Hald, Nørre Vosborg, Hegnet

foto from Hald: kai bachmann, sept. 1999

Hald Castle
Dollerup sogn, Nørlyng herred, Viborg amt.

We are able to follow the history of Hald back to the 14th century - but hardly further back in time. Several Danish legends has got tales about the manor, but they are only legends. The manor is known to us in history from the beginning fo the 14th century. The manor was probably owned by Ludvig Albertsen Eberstein (+ 1328), whose daughter Margrethe sold her part of her inheritance to her brother Peder Ludvigsen Eberstein, which was confirmed by the king in 1346. But already the year before had Peder Ludvigsen pawned his parts in Hald to Niels Bugge of Nørre Vosborg, and in 1346 he sold the manor and the estate to him.

Niels Bugge was one of this period's richest and most powerful noblemen. He built the strong borg (castle) at Hald which is mentioned in ta famous Danish folk song:

Hr. Bugge han bygger Hald op med ære
han agter den ikke i fremmed mands være
De ride så frit gjennem Danmark.

Although Niels Bugge owned other farms and manors in Denmark , i.e. the West Jutland Nørre Vosborg, his name is especially connected to Hald. It was very likely from Hald that he in the 1350s led the big rebellion of the dissatisfied Jutland nobility against Valdemar Atterdag. Niels Bugge might not only have been the richest nobleman of the kingdom, he was also the most authoritative man of that time. He dared to oppose the king. This resulted in king Valdemar's siege of Hald. This is also mentioned in the folksong, where he says " that the king can make as much trouble he wants, he'll just wait for him at Hald. Valdemar says that he has heard that Niels Bugge has built a building so strong that no arrows nor catapults can conquer it, and Niels Bugge then tells the king that he will be able deal with the siege and to stay at Hald for nine winters! " Well, so much for the folk-song. Niels Bugge succeeded in keeping his independence. The king had to leave with without having achieved anything , and upon the big Danehof (Danish Court) in Nyborg in 1354 the reconciliation took place between Valdemar Atterdag and the Danish people, but this did not last. Soon the dissatisfaction flared up again.

In December 1358 and granted safe passage Niels Bugge went together with two other noblemen to Slagelse in order to reach a settlement with the king. But no reconciliation was arranged and already in January 1359 the noblemen left the king empty-handed. Their passage home was disrupted in Middelfart where they were murdered. Some fishermen of the town assaulted and killed them. Was it something the king had ordered? It is not possible to make this out, it is only possible to guess and then furthermore note that the king solemnly disclaimed the responsibility for the murder. The residents of the houses in Vestergade in Middelfart, where the perpetrators lived, had to pay a yearly tax or blodpenge (blood money), the socalled Buggespenge, which was paid up till 1874, more than 500 years later.

In his second marriage with Ingeborg Pedersdatter Vendelbo Niels Bugge had a daughter Lisbeth, who married the Mecklenburg-Ridder (knight) Gotskalk Skarpenberg who for a period had served the Swedish king Magnus Smek and also was høvedsmand (military chief) at Båhus. With his marriage to Lisbeth he achieved Hald, but he soon sold it to the king, Valdemar Atterdag, who did not pay it at once/at all! Actually it was queen Margrethe I who paid the purchase price to fru Lisbeth and her son Johan (Henneke) Skarpenberg of Gammellund and Højriis. (NB: and Spøttrup)

Source:
(Extract from: Danske slotte og herregårde, vol. 13 )

foto: grethe bachmann

Nørre Vosborg
Ulfborg parish, Ulfborg herred, Ringkøbing amt.

Among the many borge/castles which appeared during the Middle Ages in West Jutland - up north from Limfjorden and down south to Kongeåen - Vosborg was one of the earliest in Danish history. It was originally built southwest of the present manor and close to the delta where Storåen (river) runs out in Nissum Fjord. The name Vosborg comes from oldnordisk óss meaning åmunding (mouth of the å). While the first manor Oseborg was placed north of the water stream, the ladegård (farm building) was placed south of the water, and between them was a valuable salmon-farm. The outflow of Storåen moved later longer to the north and the voldstedet ( the castle bank) is situated at a rest of the old water stream, Gammelå. It is noted that there were foundations from a very large four winged building with a tower, and the legend tells much about a castle which the mighty Niels Bugge of Hald let build by an English master builder at this place which he was said to have inherited from his father, Bugge Nielsen of Hegnet.

