Olav Engelbrektsson

Olav Engelbrektsson (, Trondenes, Norway – 7 February 1538, Lier, Duchy of Brabant, Habsburg Netherlands) was the 28th Archbishop of Norway from 1523 to 1537, the Regent of Norway from 1533 to 1537, a member and later president of the Riksråd (Council of the Realm), and a member of the Norwegian nobility. He was the last Roman Catholic to be the Archbishop of Norway before he fled to exile in 1537.

After his death, Olav Engelbrektsson was given a "bad reputation as an untrustworthy and scheming prelate" by the Protestant historians. His reputation did not improve after 1814, when Norway made its declaration of independence from Denmark, because he was still blamed for promoting the Catholic Church at the expense of Norwegian independence. But the later historians—Absalon Taranger in 1917, Sverre Steen in 1935 and Lars Hamre in 1998—have rehabilitated most of his reputation with detailed studies and labeled most of the accusations as unfair.

Background Olav Engelbrektsson is believed to have been born at Trondenes near Harstad in Troms around 1480 as the son of Engelbrekt Gunnarsson and Jorunn. Engelbrekt Gunnarson was a (a leader of farmers) and (a large landowner) in Romerike in Eastern Norway around 1447. He kept getting in arguments and fights with the Danish bailiff Lasse Skjold and eventually killed him. Researchers believe that that is why Engelbrekt and Jorunn moved to Trondenes, where his son Aslak was already living because, at that time, Aslak was the wealthiest man between Bergen and Senja. Young Olav was raised in a home that was always opposing the Danish overseers, and that might have been one of the several influences of his attitude towards the Danes in his years as the archbishop.

Trondenes church. Trondenes was an important parish in North Norway long before the arrival of Olav Engelbrektsson's family. Olav Engelbrektsson was from an old landowning family in Romerike, and it is often claimed that he and his family belonged to the gentry. King Christian I of Denmark was supposed to have ennobled Engelbrekt Gunnarson and his descendants sometime before 1480 but, in 1961, cand. philol. Trygve Lysaker wrote that the documentation did not exist to such a claim. Nevertheless, the family had a coat of arms—a blue shield showing a red rose surrounded by three lilies.

Five of Olav's relatives belonged to the clergy. Two of them were his paternal uncles Sakse Gunnarsson and Gunnar Gunnarson. Gunnar was a canon in Oslo, a profession that even some of his own sons chose. It is known that Olav and four of these relatives studied at foreign universities. His uncle Sakse was the one who gave Olav clerical education.

There is a prevailing theory among the Norwegian genealogists that Olav Engelbrektsson was not the first member of his family to be the Archbishop of Nidaros. But, throughout his life, the records were more concerned with the church, the politics and the wars than with the families. So there may not be enough evidence to prove that Olav was the grandnephew of the 25th Archbishop Olav Trondsson, the nephew of the 26th Archbishop Gaute Ivarsson and the uncle of his own successor, Torbjørn Olavssøn Bratt, the first Lutheran "superintendent" of Trondheim. He did help with the education and careers of Torbjørn and his brother, Jens Olavssøn Bratt, but their biographies at Norsk Biografisk Leksikon do not name him as their uncle. It is the same with the possibility that Olav's mother might be the daughter of Ivar Trondsson from the Aspa family in Frei in Nordmøre. which at that time had between 400 and 500 students. He was already ordained as a priest but he wanted to continue his studies. He eventually took examinations to earn several more degrees at the university—a baccalaureus in 1505 and a Magister's degree in 1507. At the university, theology was being taught by conservatives from the Catholic Church but the city of Rostock was once the center of North German humanism. There were several reformists who came to the university as guest speakers over the years but, when Olav was a student there, the regular teaching was left to the conservatives because the department of theology was led by a deputy commissioner of the business of papal indulgences of the city.

Olav Engelbrektsson was responsible for the production of the sermons in the Nidaros Cathedral and probably sat on the editorial staff of the book for the Mass at the cathedral, the (Latin, Missal of Nidaros), the first book printed in the Norwegian language. Along with the cantor Peter Sigurdsson, Archbishop Walkendorf had the missal printed in Copenhagen in 1519. According to the church historian Oluf Kolsrud, it is "with his careful treatment of the Latin text, the excellent proof of Olav's learning" . A few years later, another book of liturgy was also published for Nidaros with the title of the (Latin, "Breviary of Niadros"). Olav was on good terms with Walkendorf and became his representative, i.e., the head of the ecclesiastical proceedings within the Archdiocese. It also appears that he was also the Archbishop's economist and accountant.

