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- Jurisdiktionsfoged 1551
1555 26. sgd. Store Almegård i Knudsker
Lehnsgård i Østerlars.
Kure (Stoe Almegård 0g 26. sgd. Stæl, Knudsker Sogn)
Henning Gagge fra Spidlegård i Aaker (som var ejer af Spidlegårdsgodset) giftede sig med datteren på gården Elsebeth Clausdatter Kames, som havde arvet Store Almegård, da faderen døde. Deres søn Jørgen Gagge arvede Store Almegård, da faderen døde i 1562. Se i øvrigt (BS) rk. 1, bind 21, side 23, M. K. Zarthmanns optegnelser over Almegård i Knudsker sogn.
- Note (Overført juli 2019 fra Norman Lee Madsens database)
The Reformation had penetrated the Scandinavian countries in the early 1500s; the introduction of Protestantism was supported by merchants and peasants, and by devout priests who had become followers of Martin Luther. King Frederik I (reigned 1523-1533), who became quite religious in his later years, strongly promoted the establishment of the Lutheran Church. He allowed the leading Danish religious reformer, Hans Tavsen, to preach in the church at Viborg and ordered many Catholic churches in the region destroyed, despite violent protests. It was King Christian III (reigned 1534-1559), son of Frederik I, who established the state Lutheran Church in Denmark. With the support of the Rigsrad his advising council of lay members - the king ordered all Roman Catholic property turned over to the crown, and declared the Lutheran Church the national church of Denmark with the king as its head.
First occasion that Henning Gagge is named with good authority is as the king's "domsmand" (juror) in Nyborg on December 2, 1550. Henning Gagge was an courtier at the Royal Court in København when King Christian III, on July 21, 1551, proclaimed him as manager and bailiff over all the property on Bornholm formerly owned by the Roman Catholic Church; this included the responsibility of looking after the poor, and all the hospitals on Bornholm.
Henning Gagge was a "Hofsinde" (Courtier) at King Christian III's court in København until 1551. In that same year, on the 21st of July, Henning was commissioned as the "Jurisdiktionsfoged" (Chief Bailiff) representing the crown as the manager all the property on Bornholm formerly owned by the Roman Catholic Church. Simultaneously the King Christian III also bestowed upon Henning Gagge the St. Jørgen Hospital-estate, with its 15 attached "skattegårde" (tax-property farms) to manage for the crown; this included the responsibility of looking after the poor. The King also gave to him Spidlegård (also spelled: Spillegård or Spitalsgård) in Åker parish for his personal use. This was quite a coup for Henning Gagge, for although he was of the Danish minor nobility he not in line for either a title or inheritance: he was not a wealthy man and needed such employment.
In the letter, dated St. Marie Magdalene Evening (July 21) 1551, the king commanded all his peasants and servants, those not under the authority of Hammershus (controlled by the Lübeck regime), to answer to Henning Gagge. He was to dwell at Spidlegård and thereafter support the many poor "som rennthenn ther tilligger tole kanndt"; he shall hold the hospital's property - its authority and the workers which lie thereunder, follow good law and discretion, and not trouble them with new duties ornew oppressions; he shall protect the island's forests and prevent those not privileged to do so from cutting them; and finally he shall account for the (king's) tenth-portion of the jurisdiction, consisting of his share of: butter, grain, money, and from any second portion thereof he shall send half to the king and even himself enjoy the other half.
Henning's brother, Peder Gagge, inherited their father's farm: Lensgård in Østerlars. The same year (1551) that the King installed Henning Gagge as bailiff he also proclaimed Peder Gagge as Co-Justice (Meddommer), together with Hans Berildsen, for Bornholm's governing body (the "Landsting", an institution which no longer exists). The king made this move in response to the Lübeck authorities appointing their own man, Hans Reymer the mayor of Rønne, as Bornholm's chief justice (landsdommer). As the King's faithful men, the two brothers built up strong legal defenses against Hanseatic League city of Lübeck; which had gained "temporary" legal control of Bornholm for 50 years, starting in 1525, as a result of Christian III's father Frederik I's inability to pay debts he owed to that city. They had the right to levy taxes upon the inhabitants, this they did unmercifully - i.e. in 1555 Lübeck was forced to return 4,000 units of silver it had obtained through over-taxation. The Bornholmers are recorded to have groaned under the Hansa's rule, and declared "they would rather be under the Turks, than under the German, Christian, imperial free-city."
Henning and Elsebeth must have been married quite soon after Henning's return to the island, as their son Jørgen Gagge shows up as a young "væbner" (squire) at the "frimandsmødet" (freeman meeting) of September 6, 1572, and so he must have been at least 20 years old, thus born circa 1552 (if we assume that Henning was first married after his return to Bornholm in 1551).
Both Henning and Peder Gagge were active fighters in support of their fellow free-men, and peasants, on Bornholm in their struggle for lower tax-payments to the Lübeck council. With King Christian III as their ally, the two brothers made considerable gains protecting the legal rights of the inhabitants, and in maintaining the right of ownership the danish crown had on Bornholm, during their dealings with the learned scholar in Roman Law and Lübeck representative: Herman Boitin, commander of Hammershus fortress. In fact Peder Gagge's behaviour was so aggressive that Commander Boitin complained to the Lübeck council that Peder Gagge wished to decide all matters his own way, and further more insited the people to disobey and riot against Lübeck and its representatives on Bornholm.
