1 MISC Inkeeper (Kromand)
1 MISC Inkeeper (Kromand)
1 MISC Frigård, 12 Vdg. Poulsker, Bornholm
1 _FA1
2 PLAC Nobleman (Adlige)
Extracted from "Væbnere Adel og Frimænd på Bornholm", by J.A. Jørgensen,Rønne, 1905:We shall now try to examine, how it conduct oneself with the so-callednative Bornholmer noble-family. The forefather, from whom Bornholmersthrough the centuries have believed - a belief different from that of theauthor, especially from that of Laurids de Thura, have done their best toconfirm - to be: Jens Madsen Koefoed, born 1481, died 1519. This manwent into the service of Archbishop Byrge in Lund, who hadennoblement-privileges and thus ennobled him for his faithful service.The letter, which Byrge is said to have issued, is re-printed by Lauridsde Thura, but it is just a transcript. This letter reads as follows:
"Wii Byrge med Guds Naade Erke-Biskop i Lund, Sverrigs første og PavensLegat, Giøre witterligt, at vi af wor synderlige Gunst og Naade havetaget annammet og undfanget, og nu med dette Wort Vabne-Brev tage annammeog undfange Os Elskelige, Jens Koefod, hans Hustru, Børn, Hion, Tienereog Godts, rørendes og urørendes, udinden vor Biskopelige Hegn, Vern, Fredog Beskiermelse, besynderligen at ville handthæve, forsvare og Dagtingetil ald Rette; Og saasom bemelte Jens Koefod, der hidtil har været ufri,og en Almues-Mand, haver ladet sig finde udi denne Tog og Feide, som enBrav og Tapper Helt, til at slaa paa Vores og Riigens Fiender, ogforsvaret Vores Land; Saa have Vi hannem for saadant hans tro Tieneste ogTapperhed bevilget og samtykt, saasom Vi og hannem med dette VortVabne-Brev, bevilge og samtykke, at hand derefter skal være en friAdelsmand, og haver derfor givet hannem dette paateignede Adels-Vaabensom er: Et blaat Spende udi et rødt Feldt, og to Horn oven i Hielmen;Hvilket Adelige Vaaben, hand, hans Børn og Afkom, skulde nyde og beholde,og skal hand, hans Børn og Efterkommere, saafremt de sig saaledesforholde, som han før dennem giort haver, naar noget Rov og Bytte efterKrigen deeles, tage lige Lod af det bedste, som andre Rigens Adelsmænd.Thi forbyde Vi Vore Biskopper, Ridder, og andre Adelsmænd, udi VoreLande, fornefnte Os Elskelige Jens Koefod, paa saadan hans Adels Frihedat hindre, eller udi nogen Maade Forfang at giøre. Til ydermereStadfæstelse, have Vi ladet hænge Vores Secret her neden under dette Ao.Dni. MDXIIII den XIIII Dag Junii."
Bricka has in his above-mentioned treatise in Historisk Tidsskrift 5 R. 4B. informed that besides this transcript there are two others, however byno means written like Thura's, inserted in "Langebeckske Diplomatorium"in the Geheimearkivet. At the bottom of the one of these is thefollowing information in a hand other than that of Langebeck: "Origin ofthis, and also for the Gagges and Bagges, is approximately from 1691 or1692, then the freedom of any of the estates on Bornholm is disputable,delivered by Sir Albert Hartvigsen to the deceased Mr. Chief JusticeParsberg", but Langebeck has subsequently added: "Style of thisennoblement letter seems somewhat dubious. At the least, whoever hascopied it from the original, did not know how to correctly read the oldstyle handwriting". Bricka subsequently gave himself over to closelyexamining the ennoblement-letter, which Archbishop Tue had given to OlufBagge, and a better man to undertake such a critical examination cannotto be found. Results thereof were that he declared Jens Koefoed'sennoblement-letter a forgery from the last half of the 17th century.Therefore this item was utterly taken out of the realm of history andlikewise out of Bornholm nobility. There was however something elsewhich attracted Bricka's attention and necessitated additionalinvestigation. A son's son of the supposed by Byrge ennobled Jens MadsenKoefoed, Jens Koefoed of Kyndegård, was appointed in 1588 as chiefjustice of Bornholm, and a royal proclamation, which confirmed hisappointment, names him: "Our Man and Servant", a designation which bycustom was only used for true noblemen. To easier understand this errorthere shall now be printed on the overleaf page a piece from JuliusBidstrup's "Stamtavle over Familien Koefoed".
"Brudstykke af Familien Koefoeds Stamtavle." . . . .
Let us now move on, to the Byrge issued ennoblement-letter as a forgery,on which the family Koefoed cannot build their supposed nobility; thusone must seek other places to find something, but then there is ChiefJustice Jens Koefoed, called "Our Man and Servant" and therefore must bea true nobleman. However, he did not leave behind a child and thus itends there, and so however one turns it about the outcome is the same,namely that the family cannot be reckoned among the nobility. However,we are left with a fundamental question: how did it come to pass thatChief Justice Jens Koefoed was designated "Our Man and Servant". For noennoblement-letter for him is known. But if, despite all doubt, there isfoundation to his grandfather's supposed nobility, then the descendantsof his father's brother, Mads Jensen Koefoed, and included among thoseJens Pedersen Koefoed, Bornholm's Liberator, must be of the nobility.However, it appears not to be the case, as close members of hissucceeding family never denoted themselves as nobility, nor were denotedas such in letters and documents. Some of these named themselvesfreemen, among them the chief justice, Jens Koefoed, "Our Man andServant". Bricka searches to clarify the designation "Our Man andServant" as being produced by mistake in the Chancellery, which at thattime was not in the greatest order. But here it must be recognized thatthere was a rule that only true noblemen could become chief justices, asemphasized by Bricka; except that he then remarks: "however, possiblywith the exception of Bleking, Bornholm and Møn". However, it must beremarked upon that Chief Justice Jens Koefoed had already made use of theKoefoed coat of arms, which is described in the supposedennoblement-letter. This image is to be found on his gravestone, whichlay in the chancel inside Rønne Church after his and his wife's death.On this stone was carved the following inscription.
