Æbelholt Abbey

Bishop Absalon of Roskilde, determined to obtain a new Augustinian superior, sent for his friend, Abbot William (Abbed Vilhelm) of Sainte-Geneviève in Paris.

When Abbot William arrived in 1165 with three French Canons Regular there were only six religious left at Eskilsø, two of whom were dismissed when they refused to submit to the new rule.

A few of the Danish canons plotted to murder him when he ordered that they eat "herbs and leaves" instead of their usual meals.

Miracles at his grave and in connection with his relics brought pilgrims in great numbers, and the abbey developed into the greatest Augustinian house in the north.

By 1210 the list of miracles and signs recorded was so great that Anders Sunesen, Archbishop of Lund, petitioned Pope Honorius III for his canonization.

On 16 June 1238 with great ceremony William's body was translated to lie inside the high altar in the new abbey church.

A small separate chapel was constructed over his previous grave, so pilgrims could visit without disturbing the monks.

This wide hospitality was funded, as were the abbey's other expenditures, by the revenues of its estates, situated locally and also in Copenhagen and in Halland, and from the dues from the nearby market.

The abbey was formally dissolved in 1560; Abbot Ibsen was sent to the Carmelite priory in Helsingør where he died a year later.

Some of the many skeletons discovered during the excavations are on display and provide much information on historical illnesses and medical treatments.