FROM the time of Olaf Kyrre (the Quiet) there were three bishops in Norway; one in Nidaros, one in Bergen, and one in Oslo. During the reign of Kings Eystein and Sigurd the Crusader a bishopric was also established in Stavanger. The bishops were chosen by the king, and the bishops appointed the priests.

For the last half century the Norwegian Church, as well as the Swedish, had been under the Danish archbishop at Lund. This arrangement appeared very unsatisfactory, as the Norwegian Church covered extended territory which called for special supervision. Since the time of Sigurd the Crusader there had been a constant desire to obtain an independent Norwegian archbishopric. Finally, during the reign of Harald Gille’s sons, the pope sent Cardinal Nicholas Breakspear of Alba from Rome to Norway (1152). Cardinal Nicholas, who was an Englishman by birth and a very able and conscientious man, arrived in Nidaros, and seems to have immediately understood the situation. The saga says that he had taken offence at the brothers Sigurd and Eystein. The reason is not stated, but it was perhaps on account of their immoral life. “They were obliged to come to a reconciliation with him; on the other hand, he stood on the most affectionate terms with King Inge, whom he called his son.” When an understanding had been arranged with the kings, the cardinal had John Birgerson consecrated archbishop of Throndhjem and gave him the consecrated vestment called pallium. He further settled that the archbishop’s seat should be in Nidaros, in Christ Church, where King Olaf the Saint reposed. At the same time a new bishopric was established at Hamar, on Lake Miosen. Under the jurisdiction of the archbishopric at Nidaros were included the four other bishoprics of Norway, Oslo, Hamar, Stavanger, and Bergen, and those of the dependencies, Iceland, the Orkneys, the Faroes, Greenland, and the Hebrides with the Isle of Man.

The establishment of the archbishopric at Nidaros was probably the most important result of the mission of Cardinal Nicholas, but he also left other traces of his work. He changed the manner of choosing bishops, so that instead of being appointed by the king they were now to be elected by the canonical communities established at the cathedrals. The bishops after this exercised much greater authority than they had done before.

The saga says of Cardinal Nicholas that “he improved many of the customs of the Northmen while he was in the country. There never came a foreigner to Norway whom all men respected so highly, or who could govern the people so well as he did. After some time he returned to the South with many friendly presents, and declared ever afterward that he was the greatest friend of the people of Norway.”

Cardinal Nicholas was, shortly after his return to Rome, elected pope and consecrated under the name of Adrian IV.

There were also several cloisters for monks in Norway at this time. They were generally quite wealthy, as many people would give all they had to the cloisters. There were at Throndhjem two cloisters, the Nidarholm and Elgeseter; in Bergen, Munkeliv, and a little further south Lyse Cloister, and near Oslo the Hoved Isle. At Gimsoe near Skien there was a convent for nuns.