As known and before mentioned Niels Bugge was killed in Middelfart in 1359. His widow Ingeborg Pedersdatter (Vendelbo) outlived him for many years and owned Vosborg for a period, possibly until 1388, where she distributed estate after hr. Niels. From his numerous estate Vosborg, Støvringgård and Lindholm (Lundholm?) ( and a long gone by sanddrift destroyed manor at Skagen) came to his daughter Eline (Ellen), who was married to marsk Christiern Vendelbo, who owned many Jutland manors. All their daughters were married to men from the best aristocratic Danish families, the daughter Ingeborg Christiernsdatter Vendelbo of Vosborg was married to the widower Predbjørn Podebusk of Egholm at Zealand. And thus came Vosborg to the family Podebusk for many years.

Source:
(Extract from: Danske slotte og herregårde, vol. 13)


Hegnet
Tøndering parish, Harre herred, Viborg amt.

Hegnet was the main manor during seven generations for one of Denmark's most powerful herreslægter (nobility families) . The home place of the Skeel-family was the land between Kolding and Vejle, but as soon as in the first decades of the 1500s the main line of the family left and went north to the Viborg-Randers-area from where the Skeel-family and their descendants up til the present have been the owner of much estate . The very first estate they got up here in the north was Hegnet in Salling.

But this old Salling-manor does not parade venerable or imposant buildings, although it is the oldest in this part of the country. Bugge Nielsen was the owner of Hegnet in 1332, he was the father of the mighty Niels Bugge of Hald and without any doubt one of the greatest Danish landowners. It is said that he was killed by Erik Brune Banner of Sønder Elkær at Lyby kirke. From the same period is probably "fru Bolde of Hegnet" who is among the family-members for whom Albret Andersen Skeel via a deed of gift established masses for their souls at Tøndering kirke 11 July. Fru Bolde's sister's son's daughter's daughter fru Kirsten Krag brought the manor to her second husband Anders Skeel. Her first husband was Peder Hase of Vellumgård who died ab. 1425.

Source:
(Extract from: Danske slotte og herregårde, vol. 12, 1966)

Niels Bugge - 1359, of Hald and Nørre Vosborg, vas according to the family books a son of Bugge Nielsen of Hegnet who was killed at Lyby kirke by Erik Brune (Banner) of Elkær). His father belonged to the Jutland-followers of grev Gert and is mentioned among the witnesses of the Holstein part in the negotiation of 10 January 1332 between king Christoffer and grev Gert. (the Holstein Graf Gert) Like his father Niels Bugge early joined the mighty grev Gert - and in the king-less period from 1332-40 he achieved a power and esteem from his Nørrejyske (North Jutland) rank companions, which no one in his family probably had ever possessed before. He was closely related to Niels Ebbesen, he was his mother's brother (Niels Bugge's sister Bege Bugge was married to Ebbe Strangesen ) . Niels Bugge later broke with grev Gert, and according to the folksong he was one of the main leaders of the great rebellion in Nørrejylland which was the cause of grev Gert's raid in 1340 and the bloody incident in Randers.

Niels Bugge's original home was in Nørre Vosborg in Ulvborg parish and district and close to Storåen's ( river) outflow in Nissum Fjord. (and the North Sea). The family books says that he built this castle meant to be his real family castle a long time before he established Hald Castle, (near Viborg) - and several legends still keeps the memory about the English building master who built the strong castle and about the gardener who laid out the garden, and about the English prince who stranded at the Jutland coast and was plundered by hr. Eske Frost, but received in glory and honour by Niels Bugge. First in 1345 he was the full owner of this strong fortification at Hald.

