Peder Hansen Uf

Andre Begivenheder og Egenskaber:

• Alias: Peder Hansen
• Beskæftigelse: fra 1574 til 1588; Landsdommer

Notater:

Kure (prgd. Simblegård + 53. sgd. Klemensker)

Peder Hansen Uf overtog gården efter sin broder Oluf Hansen Uf. Han blev udnævnt til Landsdommer på Bornholm den 28.03.1574. Han var Landsdommer 1574-1588. Ejede sammen med sin hustru omkring 50 gårde på Bornholm. (Se Bornholmske Samlinger 1. rk. bind 11, side 111 og bind 16, side 137) Peder Hansen Uf medbragte ca. 25 gårde og Mette Hansdatter Myhre ligledes ca. 25 gårde i ægteskabet. De er dem, der har ejet flest gårde på Bornholm.

Note(kopieret juli 2019 fra Norman Lee Madsens database)

In 1572 a meeting was held by Bornholm's Parliament to establish who had the right to the status of "Frimand" (Freeman) on Bornholm. Of course, that meeting had a broader purpose: a war in which Lübeck and Denmark had fought side-by-side had ended two years previously, and there was another three years before the Lübeck 50 year claim to Bornholm was to expire; although Lübeck claimed that it had been given a further 50 years. In this predicament it was wise for the King to establish locally situated allies; and Bornholm's influential freemen, who normally would have been snubbed by the King and the true nobility, were now in a position to receive benevolent treatment from the Danish government.

At the "Frimandsmødet" held on September 6, 1572 there were 17 men named as being in attendance: 1. Jacob Iversen, Landsdommer; 2. Mester Peder W(= Peder [Mogensen] Uf); the brothers 3. Peder Hansen; and 4. Bent Hansen; 5. Jørgen Pedersen; 6. Peder (Madsen) Kofoed; 7. Oluf Madsen; 8. Oluf Bagge; 9. Hans Mogensen, as he was away at the king's court he was represented by his father Mogens Hansen; 10. Peder (Hansen) Myre; 11. Jørgen Gagge; 12. Berent Hansen (= Berild Hansen); 13. Laurids Pedersen; 14. Jens (Madsen) Kofoed; 15. Christen (Clausen) Kiøller; 16. Peder Hansen (Uf); and 17. Hans (Madsen) Kofoed. Three advisers to the Danish Parliment (Rigsråder) had been sent to preside over the meeting, namely: Biørn Kaas of Starupgaard, Biørn Andersen of Stenholt, and Jørgen Marsvin of Dybæk. The group expressed heartfelt and solemn words about faithful service to the crown; and it seems they had an inkling of things to come, and therefore begged the King not to let himself be "seduced" by Lübeck's representative Sveder Ketting, "because you might expect that Lübeck only plotted to keep our island under their yoke." This was during the period in which Bornholm was strongly under the influence (and rulership) of the Hanseatic League free-city of Lübeck; the Bornholmers felt greatly put upon by the high taxes, unfair rules, and high-handedness of the Lübeckers. Contrary to the opinion of latter historians they must have convinced the envoys, as on the 9th of September the freemen were granted the right to gather shipwrecks from the beaches, hunt in the woods, as well as given full authority over their servants - a great victory for the freemen.

A document dated March 28, 1574 tells us that Peder Hansen (Uf) was the Chief Justice (Landsdommer) for Bornholm. A Freeman (Frimand), he was the owner of Simlegård, an estate-farm (frigård) in Klemensker parish; which he took over after his brother's death. He also owned Fuglsangsgård (later known as: Gaggegård, still later as: I Klinteby), 6'Vdg. in Ibsker - which was later passed down to his daughter's son Claus Gagge.

On August 30, 1577 Peder Hansen (Uf) was endowed with thirteen farms that were under ecclesiastical jurisdiction, namely: six farms in Østermarie, one farm in Ibsker, two farms in Vestermarie, three farms in Klemensker, and one farm in Rutsker parish. A letter of declaration (dated April 27, 1580) confirmed that he had property-rights equal to that other freemen on Bornholm. A drawing in Heraldry Periodical, nr. 43, 1981 edition, shows that his arms displayed a chevron (gavlsparre).

From the Hammershus Regnskaber, 1580-1617:
Hendrick Brahes Regenschaff aff Hammershus paa Borringholm fran Philippi Jacobj dag 1585 thill Philippi Jacobj dag âo. 1586. . . . Inndtegttpennge før sagefaldt: . . . Anndamit aff Per Esbørnssen y Vester Mk. sognn, før hand offuirfald Hendrich Brahe och landzdommeren med erørigeord inden landzthing - 2 Daller.

The above entry translated to English:
Henrik Brahe's financial accounting for Hammershus on Bornholm from May1, 1585 until May 1, 1586. . . . Accounts Receivable for transgressions: . . . Received from Peder Espersen of Vestermarie parish, because he attacked Hendrich Brahe and the chief justice [= Peder Hansen] with abusive words during the county council meeting - 2 Rigsdaler.

From "Aktstykker til Bornholm Historie" by Jens Rasmussen Hübertz, nr. 249:

1572 6. September Åkirkeby. Om frimændene på Bornholm.

Vi efterskrevne Biørn Kaas til Starupgaard, Biørn Andersen til Stenholt, Jørgen Marsvin til Dybek kiendes och hermed for alle vitterliggjør, at Aar efter Guds byrd 1572 den 6te Dag Septembris, det første vi kom paa Landet Boringholm, da lode vi bestille Landsting, og paa Landstinget gave Kongl. Maysts. befaling og vor bestilling tilkiende, og da vi alting der bestillet havde, toge vi alle de fri Mænd, der vare, ind i Kirken, og der forelagde vi dennem en Dag, de sig [sagde] fri [at være] og frelse at have, at de skulle møde om Løverdagen derefter med deres Brev og Seigl, huormed de kunde bevise sig fri at være. Dets imidlertid talede vi med Svend Ketting, og gav hannem tilkiende, at Kongl. Majst. var kommen udi Forfaring, at der skulle være mange paa Boringholm, som gav sig ud [for] fri at være, som dog ikke findes skulle, og dermed skede Kongl. Majst. forkort, paa hans Majsts. Kongskat og andet, huorfore vi og begierede afforskrevne Sven Ketting, at han ville hos være samme Dag, som vi forskrevne Frimænd, paa Kongl. Majsts. wegne, for os beskeede og havde, hvor han og til det første lovede. Men om morgenen, som Adelen var beskeet at komme tilstede, og forskrevne Sven Ketting havde sagt at ville derhos udi slig handel være tilstede, og forskrevne Sven Ketting haver da sendt os bud med sin tiener Jens Knap, som nu er Landstingsskriver, at han begierer at drage til Slottet, og der opsøge nogle fine breve, og derhos lod berette, at han udi ingen Maader vidste sig noget at have med samme Adels-mænd at giøre, men at den beskeed, derom var, havde han længe siden berettet Mester David udi Lund, og han havde den handel alt sammen opskreven.

Saa er for os kommen, den forskrevne 6. September; disse efterskrevne fri og frelse Mænd, nemlig: Jacob Jversen Landsdommer, Mester Peder W, Peder Hanssen og Bent Hanssen, Brødre, Jørgen Pedersen, Peder Koefoed, Oluf Madssen, Oluf Bagge, Mogens Hanssen på hans Søns Hans Mogenssens Vegne, som tiener til Hove, Peder Myre, Jørgen Bagge [sic, s.b. Gagge], Berent Hanssen, Laurids Pedersen, Jens Koefoed, Christen Kiøller, Peder Hanssen, Hans Koefoed. Hvilke vi da efter Kongl. Maists. befaling haver alvorligen tiltalet, hvortil de have svaret, at de haver dennem ingen frihed ydermere tilholdet, end som de af fader og forældre arvet haver, og haver de dennem ingen ydermere Rettighed tilholdet, end deres Fader og Forældre havde før dennem, og berettede, at de Lybsker tilforn havde Sal. Og Høilovlig Koning Christiern og sligt foregivet, saadan deres Adels Frihed og Rettighed at vilde forvende, da haver Høistbemeldte Kongl. Maist. dennem privilegeret, eftersom Adelen i Danmark havde deres Gods, og vidste dennom udi ingen maade at have forbrudt, men udi denne feide ladet dennem finde at bruge til Skibs, komme selv udi egen Person, og somme giort Folk ud, og enhver ladet sig finde villig efter sin formue, og dermed tilhjelpe at forsvare deres eget Land, saa Gud skee lov at fienderne dennem ingen Skade eller Afbreck giort haver, og dersom der var nogen, der vidste dennem at beskylde, at de ikke var fri og frelse Mænd, da begierede de, at de maatte komme tilstede, da vilde de holde dem food, og derhos begierer af Kongl. Maist. paa det allerunderdanigste, at de maatte beholde den Frihed, som deres Forældre før dennem haft haver, de vilde med Gods og Blod, og hvis de formaaede være Kongl. Majst. Tro tienere, efter deres ringe Formue, ligesom de tildes været haver og pligtig kiendes, og forsee sig også til Kong. Majst., som til deres rette Herre og Konge, hvilken der altid havde fremdraget forige Adel, at Hans Kongl. Majst. udi ingen Maader ville lade sig over dennem forføre af Sven Ketting eller nogen anden; thi de kunde vel tænke, at de Lybsker og deres Befalingsmænd stod efter, at de kunde og bringe dennem under deres Trældom, som de ellers giort haver ved Landet. Det skulle Gud allermægtigste belønne Hans Kongl. Majst., hvilket de altid troligen vil ønske. At saaledes er passeret, det vidner vi med vores Zigneter herunder trykte. Datum Boringholm ut supra 1572 den 6. September.

(The above Langebek transcription is held in the Diplomatarium in the Geheime Archive together with another copy - the original had 3 seal sattached to the bottom.)

