Anders Olson Lysne (born 1764, died 1803), was a farmer who led the
Lærdal farmers' rebellion from 1800 to 1802. The rebellion began after the government of
Denmark-Norway ordered that the farmers of Lærdal had to do compulsory military service in addition to compulsory labor on The Bergen King's Road. The farmers in Lærdal had been exempted from military service due to the heavy duty work on the
stretch of road that went from Lærdal over the mountain pass known as
Filefjell and to the district of
Valdres.
The rebellion lasted for two years until the rebels were defeated on 9 July 1802 when the government sent 500 men led by Lieutenant
Wilhelm Jürgensen
Wilhelm Jürgensen (1762 in Schleswick – 1842) was a Norwegian military officer. He had the rank of Captain from 1802, and the rank of Major from 1814. He commanded the ''Lærdalske lette infanterikompani'' from its establishment in 1802. ...
, to Lærdal to crush the rebellion. Lysne was then captured, and he was sentenced to death and beheaded in June 1803 in
Bergen. Lynse was executed for
Lèse-majesté. Refusing to obey the King's commands was considered treason against the country, in an
absolute monarchy (Denmark-Norway was an absolute monarchy at the time), this was in practise equal to treason against the King himself, i.e. lèse majesté. Lysne was around the age of 41 when he was executed.
Lysne was the only leader of the revolt to be sentenced to death. The other leaders of the uprising were sentenced to imprisonment. After the uprising, the farmers military service was organized as the Lærdal Light Infantry Company and its first commander was Wilhelm Jürgensen.
Legacy
Lysne is not as known as other Norwegian farmer rebel leaders from the last years of the Danish-Norwegian Union, like
Jochum de Lange Jochum de Lange was the leader of '' Strilekrigen'', an 18th-century farmer's rebellion, in Bergen, Norway. He led several thousand men to protest against the high taxes which were imposed on the poor farmers and fishermen of Norway.
Biography
...
(''
Strilekrigen'') and
Christian Jensen Lofthuus
Christian Jensen Lofthuus (Kristian Jenssøn Lofthus) (15 May 1750 - 13 June 1797) was a prominent farmer from Risør, Norway. Between 1786-87, he led a large peasant revolt in Norway which became known as the '' Lofthusreisingen''.
Biography
Lof ...
. The Lærdal rebellion was the last big farmers rebellion before the
end of the union in 1814. Lysne was also the last person in Norway executed for
Lèse majesté.
In 2003, 200 years after his execution, a re-enactment of his execution was performed to commemorate Lysne.
''Anders Olson Lysne'' (Allkunne)
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lysne, Anders Olson
1764 births
1803 deaths
Norwegian rebels
19th-century rebels
Norwegian farmers
Executed Norwegian people
People executed by Norway by decapitation
People from Lærdal
19th-century executions by Norway