Absalon of Lund (1128-1201)

Absalon was Archbishop of Lund and primate of Denmark and Sweden, an advisor to the King of Denmark and a military leader and hero. He was born at Fjenneslev, Zealand, Denmark, the son of Asser Rig, who took the Benedictine habit shortly before his death. Absolon was brought up in the entourage of young prince Waldemar, and also studied for some years at Paris. When his friend the prince ascended the throne in 1157 as Waldemar I, the Great, of Denmark, Absalon became Bishop of Roskilde. In 1177 he was named Archbishop of Lund, but accepted the promotion only when allowed by the pope to retain his Roskilde bishopric, from which he didn't resign until 1191.

In 1179, Absolon became papal legate for Denmark and Sweden; at that time he was already the chief counselor to Waldemar (1158-1182). He took part in restoring the kingdom, which was torn by civil strife and harried by Wendish pirates from Pomerania to Rügen. Absolon personally led the Danish forces against Rügen, defeated the pirates and incorporated the island into the Danish kingdom after baptising the Wends. His military successes and statesmanship gave the Danes a dominant position in the Baltic. Absalon also played an important role in the struggle between Alexander III and Frederick Barbarossa, causing Denmark to renounce the cause of the emperor and espouse that of the pope.

In 1180 and 1181, Absalon had taken part in the repression of a peasants' revolt in Scania, which sought to expel landlords from Zealand, abolish tightes, suppress the archbishopric of Lund and obtain for priests the right to marry. Absolon, who always treated the peasants with consideration, sacrificed some of the possessions of his archdiocese but held out against the abolition of tithes and the establishment of a married clergy.

The archbishop defended the primatial right of his see against the archbishops of Uppsala and Bremen. Twice he conferred the pallium — the ceremonial vestment — upon archbishops of Uppsala. Although without a mandate from Rome for Norway, he also took an interest in the ecclesiastical affairs of that kingdom. When in 1192, bishop Waldemar of Slesvig revolted against Canute V, Absolon, who was also the principle counsellor of Canute, supported the king at the risk of displeasing the pope.

After 1197, the archbishop devoted himself more to ecclesiastical duties. In that year he held a national synod in order to introduce liturgical uniformity. He encouraged the spread of the Cistercian abbeys in Denmark and the North, promoted the cult of Danish saints and cooperated at the behest of Rome in the canonisation processes. He died at Sosro on March 21, 1201.

In Denmark, Absolon is remembered as a military commander of genius, as a real statesman, and as the founder of Copenhagen (1168). As a churchman, he did much for Christianity and civilisation in the North by promoting art, letters and church organisation.