Simlegård, in Klemensker parish, is classified as a "friegård", later called a "proprietair" farm, which is the highest of the three farm classifications:

1) Proprietairgård (Propr.): a freehold estate (thus also called a Frigård), which could only be owned by a freeman (frimand) or a member ofthe nobility (adelsmand).

2) Selvejergård (Slg.): meaning a freehold farm owned independently, free of obligations to an estate owner - it could be occupied by its owner or leased to a peasant farmer (bonde). A peasant who owned this type of farm was known as a "selvejerbonde".

3) Vornedegård (Vdg.), two types: a) the first type was part of an estate (i.e. connected to a proprietairgård), the peasants who lived on them were tenants and were obliged to provide labor, known as the "Herlighedsright" (Glory-right), to the owner of the estate; b) the other type was referred to as a "Fri Vornedegård", this type of farm was not connected to an estate and was free of the labor obligation - could be owned by a freeman and leased to a peasant. A peasant who lived on this class of farms was known as a "fæstebonde" (copyhold peasant).

A map drawn in 1851 shows 17 estate-farms classified as Proprietair: 3 in each of Åker, Ibsker and Nyker parishes; 2 each in Østermarie and Klemensker; and 1 each in Pedersker, Bodilsker, Østerlars, and Olsker. There were hundreds of farms comprising the other two classifications. The typical farm is arranged in a joined U shape, with the farmhouse, barn, pig-stall, and utility-shed all built around a cobble-stone courtyard.

This database researched and compiled by Norman Lee Madsen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Peder blev gift med Mette Hansdatter cirka 1554 i Bornholm. Mette (datter af Hans Pedersen Myhre og NN Poulsdatter) blev født cirka 1530 i 47. sgd. Bjergegård, Vestermarie Sogn; døde efter 1555 i Bornholm. [Gruppeskema] [Familietavle]

1. Margrethe Pedersdatter blev født cirka 1555 i Simblegård, Klemensker Sogn; døde i 1624 i Simblegård, Klemensker Sogn.

Andre Begivenheder og Egenskaber:

• Beskæftigelse: Proprietær
• Ane-nr.: Ane 14.13475+826 (Garde)
• Ane-nr.: Ane 15.17939 (Sommer)

Notater:

Note(kopieret juli 2019 fra Norman Lee Madsens database)

Hans Olufsen (Uf) was a secretary in the king's chancellery from 1592 until 1597, and later the "Lensmand" (Feudal Lord) at Vardøhus (in Vardø parish, Finnmark county, Norway) in 1599. Hans Olufsen was the owner of Gyldensgård, 17' Vdg. Østermarie; which he later sold to his father's brother Peder Hansen (Uf) of Simlegård in Klemensker parish. Hans Olufsen died in 1601, the last male member of the so called "Sparre-Uf" branch of the family. The seal (arms and helmet) he used in 1599 is identical to that used by Oluf Ottesen (Uf) in 1522.

* * *

Hans Olsen was appointed the district governor for Finnmark in 1597. Christen Skredder was brought before the court at Vardøhus Castle in 1601. He was as a wealthy man who owned 80 daler, he also owned a turfhut, a boathouse and som outbuildings at Østersanden, as well as threedrying racks for fish and some sticks for building drying racks. He was accused of practising witchcraft together with the Sami Morten Olsen, of casting a fatal spell on District Governor Hans Olsen in May 1601. He was convicted of the practice of witchcraft. His estated devolved to the King, and was to be brought to Vardøhus Castle. Sentenced to death by fire at the stake.

Note: the following article incorrectly identify Hans Olufsen (Uf) as being a member of the Kofoed-family.

From the article "Exporting the Devil across the North Sea: John Cunningham and the Finnmark Witch-Hunt", by Liv Helene Willumsen, p. 52, in "Scottish Witches and Witch-Hunters" edited by Julian Goodare (Reader in History, University of Edinburgh), 2013:

The next district governor of Finnmark, therefore, was a good seafarer, a man who could take quick decisions and deal with unexpected problems, and a loyal servant. In addition, he was a person who was trusted to deal with the witches of the north - a problem of which the king had become aware during his visit to the northernmost parts of his kingdom, Finnmark and Kola, in 1599. The ethnic conditions in the very north of King Christian's kingdom were distinctive, with Norwegian and Sami populations living side by side. Sami males had a reputation for sorcery all over Europe at the time, being particularly well versed in selling wind to seafarers. The new century made the king even more concerned about the danger of sorcery. The sudden death in 1601 of the governor of Finnmark, Hans Olsen Kofoed, was blamed on Sami sorcery, and the result was the first two witchcraft trials in Finnmark of Christen the Tailor and the Sami Morten Olsen. No wonder that Christian IV in 1609 wrote to the next district governor, Claus Gagge, warning him to beware of witchcraft, especially Sami sorcery, and to show no mercy in such cases.

From "Images, Representations and the Self-Perception of Magic among the Sami Shamans of Arctic Norway, 1592-1692", chapter 14, by Rune Blix Hagenin "Contesting Orthodoxy in Medieval and Early Modern Europe: Heresy, Magic and Witchraft", editors Louise Nyholm Kallestrup and Raisa Maria Toivo, 2017:

As we have seen, the Danes knew of the strong rumours concerning Sami sorcery, as did many others throughout early modern Europe. Even though numerous witches had been put to death at the stake throughout Norway and Denmark, at the end of the sixteenth century no one had yet instigated asimilar policy of persecution directed at the Sami for their particular skills. But not too many years would elapse before King Christian IV turned into a monarch agitated by demons and eager to pursue and hunt down all kinds of sorcery - including Sami sorcery. As a collective group, the Sami posed a threat to the territorial expansion of Denmark-Norway, its state building and its endeavours to spread civilization and Christianity in the far North.

Since Christian IV turned the northern regions into his first major foreign adventure, he made sure that an efficient and energetic commanding officer was stationed at Vardøhus. The Dane Hans Olsen Koefoed was endowed with Vardøhus Fortress, and the county of Finnmark, in June 1597. The man travelled across great expanses of land in northern Norway in the winter of 1597/98 and the supsequent winter to investigate Swedish taxation of the Sami. Conscientiously, he presented his findings to the king. It is likely that Koefoed's report on the Swedish drive towards the coast of north Norway was what convinced Christian IV himself to sail northwards. . . ."

This database researched and compiled by Norman Lee Madsen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Andre Begivenheder og Egenskaber:

• Ane-nr.: Ane 15.26949 og 15.27651 (Garde)
• Ane-nr.: Ane 16.35877 (Sommer)
• Beskæftigelse: fra 1508 til 1522; Landsdommer

Notater:

Note(kopieret juli 2019 fra Norman Lee Madsens database)

Oluf Ottesen (Uf) was a freeman (frimand), and was Chief Justice (Landsdommer) for Bornholm from 1508-1522, this during the period in which Hanseatic League free-city of Lübeck was in control of Bornholm. In 1510 he was ordered to travel to Lübeck, and on July 16th he was asigner of the "Landets Overenskomst" agreement, in which the Lübeck'ers demanded extortionary amounts of tax-payments from Bornholm's populace. He probably lived on Simlegård (a.k.a. Simblegård) in Klemensker. According to Zarthmann he can be found mentioned in documents dating from 1508 and 1522. (Source: Bornholmske Samlinger, volume 16, page 139.)

From the "Dansk adelsvåbner, en heraldisk nøgle", by Sven Tito Achen, Politikens Forlag, 1973, København:
Uf "I". Våben: En sparre (rød i hvidt? se Heraldisk Tidsskrift nr. 23, 1971, side 111). (Arms: A chevron (red on white?) see H.T.) Hjelmfigur ukendt. (Helmet unknown.) Uradel, Skåne. (Noble origins: Skåne.) Niels Uf, 1302; Oluf Ottesen, landsdommer på Bornholm 1522. NDA side 299.

Oluf Ottesen (Uf) is known to have been alive in 1522, and is recorded asbeing deceased in a document dated October 2, 1546.

The following has been extracted from a translation of the article "Landsdommer-patriciatet på Bornholm", part 1, by Sigvard Mahler Dam, published in SAXO, 1987:

As an institution the Danish Landsting (High Court or Parliament) probably stems from the old Germanic tradition of the folkeforsamling (gathering of the people), wherein all the arms bearing warriors met to talk over their common concerns and make necessary decisions. Later, during the Middle Ages, the High Court was the meeting place only for Frie Mænd, which constituted the kingdoms upper-class of frimænd (freemen) and selvejerbønderne (freehold farm-owners); the fæstebønder (copyhold peasants) and trælle (slaves), which constituted the vast majority of the Danish populace, were not allowed to participate. Needles to say, the king had the ultimate say on any given issue.

However, during the 1200s things changed: the king probably became too busy and therefore he appointed a substitute to oversee each county's gathering. By the 1300s the man chosen by the king to represent him in each of the counties was known as a Landsdommer (Chief Justice); further, the king now also appointed a group of 8 to 12 men from each county to sit alongside that county's judge on 4 stokke (benches); they were known as the Tingmændene (or Stokkemændene).

Under each county's Landsting were a number of lower courts, the Herredsting (District Court). Bornholm had its own Landsting, which was situated in the middle of the island near Aa Kirke (Aa Church) – this probably had a great impact on the growth of Åkirkeby, which was the only township on the island without a harbour. The judgement of a Landsting could only be overruled during a Herredag (Herre: Gentleman, Master, or Lord; and dag: day), wherein the king himself presided. Each county's Landsting also functioned as a local Herreting, for a freeman could not be judged by his local Herredsting, but rather only by his county's Landsdommer, who - as another freeman - was his social equal. This obviously favoured the kingdom's freemen over their fellow citizens – and they often took advantage of this situation. (see note nr. 1)

During this period of transition Bornholm's Landsting issued a document on May 24th 1319. (note 2) From this document we can see that Bornholm's ting (gathering of people) still looked much like the old Germanic folketing: there was as yet no judge chosen by the King, as documents from that time shows was the case for Sjælland's Landsting. A few of the King's men are noted as being present, perhaps on account of the particulars of the case in question - unfortunately there are no other documents to compare with, so we can not know for certain. At the May 1319 meeting of the Landsting the participants ask for the King's intervention against the Archbishop's encroachments, and at the same time promising to help their king with all their might: ". . . vi der bebor fornævnte land alle som en er kommet sammen, vi har med alles enstemmige raad og samtykke ved vor tro lovet nævnte vor herre kongens udsending paa samme konges vegne med mod himlen hævede hænder og svoret, at vi i fasthed vil staa nævnte herre konge bi mod all og tro tjene ham. . . til vidnesbyrd herom har vi ladet nævnte lands segl og de gode mænd, ridder Jens Kandes, ridderne Tule Mus' og Peder Mogensens segl hænge under dette brev." (. . . we who live here have all come together and agreed to swear our allegiance with our hands outstretched up to Heaven to our king as faithful servants. . . and as witness to above we place our land's sealand the good men, Knight Jens Kande's, and the Knights Tule Mus' and Peder Mogensen's seals are placed onto this document.)

