Stig Andersen Hvide
Encyclopedia
Stig Andersen Hvide was a Danish nobleman and magnate, known as the leading man among the outlaws after the murder of King Eric V of Denmark
. In Danish tradition, he is known as Marsk Stig.
but rather seems to have married into it. Of his personal life not much is known but from 1270s he seems to have been Denmark’s leading general and minister of war (marsk). During the next years he was apparently a leading man of the opposition against the growing power of King Eric V. He was probably one of the group supporting the introduction of the haandfæstning of 1282, reflecting the growing strength of the Danish nobility.
After the regicide of King Eric V in November 1286, Marsk Stig was forced to leave office. He and many other magnates and vassals were outlawed as the men behind the king’s death in spite of their protests. Stig Andersen then settled at the island of Hjelm in Kattegat
which he made a pirate’s nest and from which he ravaged the Danish coasts. He also formed a working alliance with the king of Norway
. He died on his island without having obtained rehabilitation from the Danish government.
To posterity Stig Andersen assumed still mightier dimensions. He was often regarded the man behind the regicide and already in his own time ballads and sages
were flourishing, a tradition continued by romantic poets and writers. According to a very popular version he became a regicide in order to revenge his dishonour because the king had seduced his wife some years before. Later historians in general have regarded him as the victim of a political miscarriage of justice
. Some of them look upon him as a kind of a political idealist perhaps even trying to create parliamentarian conditions in Denmark – a theory just as impossible to prove.
Recent excavation on the island of Samsø
by archaeologists of the National Museum of Denmark
revealed acts of privacy attributed to Marsk Stig. New archaeological findings on Hjelm also show that he had a regular coiner
workshop. The pirates were accused of putting counterfeit coins into circulation to cripple the Danish economy.
(1850) and the opera Drot og Marsk (King and Marshall) by composer Peter Heise (1878).
Eric V of Denmark
Eric V "Klipping" was King of Denmark and son of Christopher I. Until 1264 he ruled under the auspices of his mother, the competent Queen Dowager Margaret Sambiria. Between 1261 and 1262, Eric was a prisoner in Holstein following a military defeat...
. In Danish tradition, he is known as Marsk Stig.
Biography
In spite of his surname, he does not seem to have been a member of the Hvide clanHvide
Hvide was a medieval Danish clan, and afterwards in early modern era a Danish noble surname of presumably one surviving branch of leaders of that clan. Before 16th century it was not used as surname...
but rather seems to have married into it. Of his personal life not much is known but from 1270s he seems to have been Denmark’s leading general and minister of war (marsk). During the next years he was apparently a leading man of the opposition against the growing power of King Eric V. He was probably one of the group supporting the introduction of the haandfæstning of 1282, reflecting the growing strength of the Danish nobility.
After the regicide of King Eric V in November 1286, Marsk Stig was forced to leave office. He and many other magnates and vassals were outlawed as the men behind the king’s death in spite of their protests. Stig Andersen then settled at the island of Hjelm in Kattegat
Kattegat
The Kattegat , or Kattegatt is a sea area bounded by the Jutland peninsula and the Straits islands of Denmark on the west and south, and the provinces of Västergötland, Scania, Halland and Bohuslän in Sweden on the east. The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Øresund and the Danish...
which he made a pirate’s nest and from which he ravaged the Danish coasts. He also formed a working alliance with the king of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. He died on his island without having obtained rehabilitation from the Danish government.
To posterity Stig Andersen assumed still mightier dimensions. He was often regarded the man behind the regicide and already in his own time ballads and sages
Wise old man
The wise old man is an archetype as described by Carl Jung, as well as a classic literary figure, and may be seen as a stock character...
were flourishing, a tradition continued by romantic poets and writers. According to a very popular version he became a regicide in order to revenge his dishonour because the king had seduced his wife some years before. Later historians in general have regarded him as the victim of a political miscarriage of justice
Miscarriage of justice
A miscarriage of justice primarily is the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. The term can also apply to errors in the other direction—"errors of impunity", and to civil cases. Most criminal justice systems have some means to overturn, or "quash", a wrongful...
. Some of them look upon him as a kind of a political idealist perhaps even trying to create parliamentarian conditions in Denmark – a theory just as impossible to prove.
Recent excavation on the island of Samsø
Samsø
Samsø is a Danish island in the Kattegat off the Jutland Peninsula. Samsø is located in Samsø municipality. The community has 4,300 inhabitants called Samsingers and is 114 km² in area. Due to its central location, the island was used during the Viking Age as a meeting place...
by archaeologists of the National Museum of Denmark
National Museum of Denmark
The National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen is Denmark’s largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main domicile is located a short distance from Strøget at the center of Copenhagen. It contains exhibits from around the world,...
revealed acts of privacy attributed to Marsk Stig. New archaeological findings on Hjelm also show that he had a regular coiner
Coining (mint)
In minting, coining is the process of manufacturing coins using a kind of stamping which is now generically known in metalworking as "coining".A coin die is one of the two metallic pieces that are used to strike one side of a coin...
workshop. The pirates were accused of putting counterfeit coins into circulation to cripple the Danish economy.
Literature
Danish fictive treatments of Marsk Stig include Erik Menveds Barndom (The Childhood of Erik VI Menved) by novelist B. S. Ingemann (1828), Marshal Sag by poet Johannes Carsten HauchJohannes Carsten Hauch
Johannes Carsten Hauch was a Danish poet.-Biography:Hauch was born of Danish parents residing at Frederikshald in Norway. In 1802 he lost his mother, and in 1803 returned with his father to Denmark. In 1807 he fought as a volunteer against the English invasion. He entered the university of...
(1850) and the opera Drot og Marsk (King and Marshall) by composer Peter Heise (1878).
Other sources
- Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, vol. 6, (Copenhagen, 1980)
- Brask, Aage Tordrup og Marsk Stigs slægt fra stormandsorg til husmandsbrug (Borgens forlag Copenhagen: 1953)
- Grundtvig, Svend Marsk Stig: Dansk Folkevise Fra 13de Aarhundrede (1861)