The nunnery and local power  

In Östergötland the monastery of Alvastra and the nunneries of Askeby and Vreta were placed in central and fertile areas. This was not entirely consistent with the Cistercian recommendations that convents should be founded in newly cultivated areas.

The Askeby nunnery depended mainly on the donations of kings and noblemen. The donations of the houses of Sverker and Bielbo (the latter often wrongfully referred to as the Folkungs, who were actually their opponents) were very important until the end of the 13th century, when several noble families like Natt och Dag, Bonde, and Bielke, contributed with donations. The marshal Bo Jonsson Grip, presumed to be the richest man in Sweden during the 14th century, assisted the nunnery in its time of need after the fatal fire in 1377.

But the greatest assets of the nunnery were probably the land and fishing waters it owned in Norrköping. The church of Saint Olaf was an annex to the nunnery, which meant that the nuns could benefit from the revenue of its land. Another important consequence was that they had the right of patronage, i.e. the right to decide which priest to appoint for the office in Saint Olaf’s church. This made the nunnery very powerful, with regards to the matters of the town. It also had the right of patronage in the parish of Svinstad (known today as Bankekind).