We can easily imagine them gathered on that beautiful day in May under the open sky by Aa Church, whereupon they discussed the state of affairs and finally all as one, with their hands stretched towards Heaven, asked their king to come to their aid. We also find that, as is the case for each township, Bornholm's Landsting had its own seal. Later it became the norm for only the Landsdommer and Tingmændene to seal documents, and so the Bornholmer Landsting seal was never seen again.

Queen Margrethe's Laws of 1396 bestowed far greater responsibility and influence to the Landsdommer than ever before: ". . . landsdommeren skal dømme alle ret og skel imellem, som han vil forsvare det for Gud og kongen" (. . . the chief justice must set forth a just verdict for every case, a verdict worthy of God and king). Still it was seldom for the judge to act alone, as was commonly seen only after the Reformation. Maybe this is why the Lübeckers (who ruled Bornholm from 1525-1575) complained when the king chose two "bisiddere" (besiddere: officials) to sit alongside their chosen judge because of his partiality and bias. Finally, on November 16th 1597 (note 3) a decree was issued that the chief justice and his official clerk could only issue judgements.

The Right to choose the "Landsdommer":
As a rule it was the king's privilege to choose, which of course stemmed from the custom of having an official of the crown present at the Landsting - we have only a few instances wherein a "Lensmand" (Feudal Lord) has chosen the judge, probably with the king's approval. (note 4) This might very well be the case on Bornholm, which was the archbishop's lien, and so the Archbishop of Lund had the right to choose the judges. The first known chief justice for Bornholm, Peter Bosen, had been made a nobleman by the archbishop on account of his faithful service, and on June 6th 1443 he swore allegiance to the archbishop. This, of course, does not prove anything - but does look to be suspicious. A judge received taxes from several farmsteads on top of his income as a judge, which supposedly would make it unnecessary for him to take bribes. The farms in question belonged to the archbishopric during the 1400s. After the Reformation the king took back the Church's possessions, and Bornholm had been described in the early tax books as being under "den gejstlige jurisdiktion" (ecclesiastical jurisdiction) (note 5), and it is interesting to note that it was always the property previously under the Church's jurisdiction that were given as lien to the chief justice – and we can even see that it is mostly the same farms given in lien down through the years, from the first lien document of 1448 until the last in 1629! Even in the tax protocols the residents of these Vornede-gaarde (peasant farms) are named as being "Landsdommer bønder" (the chief justice's peasants).

So we can presume that the Archbishop of Lund had the right to choose the chief justice up to the time of the Reformation. After that event the king confiscated the Church's estates and thus should have the right to choose the island's Landsdommer, but by then Bornholm had been given as lien to the free-city of Lübeck. Early on we find that a couple of the king's chosen justices receiving some of the formerly ecclesiastical estates, however they supported an open rebellion against Lübeck. As the next two justices seemed to be friendly towards Lübeck we might suspect that the right of choosing had been taken over by the Lübeckers. Which is probably why we next find the king's foged (bailiff) confiscating the ecclesiastical estates from the Lübeck friendly Landsdommer. Leaving us with the situation wherein the estate lands farmed by the "Landsdommerbønder" were under the jurisdiction of the king's bailiff, and therefore not obliged to pay taxes to Lübeck or their representative!

The Status of the Island's Chief Justices:
The legislations of 1513 and 1523 stated explicitly that chief justices had to be noblemen - none the less we often see it written that on Bornholm the chief justice often was not a freeman. However, this is a mistake based on two out-dated treatises written on Bornholm's freemen by Jørgensen and Zarthmann (note 6), which suffers greatly from something you could call "a Bornholmer inferiority complex"! Many a hair has turned grey and much paper has been wasted trying to explain why Bornholm's freemen could not be noblemen, even though they were tax exempt and served valiantly to defend their island. The freemen were remnants of the past. After the end of the Viking era the nobility began to take form: as a reward for performing military duty a man was given freeman status, which meant having tax free status on your farm. As time went by some men acquired more land and farmsteads, and they became known as "høj adelen" (high nobility); others had only one tax-free farm, and they often served as fogeder (bailiffs) for the king or were lensmændene (feudal lords), and they became known as "lav adelen" (low nobility). The difference between the low nobility and the selvejerbønder (freehold farm-owners) was not a great distinction, and many inter-marriages took place, and not only on Bornholm! The Bornholmer freemen were known as low nobility, and they did not disappear until the middle of the 1600s -and therefore lasted for nearly 100 years longer than their counterparts in the rest of Denmark. The coronation ceremonies of the 1600s show us that Bornholm is the only place in all of Denmark where the freemen performed the ceremony separately from the peasantry, and also from the Commandant of Hammershus Fortress (who was of the high nobility). The Bornholm officers were not able to keep pace with the development of the nobility in the rest of the country because they were prohibited from founding dynasties with counts and barons. The frigårdene (freemen's farms) could no longer keep their distinct status, and at the death in 1668 of the last freeman, Berild Hansen, they disappeared to be swallowed up among the freehold farm-owners.

In the following we will see that the island's chief justices were ranked among the nobility (only in the 1650s do we first see a chief justice of common heritage) and what is more: they formed a local upper-class which inter-married. We can trace from the earliest known chief justices up to Mads Kofoed who died in 1646. Some of the justices could even trace their ancestry back to the commanders of Hammershus in the Middle Ages.

Peter Bosen:
The first known chief justice on Bornholm, Peter Boesen, was the faithful servant of the Archbishop of Lund. Peter was made a freeman on April 26th 1412, and as well the archbishop conferred free status on all his legitimate male descendants. (note 7) At the same time he was issued a coat of arms, which was similar to that of the Drefeldt family – which can be seen by their seals on documents. The above newly minted freeman officer, Peter Bosen, was probably already married and with children, as in 1429 he appears to have a son of legal age, Bo Pedersen, an officer in Pedersker parish who owned a part of a farmstead together with Officer Hans Bentsen from the neighbouring Bodilsker parish. The only freeman's farm in Pedersker is the later named Eskesgård, and since a family which used "Bent" as a prominently re-occuring name resided at Eskesgård later on, it seems very probable that the farm which Bo Pedersen had a deed of convience on in 1429 was an inheritance after his mother, and that his mother must be from the "Bent-family", as it looks like Peter Bosen's family-line stopped with his son Bo, who even died before his father, which would indicate that some of Peter Bosen's sibling's children inherited their farms.

On March 29th 1416 Peter Bosen paid 5 silver Mark for a deed of conveyance on some land in Åby, in Nyker parish, from "væbner Splid"; the Åby land consisted of two freehold farms (nr. 23 and 24) (note 8), on both sides of Åby Brook - later called Muleby Brook. Not too far from Åby is Kyndegård, a freeman's estate; signifying that this was "tingsted" (a gathering place for Tingmændene). Kyndegård was a farm for the herredfoged (the district's bailiff), which leads us to presume that Peter Bosen was the bailiff for Rønne Herred (later called Vestre Herred) before he was appointed the island's chief justice. (note 9)

As chief justice we find Peter Bosen mentioned in two documents dated June 5th 1429 and July 13-20th 1429 wherein he places his seal on two private deeds of conveyance, which is where we first encounter his son Bo. On November 7th 1433 he undersigns a High Court judgement, and on June 6th 1443, alongside other freemen, he swore his allegiance to the Archbishop of Lund. He probably reached a very old age before he passed away sometime within the next five years.

Sevid Nielsen:
In a document dated July 16th 1448 we first encounter the next chief justice for Bornholm, and he must have been only recently appointed, as in that document he acknowledges receiving from the Archbishop in Lund a lifetime deed given to him, and his wife Kirstine, to a hovedgård (manorfarm) and its 8 vornedegårder (copyhold peasant farms) spread out over five parishes. These farms are probably the same ecclesiastical estatelands that we later find under the pervue of following island's chief justices. This is the first chief justice deed of conveyance document known on Bornholm.

From their daughter's arms we can see that the family's shield is vertically divided into two fields, with the first field displaying a half fleur-de-lis attached to the partition - exactly the same shield as that used by the Clausen-Køller family!

During Sevid Nielsen's time there are long gaps in the historical record, and the next time he is mentioned is also the last before his death: on February 2nd 1469 the archbishop commanded "Sevidh Landsdommer" to summon Peder Lauridsen's heirs in Ibsker parish to court vs. Per Lang of "Walløse" (Vollsjö in Færs district, Skåne). Twenty years as chief justice is a long time, and soon after this Sevid Nielsen died.

