Hvide (English: ''Whites'') was a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

clan, and afterwards in early modern era a Danish noble surname of presumably one surviving branch of leaders of that clan. Before the 16th century it was not used as a surname. It signified the color

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

Medieval Hvide clan

The Hvide were influential in the Danish island of

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

, and occasionally in other close parts of the country, such as other Danish islands and Skåne. They had a stronghold in

Jørlunde Jørlunde is a village with a population of 299 (1 January 2022) in North Zealand in Denmark. In the late Viking age and early medieval age, Jørlunde was the center of the Hvide clan. Jørlunde Church (''Joerlunde Kirke'') was erected by Skja ...

. A folktale of the clan name contrasts this clan against the "black" clan of Viking leaders of Skåne (that then belonged to Denmark but now belongs to Sweden) ("Svarte Skåning") who had

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

as their chief god. The white islander clan were "protectees" of non-black god Odin. The Hvide leaders seem to have been among first to convert to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, and later, the clansmen regularly rose to highest positions of Danish church, including several Roman Catholic archbishops of Lund. Several leaders of the clan and of variety of its branches are known since the early 12th century. At that time, a number of Hvide leaders were dubbed as "brothers" and as sons of mythical

Skjalm Hvide Skjalm Hvide (before 1045 – c. 1113), was the Earl of Zealand in Denmark in the end of the Viking Age (793–1066) and up to his death. Skjalm's father was Toke Trylle, whose father was ''Slag'' (or ''Slau'', or he may have been called by bo ...

, earl of Zealand in the latter half of the 11th century; or as his grandsons. Such genealogy is however probably a mythical invention, them generally being more distant kinsmen with each other and "brothers" in the sense of being leaders of parts of the same clan.

Family of Stig Hvitaleder

Stig Tokesen (died 1150) was chieftain of the Hvide (''Hvitaledr''), a magnate and clan leader in the mid-12th century. His first wife, Margrete Knudsdatter af

Hedeby Hedeby (, Old Norse ''Heiðabýr'', German ''Haithabu'') was an important Danish Viking Age (8th to the 11th centuries) trading settlement near the southern end of the Jutland Peninsula, now in the Schleswig-Flensburg district of Schleswig-Holst ...

, was a sister of the future King

Valdemar I of Denmark Valdemar I (14 January 1131 – 12 May 1182), also known as Valdemar the Great ( da, Valdemar den Store), was King of Denmark from 1154 until his death in 1182. The reign of King Valdemar I saw the rise of Denmark, which reached its medieval zen ...

and daughter of the "martyred"

Knud Lavard Canute Lavard ( Danish: Knud Lavard; cognate with English Lord) (12 March 1096 – 7 January 1131) was a Danish prince. Later he was the first Duke of Schleswig and the first border prince who was both a Danish and a German vassal, a position ...

, granddaughter of King

Eric I of Denmark Eric I ( – 10 July 1103), also known as Eric the Good ( da, Erik Ejegod), was King of Denmark following his brother Olaf I Hunger in 1095. He was a son of Sweyn II. His mother's identity is unknown. He married Boedil Thurgotsdatter. Biog ...

and his wife

Boedil Thurgotsdatter Boedil (Bodil) Thurgotsdatter (died 1103) was a Danish queen, queen consort of King Eric I of Denmark. Biography Boedil was the daughter of the Danish Earl Thurgot Fagerskind and Thorgunna and the sister of Svend Thrugotsen. Her grandfather, c ...

(died 1103). The couple's daughter, Kirsten Stigsdatter (c. 1145–c. 1200) was married to King

Charles VII of Sweden Charles VII or Carl ( Swedish: ''Karl Sverkersson''; c. 1130 – 12 April 1167) was ruler of Götaland, and then King of Sweden from c. 1161 to 1167, when he was assassinated in a military attack by Knut Eriksson who succeeded him as Canute I. He ...

