Jakob Erlandsen (died 18 February 1274) was a Danish Archbishop of Lund (1254–1274) and the central character of the first great church conflict in

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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

History

Belonging to a wealthy magnate family ( Galen clan) that was related to Archbishop

Absalon Absalon (21 March 1201) was a Danish statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192 and archbishop of Lund from 1178 until his death. He was the foremost politician and church father of Denm ...

Erlandsen and all others of

Hvide Hvide (English: ''Whites'') was a medieval Danish clan, and afterwards in early modern era a Danish noble surname of presumably one surviving branch of leaders of that clan. Before the 16th century it was not used as a surname. It signified th ...

clan, he became a clergyman. He was educated in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

and showed a solid juridical knowledge at visits in Rome. From the start he seems to have represented a stand of opposition towards the royal power and as bishop of Roskilde (from 1250) he was at odds with King Eric IV. His zeal seems to have been a ''de facto'' independence of the church in relation to the king and the state power. In many ways this was in accordance with international canonical law and in agreement with the offensive course of the papal policy but in Denmark it was relatively unknown; here king and bishops normally had worked together, the latter recognising the upper hand of the king. In 1254 bishop Jakob was appointed archbishop and by this his real struggle with the king began. King Christopher I strongly resisted the archbishop's wish of adjusting the legislation and juridical right of the Danish church with international canonical law because it meant a severe hampering of the state power, among other things of its financial energy. Furthermore, this might very well make the archbishop the independent ruler of his diocese

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne ...

. After many minor conflicts, archbishop Jakob in 1256 issued the so-called Vejle Constitution, a law that was meant to secure all bishops against any kind of arrest from the king's side by threatening him with an

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...

. This law was an open challenge to the king and was far from being supported by all bishops. During the next years Jakob Erlandsen and King Christopher more and more came on collision course and when the archbishop in a critical situation refused to accept the king's son Eric ( Eric V) as crown prince he was arrested and imprisoned in 1259. The arrest only partly provoked the expected interdict, but military attacks from the bishop's foreign allies and the king's sudden death weakened the royal party. The same year Jakob Erlandsen was released by the Queen Dowager Margrethe Sambiria, his distant cousin. His new political initiatives against the king however made any reconciliation impossible and in 1263 he fled to Northern Germany. From then the case continued at the papal court in Rome. Jakob spent most of his last ten years in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

keen on getting satisfaction. He had to handle alternating popes of changing points of view at the same time as he counteracted the Danish government. Denmark was put under interdict and the royal family was excommunicated but it did not yield to the papal verdicts, nor did Jakob get much support from his own church. At last a compromise was reached in 1272 by which the archbishop obtained some concessions. He travelled home in order to get a final solution, but on the way he died on the island of

Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...

. Modern examinations of his skeleton indicate that he might have been assassinated but nothing is sure. After his death King Eric quite simply cancelled all royal concessions. Jakob Erlandsen's career and defeat shows the great difficulties of carrying through international ecclesiastical legislation in Denmark. The demands of papal supremacy and the authority of the church collided with the traditional Danish view of the division of power. What the archbishop regarded justified demands of clerical immunity and independence meant disloyalty and treason to the king. More interesting is it that much of the population and even many clergymen seem to have shared the royal opinions. Apart from this Jakob Erlandsen's style, his alliances with the foreign enemies of the crown and his intense conduct also seem to have repulsed many possible supporters. His fight was taken up again by his kinsman Jens Grand.

References

* ''Politikens Danmarkshistorie'' bd. 4, 1962. * ''Dansk Biografisk Leksikon'', bd. 4, 1980. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jakob 1274 deaths Roman Catholic archbishops of Lund 13th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Denmark Year of birth unknown