Niels Bugge's name is connected to Hald and he undoubtedly lived here, and from there he lead the great rebellion against king Valdemar Atterdag, who in special brought Niels Bugge's name to the afterworld. He was probably the richest lord of the kingdom in that period - and with good reason he was called "King Bugge". Besides Nørre Vosborg and Hald he owned the castles and manors Estrup, Spøttrup, Åstrup, Rolstrup at Mors, Lindholm at Skagen and Støvringgård and several other estate, especially in the northern part of Nørrejylland.

Thus he was an obvious leader of the Jutland nobility, whose personal need of independence was being threatened by Valdemar Atterdag's aim at expanding the power of the crown . When king Valdemar ruthlessly made a stand against the feeling of freedom and wilfulness of the nobility, a fight started between the aristocracy and the royal power in which Niels Bugge stood as a leader and a representative of the old time's demands.

Still in 1350 the relation between the king and Niels Bugge was friendly. He participated in the king's expedition to Mecklenburg and Brandenburg in 1349 and 1350 and was present in Spremberg and Bautzen when Valdemar mediated agreements between Ludvig of Bayern and Karl IV. But shortly after his homecoming he joined Valdemar's enemies, the Holstein grafs and hertug Valdemar of Sønderjyland, and before the end of 1351 the whole Jutland from Elben to Skagen was at war with Valdemar.

Niels Bugge quickly achieved honour in the feud, he conquered the castle Landting at Limfjorden where he took prisoners, and the folklegend about the king's siege of Hald Castle must be a part of this story. In the agreement at Vindinge 26. July 1353 the Jutland lords and especially Niels Bugge were present, mutual conquerings were given back and some decisions about releasing the prisoners were made. At the great Danehof in Nyborg St. Hans dag 1354, where the complete reconciliation with the king and his men took place, Niels Bugge was undoubtedly present - and in the following year we find him as an active member at the royal thing in Jutland.

But already in the winter 1356-57 the discontent in Jutland broke out again, many Jutes came across Lillebælt to Funen to bring their complaints to the king, and a new feud took place and again with the Holstein grafs, hertug Valdemar and the Jutland nobility as participants. In the end of the year 1358 Niels Bugge went together with Ove Stigsen of Eskebjerg and Peder Andersen of Margård, all granted safe passage, to Slagelse to make an agreement with the king. The conditions the king came up with were so tough that they furiously left the meeting two days before Christmas. On their journey home Niels Bugge and his two followers were killed in Middelfart by some fishermen. Up til 1874 three houses in Middelfart had to pay a fine for the killing, a speciel tax, the socalled "Buggespenge" ("Buggesmoney").

King Valdemar solemnly swore that he had nothing to do with the murders, and the king's son Christoffer and Niels Bugge's son Knud even got a friendly relationship, but the suspicion against Valdemar was impossible to wipe out. The folksong about Niels Bugge's murder is consistent with the people's hostile feelings against the king. Niels Bugge on the contrary is pictured in full sympathy.

Fra Dansk Biografisk Lexikon, (Mollerup).
(Niels Bugge (Forfædrelinie IV, 1.g.)

Niels Bugge was married twice.
1) Lisbeth Palnesdatter Juul, a daughter of marsk Palne Jonsen Juul and Elne Nielsdatter Lendi of Troldorp.
2) Ingeborg Vendelbo, a daughter of drost Peder Vendelbo

Children:
1)
Kirsten Nielsdatter Bugge
Ellen Nielsdatter Bugge of Støvringgård, m. to drost Christiern Vendelbo, owner of Truidsholm and høvedsmand at Skanderborg slot.

2)
Niels Nielsen Bugge
Mikkel (?) Nielsen Bugge
Lisbeth Nielsdatter Bugge til Hald, m. to hr. Gotskalk Skarpenberg

and a son:
Knud Nielsen Bugge (from which marriage?)
Fra Dansk Biografisk Lexikon, (Mollerup)

more text later.

Ingeborg, –1131–, was a daughter of the Russian prince (Grossfürst) Mstislav 1. and Christine, a daughter of the Swedish king Inge Stenkilsson, who had spent much of his life in Russia and got married in Russia to Helena who probably was a Russian.

