Chronicle of The Expulsion of The Greyfriars - Chapter 1 Concerning The Friary in Flensborg

Chapter 1 Concerning The Friary in Flensborg

But in the year 1528 after the Saviour of the world's incarnation (on) the second day after Palm Sunday1, the above mentioned Mogens Gjø, and his priest by the name of Svend came to Flensborg (in order to), with the citizens help, drive our brethren out of that town's friary. He and a considerably large host of citizens trespassed into our friary and demanded the keys from the Guardian, Brother Stig Nielsen, who came from Skåne, from the town of Lund. He delivered the keys of the friary immediately to him (the priest, Svend). And he (Stig Nielsen) and the Vice-Guardian, Brother Andreas Hoffmand and another Vice-Guardian Brother Johannes Johansen who was from Flensborg, received each 4 guilder2 in travel money, which they accepted.

But thereafter came the turn of lay brother, Hans, who as the master of the cellars with responsibility for the common food stores. From him they demanded the keys, but he assured them that he could not deliver the keys without ruining the beer, which had recently been put into the cellar, and said that he would retain them (the keys) for a time and serve Mogens Gjø faithfully if what the priest, Svend, had said was true, that all the friars would be expelled from Denmark within the year. When that assurance was given, he went in to the cook, Brother Andreas Gad. He praised his (Hans') opinion and answered that he would do the same. The presiding brethren received permission to remain in the friary until the next day and a few of the court servants were set to keep watch over things. But early the next day there came the noble knight, Herr Wolf, who at that time was governor of Flensborg Castle to the friary. He had heard the sorrowful rumours about our friary and asked the guardian if they were to have a new guardian. He answered that such was the decision. For they (previously) had as superintendent a citizen from Vejle whose house had burned down. Herr Wolf chased him (the previous superintendent) out of the friary and returned the keys to the Guardian2. After these events, the brethren remained in their friary until Trinity Sunday and served God. They deposited the money they had received when they were to have been expelled, in the town. Then the subordinate brothers received 3 guilder in Danish money except holy Brother Mathias who was a priest. He moved to Svendborg Friary and there served God a short time. Later he travelled from there left the order and ended his life in the Baltic where he drowned.

On Trinity Sunday3 when the brethren in the choir had begun to sing the Kyrie eleison the aforementioned priest, Svend came back and invaded the friary together with a crowd of citizens to drive the brothers out immediately. He had with him a royal warrant wherein it was written that the citizens should assist the aforementioned Mogens Gjø's priest to force the brothers out. But the brethren refused to travel away before they ate, so the citizens remained with the brothers while they ate, and after dinner, they chased the brothers out of the friary4.

1 Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter, which means that date varies from Mid-March to early April.

2 Guilden (singular) or guilder (plural) was the common name for large silver coins in use at the time. One and a half guilder equalled a thaler or daler, two and a half guilder was equal to a riksthaler. Dalers were the common currency in Denmark until the 19th century when the krone was introduced.

3 The Guardian or Father Guardian was the leader of the local friary assisted by one or more Vice-Guardians. Other named positions in the chronicle include, cook, porter, and cellar master.

3 Trinity Sunday is the Sunday after Pentecost. Since it is dated from Easter, the date varies from late May to early June. The Sundays between Trinity Sunday and Advent in November are numbered from Trinity Sunday. e.g. Third Sunday after Trinity

4 The Danish word 'kloster' is used for all monastic religious houses, equivalent to 'convent' in English which furthermore makes a distinction between friary, priory, abbey, nunnery. Since information about many religious houses in Denmark before the Reformation is lacking, the word in the Chronicle is translated as friary. The only exception listed in the Chronicle is Antvorskov Abbey.

5 Royal warrants for expulsion were often the deciding factor which forced the closure of the friaries. Frederik I publicly tried an even-handed approach suggesting that Catholic and Lutherans share churches, which brought condemnation from both parties. Either on his own or by persuasion from local authorities, he wrote letters authorizing the expulsion of Franciscans from their friaries. He usually offered money to the monks which on his part was an inducement to leave peacefully either to travel or to abandon the monastic life. On the Franciscans' part, the offer of money was viewed as a cynical attempt to subvert their vows of poverty, to accept the king's money for personal use or gain was outside the 'rule' and a betrayal of their basic vows.

Frederiks I's royal warrants specifically targeted Franciscan houses, no other order was so treated, even by Christian III who was thoroughly Lutheran and very anti-Catholic. On the whole, once it was clear the Lutherans would prevail, Danes took a level-headed approach to terminating monasteries. In 1536 when Denmark became officially Lutheran, the monasteries, all of them, were dissolved. The monks were turned out and either travelled to Germany or other monastic houses or simply took off their habits and became ordinary Danes. Nuns were often permitted to remain in their nunneries until their deaths and provision was made for them by local noble houses. In a few instances remote religious houses stayed open for a year or two, but in the end not a single monastic house survived until they were re-established in recent times.