from the first half of the twelfth century, states that priests should no longer be beaten when they have offended but should instead pay fines, which was the normal punishment for free men. The paragraph adds that they have now become respectable men to whom members of the local communities might marry their daughtersâclerical celibacy was still unknown at this date. In Denmark, some papal letters from the 1070s complained that priests were blamed for natural disasters and severely persecuted, which again points to their low status, although we do not know whether this refers to their customary treatment or only to some individual cases. Whereas priests and bishops were in the beginning often foreigners, these offices were gradually taken over by indigenous candidates from the twelfth century onwards. It is particularly significant that members of the high aristocracy became bishops, a sure sign that the office had become a prestigious one, that the Church had become wealthy, and that its most prominent servants played a powerful role in society. Ecclesiastical wealth also increased as the result of gifts from the king and the aristocracy, including the bishops themselves, who often gave a part of their fortunes to their churches.
Figure 5. The Dominican House in Ribe (Denmark). Fifteenth century. The building complex is almost completely preserved. The Dominicans normally settled in towns. They were active as preachers and confessors and were often well educated. Unknown photographer.
Figure 6. Two local churches of the Middle Ages. A. The tiny stave church in the mountain community of Uvdal (Norway). The construction of the church can be dated to 1168 through dendrochronology. It was extended in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Photo: Linn Marie Krogsrud. Middelaldernett. B. The monumental Ãja stone church on the wealthy island of Gotland (Sweden). Its oldest parts date from the early thirteenth century. Around a hundred stone churches of the Middle Ages are still preserved on the island, often referred to as âparish cathedrals.â Ãja is one of the largest, and in addition is richly decorated. Photo: Therese Foldvik. Middelaldernett.
Compared to the other new countries of Western Christendom, Poland, Hungary, and Bohemia, the organization of dioceses came late to Scandinavia; in the three eastern countries, they were introduced very soon after conversion. The greater emphasis placed on formal ecclesiastical organization by the German Church in contrast to the English was in part responsible, but a strong wish by the rulers of the converted countries to establish their equality to and independence of the strong German Empire was also a factor. The latter also explains why Poland and Hungary became independent church provinces already in the early eleventh century, whereas Bohemia, closer to Germany and more dependent on this country, had to wait until 1344. Scotland had to wait even longer; the Scottish church was under the Archbishop of York until 1472. The Scandinavian church provinces came earlier than this but later than those of Poland and Hungary. They might have been even further postponed were it not for the Investiture Contest and the conflicts that followed it between the pope and the emperor. The province of Lund was erected in 1103, when the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen sided with the emperor against the pope. Nidaros in 1152/53 came at a time when the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen tried to reasserthis superiority over the Scandinavian churches, and although there was at the time no open conflict between the emperor and the pope, the latter may have judged a division of the province of Lund to be a useful precaution. Finally, the Swedish province came during the papal schism, when the Danish king sided with the anti-pope Victor IV.
Although the medieval Church was far from a Weberian bureaucracy, its introduction to Scandinavia marked a decisive step in the direction of
Figure 5. The Dominican House in Ribe (Denmark). Fifteenth century. The building complex is almost completely preserved. The Dominicans normally settled in towns. They were active as preachers and confessors and were often well educated. Unknown photographer.
Figure 6. Two local churches of the Middle Ages. A. The tiny stave church in the mountain community of Uvdal (Norway). The construction of the church can be dated to 1168 through dendrochronology. It was extended in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Photo: Linn Marie Krogsrud. Middelaldernett. B. The monumental Ãja stone church on the wealthy island of Gotland (Sweden). Its oldest parts date from the early thirteenth century. Around a hundred stone churches of the Middle Ages are still preserved on the island, often referred to as âparish cathedrals.â Ãja is one of the largest, and in addition is richly decorated. Photo: Therese Foldvik. Middelaldernett.
Compared to the other new countries of Western Christendom, Poland, Hungary, and Bohemia, the organization of dioceses came late to Scandinavia; in the three eastern countries, they were introduced very soon after conversion. The greater emphasis placed on formal ecclesiastical organization by the German Church in contrast to the English was in part responsible, but a strong wish by the rulers of the converted countries to establish their equality to and independence of the strong German Empire was also a factor. The latter also explains why Poland and Hungary became independent church provinces already in the early eleventh century, whereas Bohemia, closer to Germany and more dependent on this country, had to wait until 1344. Scotland had to wait even longer; the Scottish church was under the Archbishop of York until 1472. The Scandinavian church provinces came earlier than this but later than those of Poland and Hungary. They might have been even further postponed were it not for the Investiture Contest and the conflicts that followed it between the pope and the emperor. The province of Lund was erected in 1103, when the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen sided with the emperor against the pope. Nidaros in 1152/53 came at a time when the Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen tried to reasserthis superiority over the Scandinavian churches, and although there was at the time no open conflict between the emperor and the pope, the latter may have judged a division of the province of Lund to be a useful precaution. Finally, the Swedish province came during the papal schism, when the Danish king sided with the anti-pope Victor IV.
Although the medieval Church was far from a Weberian bureaucracy, its introduction to Scandinavia marked a decisive step in the direction of
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