"Under this stone lies buried the honest and of highborn man Jens Koefoedof Kyndegaard, who died in the year 1625 on the 9th of February. : Underthis stone lies buried the honest and highborn lady Mrs. Anna Spendt,Jens Koefoed's wife, who died on Kyndegaard in 1618 in the month ofNovember."
Underneath this was carved the Koefoed coat of arms with a "Spænde" (=buckle; s.b. "Sparre" = chevron, Norman Madsen) and Anna Spendt's coat ofarms with a Polish cap (a.k.a. skull-cap or yarmulke) in the shield.Therefore it appears undisputable that the Koefoed's coat of arms, in theexact form described in ennoblement-letter, had been held and used byJens Koefoed, who was chief justice from 1588 to 1620 and died in 1625.This makes the matter of the ennoblement-letter completelyincomprehensible, for if one agrees with Bricka, that it is in fact aforgery from the last half of the 17th century, then how can the coat ofarms described in the ennoblement-letter have been used long before thattime, and who gave Chief Justice Jens Koefoed the right to use such acoat of arms?
However the case may be: even had the Koefoed's ennoblement-letter beengenuine, noble status would have been forfeited with unfree marriagesbefore 1660.
The often mentioned Chief Justice Jens Koefoed was no doubt married to anoble lady, Anna Spendt, and Jens Pedersen Koefoed's 2nd wife, with whomhe had 3 children (besides the 20 children he had with his 1st wife), wasof Skånsk nobility. If the case were otherwise, no noble woman wouldhave married anyone of the Bornholmer Koefoed-family. Bricka's oftenmentioned thesis in Historisk Tidsskrift 5 R. 4 B. ends with anexamination of how the false ennoblement-letter was created, andevidently charged Jens Pedersen Koefoed with having a part in theforgery, a rather large accusation which gives one pause for thought, butno proof is provided. It is highly probable that Jens Pedersen Koefoedwould have wished to be a nobleman, however throughout his entire life henever denoted himself as such, and then after his death in ØstermarieChurch there was hung an epitaph, on which he is simply referred to as"velædle og mandhafte" (very noble and manly) and his first wife as"ærlig, dydig og Gud elskende" (honest, virtuous and pious), while hissecond wife is described as "ærlig" (honest) and "velbyrdig" (highborn).Therefore: Jens Pedersen Koefoed and first wife are denoted asmiddleclass citizens, his second wife on the other hand as noble. Herewe have a man, Jens Pedersen Koefoed, who had never done anything to havehimself perceived or recognized, neither in life nor in death, as noble;and thus, evidently, cannot have considered the Koefoed-family as noble.
For a long period of time, yes, I dare say even up until to our time, itwas a deep-rooted faith on Bornholm among all the Koefoeds that they wereable to trace their pedigree back to Jens Madsen Koefoed, who in 1514 wasennobled by Archbishop Byrge, indeed are nobles, even those who were, forexample, only labourers, smallholders, fishermen and the like, and topersuade them of the opposite would have been close to hopeless; however,now without any doubt all thoughts of nobility are gone from most ofthem, and it is now possible to calmly discuss with several of those ofrank in this large family, whom have been called noble Koefoeds incontrast to peasant Koefoeds, that there is an entirely differentlineage, for they had and have the name in common and with the passing oftime it does not matter.
This database researched and compiled by Norman Lee Madsen, Toronto,Ontario, copyright 2006.
1 _FA1
2 PLAC Middleclass Citizen (Borger)
1 MISC Frigård, 15 Vdg. Vestermarie, Bornholm
1 MISC Arnager, Nylars parish, Bornholm
1 MISC Smørenge grund, 12 Slg. Vestermarie, Bornholm
From the probate for Hans Madsen, July 3, 1754, page 292b:
Hans Madsen, udbygger paa 12 Slg. grund Vestermarie.
Enke: Bodel Hansdatter. Laugværge: Rasmus Frost, 13 Slg. Vestermarie.
Arvinger: 3 sønner og 3 døttre.
A: Mogens Hansen Kjøller, 5 aar. Værge: Jens Holgersen, 54 Slg.Vestermarie.
B: Mads Hansen, 4 aar. Værge: Moders søskendebarns mand, Thue Mogensen,6 Slg. Vestermarie.
C: Hans Hansen, 2 aar. Værge: Farbror, Peder Madsen, Gudhjem.
D: Anne Hansdatter, 11 aar. Værge: Farbror, Jens Madsen, Vallegård huse,Aaker.
E: Zeigne Hansdatter, 10 aar. Værge: Moders søstermand, Rasmus Jensen,64 Slg. Østermarie.
F: Karen Hansdatter, 8 aar. Værge: Mostermand, Peter Mickelsen Hopp, 37'Slg. Østermarie.
1 MISC Smørenge grund, 12 Slg. Vestermarie, Bornholm
1 MISC Søndre Kirkebogård, 7 Vdg. Klemensker, Bornholm