Archbishop’s Palace — Tithes, Banquets and Administration
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Transcript
Beside the cathedral, the Archbishop’s Palace made ecclesiastical power practical. The archbishop did not rule through symbolism alone. Tithes, estates, clerks, storage, guests and political negotiations required an administrative complex. The official cathedral history notes that the Nidaros see reached Norway north of Dovre as well as Iceland, the Faroes, Greenland, Orkney and the Isle of Man. After the Reformation in 1537, the palace passed to the crown and later gained military functions. Archaeology in the 1980s and 1990s uncovered thousands of objects and even medieval coin mints. The palace is therefore a rare place where church wealth, state administration and material archaeology occupy the same courtyard.