Mogens Gøye
Encyclopedia
Mogens Gøye (ca. 1470 – 6 April 1544) was a Danish
statesman and Steward of the Realm
, whose enormous wealth earned him the derogatory nickname "the King of Northern Jutland
". Gøye was the Royal councillor of Danish Kings John I
, the feuding Christian II
and Frederick I
, and Christian III
. He was a key supporter of the Reformation in Denmark-Norway and Holstein. Often lauded by elder Danish historians as a knightly, social liberal
upper-class idealist, Gøye is today viewed as a realist statesman understanding the need of a government and a moderate political attitude of the nobility
.
He was the son of marsk
Eskild Gøye, and brother of Royal councillor Henrik Gøye. Mogens Gøye was the father of Birgitte Gøye
, who married admiral Herluf Trolle
and co-founded Herlufsholm School. He was the grandfather of statesman Peder Oxe
.
magnate family and educated abroad, Mogens Gøye was already an outstanding man in the times of King John I
(Hans). He amassed large tracts of lands through inheritance, marriage, and large-scale buys, and became one of the richest men in Danish history. He was knighted in 1501, and became a member of the Royal Rigsraadet
council of King John I in 1503.
During the reign of Christian II
, Gøye was a leading Royal councillor, and performed diplomatic and special assignments for the King. In 1514, he was chosen as the substitute replacement of Christian II at the King's marriage to Isabella of Austria in the Netherlands
. After the marriage, Gøye was appointed the marsk of Denmark. In 1516, he sold the house to Christian II, in which the King's mistress Dyveke
and her mother Sigbrit Willoms
were to reside, and in 1517 he arrested Torben Oxe
, the suspected assassin of Dyveke. Though a representative of the great landowners himself, and an avid opponent of the bourgeois influence of Sigbrit, Gøye and Christian II seemed to maintain loyalty towards one another. Gøye even accepted some of the Royal reform plans, while trying to moderate them and to damp the dissatisfaction of his social peers. Sigbrit coined Gøye's derogatory nickname "the King of Northern Jutland
", attempting to cast his loyalty to the Christian II in doubt.
Gøye initially supported Christian II during the 1522 nobility and clerical rebellion, but left him in March 1523 apparently under threat, accepting the accession of Frederick I
. During the reign of Frederick I, Gøye had his real golden age. He was made Steward of the Realm
in 1523, a post he retained until his death in 1544. Gøye again acted as a balancing force, curbing the vengeful attitudes of the nobility towards the peasant
supporters of Christian II. He was instrumental in averting a peasant rebellion in Viborg
in 1531. In religious matters he became an eager Protestant
, openly supporting the work of Lutheran reformer Hans Tausen
, in opposition to most of Rigsrådet, which earned him hostility from the Roman Catholic clergy. In spite of all efforts, he did not succeed in damping the social clash of interests.
After the death of Frederick in 1533, Mogens Gøye tried in vain to get Frederick's Lutheran son Prince Christian, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein elected king under the name Christian III of Denmark
. At the outbreak of the ensuing Count's Feud
civil war, Gøye forced through the nobility's Election of Christian III
in Jutland in 1534, and was a most loyal supporter of Christian III for the rest of the war. After the victory of Christian III and the Reformation in Denmark-Norway and Holstein in 1536, Gøye continued as Steward during the new government, but he was weakened by ill health, and was gradually overshadowed by Johan Friis
.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
statesman and Steward of the Realm
Danish Steward of the Realm
Steward of the Realm was an office at the Royal Danish Court. With the coronation of Eric VII of Denmark it became an important office, taking over the role of the Seneschal as the de facto prime minister of the country. Prior to that the Rigshofmester had merely been the administrative leader of...
, whose enormous wealth earned him the derogatory nickname "the King of Northern Jutland
Northern Jutland
Northern Jutland is the name for the region north of the Kongeå in Jutland. The region south of the Kongeå is called Southern Jutland . Both territories have had own ting assemblies in the Middle Ages ....