Anders Uf:
Anders Uf, the son of Otte Pedersen Uf and his wife from the Galen-family, had married Sevid Nielsen's daughter, Anne, and we have an undated document stating that the couple had been deeded the manor farmand its 8 attached copyhold peasant farms previously belonging to Sevid Nielsen. The old deed of 1448 stated that Sevid Nielsen could occupy the manor until his death, meaning that by now he must have passed away, and his son-in-law Anders Uf had been appointed as his successor. However, no documents were saved from his time as chief justice. An "Anders Uf min kære frænde" (Anders Uf my dear relative) is mentioned in Anders Galen's will of 1511, but since Chief Justice Anders Uf was dead for many years, the person mentioned must be his son, who in 1499 - after studying in Lund - was admitted on November 26th to Greifswald University: "Andreas U de Bornholm"; on that same day the son of Lund citizen was also admitted: "Tycho Nicolai de civitate Lundensi", they achieved Baccalaureate (Bachelor's degree) in 1500 and were probably fellow travellers. The "Hr. Peder Uf, min kære frænde" mentioned in Anders Galen's will, must have been the son of the younger Anders Uf's father's brother; there seems to be no other possibilities, since Anders Galen is not related to the rest of the Uf-family. Anders Galen's sister had three children in another marriage: Jørgen Hals and his sisters Anne and Else, but Anders Galen would not accept them, and according to several documents he considered them illegitimate. (note 10)

(Note: I disagree with the above assertion that the Anders Uf who was married (before 1469) to Anne Sevidsdatter is the son of Otte Pedersen Uf (-1493-1497-); I believe it more likely that Chief Justice Anders Uf is the brother of Otte Pedersen Uf. And that the Anders Uf and Peder Uf mentioned in the 1511 will are brothers, the sons of Otte Pedersen Uf and his wife from the Galen-family; that the very reason they are mentioned in the will is because they are the nephews of Anders Galen. – Norman Lee Madsen, September 19, 2003)

Jacob Split:
Anders Uf's widow, Anne Sevidsdatter, now married Jacob (or Jep) Split, who immediately thereafter became the next chief justice for Bornholm!!!Maybe their marriage had taken place in 1487 when officials in Lund deeded "Jacobus Splijt" four farms on Bornholm - perhaps they were several of the "Landsdommerbønder" (the chief justice's peasants). The first time he is mentioned as chief justice is in letters dated: August 14th 1490, next on July 2nd 1491, and then on July 10th 1493; the letters all concerned the personal affairs of Per Lang of Vollsjö, and it's indeed thanks to Per Lang's private archives that these few documents concerning Bornholm have been preserved.

On August 10th 1497 yet another farm was deeded to Per Lang, and the deed of conveyance document was witnessed by a varied group from the upperclass: Chief Justice Jep Split, Per Truelsen (of the Baad-family in Halland - probably a cousin of Split), Otte Pedersen Uf, and Oluf Ottesen Uf (Otte' son, and a future chief justice)! Jep Split's seal can still be recognized under several of these documents, it displayed a "geddekæft" (a pike's jawbone, aka: "halv hummerklo" = half lobster claw) on the shield, and in his seal is written: "Andreas Split", so he must have inherited his father's seal (on June 6th 1443 Andreas is referred to as Andreas "Splid Ipsen").

Both of Anne Sevidsdatter's husbands could count among their ancestors commanders of Hammershus. Jep Split descended from a daughter of Jacob Split (originally Splitaf), an faithful military officer under King Valdemar Atterdag. Jacob Split was from Jylland, and was installed as commander of Hammershus after it was retaken in 1361. (note 11) The following commander, Jens Uf, was the great-grandfather of Chief Justice Anders Uf, and they all were counted among the nobility. There is no evidence that Anne Sevidsdatter gave birth to any children, and the Split-family seems to have died out. Later, in the 1500s, a family: "The Bjergegaard-family" appears, using the exact same arms as that belonging to Jep Split. They can not be direct descendants of Jep Split, so it seems likely that they are a branch of the family which stopped using the Split family-name during the 1400s. Chief Justice Laurids Pedersen, whom we will meet later, was a member of that branch.

A key document dating from July 10th 1508 concerning the above two justices is Anne Sevidsdatter's gift to the cathedral in Lund in the amount of 200 Lübeck-Mark to honour her family. Anne's seal can be found on the document, which mentions both of her deceased husbands, and it is canon Peder Uf of Lund who manages the donation to the cathedral, which states that if the church neglects the saying of Mass for her soul, then the Uf-family can rightfully take back the 200 Mark - the Reformation is on the way! Her other relations also act as witnesses: Oluf Ottesen(Uf), who by this time was himself chief justice and that half brother of the younger Anders Uf (common father), Jørgen Hals was next (he was Anders Uf's half brother - common mother), and freeman Jens Olsen of Klemensker (possibly Oluf Ottesen's mother's brother?), and finally Oluf Jensen of Bjergegård in Vestermarie (his son was married to a niece of Jørgen Hals).

Oluf Ottesen (Uf):
Oluf, Otte Pedersen Uf's youngest son (from a second marriage to the sister of Jens Olsen of Klemensker?), had a sister, whose name likewise is not known, but who is known to have been married to freeman Oluf Tuesen of Klemensker; the fact that neither of these siblings are mentioned in Anders Galen's will of 1511 (while their brothers Anders Uf and Peder Uf are mentioned), must mean that Otte Pedersen Uf was married twice. Oluf Ottesen is first mentioned, alongside his father, as a witness to a private deed of conveyance on August 10th 1497, and he was so young that he did not have a seal of his own and so he placed his father's seal under his signature; later he would cease using Uf family-name altogether.

This was a rough period for Bornholm's chief justice! King Christian II tried to prevent the Hanseatic Merchant League's free trade by strengthening the native merchants. The Hansa hit back with a massive war effort: on August 31st 1509 the Hansa navy landed on Bornholm and threatened the populace with murder and fire, which the Bornholmers chose not to risk. They agreed to pay a fire-tax of 4,000 Lübeck marks and to hand over eight hostages. (note 12) The following year Denmark was in open conflict with the Hansa, who responded by sending a fleet of 30 vessels to Bornholm. But this time the islanders mobilized and met the fleet with fortifications around Nexø, however things turned out badly: the archbishop's commander turned tail and ran, he jumped on his horse and retreated to Hammershus fortress, and the Bornholmers fled like frightened sheep. Nexø was burned down until only three houses were left standing, and in Åkirkeby fires were also started before negotiatons were started. Over in the rest of Denmark it was rumoured that all of Bornholm had been burned down - it was not that bad, but its coffers had to be emptied to avoid that fate! On July 12th 1510 a treaty was signed with humiliating conditions: 4,000 gold coins - a huge sum of money, and 8,000 measures of pure silver. Also, three hostages were given over until the debt was fully paid, they were: Pastor Peder Laurentsen of Ibsker parish, "Peter Kovoth" (Peder Kofoed, who was from Lübeck), and Jens Skaaning. (note 13) Chief Justice Oluf Ottesen acted as there presentative for Bornholm, since the Commander of Hammershus was still hiding in the fortress!

Oluf is mentioned several more times in the following years in his official capacity as chief justice, the last time on May 22nd 1522 when he, together with a number of "good men" from the Landsting, witnessed that Jørgen Hals and his two sisters, Anne and Else, are legitimate and rightful heirs after Anders Galen of Lund. Below this document his sealis well preserved, and we can see the Uf-family arms, with its "sparre"(chevron) on the shield, and the helmet with its two vessel-horns.

Oluf Ottesen probably married a daughter of Hans Myre, of Klinteby in Ibsker, and along with her inherited her family-farm, which became part of the Uf-family property for several generations. Their only child was named Hans Olufsen.

Notes:
1) Regarding the nordic landsting: "Kulturhistorisk Lexicon for Nordisk Middelader", under "Landsting" and "Domare". See also W. Christensen's "Dansk Statsforvaltning i det 15. Århundrede", København, 1903.

2) "Danmarks Riges Breve"/DRB, 2nd edition, volume 8, nr. 103; regarding further happenings on Bornholm see also SAXO 1985 yearbook, page 45.

3) "Kancelliets Brevbøger", see the date mentioned.

4) "Kult. Lex." (see note nr. 1), volume 3, page 154, shows one example, but we surmise that in the mid-1400s on Bornholm it was the right of the archbishop, and in the mid-1500s, in a few cases, it was the right of the Lübeckers - see the following.

5) The ecclesiatical jurisdiction entailed the management of all farms which before the 1536 Reformation belonged to the Lund Archbishopric, and which were later taken over by the king and managed by his bailiff. The take over of church property took place while the Lübeckers had Bornholm under their 50 year lease, and since the king wished to take away as much power from the Lübeckers as possible, he used his bailiff (as well as the island's chief justice) as his resistance fighters.

6) "Væbnere, adel og frimand på Bornholm", by J.A. Jørgensen, Rønne, 1905, is hopelessly out of date, and only refers to "Hübertz Aktstykker til Bornholms Historie"/Hüb. and that only superficially; the author did not even try to document family relationships, the only family researched by him is the Kofoed-family, and his family tree is incorrectly written down and not even verified by "Hüb.", in spite of this it later found its way into "Danmarks Adels Årbog"/DAA, 1906 edition, under "Kofoed". Not a milestone in Bornholm's historical literature! "Bornholms Frimænd" by M.K. Zahrtmann in "Bornholmske Samlinger", volume 16, Rønne, 1920, pages 120-159, is a bit better, although still out of date. Some of the "Væbnere" (arms carriers) have been incorrectly documented, something easily avoided if the author had checked their seals. He insisted that it was impossible to trace a Bornholm officer-family over three generations, which is indeed nonsense. Further mistakes include Jacob Køller's seal (see under "Sevid Nielsen", this article), where he states that Jacob carried the Brahe-family arms (which is displays a pole instead of a half fleur-de-lis!). Also, that Captain Anders Hansen (in the 1600s) belonged to the Lang-family (coat of arms: three oak-leaves), even though it had been over 100 years since the family had been on Bornholm, and that Anders Hansen carried a rose in his arms. A further mistake is that of Mette Hansdatter's arms (the wife of Chief Justice Peder Hansen Uf), he changed her half lobster claw (aka pike's jawbone) to one ant in order to make her fit into his faulty hypothesis, etc.,etc.

7) "Svensk Diplomatarium"/SD, 2nd volume, nr. 496.