When Walkendorf fled from the tyranny of King Christian II in 1521, the authority of the Archdiocese went to the Cathedral Chapter, whose chairman was Olav Engelbrektsson. Account books, the (a register of properties, circa 1533) and extensive building activities suggests that Olaf was a "talented and versatile administrator" according to historian Øystein Rian. Engelbrektsson's statements about his homeland showed his deep sense of nationalism and his distrust of the Danish officials who had been oppressing his homeland. First and foremost, Norway was to be an equal partner with Denmark in their union, with its administration to be done by its own National Council and the same Council was to have the say and consent in the matters of national taxation and foreign policies. Moreover, the laws and church of Norway were to be respected and all the documents of the Norwegian archives were to be returned to Norway, and the king was to help in regaining all the lands Norway had lost under the previous Kings. There were also many conditions that strengthened the power and privileges of the local nobility and clergy. It is not clear who was the main mover behind the politics during the meeting—Vincens Lunge or Olav Engelbrektsson. Lunge and Henrik Krummedike had originally been sent to Norway as its (Lord High Stewards). The Archbishop wanted Christian II, the King's nephew, to return as the King of Norway.

The struggles of the archbishop

For the next twelve years until 1536, Olav Engelbrektsson was virtually the leader of Norway, serving as the defender of the Catholic faith against the hordes of the Reformation, while his cousin, Admiral Kristoffer Trondson handled the military defenses for him. As the Archbishop, Olav built the Steinvikholm Castle outside Trondheim.

But the Catholic Church was not the only concern of the Archbishop. He also constantly tried to break Norway away from the bonds that bound her to Denmark but he constantly failed. His failures paved the way for the submission of Norway to the Danish crown, marking the end of both Norwegian independence and Catholicism.

The feud with Vincens Lunge The impetuosity and recklessness in the implementation of the policy in Bergen after the election, is most often been attributed to Vincens Lunge. From 1524 to 1525 he pushed partly to have Henrik Krummedike deprived of all his Norwegian len, and partly to give the Akershus Castle to Oluf Galle, both in defiance of the wishes of the King. In Denmark, Lunge was believed to be the man behind the more aggressive policies, while the archbishop was seen as more deliberate. by ordering the looting of Austrått and seizing the control of its associated properties, while Lady Inger fled to Bergen. Engelbrektsson had been promised support from Christian II's brother-in-law, Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, but the support did not materialize. The Archbishop was forced to make a new oath of allegiance to Frederick I, pay the compensation and make peace with Vincens Lunge and Lady Inger.

The 1533 accession of the new King of Denmark, Christian III, escalated the political situation; here was a king who was serious not only about bringing Norway into the Kingdom of Denmark but also bringing the Protestant Reformation to Norway. For Engelbrektsson as the representative of the Holy See in Norway, the news were naturally not welcome. As his response, he tried to formalize Norwegian sovereignty and independence at a meeting of the Norwegian Privy Council at Bud but failed.

The murder of Vincens Lunge Tensions rose in 1536, when the Danish Privy Council declared Norway to be the province of the Kingdom of Denmark. Vincens Lunge was sent back to Norway as the (Lord High Steward) to enforce the annexation. The response was not friendly; he was murdered by followers of Olav. The actual murder of Lunge was said to have taken place at the hands of Engelbrektsson's cousin, Admiral Kristoffer Trondson, A week later, on Easter Sunday, 1 April 1537, the Archbishop left Nidaros with 60 followers. He took the archives of the archdiocese, including the , with him. but he left behind St. Olav's shrine and other valuables. However, he was saddled (possibly unfairly) with the reputation of having looted the Nidaros Cathedral.

Legacy

A Midnight Opera

The drama of the Olav Engelbrektsson saga, including the violent murder of Niels Lykke, is reenacted in a modern opera in Trondheim. The murder of Nils Lykke is dramatized with a song. Created in 1993, the opera has been ongoing since 2009; it is held biannually on the premises of the Steinvikholm Castle in the evenings during the summer. But it is held only every two years to protect the condition of the grounds of the ancient castle. The opera was originally funded with grants from the Norwegian Ministry of Culture.

Vodka in Norway

Engelbrektsson introduced vodka to Norway as a universal remedy and drink. In 1531, he was given a package, with the letter dated 13 April 1531, from Eske Bille, then the at the Bergenhus Fortress. Bille wrote in his letter that the package contained "some water . . . which is called Aqua vite and helps the same water for all his illness that a man can have internally and externally" . At that time, (Latin, "water of life") was the common name of vodka. The letter is the earliest known mention of either vodka or akvavit in Scandinavia. The supplied alcohol probably came from Denmark, where it was already quite popular. Perhaps at that time Engelbrektsson began to produce vodka in Nidaros.