St Eystein

Continuing the Scandinavian theme today is the feast of, amongst others, St Eystein of Nidaros (d. 1188). Eystein (also spelled Øystein; latinized as Augustinus) Erlendsson, was a member of a well connected noble family in Norway, and was perhaps educated in Paris and had been chaplain and steward to King Inge Krokrygg before the latter appointed him Archbishop of Nidaros (today's Trondheim) in 1158 or 1159, an action confirmed by Pope Alexander III in 1161 when Eystein was in Rome. Eystein promoted the adoption of canonical life by Norwegian parish priests, officiated at Norway's first royal coronation (that of Magnus Erlingsson, a minor), and fostered the cult of King St. Olaf (buried in Eystein's cathedral), whose liturgical Office he wrote and whose Miracula he expanded. During the years 1181-83, when King Magnus had been dislodged from his throne in a civil war, Eystein was an exile in England. Trondheim has remained the site for Norwegian coronations and inaugurations, and the items of the regalia are preserved there.

Miracles were reported early at Eystein's tomb and he was proclaimed a saint at a Norwegian synod in 1229. Attempts in the Middle Ages to have him canonized papally were unsuccessful. Eystein entered the Roman Martyrology in 2001 with the designation of Sanctus. The present seminary in Oslo is under his patronage

Apart from the Passio sancti Olavi (BHL 6233, 6323; part of Olav's Office), Eystein's chief monument today consists of the chapter house and the lower portions of the transepts of the since much added to and rebuilt Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim.

The porch of the north transept of Trondheim cathedral.
A view from 1885

Image: Wikimedia

This view of the cathedral from 1857 shows the north transept and, next to the choir, the chapter house (the latter with a neo-romanesque apse added in the nineteenth century) :

Image: John Dillon

The subsequent restoration and rebuilding work has transformed the building as can be seen in these illustrated online articles about Trondheim cathedral here and here and one about the west front can be seen here.

In the Victoria and Albert Museum there is a late fourteenth-century walrus ivory crozier head with traces of gilding which is of Norwegian origin and portrays King St. Olaf on one side and, on the other a bishop whom the V&A cautiously says "probably represents St Augustine" without further indicating whether the Augustine in question were he of Hippo or he of Nidaros. In view of his promotion of St Olaf's cult, Augustine / Eystein of Nidaros would be a good guess:

St Augustine/Eystein

St Olav

Images :Victoria and Albert Museum website

Quite apart from its indication of the cult of St Olav and St Eystein this crozier is also a reminder of the elegant sophistication of late medieval Norwegian art.

Adapted from John Dillon's post for today on the Medieval Religion discussion group

Norwegian Coronation 1906

Today is also the 105th anniversary of the coronation in Trondheim cathedral of King Haakon VII and Queen Maud as King and Queen of Norway in 1906. This followed from the dissolution of the union with Sweden in 1905 and the selection of Prince Carl of Denmark and his wife Princess Maud, daughter of King Edward VII as King and Queen. The new King assumed the name Haakon, the same name as the last independent King of Norway six centuries earlier.

King Haakon VII and Queen Maud following their Coronation in 1906.

There are some fine photographs of the Coronation - the first anywhere at which the ceremonies inside the cathedral were to be photographed - and of the ceremonies around it here, as well as articles about the history of the Norwegian coronation. There is a link to archive film here.

Here are two other photographs I found of the ceremonial inside the cathedral:

In this photograph the King is at the bottom left, and the Queen to the right. Her brother the Prince of Wales, the future King George V, can be clearly seen in the centre in front of the group of foreign representitives

Regrettably, very regrettably in my opinion, in 1908 the Norwegian parliament removed the clause from the Constitution making coronation at Trondheim mandatory.

The argument was that in a democratic age the rite of coronation marked the King out as having a superior authority. True - he does. In consequence the Coronation was no longer required, although not abolished. It perhaps an early example of Scandinavian secularism, rather like the decision in Sweden in 1907 not to have a coronation for King Gustav V on the grounds of expense. In Norway at the accession of King Olav V in 1957 he was able to arrange a service of Benediction at Trondheim, and I understand that that in 1991 was a more elaborate occasion. There is a good article about the history of the Norwegian coronation and the modern benediction rite here.

There is an article about the Norwegian regalia - which is kept at Trondheim, expressing the concept that the King holds the Kingdom from St Olav - here, and one about the King's crown, made for King Carl Johan, here.

The Crown of the King of Norway



The Crown of the Queen of Norway

The Crown of the Crown Prince of Norway