8) Østre (Eastern) and Vestre (Western) Åbygård, but it is not likely that the "væbner" (arms carrier) bought these freehold farms; for these freemen were only allowed to buy "frigods" (free-estates) or "vornedegårde" (copyhold peasant farms), otherwise their entire landholdings were subject to be heavily taxed as per an old ecclesiastic (archbishopric) law.

9) "Bornholms Stednavne", København 1950-51, volume 1, (Nyker parish, Vestre district); Kyndegård: a name derived from the old-danish "kynde" (bekyndtgøre = make a statement). Possibly this was a "tingsted" (meeting place for the court) and the residence for the district's bailiff.

10) "Kirkehistoriske Samlinger", 4th edition, VI, page 373, ("Danske og Norske Studenter i Greifswald"). Anders Galen's will of November 19th 1511 ("Repertoriet" / Rep. Dipl. II edition, Nr. 11962) and witnessed by Commander Niels Jepsen (Bryske) in 1522, recorded in Bornholm's Landstingmeeting on May 22nd 1522 (in "Hüb." nr. 62 and 64: the originals with seals in Mogens Gyldenstjerne's private archives, packet F.9. in Rigsarkivet/RA); a parish testimonial of 1530? mentions the two sisters ("Hüb." nr. 78 - Topographisk Samlinger RA, Bornholm, nr. 119). For further information see in the yearbook "SAXO", 1986, page 79.

11) "SAXO", 1986, page 71.

12) Jørn Klindt's excellent book: "På spor af de første Kofod'er", Rønne, 1979; he states his source as "Hanserecesse III.5, 31 Aug. 1509".

13) As with note nr. 12: "Hanserecesse III.6", note on page 97; July 5th 1510, July 16th 1510, November 20th 1510, and August 15th 1511. See also "Hüb." nr. 42.

This database researched and compiled by Norman Lee Madsen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Oluf blev gift med nn Hansdatter Myre cirka 1505. nn (datter af Hans Pedersen Myre) blev født cirka 1485 i 6. vgd. Fuglsangsgård, Klinteby, Ibsker Sogn; døde i fra 1510 til 1575 i Prgd. Simblegård, Klemensker Sogn. [Gruppeskema] [Familietavle]

Notater:

Note(kopieret juli 2019 fra Norman Lee Madsens database)

There is no known documentation on the identity of Oluf Ottesen Uf's wife. Much speculation has ensued over who it is that Peder Hansen Uf and his wife Mette Hansdatter were the owners of Fuglsangsgård, 6' Vdg. Ibsker, in 1574. Sigvard Mahler Dam speculates in his article "Landsdommer-Patriciatet på Bornholm", part 1, (published in SAXO, 1987), that the position of chief justice on Bornholm was kept as an inherited family position by a small clique of Freemen families during the 1500s; and so he speculates that Oluf's wife might be the daughter of Hans Myre. This would also explain how his grandson Peder Hansen (Uf), and his wife Mette, managed to inherit the majority of the Myre-family's farms. A court document concerning a dispute over Fugslangsgård dated June 15, 1582 states that Mette Hansdatter was an heir of Hans Myre (died 1518). - Norman Lee Madsen, June 11, 2005.

Question: How is it that the Uf-family came into the possession of the Myre-family farms? Mette Hansdatter and her husband Peder Hansen Uf hada pew-door made which dipicts two arms: "a shield with an upside down chevron (gavlsparre) design, and the other shield sporting a half lobster-claw (hummerklo). . ." And further, it appears that Jørgen Gagge and his wife Margrethe/Merete had a memorial made to honour her parents, Peder Hansen Uf and Mette Hansdatter. In 1601 they had cast a large church-bell (which later disappeared) for Klemensker Church. Laurids de Thurah states (in "Omstændelig og tilforladelig Beskrivelse over Bornholm og Christiansøe", 1756) that the large bell displayed two shields: one with a chevron (Sparre), the other with a pike's jawbone (Giedde Kieft). The Uf-family coat of arms displayed a chevron. This would seem to indicate that Mette Hansdatter's father's emblem displayed a pike's jawbone ("Giedde Kieft", a.k.a. "Hummerklo"). Yet, the Myre-family coat of arms displays 3 ants (3 myrer)!

Conclusion: The fact that Margrethe Pedersdatter (the wife of Jørgen Gagge) came into the possession of the Myre-family farms places a great deal of weight in favour of one or the other of Margrethe's parents being a close relative (descendant?) of Hans Myre (died 1518) of Fuglsangsgård. Evidently Hans Myre's three sons all died without maleissue, so their estates would have gone to their daughters; and if any of the brothers did not have any children, then their heirs would have been one of their own siblings or the children of their siblings. The assertion that the coat of arms, on the Klemensker pew-door and church-bell, were dedicated to the parents of Peder Hansen Uf and his wife Mette Hansdatter points to Mette being the daughter of Hans Pedersen and his wife (Anne Hals and Poul Olsen's daughter) of Bjergegård in Vestermarie parish. So, possibly it is Margrethe's father Peder Hansen Uf who is the connection to the Myre-family? We have no information on the identity of either Peder Hansen Uf's mother nor Hans Olfusen Uf's mother. Either of these two women would provide a direct route by which Peder Hansen Uf and Mette Hansdatter (and later their daughter, Margrethe, and grandson Claus Gagge) obtained the Myre-family estate-farm, Fuglsangsgård. It must also be noted here that the gravestone of Truid Hansen Myre's wife in Olsker display's the "Geddekæft" image; so she is likely a relative of Laurids Pedersen and Hans Pedersen! Yet another close family connection for Peder Hansen Uf and Mette Hansdatter to the Myre-family! - Norman Lee Madsen, June 11,2005.

Extracted from "Landsdommer-Patriciatet på Bornholm, Del II" (The Chief Justice Patriciate on Bornholm, Part II), by: Sigvard Mahler Dam (SAXO,1988):

Peder Hansen (Uf):

Once again a member of the Uf-family is back in the judge's seat. TheUfs were coming on strong. In 1562 Henning Gagge had been replaced asbailiff by the former chief justice Mogens Uf. It seems the brothersOluf and Peder Hansen (Uf) took a great interest in the law; since 1552they had been active in the Landsting, and took part in various cases -some of which, of coarse, pertained to their own family. And now, onceagain, a new chief justice was needed and the appointment speaks foritself: on the 28th of March 1574 Johann Urne was appointed chiefbailiff, and he brought along with him a letter from the king concerningthe candidate for the judge's seat, which stated: "The king has learnedthat since Jacob Borringholm's death there has been no Landstinggathering, and therefore the people suffer under the bailiffs, who havenobody to answer to, but since Hans Persen (sic, Chancellery error!) isthought to be capable for this office, he is to be installed andestablish law and order".

We can read all about the appointment in the letter the Lübeck bailiffsent home to the Lübeck council dated the 23rd of May 1574: "5 days ago anobleman came from Denmark, Johann Urne, who is to officiate over theecclesiastical jurisdictions. This nobleman has summoned 3 prominentpersons from every parish to a meeting at the tower in Klemen's Church(Peder Hansen was from Klemensker) and there they all gathered to witnessthe nomination of freeman Peder Hansen, officiated over by the noblemanon behalf of the king, as the new chief justice". At the end of theletter the Lübeck bailiff offers up a heartfelt sigh: "May he turn out tobe competent!"

Peder Hansen was born in 1536 and died 60 years of age in 1596, a tabletwhich once hung in Klemen's Church stated this to remind thecongregation. His grandfather was Chief Justice Oluf Ottesen (Uf), andhis father's mother was possibly a sister of Chief Justice Jens Hansen(Myre). His wife, Mette Hansdatter, was a niece of Chief Justice LauridsPedersen; and his father's nephew was Chief Justice Mogens Uf.

The colours of this old family's shield can still be seen on the couple'spreserved pew in Klemen's Church: a sinister red chevron on a whitefield, and on the helmet are 2 red vesselhorns; the wife's shield hasalready been described under Laurids Pedersen's entry. Peder Hansenapparently reversed the chevron in his shield to differentiate it fromthe emblem used by this brother Oluf Hansen, and his son Hans Olfusen -who was the "Lensmand" ( Feudal Lord) at Vardøhus (formerly employed bythe Royal Chancellery in København). (see note nr. 27)

Peder Hansen (Uf) and family lived at Simlegård in Klemensker parish, afarm which still is one of the largest on Bornholm, and the family ownedvast estates. The couple had 2 daughters: Margrethe, who married JørgenGagge of Almegård in Knudsker parish; and Merete, married to Hans Grabowof Pederstrup, who came to Bornholm. The Uf-family estate was dividedbetween these two families, of which the Gagges are the only ones to stayon Bornholm, while Merete's stepson, Jochum Grabow, sold all his estateand moved away from the island. (see note nr. 28)

(Note: I disagree with the above statement. I believe there was only onedaughter (known variously as: Margrethe, Marete, Merethe and Merete), whowas first married to Jørgen Gagge, then after his death was married toHans Grabow. - Norman Lee Madsen)

Peder Hansen lived to experience the joyful moment of Bornholm's returnto Danish rule. Lübeck had wished to renew its lease on the island foranother 50 years. But the king protested vehemently, even though itappears that he had previously promised to agree to the extention.Manderup Parsberg came to Hammershus in 1576, but as he preferred to havean entailed estate on Jylland already by the 7th of July 1577 hetransferred his entailment to Mogens Gøie, and Peder Hansen was summonedto officiate on this occasion. Such summons were to be issued severalmore times, a show another side to the chief justice's duties: to upholdthe laws governing Hammershus fortress until a new commander arrived,receive him on behalf of Bornholm and brief him on the affairs of theisland. That same year, the 8th of August 1577, Peder Hansen receivedentailments on 13 farms in the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, withpermission to keep them for the duration of his term as chief justice.This is the first time that all the copyhold peasants were mentioned bytheir names: so that all the farms can be easily identified - and withonly a few exceptions they are the same farms which succeeding justiceswere entailed according to the land tax registry of 1598. Furthermore,the farms - which were tenant- (vornede) farms - were largely situated inthe very same parishes as the farms entailed to Chief Justice SevidNielsen in 1448, which might suggest that this farms were "inherited"along with the position.

