Rein Abbey ( no, Rein kloster) 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 let ...

religious house for women located in Rissa on the

Fosen Fosen is a traditional district in Trøndelag, consisting of the municipalities Osen, Roan Åfjord, Ørland, Indre Fosen, Orkland, Heim, Hitra and Frøya. The district is dominated by forested valleys, lakes, coastal cliffs but also shallow ar ...

peninsula to the northwest of

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

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 Denma ...

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 the ...

History

Rein Abbey was founded in or shortly after 1226. It was built on a prominent elevation in an otherwise flat landscape on the ancestral estate of Duke

Skule Bårdsson Skule Bårdsson or Duke Skule ( Norwegian: Hertug Skule) (Old Norse: Skúli Bárðarson) ( – 24 May 1240) was a Norwegian nobleman and claimant to the royal throne against his son-in-law, King Haakon Haakonsson. Henrik Ibsen's play '' Kongs ...

, possibly in fulfilment of a vow after his recovery from an illness. It was dedicated to Saint Andrew. The first abbess was Duke Skule's half-sister, Sigrid Bårdsdatter. His daughter, Queen Margret of Norway, wife of King

Håkon Håkonsson Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; Old Norse: ''Hákon Hákonarson'' ; Norwegian: ''Håkon Håkonsson''), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 y ...

, spent her last years there. Many other women of the aristocracy also entered it. In the trilogy ''

Kristin Lavransdatter ''Kristin Lavransdatter'' is a trilogy of historical novels written by Nobel Prize, Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset. The individual novels are ''Kransen'' (''The Wreath''), first published in 1920, ''Husfrue'' (''The Wife''), published in 1921, and ...

'' written by Nobel laureate

Sigrid Undset Sigrid Undset () (20 May 1882 – 10 June 1949) was a Norwegian- Danish novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928. Undset was born in Kalundborg, Denmark, but her family moved to Norway when she was two years old. In 1924 ...

, the eponymous heroine spends her final years in Rein Abbey. There is no definite information on what order it belonged to, but it may well have followed the Rule of St. Augustine. It seems to have been a collegiate foundation, or community of secular canonesses, for noblewomen. The buildings were struck by lightning and burnt down in 1317, but quickly repaired. During the

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 ...

, the abbey was dissolved and its assets taken over by the Crown. In 1531 the powerful and wealthy Ingerd Ottesdatter Rømer, otherwise Ingrid til

Austrått Austrått or Austrått Manor ( no, Austråttborgen) is a manor in Ørland municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. Since the 10th century, Austrått has been the residence for many noblemen, noblewomen, and officials who played a significant rol ...

, a leader of the Norwegian aristocracy, had herself elected administrator of the abbey. She was thus able to protect the remaining members of the community, as well as acquiring the abbey's estates, which continued in the possession of her descendants. Since 1704, the estate has been associated with the family of Trondheim merchant, Henrik Hornemann (1644-1716).

Abbey ruins

Some remains of the abbey structures are still to be seen among later buildings. The site has only once been investigated archaeologically, in 1861. The former abbey is protected by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage (''Riksantikvaren'').

References

External links

Norges klostre i middelalderen: Rein kloster

Reinskloster website
{{Coord, 63, 33, 40, N, 9, 56, 00, E, display=title, type:landmark 16th-century disestablishments in Norway Buildings and structures owned by the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments Christian monasteries established in the 13th century History of Trøndelag Monasteries dissolved under the Norwegian Reformation Nunneries in Norway Religious organizations established in the 1220s Ruins in Norway