Ingeborg's father Mstislav of Kiev was a son of prince Vladimir I Monomachos of Kiev and (Gytha?). He built numerous churches in Novgorod, and a cathedral of St. Anthony Cloister from 1117 survives to the present day. Later he built important churches in Kiev. He was the last ruler of the united Rus.

Mstislaw married princess Christine of Sweden in 1095. They had many children and among those was Ingeborg, who is referred to in several names Ingeborg of Russia, Ingeborg of Novgorod, Ingeborg of Kiev. Most of her sisters and brothers were married in Russia, but she had a sister Malmfred whose first marriage was to Sigurd 1. Jorsalfar of Norway and her second marriage to Erik, a illegitimate brother of Knud Lavard, (Knud was the only legitimate son of Erik Ejegod and Bodil Thrugotsdatter) . Erik and Malmfred were married in ab. 1130 and in 1134 Erik became Danish king as Erik II (byname Emune = meaning "the always remembered") He was killed 18. July 1137 on a thing-meeting in Schleswig, it was said that his killer was the nobleman Sorteplov. He left Malmfred and a frillesøn (an illegitimate son).

Ingeborg' and Malmfred's mother Christine died on January 18, 1122, and their father Mstislaw later married Liubava Dmitrievna , the daughter of a nobleman from Novgorod. Their children were Vladimir II Mstislavich and Euphrosyne of Kiev who was married to king Geza II of Hungary in 1146. Through Euphrosyne Mstislaw is an ancestor of king Edward II of England and hence of all subsequent English and British monarchs. Through his mother Gytha? (was Vladimir married to Gytha, or was she a mistress?) he is part of a line between Harold II of England and the modern line of English kings founded by William the Conqueror??? Doubtful.

So, two sisters married two brothers. Ingeborg and Knud Lavard, Malmfred and Erik Emune. They both lost their husbands in a tragic way. Ingeborg and Knud Lavard's history is the most famous.

Ingeborg married Knud Lavard in ab. 1116. The legendary tale about Knud's proposal via the merchant Vidgaut is not historically correct, the marriage was due to Ingeborg's mother's sister queen Margrethe Fredkulla, who even gave Ingeborg a part of her Swedish paternal estate for dowry. Ingeborg advised in vain Knud against his going to the Christmas meeting in Roskilde in 1130 . He was murdered by his cousin Magnus on January 7. 1131 in Haraldsted skov, and eight days later Ingeborg gave birth to a son who was named Vladimir after his great grandfather and who became the Danish king Valdemar I the Great. Beforehand Knud and Ingeborg had three daughters Margrethe, Kirsten and Cathrine. When the chief Christiern Svendsen (he was Knud Lavard's cousin, a son of Bodil Thrugotsdatter's brother Svend) after the kill of Erik Emune wanted to crown the little Valdemar king in 1137, Ingeborg opposed most strongly against it . After this time she is not mentioned in history anymore.

See article Knud Lavard on my Thyra-blog.

Source:
Dansk biografisk lexicon
Wikipedia

The Thrugot-family/Thrugot-Slægten

Bodil Thrugotsdatter, born ab. 1065, was a daughter of Jarl Thrugot Ulvsen Fagerskind and Thorgunna Vagnsdatter. According to Saxo she was already married to Erik Ejegod in the beginning of Oluf Hunger's rule,(1086-95) when she followed him in exile to Sweden, so she might have been about 20-21 years in the first year of her marriage. Erik was born in 1056 , and he became king in 1095 after Oluf Hunger's death. It was said that he was the son among Svend Estridsen's many sons whom people loved the most. He was tall and strong. Saxo praised Bodil's beauty as well as her character, especially her tolerance towards her husband and his mistresses. It was usual for a king in those days to have many mistresses and illegitimate children. Erik had four known children with various mistresses (friller). Bodil and Erik's only child was Knud Lavard, who was born in 1096.

