Nidarosnettverket

Abstract

This article is about the relationship between the metropolitan see of Nidaros (Trondheim) and the insular bishoprics Hólar and Skálholt in Iceland, Greenland, the Orkneys, the Faroes, and Sodor. The underlying question is how archbishops located at the northern fringes of Latin Christendom for centuries were able to uphold metropolitan authority over these distant dioceses. By means of the network-metaphor the author will highlight the bonds which tied the suffragan bishops overseas to the church-leadership in Norway. What bonds are we talking about, and how strong were they? Did relations between the metropolitan see and the subordinated bishoprics vary, and how far did relationships within the Nidaros province change from the beginning in the middle of the twelfth century to the end in the early 1500s? And finally, how did the changes affect the Nidaros Church?