William of Æbelholt

William of Æbelholt (also known as Vilhelm of Æbelholt, William of Eskilsø and William of Paris) (d. Easter Sunday, 1203) was a French-born churchman of Denmark.

Early life William was born of a noble French family and educated by his uncle Hugh, forty-second abbot of Saint-Germain-des-Prés at Paris, and, having been ordained subdeacon, received a prebend in the church of Sainte-Geneviève-du-Mont. William reportedly sought entry into a stricter house (either a Cluniac or a Cistercian monastery) while still in his youth, though he decided to remain at Ste-Geneviève. According to the hagiographic sources, his exemplary life did not commend him to his fellow canons, who tried to rid themselves of his presence, and even prevented by slander his ordination to the diaconate by the Bishop of Paris. William obtained this order from the Bishop of Senlis by his uncle's intercession, and was soon afterwards presented by the canons to the little priory of Épinay.

In 1148, by order of Pope Eugene III, the secular canons of Ste-Geneviève were replaced by canons regular from the Parisian monastery of St. Victor, whose prior, Odo, was made abbot of Ste-Geneviève. William soon afterwards joined the new community and was made sub-prior. Denmark was an unwelcome destination for these French churchmen. Reiterating themes from the history of early-medieval Christian missions, William and his men were frightened by the culture and language of their new home, and the new abbot's original companions soon left him and returned to France, a permission denied to William.

Nevertheless, despite difficulties arising from poverty and opposition on the part of the community, he reformed the monastery

William also continued to serve as an intermediary between Denmark and France. He likely had a hand in arranging for Absalon's relative (who replaced Absalon as bishop in Roskilde in 1192) to study at Ste-Geneviève. Peder continued to enjoy a closer relationship with William after his return.

Nowhere was William's role as a conduit between Gallic and Danish society more apparent, however, than in the "Ingeborg Affair." Working apparently on behalf of King Knud VI of Denmark, and Absalon, William intervened in the case of Philip Augustus of France who was attempting to repudiate his wife Ingeborg (1175–1236), daughter of Valdemar I of Denmark. It was on this occasion that he composed a genealogy of the Danish kings, intended to disprove the alleged impediment of consanguinity between Ingeborg and Philip.

Death and canonization According to the Vita composed to support his candidacy for sainthood, William died on Easter Sunday 1202, though the actual year was 1203. Numerous miracles were reported at his grave, and in 1218 the Archbishop of Lund, Anders Sunesen, requested that Pope Honorius III appoint a local commission to investigate the claims for William's sanctity. Their report was presumably sent to Rome, where it languished for some time. Then, in January 1224, William was canonized by Honorius, who acted on additional information provided by Cardinal Gregorius de Crescentio, recently returned from a papal legation to Denmark. A new church was constructed at Æbelholt Abbey and William's remains were moved there in 1238. In time, relics of St. William were distributed to Roskilde Cathedral, Lund Cathedral, the Church of Our Lady (Vor Frue Kirke) and Greyfriars Church in Copenhagen, and Greyfriars Church in Roskilde.