The former Diocese of Viborg () was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. It was established in 1065 and was dissolved in 1536 during the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

."Diocese of Viborg"
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Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016"Diocese of Viborg"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016 The region was originally part of the

Diocese of Ribe The Diocese of Ribe (Danish: ''Ribe Stift'') is a diocese within the Church of Denmark. Ribe Cathedral serves as the central cathedral within the diocese. Since 2014, the bishop has been Elof Westergaard. The former Roman Catholic Diocese of R ...

, but split off to form its own diocese. Within its dominion, the diocese oversaw much of central

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

, including the church's monasteries, friaries, and hospitals in that region. Following the dissolution of the diocese, the diocese was replaced by the

Diocese of Viborg The Diocese of Viborg is a diocese within the Church of Denmark, covering the western part of central Jutland. Viborg Cathedral in the city of Viborg serves as the seat of the diocese's bishop. The diocese has the highest ratio of church member ...

within the

Church of Denmark The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People's Church" or unofficially da, Den danske folkekirke, literally: "The Danish People's Church"; kl, ...

Domain

Before its establishment, the region fell under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Ribe. The diocese comprised

Viborg County Viborg Amt () is a former county (Danish: ''amt'') in the north-central part of the Jutland peninsula in western Denmark. The county was abolished on 1 January 2007, when most of it merged into Region Midtjylland (i.e. ''Region Central Jutland' ...

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...

, Slet, and the hundreds of Fleskum, Hornum, Hellum, Hindsted,

Aars Aars or Års, () is a Danish town with a population of 8,474 (1 January 2022)Gislum Gislum had an old grocery store in Gislum, that worked as both a farm and a grocery store. Closed in 1980. The old school in Gislum. In folkemony it is called just for the red school. Was closed in 1967 and sold to private. The White School, which ...

. The hundreds of Gjerlev, Onsild, Nörhald, and Stövring in the

Randers County Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).Diocese of Aarhus In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

in 1396. Upon its completion in 1130,

Viborg Cathedral , image = Viborg Cathedral June 2012.jpg , imagesize = 250px , caption = , pushpin map = Denmark , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt = , pushpin mapsize = , ...

in the city of Viborg served as the seat of the diocese's bishop. Nothing remains of the original 12th century cathedral but the crypt. The cathedral which stands on the site today was erected in 1876. In Viborg, the diocese oversaw the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

convent of St. Botolph, a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

friary, a Dominican friary, as well as the hospitals of St. Michael and of the Holy Ghost. There were an additional Benedictine nunnery and a Franciscan friary in Aalborg which also fell under the dominion of the diocese. The

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

Abbey of Vidskild, the Augustinian abbey at Grinderslev, and the Augustinian convent of Asmild were all situated in the diocese, in addition to the Benedictine convent of Sibber, and the hospitals at Tesdrup and Karup.

History

The diocese was founded in 1065, following the death of the Bishop of Ribe,

Vale A vale is a type of valley. Vale may also refer to: Places Georgia * Vale, Georgia, a town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region Norway * Våle, a historic municipality Portugal * Vale (Santa Maria da Feira), a former civil parish in the municipali ...

. It was originally a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of the archdiocese of

Hamburg-Bremen The Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (german: Fürsterzbistum Bremen) — not to be confused with the modern Archdiocese of Hamburg, founded in 1994 — was an ecclesiastical principality (787–1566/1648) of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic ...

until 1104, when the

Diocese of Lund The Diocese of Lund ( sv, Lunds stift) is a diocese within the Church of Sweden which corresponds to the provinces of Blekinge and Skåne. There are 217 parishes within the diocese, the most significant number in any of the dioceses of the Chur ...

was elevated to an

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

and became its

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

. The first Bishop of Viborg, Herbert, held the position until the turn of the 12th century. In 1080 King Canute IV endowed the bishopric and chapter. The latter consisted of

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 ...

of St. Augustine. The second bishop of Viborg, Svend I, was drowned by the

Count of Stade The Counts of Stade were members of the Saxony nobility beginning in the 10th century. Stade had developed since the 8th century as a principal center of trade and communications. The Counts of Stade created their domain between the lower Elbe and ...

in the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

river. His successor, Bishop Eskild, was similarly executed during

Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning. The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated by ...

in the Church of St. Margaret, following an order from King Eric II. Bishop Niels I founded the hospital of St. Michael, Viborg, in 1159, and the

Cistercian nunnery Cistercian nuns are female members of the Cistercian Order, a religious order belonging to the Roman Catholic branch of the Catholic Church. History The first Cistercian monastery for women, Le Tart Abbey, was established at Tart-l'Abbaye in t ...

of Asmild in 1169. During his term, the diocese's original Romanesque cathedral was completed, of which only the

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

remains. He is largely responsible for the

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

Saint Kjeld Kjeld or Ketil ( la, Chetillus, Ketillus, da, Keld, Kjeld, Ketil; 1100–1150) was a 12th-century Danish clergyman. He is venerated as a saint in Denmark, by both Catholics and Danish Lutherans. Life Kjeld was born in the early 12th century ...