On the 27th of April 1580 Peder Hansen received a letter from the king tothe effect that he can freely reap the benefits of all his estates as hisparents before him. . . although his tenant-farmers had to deliver someof their harvest to Hammershus as they had done since Arild's time. Whyhe required this royal guarantee is not known.

On the 13th of September 1583 a captain had stranded his boat near Nexø,but the trade-licensed citizenry would only salvage his cargo if theycould keep half as their salvage-fee. . . way more than was allowed undermaritime law. The king ordered the citizens to appear before the chiefjustice and three assistant judges, all belonging to the island's chiefjustice patrician families: Jens Kofoed of Kyndegård (a future chiefjustice, and Peder Hansen Uf's sister's stepson), Christen Clausen(Køller) of Hallegård (the father of a future chief justice, and marriedto Peder Hansen Uf's cousin), and Bendt Hansen of Vellensgård (the nephewof a previous chief justice: Laurids Pedersen, and the brother of PederHansen Uf's wife, Mette)!

It was not always easy to pass sentences on the tempermental, hot-headedislanders, and on farmer, Morten Pedersen, had appeared several timesbefore the Landsting "and uttered numerous nasty swear words at the chiefjustice," and when Peder Hansen's judgement went against him, MortenPedersen became so enraged that inspite of grave warnings from theestate-holders and the bailiff, he finally attacked the justice while atthe Landsting, all the while shouting that the justice was a liar. Thejustice had to halt the proceedings, and Morten Pedersen was arrested andtaken to Hammershus to await court summons. His brother Hans andbrother-in-law H. Simonsen put up bail, so Morten was set free afterpromising to appear in court at the appointed time, but on the 23rd ofSeptember 1585 he failed to show up; and since he had probably fled theisland, his brother and brother-in-law were summoned to court in hisstead!

On the 13th of April 1587 a new commander arrived on the island, andbefore his arrival the chief justice and Jens Kofoed were ordered toregister all inventory at Hammershus, to examine the fortress' state ofrepair and supply of military hardware, as well as the condition of theisland's forests, and finally to audit the land registry taxpayer booksand accounts

By then Peder Hansen was 52 years old and wished to enjoy his retirementwithout too much trouble, so he stepped down from the chief justiceseat. His successor, who was appointed on the 25th of August 1588 issomeone we have already met: Jens Kofoed, a relative of Peder Hansen, whohad probably been given a good recommendation by his predecessor.However, the two of them continue to appear together officially, onlywith a roll reversal. For instance on the 28th of January 1594 whenCommander Falk Giøe died, and his widow was absen, both chief justiceJens Kofoed and Peder Hansen were summoned at once to Hammershus to"uphold the proper law of the fortress". Later that same year both ofthem were again summoned to Hammershus for the installation of the newcommander.

During Jens Kofoed's time as chief justice, we find several cases wherePeder Hansen participates, often we see him at the Landsting whensentences had been appealed. During the 8 year period following hisretirement from the judge's seat we often find him acting as a witness onprivate deed documents, and he most certainly was always valued as anadviser.

Notes:
Nr. 27) Peder Hansen (Uf)'s seal found in Bidstrup's "Stamtavle overFamilien Koefoed A", pub. København, 1886, page 181 (same as in A.Thiset's "Samlinger på kort" in RA, from 1886). An drawing of his pewseat, same as description of the family's coat of arms, see "HeraldiskTidsskrift" nr. 46, October 1982. On the genealogy same as: "SAXO" 1986,page 733 ff. Seals in "Danske Adelig Sigler" by Thiset, under L.lxv. nr.4: Cecilie Jensdatter, 1423-37 (daughter of nr. 20); nr. 5: Hr. Peder Uf,canon, 1501 (son of M.95); nr. 20: Johannes Lagesen, 1407 (father of nr.4); nr. 21: Hans Olufsen, 1599 (son of M.95); M.95: Otte Persen W,1493-97 (son's son of nr. 20).

Nr. 28) Merete Pedersdatter had 4 children, who all died before her,therefore her husband and step-son inherited all her farmsteads.

This database researched and compiled by Norman Lee Madsen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Andre Begivenheder og Egenskaber:

• Beskæftigelse: Land-owner (Proprietær)
• Ane-nr.: Ane 16.53897 og 16.55301 (Garde)
• Ane-nr.: Ane 17.71753 (Sommer)

Notater:

Fra Bjarne Kofoeds database:

Occupation: Land-owner (Proprietær)
The respected Bornholm historian Dr. M.K. Zarthmann (published in
1931) relates that Otte Pedersen Uf can be found mentioned in records


dating from 1493 and 1497 in which he is mentioned as the owner of
Skovsholm in Ibsker parish; and that it is thought that his wife was
a member of the Galen family. They are attributed as having had at
least four children:
1) Oluf Ottesen, Chief Justice (Landsdommer) of Bornholm from 1508 to


1522;
2) Peder Uf, "Kannik"(?) in Skåne, 1505;
3) Anders Uf, mentioned as "frænde" to Anders Galen in 1511, and
known to have been alive in 1533;
4) a daughter, given name unknown, married to Oluf Tuesen. (The word
"frænde" can mean either "friend" or "relative".)
Dr. Zarthmann attributes Gunhild Uf to be the "datterdatter"
(daughter's daughter) of Otte Pedersen Uf, thus making her the
daugher of Oluf Tuesen and the unkown Uf daughter. While in "1000
Aner til en Skovgårdsslægt", by Edvard Skovgaard, Gunhild Uf is
attributed to be the daughter of Anders Uf and Anne Sevidsdatter of
St. Kannikegård in Bodilsker parish; in 1449, as a wedding present
from her father Sevid Nielsen, they were given the ownership of St.
Kannikegård. This would mean that Edvard Skovgaard's Anders Uf must
have been at least 25 years old in 1449 (25 was the age at which a
man could own land in that era), and thus born before 1426. If he
was the same Anders Uf who was "frænde" to Anders Galen in 1511, then


he would have been at least 107 years old in 1533. It is probable
that Edvard Skovgaard has mistakenly attributed Anders Uf, the son of


Otte Pedersen Uf, to be the same person as Anders Uf of St.
Kannikegård. It has also been presented that Gunhild Uf and her
brothers are the children of Otte Pedersen Uf's son Anders Uf, rather


than that of his daughter and her husband Oluf Tuesen. Edvard
Skovgaard has lain out an ancestry for Anders Uf, of St. Kannikegård,


that leads back to the first King of a united Danmark: "Gorm den
Gamle", or Gorm the Elder, and his wife Thyra Dannebod. History says


that Thyra was the descendant of a long line of Kings in England,
dating back to 400 A.D. It is an accepted fact that the present
Queen of Danmark, Margrethe II, is a descendant of King Gorm; that
all of the Danish royalty since then have numbered among his
descendants. And thus through inter-marriage many of Europe's royal
families, including the British, are his descendants. Edvard
Skovgaard states that Anders Uf was the son of Otte Pedersen Uf (?-
after 1497) and ??? Galen. That ??? Galen was the daughter of Tuve
(Tue) Galen (before 1320-after 1400) of Næsbyholm in Skåne, who in
1345 was made a Knight (Ridder), in 1364 Marschall, and from 1376-83
was "Gældker" (Treasurer?); he married Ingefred Pedersdatter Urup on
April 15, 1345. She was the daughter of Peder Holmgersen Urup (?-
1378), who is a decendant of Cecilie - a daughter of King Knud
(Canute) the Holy (who was a gr-gr-gr-grandson of Gorm the Elder).
Edvard Skovgaard states they had five children. While in the
book "Nachkommen Gorms des Alten" (Descendants of Gorm) by Siegfried


Otto Brenner (published in 1978 by the Danish Genealogy Society),
Tuve Galen is said to be a descendant of Gorm, it does not list ???
Galen. He is recorded in that book as having four children:
Anders Galen (?-after 1399); Peder Galen (?-after 1400); Ingefred
Tuvesdatter Galen (?-1396) married to Johannes Absalonsen Ulfeldt (?-
1396); and ??? Tuvesdatter Galen married to Conrad Isenvorde
(Isenfurt) (?-1396/97), esquire in Skåne. It does NOT list a fifth
child: the un-named Galen daughter married to Otte Pedersen Uf. I
have not included Edvard Skovgaard's lineage of the Uf family in this


database for the simple reason I found the dates and connections to
be rather suspect. Working with those dates that were provided I
found that the un-named Galen woman must have been born between 1345


and 1380 (at the very latest!). As Edvard Skovgaard's Anders Uf was
alive in 1533, it is doubtful that he was born before 1426. Given a
limit to a woman's child-bearing years, by this calculation she could


not (by any stretch of the imagination) have given birth to a child
past 1430. This would mean that Anders Uf would have had to have
lived to at least 105 years old, and have been fathering children at
70-80 years old. Also, since Otte Pedersen Uf was still alive in
1497, it is doubtful he was born before 1400. Meaning that Otte
Pedersen Uf, at 20-30, would have been married to woman at least 20-
30 years older than himself. This whole senario is remotely
possible, but highly unlikely! The Anders Uf of St. Kannikegård was a


nobleman (adelsmand) and is described as a "Storbonde"; I am not sure


of the word's exact meaning, however: stor=great and bonde=farmer, so


I suspect it means he was the holder of large amounts of land farmed
by "vornedskabe" peasants. In the middle-ages the peasants had been
declared "vornedskabe" (bound), this meant that the descendants of
tenured peasants could be forced to stay on the "vornedegaard" they
were working, and it gave the owner of the farms the right to recall
a dead peasant's heir to take over working the land. By the 1500s
those tenured peasants who lived on manor-owned farms worked off a
portion of their taxes by service in the manor's fields. That said,
it is still possible that the Uf-family of Bornholm is descended from


Gorm; being as that they were of minor Danish nobility, and on
account of the nobility's tendancy to inter-marry amongst themselves.


