Chronicle of The Expulsion of The Greyfriars - Introduction

Introduction

The Chronicle of the Expulsion of the Greyfriars records the systematic hounding of the Franciscans out of Denmark between 1527 and 1532. In all, 28 towns drove the friars from their friaries often with the approval and encouragement of Frederik I of Denmark and his son, Duke Christian, later King Christian III. The Chronicle describes the expulsion of the Greyfriars from 15 of them and mentions one more in passing.

The chronicle's author or more likely authors, Franciscan Friar Erasmus Olai (Rasmus Olsen) and Friar Jacob Jensen of Næstved Friary wrote an account of the tribulations of the monks and to condemn the cruelty of those who drove them from their houses. The Chronicle is not objective; it is vehemently anti-Lutheran, and certainly lionizes those who were being persecuted, but the details the author(s) provide give first-hand insight into a turbulent time period in Danish history.

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