Christoffer Valkendorff
Christoffer Valkendorff | |
---|---|
Steward of the Realm | |
In office 1596–1601 | |
Preceded by | Peder Oxe |
Succeeded by | Frands Rantzau |
Personal details | |
Born | 1 September 1525 Glorup, Funen, Denmark-Norway |
Died | 17 January 1601 Copenhagen, Denmark-Norway | (aged 75)
Awards | Order of the Elephant |
Christoffer Valkendorff (1 September 1525 – 17 January 1601) was a Danish-Norwegian statesman and landowner. His early years in the service of
Early life and education
Valkendorff was born into the wealthy
Career
Service in Norway
Valkendorff is mentioned in 1553 as king
The Hanseatic League complained to the new king, Frederick II, about Valkendorff.[when?] The need for support from Lübeck in an awakening conflict with Sweden made the king appoint a new fier of Bergen, called Valkendorff home to Copenhagen and open an investigation of his governance. Valkendorff was outraged and a further conflict with the king over land interests on Funen sent him off to Saxony in exile.
Seven Year War
Gotland, Roskildegaard and Salling
Valkendorff was called home to Copenhagen in 1567. He lost the fief of Iceland in 1570 and was instead granted the fief of Gotland in August 1571. The situation on Gotland was chaotic but Valnendorf managed to restore piece on the island in just two years. He then held the field of Roskildegaard in 1573-74 and was then granted Salling with freedom from taxes until 1580.[2]
Service in Copenhagen
Valkendorff's years as a journeyman ended when he was appointed to treasurer (rentemester) in 1564. He handled the office with great efficiency and managed to reduce national debts. He was also appointed to stadtholder of Copenhagen. When Peder Oxe died in October 1575, the king initially failed to appoint a new Steward of the Realm but Valkendorff was put in charge of Bremerholm and the Nacy. In 1576, a reluctant Frederick II appointed him to Councillor of the Realm.
After the death of Frederick II in 1588, Valkendorff assumed control of the guardianship of Christian IV. As "rent master" he delivered the dowry of 75,000
His powerful position led to his downfall. In 1590 he had to vacate all his offices after accusations of abuse of power and the judicial murder of Magnus Heinason. Though not quite unjustified these accusations were probably mostly politically motivated.
For some years Valkendorff kept in the background but gradually he regained his influence and at the accession to power of the young Christian IV in 1596 he was at last appointed Steward of the Realm, a post he kept until his death. During these last years of power he still showed himself energetic but somewhat more cautious.[1]
Personal life
Valkendorf never married and left no children. He owned
He supported the university in Copenhagen economically and founded the dormitory Valkendorfs Kollegium 26 February 1589.
He died in on 17 1601 and was buried in the graveyard of the Church of Our Lady. Glorup Manor was passed on to his younger brother, Erik Valkendorf, who died in 1605.
References
- ^ a b c "Christoffer Valkendorf" (in Danish). Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- ^ "Christoffer Valkendorf" (in Danish). roskildehistorie.dk. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- ^ Miles Kerr-Peterson & Michael Pearce, 'James VI's English Subsidy and Danish Dowry Accounts, 1588-1596', Scottish History Society Miscellany XVI (Woodbridge, 2020), p. 35.
- ^ Liv Helene Willumsen, 'Witchcraft against Royal Danish Ships in 1589 and the Transnational Transfer of Ideas', IRSS, 45 (2020), pp. 54-99 at p. 73
- ^ David Stevenson, Scotland's Last Royal Wedding (Edinburgh, 1997), pp. 24, 72.
- ^ Louise Nyholm Kallestrup, 'Kind in Words and Deeds but False in Their Hearts: Fear of Evil Conspiracy in Late Sixteenth-Century Denmark', in, Jonathan Barry, Owen Davies, Cornelie Usborne, Cultures of Witchcraft in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Present (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), pp. 138-142.
- ^ "Gkoruplanguage=danskeherregaarde.dk". Retrieved 25 March 2018.