ABSTRACT
The Dominican Order established itself with great success in thirteenth-century Scandinavia, just as it did in the rest of Europe. Its rapid dissemination and growth depended on significant support from various elite groups already present in society, and the mendicant friars needed to nourish and expand their friendships in the outside world continuously in order to maintain their existence. This chapter focuses on three such types of elite friendships for the Friars Preachers in thirteenth-century Scandinavia. When Dominican convents were founded, every single foundation needed to be accepted by four parties (the order itself, the local bishop, the town lord, and the town magistrate); and for thirteenth-century Scandinavia, especially the bishops appear to have been the prime initiators of Dominican foundations. The cathedral canonry usually formed amicable relationships with the Dominicans as well. Often, canons secular and Friars Preachers seem to have originated from the same social strata and even the same families, while others may have attended the same schools around Europe. Finally, the Dominican friars entered into institutional friendships with female religious institutions outside their own order; in Scandinavia, this is particularly evident for Cistercian nunneries. Unlike what is often assumed, a Dominican connection to the growing social class of urban bourgeoisie cannot be accounted for in Scandinavia until the fifteenth century.
