Eric Bielke (died 1511), also known as ''Eerikki Tuurenpoika'' and ''Eric Tureson'',

royal councillor Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

of Sweden, knighted, feudal fiefholder or margrave of Vyborg Castle.

Biography

He was the son of Ture Turesson of Kråkerum and Rävelsta, Lord High Constable of Sweden, and Ingegärd Kyrningsdotter, the daughter of Kyrning Kjeldsen of Färlöv and Karen Björnsdotter. He belonged to the highest nobility of his country and was a descendant of the

Bååt Bååt was an important Swedish noble family, originally from Småland in south-eastern Sweden. The family is especially known for its long association with Viipuri/ Vyborg Castle in Finland (at present in Russia), the bulwark of the then Swedis ...

clan. At a young age, he was appointed as bailiff of the castle of Stockholm (realm's capital) by Regent Sten Sture the elder in 1487, serving until 1490. At the beginning of 1495 he was installed as bailiff of

Stegeborg Castle Stegeborg Castle is a ruined castle in St Anna parish, Söderköping, Östergötland, located on an island in a narrow sound at the bay of Slätbaken. Brief history The oldest part of the castle is a square brick tower in the southeast corn ...

. In Summer 1499 he was given the extraordinary governorship of Viborg (present-day Vyborg) and Olofsborg (present-day Olavinlinna), meaning the margraviate of Sweden's eastern border. From 1504, he was holder of all royal castles of Finland, which meant a general-governorship. During this time, Bielke first imported the

hyrax Hyraxes (), also called dassies, are small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. Hyraxes are well-furred, rotund animals with short tails. Typically, they measure between long and weigh between . They are superficially simil ...

to Finland in an attempt to introduce a new type of game animal to the area.Isaacs, Anne Katherine. ''Immigration and emigration in historical perspective''. Pisa University Press, 2007. Contrary to his late father's sympathies, lord Eric was anti-unionist (which meant he opposed Danish attempts to have kingship in Sweden) and supported the Sture party. His wife was a formidable lady,

Gunilla Juhanantytär Bese Gunilla Johansdotter Bese, also called Gunhild (1475–1553) was a Finnish (Swedish) noble and fiefholder of Vyborg Castle from 1511 to 1513. Life Bese was the daughter of Johan Stensson Bese and Catherine Jonsdotter. She married riksråd Eri ...

, who after his death held the fief of Viborg for a year and a half, defending it from Russians, ultimately ceding its governorship to their son-in-law lord Toni Eriksson Tott. Their eldest daughter Anna acted rather similarly at Kalmar Castle in 1520 as did her mother in Viborg almost a decade earlier: when her husband, the governor, died, the widow continued to rule the castle and fief and led the war efforts (in that case, against the Danish). Their son Axel's descendant became queen Gunilla Bielke, second wife of

John III of Sweden John III ( sv , Johan III, fi, Juhana III; 20 December 1537 – 17 November 1592) was King of Sweden from 1569 until his death. He was the son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife Margaret Leijonhufvud. He was also, quite autonomous ...

References

External links

"Erik Turesson"
in ''

Nordisk familjebok ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...

'' (1905) (in Swedish) *Carlsson, G. (1924
"Ture Stensson (Bielke)"
''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'', vol. 4, p. 148, Riksarkivet urn:sbl:18190 (in Swedish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bielke, Eric Swedish nobility People from Vyborg 15th-century Swedish people 16th-century Swedish politicians 16th-century Finnish people 15th-century births 1511 deaths Place of birth unknown Place of death unknown