The holy Niels of Århus (younger text)
Creators: name: Clausen, Svend
Publisher: name: Database of Religious History (DRH)
Year: 2023

description: The holy Niels of Århus was a local Danish saint venerated in Århus diocese in Jutland during the middle ages. Two hagiographic texts are known about him: an older one and a younger one. Even though these two have been preserved together as part of a collective manuscript, it is necessary to distinguish between them as they are quite different not only in dating and in their individual background of creation, but also stylistically. As the dating of the younger Niels legend has been revised for the purpose of this description, it is necessary to shortly explain why. The only dating of the younger legend known for sure so far is that it must have been written after 1306. Hans Olrik therefore suggested that it was written probably some time into the 14th C. and suggested that the deacon Trugot of Århus mentioned in the legend as a contemporary person could very well be the same man as the canon Trugot of Århus known in 1345 from an external source. Later on M.Cl. Gertz repeated this observation and suggested furthermore that the writer of the younger text probably lived around c. 1350. Backing this up he identified also another man mentioned in the text as a contemporary person: cantor Johannes of Århus. Gertz identified that this cantor Johannes (the latin form of the Danish name Jens) was also mentioned in 1345 in an external source. However, it seems possible to specify the dating of the younger text a little more and place it a bit earlier. Going over the preserved medieval documents, one cantor Jens Rød of Århus (i.e. Johannes) is mentioned for the first time on 12. November 1335. His presumed precedessor as cantor, Jakob, is mentioned for the last time on 15. Oktober 1325. This cantor Jens of Århus is mentioned for the last time on 9. May 1345. His presumed successor in office, prior Peder, is mentioned for the first time as cantor in a document dated in 1354 before 14. april. Since the younger text about the holy Niels was written while Johannes (Jens) was cantor of Århus, it thus must have been written sometime after 15. Oktober 1325, but before 14. April 1354. Such a dating can likely be narrowed down even further, though, as Hans Olrik´s abovementioned suggestion seems highly likely. The deacon Trugot of Århus mentioned in the legend as a contemporary person must be presumed to be the same man as the canon Trugot of Århus known in 1345. This particular name, Trugot, does not seem to have been common enough in Denmark during that era to expect it as highly probable that two persons of that same name were very likely to have been in office in Århus diocese at the same time. The fact that the younger holy Niels text describes deacon Trugot as a contemporary man who studied in Paris at the time of writing is thus probably decisive. Since Trugot had become a canon by 1345, the younger holy Niels text was probably written before 1345 while he was only still a deacon. His studies in Paris, as well as his later advancement as canon, is thus most likely explained by yet another preserved document from 29.3.1345 stating that Århus diocese had a rule demanding that all newly elected canons of Århus diocese had to study for 2 years at a university before they could receive the benefits of any of the estates belonging to the holy chapter of Århus diocese. The university studies of deacon Trugot in Paris thus probably took place at some point before 1345 so that he was able to advance and become canon, when he came back to Denmark, and subsequently also receive the estates attached to the position. All in all, the younger text about the holy Niels of Århus, was therefore probably written after 15. Oktober 1325 (the last mention of cantor Jakob), but before c. 1345 when Trugot is known to have advanced and become a canon. As for the text itself, the younger saint´s legend about the holy Niels of Århus does not the follow the normal somewhat stricter structure of hagiography. It is a structurally loose collection of anecdotes from his life and miracle stories from after his death. The sources of the writer for his text seem to have been twofold: some parts of the text he copied from a long lost manuscript in Danish which he found in the rectory of the still preserved skejby village church in Århus diocese. These parts he then must have translated from Danish into latin. Other parts of the younger holy Niels text are much more likely to have been based on the recollections of senior members of the holy chapter and older clergymen in office at Århus diocese. The younger text is thus not a classic hagiographic text as much as it is composite collection of anecdotes and miracle stories deemed worthy of remenbrance by the author. As for the holy Niels himself, he was a Danish prince who died in 1180. He was of royal blood as son of king Knud III of Denmark, who had been murdered by the henchmen of a rival king during a civil war in 1157. Niels appears in a few contemporary documents, but other than that not much is known about his life apart from what is told in the two preserved texts about him.