The church began to strengthen the marriage which must be the frame of the family, but it took some years ...many years. There was no clear-cut boundary line between children born in or out of wedlock. The last, the so-called slegfredbørn (illegitimate) were hardly in worse positions than the legitimate children - if only their father acknowledged them. Fx Svend Estridsen had 20 children out of wedlock with 20 different women , and five of the sons became kings. Most important was the blood- or family bands with a certain priority for the male line. But the church had the last word. Those loose sexual relations were condemned, the church achieved authority in matrimonial cases, and it forbid divorce between husband and wife.

In 1095 the Pope Urban 2. organized the first crusade to the holy land and a year later the crusaders gathered at Konstantinopel. From Denmark came Svend Estridsen's son Sven and a couple of bishops, but already on their way to the crusaders' army they were killed by Turks. In 1103 Erik Ejegod and Bodil went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but they did not survive either. They followed the old route of the Vikings along the Russian rivers with a large entourage. Bishop Asser, queen Bodil's nephew was together with Harald Kesja, Eriks half brother, installed as temporary regents in Denmark. King Erik died at Cypres, ab. 47 years of age, and queen Bodil died in Jersusalem, ab. 38 years of age. She died at Oliebjerget and was buried in Josafat's Dal. This happened in 1103 shortly before Asser Svendsen, her nephew and a member of the Thrugot-family became the first archbishop in Lund. And the orphan boy Knud was only seven years old.

Bodil's father Thrugot Ulfsen/Ulvsen Fagerskind was obviously a good-looking guy; Harald Hardrade gave him the by-name Fagerskind (pretty skin), a name that followed him forever. His father was the famous Jarl Galicie-Ulf/Ulv (Ulf the Galiciefarer) who was wellknown for his sea-expeditions. Galicia in the northwestern part of Spain was one of the first kingdoms in Europe, and during the 9th and 10th centuries Normans and Vikings occassionally raided the coasts. The Towers of Catoria were built as a system of fortifications to stop the Viking raids on Santiago de Compostela. Ulv was a høvding (chief) in Jutland and a Jarl in Denmark, so it's easy to imagine that he was one of the Viking-chiefs on the Galicia-raids. And when he returned home with rich booty from Spain he quickly achieved the Galicia-name. His son Thrugot had the Galicia-name too, but if he inherited it after his father or because he followed in his father's footsteps to Galicia is not sure. Ulv's wife and Thrugots mother was Bodil Haakonsdatter, a daughter of Haakon Ladejarl Eriksson and Gunhild Burislawsdatter of Venden, and she was a granddaughter of the Norwegian king Haakon Sigurdsson Jarl or Hákon jarl hinn ríki (Hakon Jarl the rich) who reigned Norway from ab. 970 until 995, where he after a peasant-rebellion was killed by his good friend and trall Tormod Kark.

Bodils father Thrugot died ab. 1070 when she was a little girl. She was born ab. 1065 and was obviously named after her paternal grandmother Bodil Haakonsdatter. She was probably brought up in Jutland on the family estate. Her mother Thorgunn/Thorgunna Vagnsdatter, born ab. 1030,who became the ancestral mother of the famous Jutland Thrugot-family, was a daughter of Vagn Aagesen/Åkesson of a family from Bornholm. It is a probability that Thorgunn lived long after Thrugot's death, maybe she is the "Thrugund, Langliva Mother dicta», whose day of death is written in the Lund-Dødebog on 8. February. A runestone in Asmild kirke at Viborg was found in the tower foundation in 1950. It is disputed if Thorgund who raised the stone after her husband Bose, belonged to the influential Thrugot-family, and it is uncertain what it means that Bose was en "tidernes mand" (man of times). The inscription is:
"Thorgund, Thorgot Thjodulfssøns datter, satte denne sten efter sin mand Bose, tidenders mand.....datter" ("Thorgund, Thorgot Thjodulfssøns datter, raised this stone after her husband Bose, a man of times.....daughter.")