They seem to have been connected to families, (i.e. the Galen-
family) known to be descended from Gorm; however, the possible
connection is far from certain and will probably remain that way! The


first member of the noble Uf-family to appear in Bornholm's
historical records was Hans Uf, who was appointed commander of
Hammershus fortress by his mother's brother Niels Jonsen, who was
Archbishop of Lund from 1361-1379. During a long winter stay at the
fortress the Archbishop died on February 5, 1379. Two days
previously he had written his testament, wherein he left to Hans Uf
his large gilded silver-horn and two silver cups, also 40 Marks in
silver to cover expenses for flour, malt, and other items used during


his stay. As well he received the rights to six dwellings in Listed
fishing-village, which he had had built for the Archbishop, and which


brought in 6 Marks silver in yearly rent. During Hans Uf's long term
of office he acquired land in the region north-west of Svaneke. The
Archbishop also thought of Hans Uf's daughter Cecilie, leaving her a
gold ring. She was later married three times, all of her husbands
were noblemen from Skåne. She outlived them all and in 1427 she
bestowed a gilded silver-chalice to Nyker Church, which is still in
use, it bears the Uf-family coat-of-arms - with its characteristic
truss (sparren) - and the inscription: "Madame Cecilie gave this
chalice to All-Saints Church, pray for my soul." This indicates that


the Uf-family had a home-farm in Nyker parish.

UF-note
Også Ane 16.54601

Notater:

Note(kopieret juli 2019 fra Norman Lee Madsens database)

From the "Dansk adelsvåbner, en heraldisk nøgle", page 147, by Sven Tito Achen, Politikens Forlag, 1973, København:
Myre "på Bornholm". Tre sorte myrer i hvidt. På hjelmen to hvide vesselhorn. * Uradel, Skåne eller Bornholm. Peder Myre 1429; Hans Myre 1518. NDA side 201 og DAÅ 1901 side 229.

(The above translated to English:)
Myre "of Bornholm". Three black ants on white. On the helmet two white vesselhorns. * Noble origins: Skåne or Bornholm. Peder Myre in 1429; Hans Myre in 1518. See: NDA, page 201, and DAÅ, page 229.

From "Danske adelige sigiller fra det 13. til 17. århundrede", XV. Tre Myrer, page 36:
1. Myre, Hans v.: s. Hans Myre. 1518 Juli 14, Top. Sml. Perg. Vemmenhøg H.

(Translation of above:)
1. Hans v. Myre: Seal reads: Mr. Hans Myre; dated: July 14, 1518; Top. Collection Perg. Vemmenhøg district.

"Uldall'ske Samlinger 479-4" states that in "Friderich Rostgaards Vaabenbog 1687-88", page 68, describes the family's arms differently: "I hvidt felt 3 røde myrer" (on a white field 3 red ants)!

Hans Myre (mentioned in 1518) had three sons:

(Note: according to Sigvard Mahler Dam, in "De bornholmske væbnerslægter Uf og Splid - noget nyt om deres våbener", pub. in Heraldisk Tidsskrift, 1982, Hans Myre died in 1518. In "Over hals og hoved", pub. in SAXO, 1991, Sigvard states that Hans Myre was mentioned in 1518, and dead before 1531.)

1. Jens Hansen Myre. A document dated 1541 confures him the position of deacon (kannik) in Lund. On July 4, 1574 he sold Myregård (a.k.a. Lille Ølegård), 9' Vdg. Østermarie, and one farm in Klinteby, 20' Vdg. Ibsker, to Peder Oxe. He had a crookback (krogrygget) and died in Lund in 1575. Probably the same person as the Jens Hansen who was chief justice (Landsdommer) for Bornholm circa 1533, who placed his seal on an undated document (in 1533?) which was later presented in court in 1537 by Hans Borreby's widow Anne with regards to her dispute over the ownership of Myregård in Åker parish. In 1535 there was an unsuccessful uprising bythe Bornholmers against their Lübeck overlords, and the island's chiefjustice, a Jens Hansen of Nylars parish is said to have been involved. He probably owned "Myregaard" (later called Ågård), 2' Vdg. Nylars, a "frivornedegård" (free copyhold farm) - which is known to have been owned by Truid Myre. Some accounts state the he was executed by the Lübeckers- but the facts on this seem doubtful. Possibly Jens Hansen (Myre) fled the island, and took up the possition of canon in Lund? Possibly he is the father of Mads Kofoed's first wife Johanne (died circa 1547)?

2. Truid Myre. He is named in a 1551 lawsuit in Malmö, and in 1555 in another lawsuit on Bornholm. He complained in 1558 to the king about "Lensmand" ( Feudal Lord) Lage Urne, who was not pleased at Truid having freeman status. Sought in 1552 to lay entire Arnager fishing village beneath his durisdiction, this attempt failed. On March 30, 1558 he was the spokesman for Bornholm's freemen to King Christian the 3rd regarding exemptions in payment of the land-assistance-tax (landehjælpeskat), the exemptions were denied. Was probably without any children, as his farms (Store Myregård, 5' Vdg. Olsker; Lille Myregård, 6' Vdg. Olsker; Lille Myregård, 11' Slg. Nylars; Store Myregård, 10' Slg. Nylars; Ågård, 2' Vdg. Nylars; Pæregård, 3' Vdg. Nylars) would later become part of Simlegård estate, which was owned by Peder Hansen Uf and his wife Mette Hansdatter. Truid Myre died "Allerhelgens aften" (November 1) 1574, and according to Sigvard Mahler Dam, his gravestone was placed in Olsker Church's entry hall (Ols kirkes våbenhus), and although worn the 3 ants of the Myre arms, with two vesselhorns on the helmet, can still be seen; also that the gravestone shows his wife's shield, which depicts "en halvbue med nogle spidser" (a crescent with several points), with vesselhorns on the helmet - otherwise known as the "hummerklo" (lobsterclaw) or "geddekæft" (pike's jawbone) arms of the Bjergegaard-family.
(Sigvard speculates that she was the daughter of Hans Pedersen (-1537-1543-) of Bjergegård, 9' Vdg. Vestermarie, however it more likely to me that she was his aunt. - Norman Madsen, March 24,2003.)

3. Peder Hansen Myre was a "Frimand" (Freeman), he inherited the family-farm, Fuglsangsgård, 6' Vdg. Ibsker. In 1547 he is known to have owned a farm in Vestermarie parish which was not numbered, it was referred to as "Peder Myhres gaard"; it was later known as Lille Vestergård or Fogedagerhuset. He also owned Lille Myregård, 1' Vdg. Åker. On September 6, 1572 a meeting was held by Bornholm's Parliament to establish who had the right to the status of "Frimand" (Freeman) on Bornholm; Peder Myre is named as being one of the 17 men in attendance at the "Frimandsmødet". Peder Myre died in 1572, and it appears that he had no sons; the Myre-family farm, Fuglsangsgård, went to Peder Hansen Uf and his wife, Mette Hansdatter. Various researcher have incorrectly stated that "Mette Hans Pedersens Datter" was the daughter of Hans Pedersen Myre- based only on the fact that Peder Hansen Uf and Mette owned Fuglsangsgård in 1574. A court document dated June 15, 1582 concerning a dispute over Fuglsangsgård states that Mette Hansdatter was an heir of Hans Myre (-1518-).

The following has been extracted from a translation of the article "Landsdommer-patriciatet på Bornholm", part 1, by Sigvard Mahler Dam, published in SAXO, 1987:

Jens Hansen:
The Lübeckers helped King Frederik conquer Gotland, and thereafter demanded payment for their efforts and expenses in the war. So, on August 23rd 1525 the king sent an open letter to the inhabitance of Bornholm telling them that they had been mortgaged to Lübeck for the next 50 years!

About this time a new chief justice appears, someone we do not know much about. A legend from 1625, which was revived in a Bornholm journal in 1804 (see note nr. 14), tells that the Lübeck commander, Bernt Knop, was ill treating the Bornholmers, which is why "Landsdommeren Hans Jenssøn I Nylarsker" travelled to see the king and complain. He returned with a royal order that they must take care of the commander on their own. So they gathered together a band at Egele, south of Åkirkeby, to fight against the Lübeckers, but they were defeated and many were slain; this event probably happened in 1536. Some stories tell us that the chief justice thereafter had his head chopped off.

However, the tradition must have exchanged his given name with his patronymic, as can be seen from a high court document which display's his seal. In 1537 there was a fight over Myregård in Åker, and Hans Borreby's widow Anne came forth with a high court judgement, the document was sealed by Chief Justice "Jens Hansen", we can assume that this judgement must have been passed around 1533. (note 15) The insurrection against Lübeck was not in 1536, but in 1535. This might indicate that the chief justice's name was correctly Jens Hansen, and that he lost his position (possibly executed or fled?) because of his incitement of the uprising - as we know the exact date of the appointment of his successor (more on this later). Furthermore, this dramatic ending to his career (and maybe his life) meant that all his property was confiscated and placed under the juridiction of Hammershus - so we can not trace his descendants by seeing who were his heirs. The connection to Nylars parish might lead us to Store Myregård (10 Slg.), which is nearby to the small fishing village of Arnager, which the Myre-family, and especially Truid Myre of Myregård in Olsker, tried to take back from the Lübeckers. Which could mean that Jens Hansen was the brother-in-law of the earlier chief justice, Oluf Ottesen (Uf), and thus the son of Hans Myre of Klinteby in Ibsker parish. (note 16)

The name "Jens" is quite commonly used by the Myre family. We might also conclude that Jens Hansen was the father of Mads Kofoed's first wife, Johanne, the mother of the later chief justice, Jens Kofoed; which would explain whom he was named after.

