, order =

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 ...

, established = 12th century , disestablished = 13th century , nodislink = , mother =

Tautra Abbey Tautra Abbey ( no, Tautra Mariakloster) was a monastery of Cistercians, Cistercian monks founded in the 13th century on the island of Tautra in the Trondheimsfjord in Norway. The island is part of the municipality of Frosta in Trøndelag county ...

, dedication = Saint Brettiva , diocese = , churches = , founder = , abbot = , prior = , people = , location =

Okkenhaug Okkenhaug is a village in the municipality of Levanger in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located just north of the Levangselva river, about east of the town of Levanger. Okkenhaug Church is located here and the historic ruins of the Munkeby ...

Levanger Levanger is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the district of Innherred. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Levanger. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Alstadhaug, Ekne, ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, map_type = Trøndelag , coordinates = , oscoor = , remains = Church foundation and walls , public_access = Yes , other_info = Munkeby Abbey ( no, Munkeby kloster) was a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

near the village of

in the municipality of

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 ...

county,

. It was located about east of the town of

. The name "Munkeby" in

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

means ''Place of the Monks''. It was closed 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 ...

. Today the former abbey is the sight of medieval ruins () which are managed by the

Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments ( no, Fortidsminneforeningen) is an organization focused on conservation preservation in Norway. The Society was founded in 1844. The founders were painters, historians, art historians ...

().

History

The

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

was founded sometime between 1150 and 1180, and was the most northerly Cistercian foundation in the world. Possibly, like

Hovedøya Abbey Hovedøya Abbey (''Hovedøya kloster'') was a medieval era Cistercian monastery on the island of Hovedøya in Oslofjord outside of Oslo, Norway. History The monastery was founded on 18 May 1147 by monks from Kirkstead Abbey in England on H ...

and

Lyse Abbey Lyse Abbey or Saint Mary's Abbey, Lyse ( no, Lyse kloster, Lyse Mariakloster) is a now-ruined Cistercian monastery in Bjørnafjorden Municipality in Vestland county in south-western Norway. The name "Lyse" is derived from Lysefjorden near w ...

, Munkeby's foundation was carried out by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s. In 1207,

was founded, and, either then or at some later point in the 13th century that the community and assets of Munkeby were transferred to the new foundation, of which Munkeby then became a

grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

. An attempt to re-establish it as an independent house in the 1470s failed. The church however continued in use as a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

church until 1587. It has sometimes been asserted that the church here was the same as that dedicated to the local Saint Brettiva in

Skogn Skogn is a village in Levanger municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The village is located on the eastern shore of the Trondheimsfjorden, about southwest of the town of Levanger. The European route E06 highway runs through the village, ...

, but this has not found general acceptance. Local tradition had always maintained that Okkenhaug Chapel had once belonged to a monastery; for centuries historians dismissed this, until in 1906 a letter dated 1475 from

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...

to Abbot Stephen of Trugge was discovered in the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

archives referring to the request for the restoration of the site as a functioning monastery. Munkeby Abbey (east elevation)

Norway accepted the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

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 ...

and officially became a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

in 1537. All

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 ...

religious houses were then seized and declared to be

Crown property The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different m ...

as was true of Munkeby.

Site

There are substantial remains of the simple church, built of stone, although it was used as a quarry, but the monastic buildings, built of wood, apparently succumbed to fire in 1567. The site was acquired by the

(''Fortidsminneforeningen'') in 1967. No full archaeological investigation of the site has been carried out, but many partial excavations have taken place, including test excavations in 2000, none of which able to discover significant remains of the monastic buildings, although there is no doubt that they were located on the south side of the church.

Munkeby Mariakloster

In 2007, the now-

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

Abbey of Cîteaux in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

decided to establish a new Cistercian monastery at Munkeby, the first new foundation directly from the very first house of the Order in 500 years. A monastery was built and four monks took residence there in 2009. The new monastery is situated about from the medieval ruins. They now form a companion community to the Trappistine nuns who have re-settled the site of the former Tautra Abbey. The name of the modern house is simply ''Munkeby Mariakloster''.

References

Sources

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External links