Eskilsø Monastery (Danish:Eskilsø Kloster) was anAugustinianmonastery onEskilsø Island inRoskilde Fjord.
The monastery was established in the12th century and dedicated toSaint Thomas. No records exist of exactly when the monastery was built, but it was likely founded byEskil during his tenure as theBishop ofRoskilde (1134–1137).[1] This timeline is supported by the fact that Asser, who was elected bishop of Roskilde in 1139, was a formercloistered resident of the monastery.
Themonks of the monastery werecanons regular, and besidesreligious andtheological immersion they were responsible for the upkeep and development of the monastery and its belongings. In addition to the lands of Eskilsø, which were primarily used forgrazing, it was endowed with properties in and aroundJyllinge, including Jyllinge Church, a water mill, and a fewcorvéefarms. Monks from the monastery generally officiated atmass in Jyllinge Kirke.[2]
As the bishop of Roskilde,Absalon decided in 1165 to reform the monastery. He called on his friendWilliam, a canon regular ofSainte-Geneviève inParis, where Absalon had studied theology in his youth, and instated him as theabbot of Eskilsø Monastery. The remaining six canons of Eskilsø clashed with William, as he insisted on strictmonastic discipline and anascetic andvegetarian life style, and two of them were dismissed when they refused to submit to the new rule. The new canons following William fromFrance found the climate inDenmark too cold and the surroundings of the small monastery too insignificant, and they all soon returned to France. William also considered surrendering and going home, but eventually he agreed with Absalon that Eskilsø was an unfit location, and in 1175 the monastery moved toÆbelholt in Tjæreby Parish nearHillerød after being endowed with several farms, the tithes from many northZealand churches, and several mills.[3]
After the move Æbelholt Abbey kept the old monastery buildings on Eskilsø as a farm and orchard, and until shortly before theReformation a canon from Eskilsø was the priest in Jyllinge Church.
Theruins of the small monastery church are still visible on the highest point of northern Eskilsø. The church was about 24 meters long and 7 meters wide with 1-meter-thick walls, constructed instone andtravertine in theRomanesque style. The church consisted of anave, possibly with a smalltower, achoir and anapse.
The church ruins were formally grantedhistoric preservation in 1809 out to a distance of 3ells from the outer walls.[4] In 1990 an excavation south and east of the church revealed traces from additional monastery buildings, including a stone cellar, a fireplace, and multiple post holes. Since then a larger area around the complex has been exempt from farming and grazing. Between 1998 and 2000 the ruins were restored to ensure their preservation.[5]
55°44′18″N12°04′40″E / 55.7382°N 12.0777°E /55.7382; 12.0777