During a meeting of the High-Court in København in the summer of 1553, a farmer named Hans Hintse of Rø parish presented a document, written and signed by Co-Justices Peder Gagge and Hans Berildsen, to the effect that he was granted ownership to a particular farm in question. This was approved by the court, even though Commander Boitin and Chief Justice Reymer had condemned Gagge's treatment of the case as highly improper and defiant. Spokesmen for Lübeck's council laid a complaint about Peder Gagge during a meeting with King Christian III in Kolding in October of 1553. Apparently the King must have put a stop to Peder Gagge's monopoly of decision-making, as not much was later heard from him in council-matters - even though he carried on as co-justice until his death in 1559.
On September 10, 1555 he placed his seal on a document which describes him as being "til Almegordt" (of [Store] Almegård in Knudsker parish). Henning Gagge was instrumental in organizing an important meeting at Maglegård in Østermarie parish, between the Danish and Lübeck councils, wherein complaints were settled and strict rules on future taxation were hammered out. Henning Gagge had married Elsebeth Kames, the sister of Claus Kames - a burgher in Rønne. Of Henning's wife not much is known other than that on the 15th of July 1562 the widow "Elline" received an order to report the accounts for the last two years takings, which her deceased husband had not yet remaindered.
J.A. Jørgensen named Henning Gagge's wife as "Elline" (see: "Væbner, adelog frimænd", pages 28 and 29). While Bornholm historian and genealogist Dr. M.K. Zahrtmann gives her name as either Elline or Elsebet, they were married before 1552. One of her brother's descendants is the Mayor (Borgmester) and Militia Captain (Borgerkaptajn) Claus Kames. In 1555 the couple moved to Store Almegård, a proprietairgård (later combinedwith 26 Slg.) in Knudsker parish. Their son Jørgen Gagge later inherited Store Almegård. It was there that Henning Gagge passed away in 1562, and where "Elsebeth" died in 1578. Elsebeth Kames was buried, together with her husband, in front of the alter of the church in Rønne. Even up until "Amtmand" (Prefect) Johan Christian Urne's time, in 1756, their gravestone could still be seen in the church, it read: "1562 29 Jun. Døde S. Henning Gagge. 1578 23 Oct. Døde S. Elsebet Kams"; later there was added: "Denne sten oc sted hører Henning Bon oc Clawes Bon og begge deres arvinger. A. 1622."
In "Borringholmerens Historiebog" M.K. Zahrtmann states the following on page 134:
Henning Gagge var efter Grevefejden den første kongeligt satte Øvrighedsmand med Bopæl paa Landeet selv og tog mangen Dyst med den lybske Høvidsmand paa Hammershus. Han ægtede inden 1555 Elsebet Clausdatter Kames af den kendte Raadmandsslægt i Rønne og fik med hende flere Gaarde; Ægteparret bosatte sig paa den største af disse, Almegaard i Knudsker, hvor han døde 29 Juni 1562 og hun 23 Okt. 1578.
On September 7, 1575, Frederik II (the son of Christian III) informed Lübeck, "that the fifty years' possession, accorded to them by his grandfather, would have expired on the 19th of the month, and he intended to retake possession of the island." The city replied that the "Peace of Hamburg" extended their rights of possession which they held for unpaid Danish debts. Frederik replied the treaty was invalid since his father, who had made it, was not crowned at the time, and he himself had not been consulted in the matter. Complain as they might the Lübeck'ers had neither the power nor the ability to stop the take over.
Peder Gagge's son, also named Peder Gagge, inherited his father's farm: Lensgård in Østerlars. Peder (Pedersen) Gagge is reputed to have been a very brutal man, who had killed a number of people, both on Bornholm and in other locations, for which he was finally seized and installed in Hammershus. The island's vassal, Falcon Giøe, asked the four councilors of the realm, who governed the kingdom during King Christian IV's minority, what he should do with Peder Gagge, who after all was a freeman; whether he should be jailed or sent to Draxholm, where one of the councillors lived. The answer Giøe received was that it was not recommended to jail him, since Peder Gagge was a freeman, but only to hold him in custody in Hammershus until judgment was passed upon him. The judgement handed down in 1590 was that Peder Gagge was to lose his neck.
(Sources: Dansk Adelsårbog, volume XX, page 147; for his coat of arms (våbenskjold) see "Heraldisk tidsskrift", nr. 43, 1981.)
The following according to Sigvard Mahler Dam, 2013:
Laurids de Thurah published a description of Bornholm and Christiansø in 1756, and the author of many of the details was "Amtmand" (Prefect) Urne[= Johan Christian Urne (1705-1787), Prefect for Bornholm from 1740]. He received a copy of the book in which he made corrections and additions to the text - this copy can be found in manuscript collection in the Royal Library, New Royal colletion 726b-4o. In this book, Henning Gagge and Elsebeth's tombstone was drawn in a rough sketch, in which can be seen Henning Gagge's coat-of-arms, and next to it is Elsebeth's, and which is basically a mirror image of his own - which must mean that his wife's family did not have had a coat-of-arms. Incidentally, there are no sources mentioning that the couple died at Store Almegård (Zahrtmannagain!). So it is strange that they were buried in Rønne Church. If Elsebeth was a from a wealthy burgher family in Rønne, then it's probably more likely that she had brought her husband a merchant's house in Rønne as dowry, rather than Store Almegård, and the couple have probably lived there. This farm was probably passed down to their daughter of unknown name, who married Herman Bohn, whose sons also inherited the Gagge's burial site in Rønne church. After Henning Gagge's death the king sent are quest to his widow on July 15, 1562, to finalize the financial statements for the Royal property Spidlegård, his widow is named here as "Elline" or Ellen. However, on her headstone her name is Elsebeth, so this can easily be a mistake which occurred in the chancellery.
This database researched and compiled by Norman Lee Madsen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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Anebasen — Ole Thyge Plannthin
ca. 1502 - 1562 (60 år)
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