". Gøye was the Royal councillor of Danish Kings John I
John I of Denmark
John, also known as Hans; né Johannes was King of Denmark , Norway and as John II of Sweden in the Kalmar Union, and also Duke of Schleswig and Holstein...
, the feuding Christian II
Christian II of Denmark
Christian II was King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden , during the Kalmar Union.-Background:...
and Frederick I
Frederick I of Denmark
Frederick I of Denmark and Norway was the King of Denmark and Norway. The name is also spelled Friedrich in German, Frederik in Danish, and Fredrik in Swedish and Norwegian...
, and Christian III
Christian III of Denmark
Christian III reigned as king of Denmark and Norway. He was the eldest son of King Frederick I and Anna of Brandenburg.-Childhood:...
. He was a key supporter of the Reformation in Denmark-Norway and Holstein. Often lauded by elder Danish historians as a knightly, social liberal
Social liberalism
Social liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
upper-class idealist, Gøye is today viewed as a realist statesman understanding the need of a government and a moderate political attitude of the nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
.
He was the son of marsk
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
Eskild Gøye, and brother of Royal councillor Henrik Gøye. Mogens Gøye was the father of Birgitte Gøye
Birgitte Gøye
Birgitte Gøye was a Danish county administrator, lady in waiting, landholder and noble, co-founder and principal of Herlufsholm School....
, who married admiral Herluf Trolle
Herluf Trolle
Herluf Trolle was a Danish naval hero, born at Lillö, Scania.- Early life :Herluf Trolle was born of the Trolle, a Swedish-originated family of high nobility, was son of Kirsten Herlufsdatter Skave and sir Joachim Arvidsen Trolle, Lord of Lilloe; thus grandson of justiciar Arvid Trolle, Lord of...
and co-founded Herlufsholm School. He was the grandfather of statesman Peder Oxe
Peder Oxe
Peder Oxe was a Danish finance minister and Steward of the Realm.-Background:...
.
Biography
Belonging to a very wealthy and influential JutlandJutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
magnate family and educated abroad, Mogens Gøye was already an outstanding man in the times of King John I
John I of Denmark
John, also known as Hans; né Johannes was King of Denmark , Norway and as John II of Sweden in the Kalmar Union, and also Duke of Schleswig and Holstein...
(Hans). He amassed large tracts of lands through inheritance, marriage, and large-scale buys, and became one of the richest men in Danish history. He was knighted in 1501, and became a member of the Royal Rigsraadet
Rigsraadet
Rigsraadet, or Riksrådet, , is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that ruled the countries together with the kings from late Middle Ages to the 17th century...
council of King John I in 1503.
During the reign of Christian II
Christian II of Denmark
Christian II was King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden , during the Kalmar Union.-Background:...
, Gøye was a leading Royal councillor, and performed diplomatic and special assignments for the King. In 1514, he was chosen as the substitute replacement of Christian II at the King's marriage to Isabella of Austria in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. After the marriage, Gøye was appointed the marsk of Denmark. In 1516, he sold the house to Christian II, in which the King's mistress Dyveke
Dyveke Sigbritsdatter
Dyveke Sigbritsdatter or Dyveke Willomsdatter, , in Denmark normally known as "Dyveke" ; in modern Dutch "duifje" means "little dove"), was known as the mistress to Christian II of Denmark....
and her mother Sigbrit Willoms
Sigbrit Willoms
Sigbrit Willoms , , was a Danish politician, mother to the mistress of King Christian II of Denmark, Dyveke Sigbritsdatter, and advisor and de facto minister of finance for the king between 1519 and 1523....
were to reside, and in 1517 he arrested Torben Oxe
Torben Oxe
Torben Oxe was a Danish nobleman and a member of an aristocratic family.Oxe was the son of Johan Oxe of Tordsø and Inger Torbensdatter Bille. Both his father and grandfather had served as Danish Councillors . His nephew Peder Oxe, would become the future Danish finance minister and Steward of the...
