A record dated 1569 connects an Esbern Kofoed to Frigård (at that timecalled Kofoedgård), 15 Vdg. Vestermarie. Possibly the same person asthe "Æsbiörnn Kofoth" who was taken prisoner in 1563 by the Swedes duringthe war between Sweden and the Danish-Lübeck alliance?
Possibly the son of Hans Kofoed (-1525-1543-) of Rønne? It is notablethat a Hans Kofoed owned Frigård in 1540. Possibly the forefather of thethird Kofoed-family branch on Bornholm: that of the descendants of OlufKofoed (-1598-) of Engegård, 35 Slg. Vestermarie; namely the brothersRasmus Kofoed (c.1596-1662), of Nørregård, 49 Slg. Vestermarie, andMogens Kofoed (-1632-1658-1662-), the heir of Engegård, 35 Slg.Vestermarie. - Norman Lee Madsen, October 9, 2004.
From "På spor af de første Kofod'er" by Jørn Klindt, published 1979:
On the 31st of May 1563 the war started up with a terrible sea battle offthe Rønne shoreline. Later that same year the Danish-Lübeck fleet, underthe command of Peder Skram, patrolled the sea between Bornholm and Øland- wherein, as was the custom, they went ashore and requesitioning heavytaxes. Amid all the skirmishes a small Bornholm fishing boat was trappedby the Swedes of Øland. The Swedish Admiral, Jacob Bagge, had also beentaken prisoner by the Lübeck commander of Hammershus, Sweder Ketting; whourged his prisoner to write a letter to his superior officer at KalmarCastle to suggest an exhange of the four Bornholmer fishermen with fourSwedish prisoners on Bornholm. In another letter sent at the same timeto the Swedish king, he writes: "We are treated well - but for God's sakegive the Danish prisoners humane treatment - some are of the nobility andrespected men." We find that one of the Bornholm fishermen (the ship'scaptain?) was named "Æsbiörnn Kofoth" (Esbern Kofod).The war was full of cruelties on all sides, from the Bornholm shorewitnesses viewed the Swedes tie up their Lübeck prisoners on thier ownship and then set it on fire. Prisoners of war were slit open and thrownover board, and the Lübeck commander Sweder Ketting was horrified to findtheir remnants washed ashore the next day, writing: "God Almighty help usthat we should not alow such horrible transgressions go unpunished." TheDanish admiral, Herluf Trolle, was also shocked by the terrible crueltycommitted by the Swedes against their prisoners, and together with JacobBagge formulated a request to the Swedish king: "Your Royal Majesty'snavy has subjected its prisoners to a most cruel, inhumane treatmentunheard of in any warring nation. Your Royal Majesty must know that Godwill surely render His punishment." However, the Swedish king was goinginsane at that time, so we do not know if the request was heeded.
The cruelties of the war caused an uproar throughout Europe - especiallysince Lübeck, a free-city in the Hoy Roman Empire, was involved. It isnot known if the request did any good; it is doubtful that the exchangeof prisoners ever took place, nor is it known if "Æsbiörnn Kofoth" everreturned home. Although the researcher M.K. Zarthmann thought that hemust be identical to the Esbern Kofod who was a customs officer and latermayor of Rønne until 1623. I have not been able to find any otherjustification for this hypothesis than the fact that they were bothseamen; if Esbern, for example, was 20 years old when taken prisoner in1563, he would still have been in the office of mayor at age 80 - whichseems unlikely. Age-wise a more probable connection is that of theEsbern Kofod, who in 1569 lived at "Kofodgaard" (later known as Frigård,15 Vdg.) in Vestermarie parish - we do not know anything about him, butat least we can allow ourselves the fantasy that he just could be"Æsbiörnn Kofoth", who survived cruel imprisonment and later on abandonedhis life at sea to settle on a farm.
This database researched and compiled by Norman Lee Madsen, Toronto,Ontario, copyright 2006.
1 MISC Myrebygårde, 2 Vdg. Vestermarie, Bornholm
1 MISC Jomrugård, 31 Slg. Poulsker, Bornholm