Jakob Erlandsen

Jakob Erlandsen (died 18 February 1274) was a Danish Archbishop of Lund (1254–1274) and the central character of the first great church conflict in Denmark.

History

Belonging to a wealthy

and in agreement with the offensive course of the papal policy but in Denmark it was relatively unknown; here king and bishops normally had worked together, the latter recognising the upper hand of the king.

In 1254 bishop Jakob was appointed archbishop and by this his real struggle with the king began. King

) as crown prince he was arrested and imprisoned in 1259.

The arrest only partly provoked the expected interdict, but military attacks from the bishop's foreign allies and the king's sudden death weakened the royal party. The same year Jakob Erlandsen was released by the

, his distant cousin. His new political initiatives against the king however made any reconciliation impossible and in 1263 he fled to Northern Germany. From then the case continued at the papal court in Rome.

Jakob spent most of his last ten years in

but nothing is sure. After his death King Eric quite simply cancelled all royal concessions.

Jakob Erlandsen's career and defeat shows the great difficulties of carrying through international ecclesiastical legislation in Denmark. The demands of papal supremacy and the authority of the church collided with the traditional Danish view of the division of power. What the archbishop regarded justified demands of clerical immunity and independence meant disloyalty and treason to the king. More interesting is it that much of the population and even many clergymen seem to have shared the royal opinions. Apart from this Jakob Erlandsen's style, his alliances with the foreign enemies of the crown and his intense conduct also seem to have repulsed many possible supporters.

His fight was taken up again by his kinsman Jens Grand.

References

• Politikens Danmarkshistorie bd. 4, 1962.
• Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, bd. 4, 1980.