Skänninge Abbey, also known as St. Ingrid's Priory, St. Martin's Priory or Skänninge Nunnery, 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 ...

convent for females of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

Skänninge Skänninge () is a locality situated in Mjölby Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 3,140 inhabitants in 2010. It lies about 10 km north of the municipal seat Mjölby. Before the local government reform in 1971 the ''City of Skä ...

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 ...

, in operation from 1272 until 1544. It was founded by

Saint Ingrid of Skänninge Saint Ingrid of Skänninge (died in Skänninge, 9 September 1282) was a Swedish abbess venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. She founded Skänninge Abbey, a nunnery belonging to the Dominicans, in 1272. Her feast day is on September ...

, and the center of her cult, and as such, it was often referred to as St. Ingrid's Priory. Located near the church dedicated to

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...

, it was originally named St. Martin's Priory, though this name was rarely used in practice. The common name for it was Skänninge Abbey, but as there was also a convent for male members of the Dominican Order in Skänninge, it was often called Skänninge Nunnery to separate it from the male monastery.

History

The monastery was founded by

, after her return from her pilgrimages in Europe. Having been widowed, she founded a convent and became its first abbess. Though founded in 1272, it was not formerly inaugurated before 12 August 1281, and it was given its privilege by Magnus III of Sweden in 1282. Coming from the elite of the Swedish nobility, Ingrid and her family was able to donate large estates to the establishment. The convent was built around a church dedicated to Saint Martin, which became its chapel, and was therefore formerly named St. Martin's Priory, though in reality, this name was not often used. On 2 September 1282, its abbess, Saint Ingrid, died, and her convent became the center of her cult and the target for pilgrimages, which made the name St. Ingrid's Priory much more common. The cult of Saint Ingrid benefited the convent and made it rich, and it was a successful rival to the male monastery of the same order in the city. In 1353, Magnus IV of Sweden donated Bjälbo to the convent. It was fashionable among wealthy people to be buried in the graveyard of the convent, and large donations were made to it in connection with the burials. Bridget of Sweden placed her daughter

Cecilia Ulvsdotter Cecilia Ulvsdotter (d. 12 March 1399), was a Swedish noblewoman. She was born as the youngest child of Bridget of Sweden and Ulf Gudmarsson. In the legend of Bridget, she was born with the assistance of the Virgin Mary. Because of this, her moth ...

in the convent in the 14th century. In 1505, the very wealthy Dominican nunnery of St. John's Priory, Kalmar, moved its members to the convent and transferred all its property and privileges to it. The city of Skänninge also benefited from the cult. In 1507, the Translation (relic) of Saint Ingrid was performed in the convent with great celebration in the city.

Dissolution

By the

Swedish Reformation The Reformation in Sweden is generally regarded as having begun in 1527 during the reign of King Gustav I of Sweden, but the process was slow and did not end definitively until the Uppsala Synod of 1593 and the following War against Sigismund, with ...

of 1527, Catholic convents were confiscated by the crown in accordance with the

Reduction of Gustav I of Sweden The Reduction of Gustav I of Sweden, was an important reform during the Protestant Swedish Reformation, in which king Gustav I of Sweden ordered a reduction in church property and the return of land to the crown, making the national church dependent ...

and banned from accepting new novices, although the existing members were allowed either to leave their convents or to remain, supported by a royal allowance. In 1531, the king demanded that the nuns move to Vadstena Abbey, but they refused. In 1544, however, the nuns from Skänninge, as the nuns from Askeby Abbey had been in 1529, were forcibly moved to Vreta Abbey. The remains of the abbey were excavated in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.

Abbesses

The abbesses are only partially known. *

(1281-1282) * Katarina (1323) * Alleidis (1348) * Iliana (1357-1377) * Humborgh (1380) * Ärmegard, Ermegard or Ermegerdh (1383-1397) * Ermegard (1412) * Margit Finvidsdotter (1430) * Ragnild Felagsdotter (1435) * Petronilla Petersdotter (1448) * Birgitta Petersdotter (1491)

References

* Hanna Menander "S:ta Ingrid", i Tom Carlsson (red) ''ÖstgötaPlatser. En resa genom tid och rum'', Riksantikvarieämbetet 2003 *''Skänninge stads historia'', Skänninge 1970 *''Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon'' del 13 Stockholm 1950 (sid 407ff) *''Äldre svenska frälsesläkter'' del 1:1 * Frans Oscar Vågman: Vreta Kloster. Historik jämte vägledning vid besök i Vreta klosters kyrka och dess omgifning. Stockholm, P. A. Norstedt & Söners Förlag (1904) * http://wadbring.com/historia/sidor/skeninge.htm * http://sok.riksarkivet.se/?Sokord=priorinna&EndastDigitaliserat=false&AvanceradSok=False&FacettFilter=register_facet%24Brev%3A%7Cregister_facet%24Brev%2FSDHK+(medeltidsbrev)%3A&FacettState=xXo49g%3Ao%7CAXROIQ%3Ac%7C&page=1&f=True * https://web.archive.org/web/20140109022637/http://www.sofi.se/images/smp/pdf/holmborgh.pdf {{Catholic Church in Sweden Dominican convents 1272 establishments in Europe 13th-century establishments in Sweden Christian monasteries established in the 13th century 1544 disestablishments in Europe Medieval Sweden Monasteries dissolved under the Swedish Reformation 16th-century disestablishments in Sweden