Scandinavia during the Middle Ages. On several occasions the head of the regional order, the prior provincial, was elected from Roskilde.
Only a few of the Dominican priors are named. Friar Bo is named in a 1267 letter connected with the conflict between Archbishop Jacob Erlendsen and King Valdemar. Friar Bo was excommunicated for violating the decree of interdict laid down by the archbishop. Prior Petrus Brackæ gave all his worldly possessions to Sorø Abbey in 1312 and then became a Dominican at Roskilde. Perhaps the most famous Dominican friar was Johannes Nyborg who was made Bishop of Roskilde in 1330.
The main work of the friars was to preach and teach, so it has been supposed that a school of some sort formed part of the duties of the friars at Roskilde, perhaps in conjunction with the cathedral school in town. The Black Friars as they were called locally were a mendicant order, which means that they relied on donations to keep food on the table, candles burning, and the work of the friars. The Roskilde friary forged over time a close connection with the cathedral chapter in the city which in a sense insulated them from the ebb and flow of events in Denmark's turbulent Middle Ages. After St. Agnes' priory for Dominican nuns was built, the friars took care of the priestly functions required there.
The priory consisted of a brick church consecrated to Saint Catherine in 1254, dormitory, scriptorium, refectory and garden which included an apple orchard. To the north of the friary the friars owned a spring and by 1329 dams had been constructed to build at least one mill. The friary owned at least one farm outside Roskilde at Slagelse.
In 1263 St. Agnes' Priory, Roskilde, a Dominican nunnery, was built north of the city outside the walls. The nuns seemed to garner more financial support than the friars: they owned more than 70 farms all over Zealand which had been donated to them for maintenance and income. They also owned two bath houses in the town as additional income properties. At its height there was room for 30 nuns. King Erik Menved donated a large property including a mill to the nuns in 1295. The most famous incident relating to St. Agnes' Priory was the case of Princesses Agnes and Jutta who joined the community, endowing it with several valuable properties. When the princesses left, they took back their property and for 60 years afterwards the courts heard the complaints of the nuns' legal representatives.
The Reformation brought the friary and convent at Roskilde to an end. Already in 1527 properties of the nuns were confiscated. In 1532 the friary sold the farm at Slagelse because of its great need.
In 1536 Denmark became officially Lutheran, rejecting all Catholic instutions and most traditions. Christian III, who with many Danes opposed the constant appeal for funds by the mendicant orders, commanded the closure of the priory in 1537 and the Dominican friars were turned out. Many simply put off their habits and became residents of Roskilde. Others fled Denmark south to Germany in the search for new religious houses where they could live their lives without interference.
The friary including the church was torn down in 1557 by the town of Roskilde on direct orders from the king. The site lay vacant until 1565 when a house was built on the site by Mogens Godske, a local nobleman. Godske called it "Black Brothers Farm" (Danish: Sortebrødregård) as a memorial to the Dominicans who had occupied the site for hundreds of years. The nunnery which had become crown property was razed in 1579, and the brick hauled away with royal permission.
Godske's mansion house was expanded several times and in 1699 became a home for unmarried noblewomen, the Roskilde Adelige Jomfrukloster. Since 1974 it has been owned by the state and preserved as a national historic monument. It is now called Roskilde Kloster.
