The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Axel

AXEL, or ABSALON, Danish prelate, archbishop of Lund: b. near Soroë, Zealand, 1128; d. 1201. His family name was Axel. In 1157 he was chosen bishop of Roeskilde or Rothschild. In that age warlike pursuits were not deemed inconsistent with the clerical office, and Absalon was a renowned warrior by sea and land, as well as a zealous ecclesiastic, his avowed principle being that “both swords, the spiritual and the temporal, were intrusted to the clergy.” To his exertions as statesman and soldier Waldemar was largely indebted for the independence and consolidation of his kingdom.