| Conflict
| | This is what is left of Søborg´s Castle. In the middle of the 12th century it was an important basis for the bishop of Zealand. |
Conflict Between Royal Power and Church
In archbishop Eskil´s time (1137-77) the relationship between the church and the royal power deteriorated. This conflict is described in the Roskilde chronicle, which is the first coherent account of Denmarks´s history. It is written around 1140, probably on archbishop Eskil´s initiative.
Archbishop Eskild
Eskil had in his youth studied in Heidelberg and Paris and had come in close personal contact with leading persons in the papal church. He was influenced by these and wanted to run the church independent of the secular power. In the spirit of the Cluny movement he worked for the building of monasteries, but he also agitated intensively for free bishop elections and took the pope’s side against the emperor in the so-called investiture conflict, which was about the right of the church to elect their own bishops. During a trip to Rome Eskil was taken prisoner by the emperor’s men and from his prison he wrote home.
Eskil was released and returned home. In Denmark he fell out with King Valdemar the Great, as Valdemar had formally subjected to the German-Roman emperor. Thus the church and the royal power landed on opposite sides in the investiture conflict. Eskild was forced into exile in 1161, but returned in 1168, where he was reconciled with the royal power.
Bishop Eskild | 
Åhus | 
Søborg Castle | 
Søborg´s Ruined Castle | 
Søborg´s Church |
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