Vagn Aagesen was a legendary Danish warrior in the end of the 900s who played an important role in Jomsvikingernes saga and is mentioned in other sagas. Vagn was a son of Åke Tokesson and Torgunn Vesetesdatter from Bornholm. According to Snorre Sturlasson Erik Jarl let Vagn Åkesson marry Ingeborg Torkelsdatter, a daughter of Erik ejegod who Vagn had killed, and Erik Jarl gave him good ship and crew. They parted as friends and the saga says that Vagn went home to Denmark; he became a great man and many great people descended from him . After this Vagn disappears from the sagas, but we know that his daughter Thorgunn Vagnsdatter married Thrugot Ulvsson Fagerskind, and Thorgunn and Thrugot's daughter Bodil became queen of Denmark via her marriage to Svend Estridsen's son Erik. If they were married before or in the beginning of Oluf Hunger's rule, then the marriage might have been in 1085, ten years before Erik in 1095 became king as Erik 1. , and he was later given the name Ejegod, probably because of his good personality.

Bodil had two brothers, Sven and Astra, who were named Thorgunnasen after their high-ranked mother and Thrugotsen after their father. Svend and Astra were according to Knytlingesaga Knud den Hellige's hirdmænd and best of friends. They accompanied him when the rebellion broke out in Jutland, and during the fight in Sankt Albani kirke they defended him bravely. Svend and Astra survived and after Knud's death they went to Flandern to work for that Knud's imprisoned brother Oluf was released; they went to prison instead of him, until a ransom could be paid to count Balduin. Oluf went home and became king in Denmark (in 1086), but he did not send any ransom. Count Balduin allowed the brothers to go home to get the ransom, but Oluf still wouldn't pay a dime. Not very sympathetic. The brothers then paid the ransom themselves, but count Balduin was generous and let them keep the money. What is told about Svend's life is marked with uncertainty, but he was the father of archbishop Asser, bishop Svend in Viborg, Eskil Svendsen and Christiern Svendsen, who became a powerful man in the Danish kingdom.

The Thrugot-family is also named the Trued-or the Trund-family. Sven Aggesen mentions in his writings about family connections to Ommersyssel in Jutland. In Kastbjerg parish in Ommersyssel (Nørrejylland) is an estate named Trudsholm. The present manor was built in the 1600s but about 2 km northeast of the manor Trudsholm is Gammel Trudsholm, a large and impressive castle bank; there are actually two sections of which the northern is the largest, both surrounded by moats. To the west and south the plan is encircled by a front work, expanding to the south in a considerable broadth. Brickwork have been found at the place. I don't know if this could be called a qualified guess, at least it is allowed to have a guess. The old castle bank is known back to the year 1368, but how far back there were fortificated buildings here is not known. Maybe Gammel Trudsholm was once a fortificated castle of the Thrugot-family. Remember it's only a guess!

When Erik Ejegod and Bodil went out on their pilgrimage, they left their son Knud in the care of Skjalm Hvide. Knud's fosterbrothers were the four Skjalm-sons, Asser, Ebbe, Toke and Sune. They probably had a happy childhood at Skjalm Hvide's estate in Fjenneslev. Knud was a prince and heir to the Danish throne; he was supposedly taken good care of. He lived in a safe family-group. The medieval name "familia" means the household, the big family itself and servants, free or not free. If a family member was attacked, the family-group gathered for revenge or receipt of compensation. Knud and his fosterbrothers' school-learning was probably put into their heads by a private teacher, possibly a priest. Clerical persons were almost the only ones who could read and write. Five lively boys, fairly of the same age harrassing one confused Latin teacher because they would rather go out playing crusaders. There were two Skjalm-daughters, Cæcilia and Margrethe, but they didn't count much!

But the childhood soon ended and Skjalm Hvide sent the young Danish prince down to the German Herzog (duke) Lothar of Saxony, who became German king in 1125. When he was 20 years old, Knud got married to Ingeborg of Russia in 1116; she was a daughter of Grossfürst Mstislav 1. of Kiev and Christina of Sweden, and almost at the same time, he became Jarl of the Danish border and Hertug of Schleswig. He was so successful that he was appointed patron protector by the merchants. His byname Lavard was a name of honour; the word originated from Old English hlaford = Lord. It meant Lord(Herre) in Saxon and other Germanic languages - the original meaning was bread giver. Later Knud became - with the assistance from king Lothar - knés over the Abodrits under Saxon superiority, and in this way he was both the Danish and German king's vassal.