and the

translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

of his body to a shrine at his chapel on 11 July 1189. Bishop Gunner was born in 1152 and attended the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, where he took an interest in law. In 1208, he took up residence at

Øm Abbey Øm Abbey (''Øm Kloster'') was a Cistercian monastery founded in 1172 in the Diocese of Aarhus near the town of Rye, between the lakes of Mossø and Gudensø in central Jutland, Denmark. It is one of many former monasteries and abbeys in the hi ...

where, in 1216, he later became

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

. Gunner became bishop of Viborg in 1222. It is believed that he is responsible for writing out the

Law of Jutland ''Codex Holmiensis C 37'' contains the oldest manuscript of the Danish ''Code of Jutland'' ( da, Jyske Lov),Riis, Thomas. Det kongelige bibliotek, Denmark. Det kongelige bibliotek, Denmark. a civil code enacted under Valdemar II of Denmark. The ...

and composing the original preface to it; he was present when it was published at

Vordingborg Vordingborg () is an old ferry town in Vordingborg Municipality in Denmark with around 18,000 inhabitants. Because of three large estates surrounding the town, a coherent urban development has not been possible, which is the reason why three sat ...

in 1241. He died at

Asmild Abbey Asmild Abbey was a house of Canons regular#Canons Regular of Saint Augustine, Augustinian canonesses with a close connection to the Augustinian canons at Viborg Cathedral in north central Jutland, Denmark from 1165 until reformation. History The ...

on 25 August 1251, and was buried in front of the shrine of St. Kjeld. Leif Thor Olafsson was bishop of the diocese from 1438 until 1450, when he was installed as the bishop of the Diocese of Bergen. His position in Viborg was succeeded by

Canute Mikkelsen Canute Mikkelsen (or Canute Cobson) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Viborg (1451–1478).Church of Our Lady in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and rector of the

University of Erfurt The University of Erfurt (german: Universität Erfurt) is a public university located in Erfurt, the capital city of the German state of Thuringia. It was founded in 1379, and closed in 1816. It was re-established in 1994, three years after Germ ...

. He authored Latin amendments to a treatise on the plague and the Law of Jutland. Bishop

Jørgen Friis Jørgen Friis til Krastrup was a Danish lord and Governor-general of Norway from 1601 to 1608. He was probably born in Nes Castle, Denmark and died in 1616 in Skørping. His father Ivar Friis (died 1557) was the lord at Nes, and his mother was Sop ...

was the last Catholic bishop of the diocese. During his tenure, the lutheran preachings of

Hans Tausen Hans Tausen (Tavsen) (1494 – 11 November 1561) was the leading Lutheran theologian of the Danish Reformation in Denmark. He served as Bishop of Ribe and published the first translation of the Pentateuch into Danish in 1535. Background Ha ...

gained popularity in Viborg and threatened the bishop's authority. By 1530,

Viborg Cathedral , image = Viborg Cathedral June 2012.jpg , imagesize = 250px , caption = , pushpin map = Denmark , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt = , pushpin mapsize = , ...

had been claimed by protestants and was lost to the Catholic diocese. Friis left his position in Viborg for

Hald Castle Hald may refer to: * Anders Hald (1913–2007), Danish statistician * Pauline Hald (1904–1998), American clinical chemist * HAL Daemon, often referred to as "HALD" See also * High authority for the struggle against discrimination and for equ ...

, where he was later imprisoned in 1536. Two years later, he was released on the condition that he conform to the newly established Church of Denmark's doctrine.

Bishops

Heribert Heribert is a Germanic given name, derived from ''hari'' ("host") and ''beraht'' ("bright"). See also Herbert, another given name with the same roots. *Charibert of Laon (died before 762), also spelled Heribert, Count of Laon and maternal grandfat ...

, ca. 1065–1095 **''Vacant (ca. 1095–1106)'' * Svend I, 1106–1112 *

Eskil Eskil is a town and district of Aksaray Province in the Central Anatolia Region, Turkey, Central Anatolia region of Turkey, situated on the southern shore of Lake Tuz. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 28,952 of which 22,125 ...

, 1112–1133 * Svend II, 1133–1153 *

Niels I Niels is a male given name, equivalent to Nicholas, which is common in Denmark, Belgium, Norway (formerly) and the Netherlands. The Norwegian and Swedish variant is Nils. The name is a developed short form of Nicholas or Greek Nicolaos after Sai ...

, 1153–1191 **''Vacant (1191–1222)'' * Gunner, 1222–1251 **''Vacant (1251–1367)'' * Jakob Moltke, 1367–1396 * Lave Glob, ??–1427 **''Vacant (1427–1438)'' * Leif Thor Olafsson (Thorleiv Olavsson), 1438–1450"Bishop Leif Thor Olafsson"
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