St. Catherine's Priory, Roskilde (''Roskilde Kloster'') was a Danish

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

of Dominican friars located in

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

. It was established in 1231 and dissolved during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. In 1699, the private house which replaced the Priory, became the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Roskilde Adelige

Jomfrukloster The term (; ) is derived from the verb (to donate) and originally meant 'a donation'. Such donations usually comprised earning assets, originally landed estates with serfs defraying dues (originally often in kind) or with vassal tenants of noble ...

(now known as Roskilde Kloster), a women's collegiate foundation. Roskilde was also the site of St. Agnes' Priory, Roskilde (''Skt. Agnete Kloster'') which was a separate convent for women of the Dominican Order. It was in operation from 1264 until was taken over by the crown and closed down at the time of the

Danish Reformation Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A Danish person, also called a "Dane", can be a national or citizen of Denmark (see Demographics of Denmark) * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, ...

St. Catherine's Priory

The Dominicans established St. Catherine's Priory in Roskilde (the ancient capital of Denmark and the seat of the most important Danish diocese, the

Diocese of Roskilde The Diocese of Roskilde () is a diocese within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark. The seat of the Bishop is Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde. History The Diocese of Roskilde was formed in 1922 when the Diocese of Zealand was divided into ...

, or Zealand) in 1231. Source material for the Dominican priory in Roskilde is sparse, but it is clear that Roskilde ranked second only to

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

among the Dominican houses of Scandinavia during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. On several occasions the head of the regional order, the prior provincial, was elected from Roskilde. Only a few of the friars are named. Friar Bo is named in a 1267 letter connected with the conflict between Archbishop

Jacob Erlandsen Jakob Erlandsen (died 18 February 1274) was a Danish Archbishop of Lund (1254–1274) and the central character of the first great church conflict in Denmark. History Belonging to a wealthy magnate family ( Galen clan) that was related to Archb ...

and King Valdemar. Friar Bo was excommunicated for violating the decree of

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits certain persons or groups from participating in particular rites, or that the rites and services of the church are prohibited in certain territories for ...

laid down by the archbishop. Prior Petrus Brackæ gave all his worldly possessions to

Sorø Abbey Sorø Abbey was the preeminent and wealthiest monastic house in all of Denmark during the Middle Ages. It was located in the town of Sorø in central Zealand. After Denmark became Lutheran in 1536, the abbey was confiscated by the Crown. The ...

in 1312 and then became a Dominican at Roskilde. Perhaps the most notable Dominican friar of Roskilde was Johan Nyborg who was made Bishop of the See of Roskilde in 1330. The greatest patron of the Dominican friars of Roskilde was the immensely powerful Dowager Duchess Ingeborg (1301-c.1360), mother of King Magnus IV of Sweden and VII of Norway, who made them frequent gifts from at least 1330 onwards and also remembered them in her will. The main work of the friars was to preach and teach, so it has been supposed that a school of some sort formed part of the duties of the priory at Roskilde, perhaps in conjunction with the town's cathedral school. The Black Friars, as they were known, were a

mendicant order Mendicant orders are primarily certain Catholic religious orders that have vowed for their male members a lifestyle of poverty, traveling, and living in urban areas for purposes of preaching, evangelization, and ministry, especially to less we ...

, which means that they relied on donations to keep food on the table, candles burning, and the work of the friars. The Roskilde friars forged over time a close connection with the cathedral chapter in the city, which to an extent insulated them from the ebb and flow of events in Denmark's turbulent Middle Ages. After St. Agnes' priory for Dominican nuns was built, the friars also became responsible for the priestly functions required there. Few details are known of the priory buildings, which were sited a little to the north of the modern ''Roskilde Kloster'', but they consisted of a brick church consecrated to Saint Catherine in 1254, dormitory,

scriptorium A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and illuminating of manuscripts by scribes. The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for scribes. Often they ...

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...

and a garden, which included an apple orchard. To the north of the buildings the friars owned a spring and by 1329 dams had been constructed to build at least one mill. The priory also owned at least one farm outside Roskilde, at

Slagelse Slagelse () is a town on Zealand (Denmark), Zealand, Denmark. The town is the seat of Slagelse Municipality, and is the biggest town of the municipality. It is located 15 km east of Korsør, 16 km north-east of Skælskør, 33 km south-east of Ka ...

Dissolution

The

brought the St. Catherine's Priory at Roskilde to an end. In 1532 the friary sold the farm at Slagelse because of the community's great need. In 1536 Denmark became officially

, rejecting all

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

institutions and most traditions.

Christian III Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established ...

, who with many Danes opposed the constant appeal for funds by the mendicant orders, commanded the closure of the priory in 1537 and the Dominican friars were turned out. Many simply put off their habits and became residents of Roskilde. Others fled Denmark south to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the search for new religious houses where they could live their lives without interference. The friary including the church was demolished in 1557 by the town of Roskilde on direct orders from the king. The site lay vacant until 1565 when a house was built on the site by local nobleman Mogens Godske, which he called "Black Brothers Farm" (''Sortebrødregård'') after the Dominicans who had occupied the site for hundreds of years. The nunnery, which had become crown property, was levelled in 1579, and the brick taken away with royal permission.

Roskilde Adelige Jomfrukloster

Godske's mansion house was enlarged several times and in 1699 was made into a Lutheran collegiate foundation for unmarried noblewomen, the ''Roskilde Adelige Jomfrukloster'', upon the initiative of nobleman

Berte Skeel Berte Skeel (26 March 1644 – 5 July 1720) was a Danish noble, philanthropist and estate owner. She was the owner of Selsø Manor and co-founder of the ''Roskilde Adelige Jomfrukloster'' at Roskilde Kloster. Early life and marriage Berte Skee ...

, owner of

Selsø Selsø (''Selsø Slot'') is a historic manor house located near Skibby, on the Hornsherred peninsula, Frederikssund Municipality, some west of Copenhagen, Denmark. The estate traces its history back to the 13th century. The current main building ...

(''Selsø Slot''). It was amalgamated in 1974 with an equivalent institution in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

, the ''Odense Adelige Jomfrukloster'', founded in 1716 by Karen Brahe, and is now known simply as ''Roskilde Kloster''.

References

External links

Old images
*
Dominican priory and nunnery, Roskilde

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roskilde, Saint Catherine's Priory Dominican monasteries in Denmark 1231 establishments in Europe Saint Catherine's Priory Dominican convents Lutheran women's convents Buildings and structures in Region Zealand History of Roskilde 13th-century establishments in Denmark Monasteries dissolved under the Danish Reformation