Family of Asser Rig

Brothers

Absalon Absalon (21 March 1201) was a Danish statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192 and archbishop of Lund from 1178 until his death. He was the foremost politician and church father of Denm ...

archbishop of Lund List of (arch)bishops of Lund. Until the Danish Reformation the centre of a great Latin (arch)bishopric, Lund has been in Sweden since the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. The Diocese of Lund is now one of thirteen in the Church of Sweden. Catho ...

and

Esbern Snare Esbern Snare, also known as Esbern the Resolute, (1127–1204) was a '' høvding'', or chieftain, royal chancellor and crusader. His family were members of the powerful Hvide clan. In 1192, during the Crusades and after the fall of Jerusalem, h ...

, (1127–1204) castellan of the

Kalundborg castle Kalundborg () is a Danish city with a population of 16,211 (1 January 2022),cognatic lines, not agnatic. The "proto"-Galen magnates had originally their seat at Knardrup in Zealand. Lord High Constable Ebbe Sunesen of Knardrup (died 1208), is on one hand counted as one of the proto-Galen, on the other hand traditionally regarded as a Hvide, and thus apparently was a relative of contemporary leaders of the Hvide clan. ( Knardrup Manor), his seat was in northern Zealand, but he is documented to have possessed lands in Skåne (for example, Härlövs borg). After him, the Galen presumably increased their lands in Skåne and more or less moved to that province. Archbishop Jakob Erlandsen is known to have been one of the brothers who were sons of lady Sidsel, the foremother of the Scanian Galen noble family, herself a descendant and heiress of that Knardrup branch of the Hvide clan.

Litle family

The Litle (de

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne ...

) was a noble family which appears to have started as cognatic offshoot of the proto-Galen branch of the Hvide clan, and settled to Skåne. Their foremother is mentioned to have been a daughter of the aforementioned Ebbe Sunesen, Lord of Knardrup and Härlöv.

Prelates

The Hvide clan and its relations seem occupied the many powerful positions within the Roman Catholic Church in Denmark for much of the medieval period. Archbishops and bishops considered sons of these clans included: *

, bishop of Roskilde, then

* Niels Stigsen, Bishop of the

Diocese of Roskilde The Diocese of Roskilde ( da, Roskildes Stift) is a diocese within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark. The seat of the Bishop is Roskilde Cathedral in Roskilde. History The Diocese of Roskilde was formed in 1922 when the Diocese of Zeala ...

* Petrus Sunonis, Bishop of the

* Andreas Sunonis, Archbishop of the

Diocese of Lund The Diocese of Lund ( sv, Lunds stift) is a diocese within the Church of Sweden which corresponds to the provinces of Blekinge and Skåne. There are 217 parishes within the diocese, the most significant number in any of the dioceses of the Chu ...

Peder Bang Peter is a common masculine given name. It is derived directly from Greek , ''Petros'' (an invented, masculine form of Greek '' petra,'' the word for "rock" or "stone"), which itself was a translation of Aramaic ''Kefa'' ("stone, rock"), the new n ...

, Bishop of the

* Jakob Erlandsen, Archbishop of the

* Karl Eriksen Röde, Archbishop of the

Post-medieval noble family

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...

, king of Denmark (1523–1533) ordered all nobles to take a surname. At that time, Rødkilde and Katterøe branches of the Hvide clan (according to legendary genealogies, descended from Lord High Constable Stig Andersen Hvide) yet survived in male line, and they took the surname. These Hvide became extinct in the male line already before the beginning of the 17th century. The 19th Century writer

Herman Bang Herman Joachim Bang (20 April 1857 – 29 January 1912) was a Danish journalist and author, one of the men of the Modern Breakthrough. Biography Bang was born in Asserballe, on the small Danish island of Als, the son of a South Jutlandic vicar ...

was raised by a paternal grandfather, who at times impressed his grandson with stories of their alleged family ties to the historical Hvide clan.

References

{{White-surname Medieval Denmark Danish noble families