The bishop’s grave in St. Alban Church in Odense, Denmark. recordingarchaeology on Feb 6, 2017 When King Saint Canute was killed in 1086 in the church of St Alban’s in Odense it “…was at that time …More
The bishop’s grave in St. Alban Church in Odense, Denmark.
recordingarchaeology on Feb 6, 2017 When King Saint Canute was killed in 1086 in the church of St Alban’s in Odense it “…was at that time the bishop’s church…” (”… tunc temporis sedes erat episcopalis…”). This reference by an unknown author in a commemorative text of King Canute the Holy indicates that St Alban’s church functioned as a bishop’s cathedral until 1095, when the king’s body and St Alban’s relics were transferred 75 metres to the newly built St Canute’s church. In the fall of 2015 Odense City Museums excavated a hitherto unknown bishop’s grave in St Alban’s, supporting the designation of St. Alban’s as a cathedral in 11th century. This is the period of the foundation of the Danish Church, and a number of questions emerge when analyzing the bishop as well as the grave and its context. The paper will primarily address two questions: What are the origins of the bishop in the grave and with which archbishopric and/or kingdom is he most likely associated? In the beginning of the 11th century, the Danish Church had close relations to Canterbury and thus to the Anglo-Saxon Church. In the middle of the 11th century, ties were close to the German Church, and Danish bishops were appointed by the archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen. Attempts to answer these questions are based on traditional archaeological methods as well as DNA and strontium analyses. Additionally an attempt will be made to explain why the bishop was not moved into the new cathedral together with St Alban’s relics and Canute the Holy in 1095, or in connection with, for example, Canute’s canonization and translation only five years later in the year 1100.
Author - PhD Hansen, Jesper, Odense City Museums, Odense C, Denmark (Presenting author)
recordingarchaeology on Feb 6, 2017 When King Saint Canute was killed in 1086 in the church of St Alban’s in Odense it “…was at that time the bishop’s church…” (”… tunc temporis sedes erat episcopalis…”). This reference by an unknown author in a commemorative text of King Canute the Holy indicates that St Alban’s church functioned as a bishop’s cathedral until 1095, when the king’s body and St Alban’s relics were transferred 75 metres to the newly built St Canute’s church. In the fall of 2015 Odense City Museums excavated a hitherto unknown bishop’s grave in St Alban’s, supporting the designation of St. Alban’s as a cathedral in 11th century. This is the period of the foundation of the Danish Church, and a number of questions emerge when analyzing the bishop as well as the grave and its context. The paper will primarily address two questions: What are the origins of the bishop in the grave and with which archbishopric and/or kingdom is he most likely associated? In the beginning of the 11th century, the Danish Church had close relations to Canterbury and thus to the Anglo-Saxon Church. In the middle of the 11th century, ties were close to the German Church, and Danish bishops were appointed by the archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen. Attempts to answer these questions are based on traditional archaeological methods as well as DNA and strontium analyses. Additionally an attempt will be made to explain why the bishop was not moved into the new cathedral together with St Alban’s relics and Canute the Holy in 1095, or in connection with, for example, Canute’s canonization and translation only five years later in the year 1100.
Author - PhD Hansen, Jesper, Odense City Museums, Odense C, Denmark (Presenting author)