St. Clare's Priory in Copenhagen, Denmark, was a short-lived community of nuns of the

Order of Poor Clares The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare ( la, Ordo sanctae Clarae) – originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and later the Clarisses, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Second Order of Saint Francis ...

, which lasted from 1497 to 1536. The monastic buildings then came into use as a mint, which after its decommissioning became known as the Old Mint, giving rise to the present day street name Gammel Mønt at the site.

History

The Poor Clares first arrived in Denmark in 1249. An important monastery was established at Roskilde, the capital of Denmark at the time. In 1497 King

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and Queen Christina founded the monastery in Copenhagen with a gift of the former royal vegetable gardens, located in the north part of the city near the city wall, in an area known as Rosengård after an earlier estate. In 1498 the Queen made a donation of 40 Rhenish Guilders for construction of the monastery. It was completed and consecrated on 11 August 1505, the

Feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

of St. Clare, with great ceremony. The monastery consisted of a

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

, refectory, church,

infirmary Infirmary may refer to: *Historically, a hospital, especially a small hospital *A first aid room in a school, prison, or other institution *A dispensary (an office that dispenses medications) *A clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambu ...

, cellars and places for

lay sister Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choir, ...

s and a priest to stay.

Dissolution

The monastery prospered in the early years, but as the Protestant Reformation gained influence, the daily search for food and alms for the poor began to dry up. Many Danes felt that the mendicant orders, nicknamed the 'beggar monks and nuns' were an additional burden over and above the regular tithes and fees paid to sustain the church. In 1527 a priest formerly assigned to the monastery wrote to King Christian II, describing a chest which the abbess of the monastery had given him to distribute to the Poor Clares in Odense, who were suffering dire poverty. The abbess had asked him to convey the money in secret because she was afraid if the amount became known the Order would be held up to scorn and ridicule. He encouraged Christian II to return to Denmark to take in hand the care of the Poor Clares who had been his mother's 'particular and elect' daughters. The city fathers passed a law that forbade the nuns or their agents from collecting food or alms on the street which quickly impoverished the monastery. By January 1532 conditions had grown so bad that the 'nursing sisters' and the 'provisioner sisters' had abandoned the monastery. The Franciscan friars had been expelled from their

friary 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 ...

, leaving the nuns with virtually no way to sustain themselves spiritually or temporally. A few of the friars were permitted to gather alms for the Poor Clares, but they could not solicit alms any closer than 40 miles from the city. The transport of large quantities of food back to Copenhagen proved to be so difficult that they attempted to sell the provisions for money. The Grayfriars were by that time generally hated, and few would purchase anything from them. On 25 May 1535 the

Minister General Minister General is the term used for the leader or Superior General of the different branches of the Order of Friars Minor. It is a term exclusive to them, and comes directly from its founder, St. Francis of Assisi. He chose this word over "Super ...

of the Franciscan Order wrote to the abbess, informing her that either they would have to abandon the monastery, or they would have to violate their

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and accept cash money for their sustenance. Denmark officially became Lutheran in October 1536 with the adoption of the Smalcald Articles. All Catholic church property and buildings became

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 ...

. The monastery was closed and the nuns either went to other locations or left the Order. Much of the monastery was converted into shops and residences for the poor. The largest building began to be used as the

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...

in 1541. Several city fires, the worst in

1728 Events January–March * January 5 – The '' Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Gerónimo de la Habana'', the oldest university in Cuba, is founded in Havana. * January 9 – The coronation of Peter II as the Tsar of t ...

, destroyed the complex and no remnants exist of the monastery today.

References

Sources

* Nielsen, Dr. Oluf, 1877: ''Kjøbenhavn i Middelalderen''. Copenhagen: G. E. C. Gads Forlag; text available online a
Kjøbenhavn i Middelalderen
(kap. XVI: Klostre og Hospitaler) {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Clare's Priory, Copenhagen 1497 establishments in Europe 1490s establishments in Denmark Religious organizations established in the 1490s 15th-century establishments in Denmark Religious buildings and structures completed in 1505 1536 disestablishments in Denmark Copenhagen, Poor Clares Christian monasteries established in the 15th century Poor Clare monasteries in Denmark Roman Catholic churches in Copenhagen Monasteries dissolved under the Danish Reformation Buildings and structures demolished in the 17th century