Mariager Abbey ( da, Mariagerkloster) was a

Bridgettine The Bridgettines, or Birgittines, formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Savior (; abbreviated OSsS), is a monastic religious order of the Catholic Church founded by Saint Birgitta or Bridget of Sweden in 1344, and approved by Pope Urban ...

abbey founded in 1430 which became an important pilgrimage site, in the present town of

Mariager Mariager is a town in Denmark with a population of 2,506 (1 January 2022).Jutland, Denmark.

History

Foundation

Mariager Abbey was founded in 1430 on a hill overlooking the ferry across Mariager Fjord by the Bridgettines,The Bridgettine Order was founded by Saint Bridget of Sweden (b. 1303), who believed that the Catholic Church, and especially the monastic communities, had fallen into laxity and needed to be reformed. Pope Urban VI recognized the

Rule Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule perta ...

of the Bridgettines in 1370, under which its houses were to be

double monasteries A double monastery (also dual monastery or double house) is a monastery combining separate communities of monks and of nuns, joined in one institution to share one church and other facilities. The practice is believed to have started in the East a ...

, with contingents of both nuns and monks, to be ruled over by an abbess. The Order established their first house at Vadstena Abbey in Sweden, followed by another 50 houses in Scandinavia, including two in Denmark, one at Mariager and the other at Maribo Abbey. Bridgettine abbeys were double monasteries, with both monks and nuns; but the nuns were the focus of the abbey's life. Each abbey was to have 60 nuns ruled by a prioress. Some two dozen monks lived in a separate part of the monastery and provided spiritual services as

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in p ...

to both the monastic community and to pilgrims. Lay brothers also were a part of the men's contingent in the abbey so as to help with the daily work that needed to be done. The abbey and church were divided so that the nuns and monks never actually saw one another

/ref> the last monastic order to reach Denmark before the Reformation in Denmark, Reformation, on land acquired in the late 1420s from the dissolved Randers Abbey. Tradition has it that the abbey was founded by several noble families in Eastern Jutland. Sources disagree on whether the abbey was founded from

Maribo Abbey Maribo Abbey, established in 1416, was the first Bridgettine monastery in Denmark and became one of the most important Danish abbeys of the late Middle Ages. It was located in the present town of Maribo on the island of Lolland ( Region Sjælland ...

or from the Bridgettine mother house, Vadstena Abbey in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Papal permission for a double abbey was granted in 1446. Funds were short however and the abbey was still uncompleted in 1468 when King Christian I wrote to the pope asking for help in completing it. Christian I contributed himself by giving the Order the right of harbourage over the landing place next to Hobro Vig in 1449. Subsequent kings of Denmark -

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, Christian I and Frederick I - all provided additional income through grants of rent rights over the next few decades. Further income came from noble families who followed the royal lead by giving farms and income properties to the abbey. At its high point the abbey owned farms, businesses, parts of towns and income from churches.

Development

The abbey church rapidly became a pilgrimage site where people could come to receive absolution. It has been suggested that the source of this fame was because of relics deposited for the "veneration of the faithful", perhaps something connected to Saint Bridget but to date no specific evidence of this has been located. The name "Mariager" ("Maria's Field") was first used in 1446 when the pope officially recognized the establishment of the abbey. Nobles, merchants, and wealthy farmers began buying burial sites or building chapels, so they could be buried on the grounds. The monastery received properties and donations from people for services. The town of

Mariager Mariager is a town in Denmark with a population of 2,506 (1 January 2022).Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

abbey church was completed about 1480 and was one of the largest churches in Denmark. It was 75 m long, 32 m wide and 25m high in the nave. The two side aisles were 15 m high. It was unusual because it had two choirs, the larger on the east for the nuns on a gallery high up between the pillars on the second and the third span, and a smaller on the west for the monks on the ground floor.

Dissolution

The Bridgettines were the last monastic order to appear in Denmark. Consequently, Mariager Abbey existed for just over a hundred years before the majority of Danes rejected the institutions and customs of their long Catholic past. During the Reformation in Denmark, Reformation Mariager Abbey became crown property, in 1536, but was allowed to continue to operate until 1588, part of the time as a home for unmarried noble women. The church became a Lutheran parish church. The estates were sold or given away by the crown and the buildings fell into disrepair. In 1721-1722 and 1724 most of the dilapidated abbey buildings were demolished and the materials used for repairing homes and farm buildings. The north range was converted into a residence for the parish bailiff and then restored in the 1891. The influence of the town of Mariager was greatly reduced, and at one time only 400 people lived there. In 1788 the former abbey church was partially demolished and the current building was constructed around the west choir. The resulting church was about one quarter of the size of the medieval church. The current church serves as a partial reminder of the magnificent buildings that once stood on the hill above the fjord.

References

Sources

Mariagerkirke website: Mariager Kloster

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