Exhibition Opening

Exhibition at the Abbot's House

In the spring of 2025, the exhibition Miserabelis personae – The Weak in Society, King Magnus Lagabøter's Law of the Land of 1274 will move into the Abbot's House at Utstein Monastery.

The exhibition has had a long journey, both domestically and internationally, since it was first displayed at St. Peter’s Church in Stavanger back in 2016. Since then, the exhibition, developed by the Stavanger Museum in collaboration with experts such as legal history professor Jørn Øyrehagen Sunde, history professor Erik Opsahl, and designer Ståle Odland, has toured various locations. From Stavanger to Bergen, Aga in Hardanger, Shetland, Frosta in Trøndelag, Gulen in Sogn, Uvdal, Eidsvoll, Moster, Alta, and Domkirkeodden in Hamar, it now returns to the Stavanger region to be shown at Utstein Monastery.

Also for Children!
The exhibition is created by the Norwegian Children's Museum and is designed for families with children. Through the exhibit, visitors follow Kristin and Magnus, both 10 years old, living in medieval Stavanger. Kristin is a poor servant girl, while Magnus is a rich priest’s son. Through films, comics, and activities, the public gets an insight into what life for children might have been like in the 1200s.

Magnus in Training at Utstein Monastery

Utstein Monastery is not an arbitrary location for the exhibition about Magnus Lagabøter and his laws. The story of King Magnus, who later earned the epithet Lagabøter (Lawmender), can be interpreted in different ways, as is often the case with historical events from the distant past. However, several historians and legal historians believe it is likely that Utstein was Magnus' royal residence, and that he spent a lot of time there before moving to Bergen as the sole king in the mid-1200s.

More information to come!