If this hypotheses about Jens Hansen's origins is correct, it would appear that he was the last male descendant of the "gamle Myrer" (old Myre-family), which carried the arms depicting the three "myrer" (ants) on their shield. The "yngre Myrer" (younger Myre-family) was in fact a branch of the Kyrning family of Skåne, whose arms depict a star. Hans Myre's seal of 1513 shows a shield depicting three crawling ants, and a helmet with two vesselhorns. The colours of which are known from various publications about coat of arms: on a white background are three red ants and a helmet with two white vesselhorns. (note 17)

Notes:
6) "Bornholms Frimænd" by M.K. Zahrtmann in "Bornholmske Samlinger", volume 16, Rønne, 1920, pages 120-159, is a bit better, although still out of date. Some of the "Væbnere" (arms carriers) have been incorrectly documented, something easily avoided if the author had checked their seals. He insisted that it was impossible to trace a Bornholm Væbner-family over three generations, which is indeed nonsense. Further mistakes include Jacob Køller's arms (see later), where he states that Jacob carried the Brahe-family arms (which is displays a pole instead of a half fleur-de-lis!). Also, that Captain Anders Hansen (in the 1600s) belonged to the Lang-family (three oak-leaves), even though it had been over 100 years since the family had been on Bornholm, and that Anders Hansen carried a rose in his arms. A further mistake is that of Mette Hansdatter's arms (the wife of Chief Justice Peder Hansen Uf), he changed her half lobster claw (aka pike's jawbone) to one ant in order to make her fit into his faulty hypothesis, etc., etc.

14) Dean Jens Pedersen's description of "some strange happenings on Bornholm", written in 1625, and printed in "Bornholmske Samlinger", volume 17, Rønne, 1926, page 65, provides the chief justice's name, and in P.N. Skovgaard's "Bornholms Beskrivelse", 1804, page 293, there is an authentic rendering of the dean's account from 1625. The decapitation was mentioned by Zarthmann (see note nr. 6) in 1920, page 140, source for this account unknown; later complaints by Bornholmers about the Lübeckers includes one from a peasant farmer that his brother, Hans Jensen, had been decapitated; if this was Zarthmann's source it seems very unlikely that such an event took place: peasants were not the targets, and furthermore, the chief justice's name was incorrect!

15) "Det Kongelig Rettertings Domme. . . i Christian III' Tid", volume I, København, 1959, page 217.

16) Several members of the Myre-family had renounced their family-name: among them were the brothers Esbern and Niels Truidsen of Klemensker parish from 1530-1542; farms named Myregård were not always owned by the Myre-family, as is commonly presumed, rather, some owed their name to the fact that they were adjacent to a "myr" (bog). For instance the Myregård in Åker parish never belonged to the Myre-family (as wrongly stated by Zahrtmann and others), but rather to the Bing-family of Skåne. Even in 1625 the adjacent bog was still known as "Bingsmyr"! While conversely, the farm in Klinteby (in Ibsker parish), which for many years belonged to the Myre-family, never went under the name "Myregård"; on the other hand later, when the farm was owned by the Gagge-family, it was called "Gaggegård" throughout the 1700s and 1800s census records!

17) For Hans Myre's arms see "Danske Adelige Sigiller", by A. Thiset, L.XV. nr. 1. A photo of the seal (segl), and several details about the family, can be found in "Heraldisk Tidsskrift", nr. 46, October 1982, page 280. "Uldall'ske Samlinger 479-4", in the Royal Library, under "Friderich Rostgaards Vaabenbog 1687-88" on page 68 can be found the family's arms: "i hvidt felt 3 røde myrer" (on a white field 3 red ants); not black ants, as shown in "Nyt Dansk Adelslexicon" by Thiset & Whittrup (København, 1904), and in "Danske Adelsvåbner" by S.T. Achen (København, 1973). A slightly altered seal is shown in "Kall'ske Samlinger 124-fol", folio 70 (Royal Archives), but there we find only members of the later Myre-family who in reality was a branch of the Kyrning-family – perhaps they had inherited their separate seal from the maternal side? Thott'ske Samlinger 1104-2 (Royal Archive) under "Danske Adelige Vaabener med genealogiske kommentarer", folio 45, names the members of the later Myre-family ("Kyrning"), and shows their new arms: "i hvidt felt 3 blå bølger" (on a white field 3 blue waves)!

This database researched and compiled by Norman Lee Madsen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Andre Begivenheder og Egenskaber:

• Ane-nr.: Ane 17.107793 og 17.110601 (Garde)
• Ane-nr.: Ane 18.143505 (Sommer)

Notater:

From the 1511 "testamente" of Anders Galen (died 1522):
". . . Mester Peder W Cannik i Lund, mijn kære Frende. . . Item myn kære
Frende Anders W. . . Item Jørgen Hals, X-Marck, 1 wpret Segn, 1 Gryde,
Anne Jørgen Halses Søster ligeledes, meth saadan Skell, ath the skwlle ey
ydherre begære ath ærffwe mig. . . ."

That Peder and Anders Uf are mentioned "frænde" (relatives) and heirs in
the 1511 "testamente" (will) of Anders Andersen Galen of Lund (who died
in 1522), leads to the conclusion that their mother is the sister of
Anders Galen, and thus the daughter of Anders (Tuesen) Galen of Herrestad
in Skåne. After the death of Anders Galen in 1522, his will of 1511 was
contested by the children from his sister's first marriage: Jørgen Hals
(born circa 1464) of "X-Marck" (= Øster Marker = Østermarie) and his
sisters Anne and Else. Jørgen Hals was a freeman (frimand), and the
Commander (Hovedmand) of Hammershus fortress. In "Landet Borringholm",
Sigvard Mahler Dam quotes from the deposition made in 1522 contesting the
will; it reads as follows.

(In the original old Danish:)
"Jag Niels Jiebsen (Bryske). . . gør vitterligt for alle med dette mit
obne Breff, at denne Breffwisere Jørgen Hals er Anders Gallens som døde
udi Lund. . . .rette ecte Søstersøn med ogsaa twenne Søstre som førnævte
Jørgen Hals hafwer paa Borindholm, og hafwer jag spurgt i sandingen at
førnævnte Anders Gallen ingen nærmere rette arvinger hafwer end disse
fornævnte. . . ."

(Which modernized reads approximately as follows:)
"I, Niels Ibsen (Bryske). . . declare to all by means of this open Letter
that the Plaintiff Jørgen Hals is Anders Galen's - who died in Lund. . .
rightful Sister's son, as are his two Sisters whom the aforementioned
Jørgen Hals has in Bornholm, and I have inquired about the truth that the
aforementioned Anders Galen has no closer heirs than the aforementioned.
. . ."

Evidently Anders Galen's daughter had eloped with a member of the
Bornholmer Hals-family, and her brother Anders refused to recognize the
marriage as legitimate, and as a result disinherited her children from
that marriage! Although it would seem that he approved of her marriage
to Otte Pedersen Uf. The case was not settled until 1530, about 18 years
later! In the end it was accepted that the children, and heirs, of n.n.
Andersdatter Galen and (Ødbern, or Peder?) Hals had a legitimate claim on
the estate of Anders Galen, as can be seen below.

In Sigvard Mahler Dam's article "Over hals og hoved. Et romaskrig over
Bornholms land", (SAXO, 1991), he speculates that Jørgen Hals sister
"Else Ødberns" means that Else's (and therefore Jørgen's) father was an
Ødbern Hals, son of Peder Hals. However, as Sigvard states, there is no
record of there being an Ødbern Pedersen Hals; also it is just as
reasonable to interpret "Else Ødberns" as meaning that Else was the wife
of a man named Ødbern. The father of Jørgen, Anne, and Else could very
easily be Peder Hals inheritor of Store Halsegård and Lille Halsegård,
who can be found mentioned in records dating from 1443 and 1457.

From the Landbohistorisk Selskab website (Adkomstregistering for the
years 1513 through 1550), for the year 1530 (no. 243):
1) Axel Poulsen adelig(?) på Bornholm, søn af Anne Poul Olsens, søster
til Jørgen Hals og Anders Galens arving (søsterdatter).
2) Oluf Due, adelig(?) på Bornholm (lever 1523), (er måske sønnesøn af
Oluf Mortensen Due (1435)), gift med datter af Poul Olsen og Anne, Jørgen
Hals's søster, Anders Galens arving.
3) Anders Andersen Galen (Erlandsønnernes linje), (lever 1504 er død før
9 December 1522), gift med n.n. Axelsdatter Saxtrup.
4) Anne Hals (af Bornholm), gift med Poul Olsen og søster til Jørgen
Hals og Else.
5) Else Hals (af Bornholm), gift med Ødbern og søster til Jørgen Hals og
Anne Poul Olsens.
6) Jørgen Hals (af Bornholm), Bornholm (lever 9 December 1522).
7) Hr. Hans, i Lille Marie kirke (= Vester Marie kirke?).
8) Hr. Hans, præst i Øster Marie.
9) Poul Olsen adelig(?), gift med Anne Hals, Anders Galens arving.
10) Hr. Skjalm Berntsen, vikar i Lund, født i Blekinge.
11) Hr. Mourids Jepsen Sparre (i Skåne), til Skurup, fra 1530 flyttet
til Svaneholm, hovedmand på Københavns slot m.m. (død January 1, 1534),
1' gang gift med Karine Pedersdatter Høeg Banner; 2' gang gift med Ide
Thomesdatter Lange.
12) Ødbern boede(?) på Bornholm, gift med Else, Jørgen Hals's søster.

This database researched and compiled by Norman Lee Madsen, Toronto,
Ontario, copyright 1990-2002.

UF note
Også Ane 17.109201

Notater:

Peder Myre resided on Fuglsangsgård in Klinteby, 6' Vdg. Ibsker,
which he inherited on June 29, 1489 from his father Truid Myre. He is
identified in a probate hearing, along with
his half-sister Karine, which secured their ancestral rights to
Fuglsangsgård. He probably also obtained 20' Vdg. in Klintby at the
same time. Source: Zahrtmann's pedigree of the
Myre-family, also using information from Hübertz, nr. 18.