Eysteinn Erlendsson (Modern Norwegian ''Øystein Erlendsson'', Latin ''Augustinus Nidrosiensis'') (died 26 January 1188) was

Archbishop of Nidaros The Archdiocese of Nidaros (or Niðaróss) was the metropolitan see covering Norway in the later Middle Ages. The see was the Nidaros Cathedral, in the city of Nidaros (now Trondheim). The archdiocese existed from the middle of the twelfth centu ...

from 1161 to his death in 1188.

Background

His family came from

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; sma, Trööndelage) is a county in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County ( no, Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmar ...

, and he was related to most of the local nobility. His birth date and place of birth is not recorded. Eysteinn was probably born sometime between 1120 and 1130 on the farm or Råsvoll north of

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

Verdal Verdal is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Innherad region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Verdalsøra. Some villages in the municipality include Forbregd/Lein, Lysthaugen, Stiklest ...

Nord-Trøndelag Nord-Trøndelag (; "North Trøndelag") was a county constituting the northern part of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. The county was established in 1804 when the old Trondhjems amt was divided into two: Nordre Trondhjems amt and S ...

. His father was known as Erlend Himalde. He was the grandson of Tørberg Arnesson (d. ca. 1050), who served as an advisor to several Norwegian kings and the great-grandson of Ulv Uspaksson (died 1066), who was a councilman under King

Harald Hardrada Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' (; modern no, Hardråde, roughly translated as "stern counsel" or "hard ruler") in the sagas, was King of Norway from 1046 t ...

. He was educated at Saint-Victor, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. As a priest he served as steward to King Inge Krokrygg of Norway. When Archbishop

Jon Birgersson Jon Birgersson (died 24 February 1157) was a Norwegian clergyman, bishop, and the first archbishop of the archdiocese of Nidaros. His father's name was Birger, but his year of birth is unknown. He served as bishop of the diocese of Stavanger from 11 ...

died 24 February 1157, King Inge appointed Eysteinn as the new archbishop.

Ties with Rome

Eysteinn then travelled to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where his appointment was confirmed by

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...

in 1161. He returned to Norway in 1161 and attempted to strengthen the ties between Rome and the Norwegian Church. He established the communities of

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

canons regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...

and consecrated

Saint Thorlak Thorlak Thorhallsson ( Icelandic: ''Þorlákur Þórhallsson''; 1133 – 23 December 1193) is the patron saint of Iceland. He was bishop of Skálholt from 1178 until his death. Thorlak's relics were translated to the cathedral of Skalholt in 11 ...

Involvement in Civil War

King Inge's reign fell within the start of the period known as the

civil war era in Norway The civil war era in Norway ( no, borgerkrigstida or ''borgerkrigstiden'') began in 1130 and ended in 1240. During this time in history of Norway, Norwegian history, some two dozen rival kings and pretenders War of succession, waged wars to clai ...

. Before Eysteinn could return to his seat, King Inge was killed by his nephew, Håkon Herdebrei. King Inge's supporters had rallied under the leadership of

Erling Skakke Erling Skakke (1115 – 18 June 1179) was a Norwegian Jarl during the 12th century. He was the father of Magnus V, who reigned as King of Norway from 1161 to 1184. Biography Erling Ormsson was born at Etne in the county of Hordaland, Norway. He w ...

with his son

Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

as candidate for king. Erling Skakke was married to Kristin, daughter of King

Sigurd Jorsalfar Sigurd Magnusson (1089 – 26 March 1130), also known as Sigurd the Crusader (Old Norse: ''Sigurðr Jórsalafari'', Norwegian: ''Sigurd Jorsalfar''), was King of Norway (being Sigurd I) from 1103 to 1130. His rule, together with his half-brothe ...

. This was the first time the throne had passed to someone who was not a king's son. Håkon Herdebrei was defeated and slain in 1162; however, the possibility remained that another claimant would appear. In this situation, Bishop Eysteinn and Erling became natural allies. The

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

had long wished to reform the Norwegian kingdom on a more European model. Especially it wanted an end to the tradition of having several co-kings, which in the past had often led to war and unrest. In addition Bishop Eysteinn wanted only legitimate sons to be eligible. By sponsoring Magnus Erlingsson, both these goals would be achieved. In 1163 the new law of succession (''agnatisk suksesjon'') was introduced. In return, Bishop Eysteinn crowned Magnus King of Norway. This was the first time such a ceremony had taken place in Norway. Eysteinn is thought to have written ''

Passio Olavi ''Passio Olavi'', more correctly ''Passio a miracule beati Olavi'' (The Passion and miracles of the Blessed Olaf) is a collection of legends about the Norwegian national saint Olaf II the Holy. The text was probably collected while Eysteinn Erl ...

'', a hagiographical work written in the

Latin language Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

. This is about the history and work of St.

Olaf II of Norway Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...

, with particular emphasis on his missionary work. The title is an abbreviation for ''Passio Et Miracula Beati Olaui'', meaning Holy Olav's sufferings and miracles.''Passio Olavi'' (with preface by Arne Bakken, chaplain at the Nidaros Cathedral, Oslo: 1995)

References

Other sources

* Gunnes, Erik ''Erkebiskop Øystein, statsmann og kirkebygger'' (Oslo: 1996) * Vandvik, Eirik ''Erkebiskop Eystein som politikar'' (Trondheim: 1961) * Bagge, Sverre ''Mennesket i middelalderens Norge'' (forlaget Aschehoug, Oslo: 2005)

External links

Den hellige Eystein Erlendson av Nidaros
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erlendsson, Eysteinn 1120s births 1188 deaths Norwegian civil wars 12th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Norway Norwegian Roman Catholic saints Norwegian writers 12th-century Christian saints