Knud Lavard was, as a son of Erik Ejegod, an obvious candidate to the Danish throne, also because he had important and friendly contacts to king Lothar and the Wends, but others were more than interested in the royal power; among those his cousin Magnus, a son of king Niels - and another cousin, Henrik Skadelaar, a son of Svend, who like Niels and Erik Ejegod was a son of Svend Estridsen. Svend had been desperate for gaining the Danish crown, but he died in 1104 on his way to Viborg Thing. Henrik had inherited his father's dream; he conspired with Magnus against Knud Lavard for years. It all ended tragically with the murder of Knud in Haraldsted in January 1131. A descendant of the mighty Thrugots and the old Danish kings was eliminated, but he had left a son, who would once become one of the greatest Danish kings, the boy Valdemar who was brought up by Knuds' fosterbrother, Skjalm Hvide's son Asser Rig and fru Inge. His fosterbrothers were Esbern Snare and Absalon. (See my article about Knud Lavard in the Thyra-blog) .

More text later

Source: Danske slotte og Herregårde, bd. 1-24, 1966, Trap Danmark, Randers amt; Dansk Biografisk Lexicon; Dansk Adels Årbog; Politikens Danmarkshistorie bd.3 & 4; Norsk biografisk lexicon; Salmonsens Konversationslexicon etc.

Cæcilia Skjalmsdatter, a daughter of Skjalm Hvide,
married to:
Thorstensen, Peder, –o.1175, chief, was related to Skjalm Hvide, and he was married to his daughter Cæcilie/Cæcilia.He was Herre til Borg (Master of a Borg/Castle) and his castle was named Pedersborg, it was an early medieval fortification at an inlet of Sorø Sø (Lake), here he built a stone tower, and he probably also built Pedersborg Church,which is still situated upon the castle bank. During the fight of the Danish throne Peder T. was Svend Grathe's advisor, Svend's victory over the Friesians, who had joined Knud Magnussen, was especially caused by Peder's cleverness (1151). During the beginning of the fight with Valdemar and Knud, Svend did not follow Peder's advice, and he even scolded his faithfull supporter. "I always wore my shield for you." answered Peder T. "But I'm afraid that you shall soon need all your shields." Although Peder was attached to Valdemar, since he was the fosterfather of his frillesøn (son by a mistress) Christoffer (for whom he also later was a teacher), he was ready to defend Svend Grathe, when he had fled the country (1154). However he saw the hopeless situation in the fight against Valdemar and Knud; he let Svend's army break up, and from that point he was on Valdemar's side and became one of his most trusted men. He especially gained distinction on the expeditions to the Wends. Together with Absalon and Esbern Snare he advised Valdemar to do lesser and quicker expeditions towards the Wends; during the first expedition he put courage into the king and made him give up the warfare; when the Danes were in trouble, he saw to that they returned home in time (1159). Still in 1171 he was with an expedition and was among the brave men who wanted to stay by Absalon at the fleet at Rygen. He was now an old man and he probably did not live long after that time. - Cæcilie gave 2 bol (farms) in Førslev to Sorø Kloster; Peder T. did not want her to give more, but he was however also one of the benefactors of the kloster. Their daughter Ingerd was via her marriage to Vagn the mother of two Aarhus-bishops and the ancestral mother of many respected Danish men and women.
translated from Hans Olrik's Danish text: grethe bachmann

Saxo, ed. Müller.
Sorø Akademis Indbydelsesskr. 1900.

Dansk Biografisk Lexicon,
(1887-1905) Carl Frederik Bricka
Project Runeberg


Note:
Margrethe/ Magga Skjalmsdatter, a daughter of Skjalm Hvide, was married - and as a widow she entered Roskilde nunnery.

