When the Norwegian see was established in 1152, the Pope had only one place to choose from: Nidaros with its shrine of St. Olav. Trondheim became the seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nidaros for Norway. Along with building the beginnings of Nidaros Cathedral, the Archbishop’s Palace was built nearby. The Palace became a gateway to spiritual and material culture, and at the same time, was the center of a very large ecclesiastical province. With responsibility for eleven bishoprics, the Archbishop had connections with Greenland, Iceland, and the islands of Orkney, Shetland, the Faroes, and the Isle of Man. When Henry and I toured the Archbishop’s Palace, a Medieval stone building with high, beamed ceilings, and stone floors, we were shown through a series of rooms that served as reception halls for the Archbishop who received diplomats and ecclesiastical emissaries. There was also a great hall with high windows and large fireplaces where banquets were held, as well as living quarters for the Archbishop and his family.  Between 1152 and 1537, twenty seven different men held the post of Archbishop, each with his own ambitions. During the Middle Ages, a power struggle ensued between the king and the church, with the Archbishop often gaining the power to strike coins, usually a royal prerogative. Through the minting of coins, the church was able to demonstrate power and authority, first in part of the 13th century, then again in 1458.  Alongside the Archbishop’s Palace, Henry and I toured the museum with an archaeological excavation of the Archbishop’s workshops and mint. This particular mint dates from 1500 and is the oldest intact mint in Europe. In 1537, when Lutheran Protestantism was introduced to Norway. The last Catholic Archbishop, Olav Englebrektsson, fled to the Netherlands, where he died.

PHOTOS: Left Column: 1. A cast image exemplifying the power struggle between church and state, Archbishop and King. This is a manhole cover in photographed in the quadrangle of the Archbishop’s Palace. 2. Detail: the Archbishop’s Palace, with simple Medieval architecture. 3. A gold cross, one of several “Symbols of Dignity” of the Archbishop. These symbols, the crosier, the ring, the cross, etc.  displayed their status, spiritual responsibility , and power connection to Rome and the Pope. 4. Letter with wax stamped seal of the Chapter. The Cathedral priests were called canons, and together they formed the chapter which was the Archbishop’s council. This was a body of 15 men and often gained a great deal of power. The chapter acted as an electoral college when a new Archbishop was to be elected, and  he was often recruited from among its members. Every letter had to be sealed to be valid. Center, Top: Banner at the Archbishop’s Palace. Center, Bottom:  Aslak Bolt’s drinking horn, fabricated c. 14th century. Archbishop from 1428-1450, Aslak Bolt was a man of great ambition who reorganized the properties of the see and put the economy on its feet again following the Black Death. Right Column:  1. Heraldry of Christian Friis til Borreby, Archbishop 1583-1589. 2.  Heraldry of Steen Bille til Billesholm, Archbishop 1601-1613.

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