S:t Olofs convention in Skänninge

Archaological site, Cultural history

The St. Olof's convent in Skänninge was founded in 1237. In the 1530s, shortly after the Reformation, the convent was dissolved after being active for about 300 years.

In many medieval towns there lived a kind of monks or nuns who belonged to the Dominican or Franciscan orders. Despite taking the same vows as nuns and monks, they called themselves brothers or sisters. The Dominican Order was founded by St. Dominic in the early 13th century. The order started as a reaction to how the clergy of the Catholic Church lived in abundance of material assets and luxuries. The motto of the order was to live a life in accordance with the apostles, that is, a life of simplicity and poverty. The Dominican friars were dressed in black robes and were therefore called black brothers.

In other orders, the monks lived their lives in the same place, faithful to a particular monastery. Within the Dominican order, the brothers moved between different conventions and an important part of their activity was to be out among the people and preach. The Dominicans, like the Franciscans, were called "beggar monks" because they lived off the alms they received from the people. The conventions also received people for meetings, conversations and pastoral care. The convents became centers for learning with books, studies, and teaching.

Ideally, the Dominican convent would consist of three house wings and a church surrounding a square cloister courtyard. They would be characterized by simple architecture and sparse interiors. The Dominicans primarily built in brick. However, there were of course deviations. Between 2004 and 2005, extensive archaeological investigations were conducted in Skänninge, and large parts of the convent and the convent's cemetery were examined. It turned out that the church had been approximately 18 meters wide and 45 meters long. It was three-naved and had a vaulted ceiling.

We do not know how many brothers lived at the convent in Skänninge. However, certain individuals who stayed there are known. Petrus de Dacia was a lecturer at the convent school for seven years in the 1270s. Dacia was one of those who took the initiative to found Skänninge's second convent, St. Martin or S:t Ingrid as it later came to be called. In a letter to Kristina of Stommeln, Dacia wrote that he had "six spiritual daughters" in Skänninge. Ingrid Elovsdotter, the founder of the nun's convent in Skänninge, was one of them. Two of St. Birgitta's sons attended the convent school. Around the same time, Nikolaus Hermanni studied here, who later taught Birgitta's younger children and became Birgitta's friend and confessor.

There are no remnants above ground left of St. Olaf's convent today.