, the suspected assassin of Dyveke. Though a representative of the great landowners himself, and an avid opponent of the bourgeois influence of Sigbrit, Gøye and Christian II seemed to maintain loyalty towards one another. Gøye even accepted some of the Royal reform plans, while trying to moderate them and to damp the dissatisfaction of his social peers. Sigbrit coined Gøye's derogatory nickname "the King of Northern Jutland
Northern Jutland
Northern Jutland is the name for the region north of the Kongeå in Jutland. The region south of the Kongeå is called Southern Jutland . Both territories have had own ting assemblies in the Middle Ages ....
", attempting to cast his loyalty to the Christian II in doubt.
Gøye initially supported Christian II during the 1522 nobility and clerical rebellion, but left him in March 1523 apparently under threat, accepting the accession of Frederick I
Frederick I of Denmark
Frederick I of Denmark and Norway was the King of Denmark and Norway. The name is also spelled Friedrich in German, Frederik in Danish, and Fredrik in Swedish and Norwegian...
. During the reign of Frederick I, Gøye had his real golden age. He was made Steward of the Realm
Danish Steward of the Realm
Steward of the Realm was an office at the Royal Danish Court. With the coronation of Eric VII of Denmark it became an important office, taking over the role of the Seneschal as the de facto prime minister of the country. Prior to that the Rigshofmester had merely been the administrative leader of...
in 1523, a post he retained until his death in 1544. Gøye again acted as a balancing force, curbing the vengeful attitudes of the nobility towards the peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
supporters of Christian II. He was instrumental in averting a peasant rebellion in Viborg
Viborg, Denmark
Viborg , a town in central Jutland, Denmark, is the seat of both Viborg municipality and Region Midtjylland. Viborg is also the seat of the Western High Court, the High Court for the Jutland peninsula...
in 1531. In religious matters he became an eager Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
, openly supporting the work of Lutheran reformer Hans Tausen
Hans Tausen
Hans Tausen , the protagonist of the Danish Reformation, was born at Birkende on Funen in 1494 and died in Ribe in 1561.- Life :...
, in opposition to most of Rigsrådet, which earned him hostility from the Roman Catholic clergy. In spite of all efforts, he did not succeed in damping the social clash of interests.
After the death of Frederick in 1533, Mogens Gøye tried in vain to get Frederick's Lutheran son Prince Christian, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein elected king under the name Christian III of Denmark
Christian III of Denmark
Christian III reigned as king of Denmark and Norway. He was the eldest son of King Frederick I and Anna of Brandenburg.-Childhood:...
. At the outbreak of the ensuing Count's Feud
Count's Feud
The Count's Feud , also called the Count's War, was a civil war that raged in Denmark in 1534–36 and brought about the Reformation in Denmark...
civil war, Gøye forced through the nobility's Election of Christian III
Election of Christian III
The election of Christian III as king of Denmark and Norway on 4 July 1534 was a landmark event for all of Denmark and Norway. It took place in the church in the town of Rye, eastern Jutland, where the Jutlandic nobility elected Prince Christian, son of King Frederick I and Duke of Slesvig and...
in Jutland in 1534, and was a most loyal supporter of Christian III for the rest of the war. After the victory of Christian III and the Reformation in Denmark-Norway and Holstein in 1536, Gøye continued as Steward during the new government, but he was weakened by ill health, and was gradually overshadowed by Johan Friis
Johan Friis
Johan Friis was a Danish statesman. He studied in Odense and in Copenhagen before completing his education abroad....
.
Further reading
- Politikens Danmarkshistorie, vol 5. by Johan Hvidtfeldt, 1963.
- Politikens Danmarkshistorie, vol 6. by Svend Cedergreen Bech, 1963.