Skjalmsen, Sune, –1131–, son of Skjalm Hvide, participated
with his brothers in the rebellion after Knud Lavard's killing
(1131), but he must be dead before the brothers established
Sorø Kloster. His body was not brought to the Skjalm-family's
grave in Sorø, and his heirs did not give estate to the kloster,
but his son's daughter's son Johannes Kaare was later abbot at
Sorø. Sune Skjalmsen cannot - which was often presumed - be
the Sune, who because of his eloquence tried to make the Roskilde
citizens forsake Svend Grathe, but was taken prisoner by Ebbe
Skjalmsen and later blinded by Svend.
translated from Hans Olrik's Danish text by Grethe Bachmann.

Skjalmsen, Toke, –o.1145, son of Skjalm Hvide, was also among
the leaders of the Zealanders after Knud Lavard's killing . (1131).
Together with his brethren Ebbe and Asser Rig he planned to
establish a kloster in their homeland, but he felt death coming
before the plan could be carried through, and he gave half his
inheritance to the coming kloster. Furthermore he gave Asser
Rig 16 Mark Gold for the building of the church (ab. 1145). From
Toke's and their own estate Ebbe and Asser then founded Sorø
kloster and Asser died as a monk in there.
Ebbe had the gold, and he gave it to the first prior of the kloster,
but he dissipated it. Toke Skjalmsen was buried in Fjenneslev little
church, but Absalon later transferred his and Skjalm Hvide's bones
to Sorø kloster, whose founder he was more than anyone else.
translated from Hans Olrik's Danish text by Grethe Bachmann.

Boesen, Skjalm Hvide og hans Slægt (Sorø Skoles Indbydelsesskr. 1900).

Dansk Biografisk Lexicon,
(1887-1905) Carl Frederik Bricka
Project Runeberg

Skjalmsen, Ebbe, o. 1090-1151, sjællandsk Høvding (Zealand chief), son of Skjalm Hvide, is first seen in history when he together with his brothers had Knud Lavard's body moved from
Haraldsted to Ringsted, and when he rose the men at Zealand into a revenge of his fosterbrother's kill (in 1131). In the following civil war he was on Erik Emune's side, and he was also one of Erik Lam's most trusted men, furthermore was he a faithful adherent of Svend Grade/Grathe, who made him høvedsmand (main chief) in the newly fortificated Roskilde.
Svend's rival Knud Magnussen tried via a certain man named Sune to lure the citizens of Roskilde away from Svend, but Ebbe Skjalmsen cunningly got Sune in his power, and the plan was prevented. (in 1148). Later Knud succeeded in taking Roskilde by surprise; Ebbe S. escaped, but he couldn't prevent Knud from harrassing in Roskilde and burning his farm. According to Saxo Ebbe S. had such a big influence on Svend Grathe, that Svend in war as well as in peace, in public as in private relations always followed Ebbe's advice, and the news of his death (in 1151) overwhelmed the young king, and he abandoned his expedition against Knud; Svend's fater had probably been luckier, if he still had had the experienced adviser at his side.
Ebbe Skjalmsen founded Sorø Kloster together with his brethren Toke Skjalmsen and Asser Rig .
Ebbe was first married to Gyda, then to Ragnhild, together with whom he built a wooden
church at their farm in Bjernede. Their son Sune Ebbesen built later instead of the wooden church a beautiful round stone church, but made an inscription in memory of his parents' pious deed. Ragnhild survived Ebbe S. by more than 10 years and gave Sacerbro Mølle to Sorø Kloster; she was buried by Ebbe's side in Sorø Klosterkirke. Shortly after Ragnhild's death Ebbe's eldest son, Toke Ebbesen, died after having given half of his hovedstol (inheritance) to Sorø Kloster. Another Ebbe-son, Fin, died at the same time. A third son, Peder Ebbesen lived somewhat longer. The most famous Ebbe-son was Sune Ebbesen, the father of "the Seven Sune Sons".
translated from Hans Olrik's Danish text by Grethe Bachmann.

Saxo, Hist. Dan.
Løffler, Danmarks ældre Kirkebygninger.

Dansk Biografisk Lexicon
(1887-1905) Carl Frederik Bricka
Project Runeberg