Cross and Scepter by Sverre Bagge

dioceses as early as 948, the Danish diocesan organization with eight dioceses in practice dates from around 1060. Regular dioceses were established in Norway in the late eleventh century, but the organization was not fully developed until the mid-twelfth century, when there were five dioceses. In addition, six dioceses on the Atlantic isles belonged to the Church province of Nidaros. In Sweden, the first diocese, that of Skara, was founded in 1015. The country was later divided into seven. In 1104, Scandinavia became an independent church province with its archbishop’s see at Lund in Denmark (now in Sweden).
    The province was further divided in 1152/53, when Norway got its own archbishop in Nidaros, and in 1164 with the establishment of a Swedish archbishopric, centered in Uppsala. Cathedral chapters developed in the three kingdoms around the time of the foundation of the church provinces, but not in Iceland or in some of the smaller dioceses on the Atlantic isles. Beginning in the twelfth and above all in the thirteenth century, diocesan organization was further elaborated, with a growing array of provosts, archdeacons, and other officials engaged in administrative and judicial duties. There were, however, considerable differences between dioceses, commensurate with their relative wealth and size. The first Benedictine monasteries were founded in Denmark in the late eleventh century and in Norway in the early twelfth. The earliest monasteries in Sweden were the Cistercian foundations of Alvastra and Nydala, both dating from 1143. At the same time, Cistercian monasteries were founded in the other countries as well. The clerical orders that became popular in the rest of Europe during the twelfth century, the Augustinians and Premonstratensians, were also introduced to Scandinavia around this time. The mendicants arrived relatively early. The first Dominicans settled in Lund in Denmark under the patronage of Archbishop Anders Sunesen in 1223 and established their Scandinavian province (Dacia) in 1228. The Franciscans came from Germany to Denmark in 1232 and established their province of Dacia in 1239. Twenty of their thirty-one Scandinavian houses were established before 1250.
    Figure 4. Lund Cathedral (Denmark), now in Sweden. Built in a German-influenced Romanesque style. The cathedral was consecrated in 1145 and dedicated to St Lawrence. It was restored 1860–80. Photo: Anton Holmquist. Wikimedia Commons.
    Parish organization took shape gradually. In Denmark, a period of intense church building began in the eleventh century, mostly under the direction of kings and magnates, and eventually resulted in the division of the country into parishes. The introduction of the tithe from around 1100 was an important factor in this development. In Norway, an organization of churches for large districts is found in the provincial laws from the late eleventh or early twelfth century on, but it is doubtful to what extent this represented actual organization. In any case, the parish organization we meet in the thirteenth century and later is largely based on the numerous churches built by local magnates who wanted to have a church in the vicinity of their estates. As in Denmark, the introduction of the tithe is regarded as an important factor in the development of parish organization. According to the sagas, the tithe was introduced by King Sigurd in the 1120s, but it most likely did not become a regular contribution until the second half of the century. A large number of churches seem to have been built over a short period, although somewhat later than in Denmark, in the late twelfth and early thirteenth century. Swedish parish organization developed in a similar way as in the neighboring countries, but at a somewhat later date.
    The development of the Scandinavian churches from modest beginnings to wealthy and powerful institutions can to some extent be traced in the sources. A paragraph in the Norwegian Law of Gulating, probably