Exchanging Medieval Material Culture Studies on archaeology and ...

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Else Roesdahl
church, where the holy virgin Saint Geneviève was buried and
which had been built with royal support, had suff ered badly
and still suff ered from the consequences. Th e sad condition of
the walls is vividly described. Étienne wrote further that he
had acquired timber for the support of a lead roof and that the
church walls were now being externally renovated with welldressed
stones. However, as has been pointed out elsewhere4, it
was probably a gross exaggeration that the walls were in such
bad condition, because the church had had many rich benefactors
through the years and been in continual use. Th e abbot’s
real project was, rather, a Gothic modernisation of his church
with rib vaulting (voûtes d’ogives) – at this time fashionable in
churches in the Ile de France. Th e external support of the walls,
which is explicitly mentioned, may represent buttresses or, possibly,
an external skin of dressed stone.
Th e text of the seven letters varied in detail in accordance with
what was deemed suitable for each recipient and useful for the
project. Abbot Étienne knew some of the men very well, in particular
Archbishop Absalon, Peder Sunesen and Abbot William,
and naturally all the Danes knew each other extremely well5.
Absalon had studied in Paris, perhaps in Sainte-Geneviève
itself, when he was young. He returned to Denmark c. 1155 and
maintained regular contact with Étienne. At Absalon’s request
Étienne sent William (who was well-known to Absalon) to
Denmark in order to reform the Augustine monastery at
Eskilsø in Sjælland, which moved in c. 1175 to Æbelholt and
became a fl ourishing institution. Étienne had also been very
helpful to young Peder Sunesen, Absalon’s relative and protégé.
He had formally entered the monastery of Sainte-Geneviève
but as he did not thrive in Paris, it was arranged for him to
return to Denmark with an untainted reputation and formalities
in order to qualify him for later clerical preferment in his
home country. Absalon was not only asked for economic support
in providing lead for the roof, but also for practical help
in the acquisition of English lead, as he had experience of buying
lead for churches6.
Peder Sunesen was a son of one of Denmark’s most powerful
men and richest land-owners, Sune Ebbesen, who had died two
years earlier. Peder was also the brother of the King’s chancellor
Andreas, who succeeded Absalon as archbishop in 1201;
Peder himself succeeded Absalon as bishop of Roskilde in
1192. He had returned from Paris a few years before 1188 and
must have known the actual condition of the church of Sainte-
Geneviève. Abbot Étienne’s letter to him has a personal tone,
and Peder is informed about the building project, but is not
asked for economic support.
In 1188 William was well established as Abbot of Æbelholt7.
He had been a canon at Sainte-Geneviève but had had certain
4 Ibid., 174-177.
5 Individual biographies in Dansk Biografi sk
Leksikon; on general Danish history in this period,
see e.g. Skyum-Nielsen 1971.
problems there before he went north to Denmark. He was in
regular contact with Étienne and sent him, for example, a
splendid horse as a present. In the letter in question, William
is told of the building project and the letters appealing for
sponsorship. He is asked to help in whatever way he feels is
best, but is not specifi cally asked for money.
Knut Prizlavsen, however, is seriously targeted in support of
Étienne’s cause. Knut was the son of Knut Lavard’s daughter
Catherine and the Slav prince Prizlav and therefore a nephew
of king Valdemar the Great (died 1186) and related to king
Knut VI. In the letter it is spelled out that his brother,
Valdemar Prizlavsen, had entered Sainte-Geneviève and was
buried there. Th e destruction caused by their pagan ancestors
is also mentioned.
Th e letter to King Knut relates to this. With proper deference
to the king’s greatness, it is stressed that Valdemar Prizlavsen’s
rightful inheritance was never paid, neither to him, nor to the
monastery. Abbot Étienne therefore asked the king to infl uence
Valdemar’s brother Knut to support the lead-roof appeal
as some substitute for the missing inheritance. Th e abbot did
not ask the king himself for economic support – although he
reminded him of his pagan ancestors’ depredations.
Bishop Valdemar of Schleswig was directly asked for economic
support, with due reference to his exquisite personal qualities
and to his pagan ancestors’ part in the destruction of Sainte-
Geneviève. Valdemar was a son of Knut Magnussen (former
king of part of Denmark, killed in 1157) and a great-grandson
of king Niels of Denmark (killed in 1134). Like several other
men with a legitimate claim to the throne, Valdemar was
helped to an ecclesiastical career and had studied in Paris,
while continuing to have ambitions of secular power.
Th e last letter was to Bishop Omer of Ribe, who Étienne did
not know personally. He was not asked for money, but was
asked to assist Étienne’s messenger, the canon Gaufridus8. Th is
letter starts with a statement of friendship, which is interesting
in relation to all letters sent: “Th ere are four ways to create
either new friendships or to nourish old ones: conversation,
mutual assistance, frequent exchange of letters, and reports on
the possession of true virtues”.
Abbot Étienne, then, had sent concrete requests for economic
support to Absalon, Knut Prizlavsen and bishop Valdemar, as
well as a request to the king to put pressure on Knut, and to
Abbot William to work for the cause. Further, Peder Sunesen
was informed about the project, and bishop Omer was asked to
give advice and protection to Étienne’s messenger, who (probably
before arriving in Ribe) also visited Absalon, Knut
Prizlavsen, bishop Valdemar and the King.
6 On Absalon see also: Birkebæk et al. 1996;
Friis-Jensen & Skovgaard-Petersen 2000.
7 He was canonized in 1224.