Magnus Heinason (Mogens Heinesøn) (1548 – 18 January 1589) was a Faroese naval hero, trader and

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

. Magnus Heinason served

William the Silent William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...

and his son Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange for 10 years as a privateer, fighting the Spanish in the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...

. Magnus Heinason was given the trading rights to the Faroe Islands by King Frederick II of Denmark and Norway from 1559 to 1588. Later he received letters of marque to sink or capture

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

ships and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

merchant ships. Magnus built the first fortifications in

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. " Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

. Only one year later, he was captured and sent to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

on the orders of the Danish treasurer and

statholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

, Christoffer Walkendorf (1525–1601) who was ruling

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

after the sudden death of Frederick II. Magnus Heinason was tried, and was beheaded 18 January 1589. His widow, Sofie von Günsterberg, and his business partner Hans Lindenov (d. 1610) contested this act and brought the matter to an assembly of nobles (''Herrendag'') at the seaport of

Kolding Kolding () is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companie ...

. Magnus Heinason's death sentence was declared void on 6 August 1590 and posthumously he was rehabilitated. Valkendorff was suspended from his duties and was forced to pay 3,000

Reichsthaler The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for the ...

to the heirs. Magnus Heinason's remains were exhumed and taken to Ørslev Kloster (''Ørslevkloster'') on Lindenov's estate where they lie under the floor of the monastery church until this day. Bebes, Lucas Jacobson, "Naatürliche und Politische Historie der Inseln Färöe", aus dem Dänischen von C.G. Mengel, Kopenhagen u. Leipzig 1757, neu herausgegeben v. Norbert B. Vogt, Mülheim a.d. Ruhr, 2005, S. 134f.

Family

Heinason was the son of Heine Havreki (1514–1576), a Norwegian priest from

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

who emigrated to the Faroe Islands and who helped introduce the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

to the Faroe Islands, and Gyri Arnbjørnsdatter, Havreki's second wife from a powerful and wealthy Norwegian clan. In his job as a priest in the Faroes, Heine Havreki traveled much by sea, to and from the islands. Magnus accompanied him on these journeys. Even as a little boy Magnus knew how to sail small boats and gained a lot of experience that would be useful later in life. As a grown man in his career as a

seaman Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...

and a privateer he would carry out some of his most notorious acts in these same waters.Troels Lund: " Mogens Heinesøn: Et Tidsbillede fra det 16de Aarhundrede" (Copenhagen: Gyldendal. 1911) page 27–30 Magnus Heinason was engaged three times and married twice. Magnus had a son with a Faroese lady Kollfina around 1560. Rasmus Magnussen (1560–1670) lived to the age of 110 years, and at the age of 103 he became the father of a son. In 1580 Magnus met a Norwegian noble lady Margrethe Axeldatter Gyntersberg or von Güntersberg (1565–1589), daughter of Norwegian nobleman

Axel Gyntersberg Axel Gyntersberg (c. 1525 – 1588) was a Norwegian nobleman and feudal overlord. Gyntersberg (also referred to as ''Axel Gyntersberg til Mel'') was the son of Heinrich Güntersberg and Kirsten Lagesdatter Ref. His exact birthplace is not know ...

(c. 1525–1588). They had a child Mogensbarn that died as child. They did not marry, because she accused him of rape. The noble family then demanded that he marry Margrethe's younger sister, Sophie Axeldatter Gynhterberg (1566–1607). They married in 1582 in

Bergenhus Bergenhus is a borough of the city of Bergen in Vestland county, Norway. This borough encompasses the city centre and is the most urbanized area of the whole city. The borough has a population (2014) of 40,606. This gives Bergenhus a popula ...

, Bergen and had one daughter, Elsebeth Magnusdatter (1584–1645). She later married Anders Matsen Ǣnes and lived at Ǣnes in the

Hardangerfjord The Hardangerfjord ( en, Hardanger Fjord) is the fifth longest fjord in the world, and the second longest fjord in Norway. It is located in Vestland county in the Hardanger region. The fjord stretches from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountai ...

in Norway.

Early life

When Magnus was 17 or 18 years old his father was transferred to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. The family moved to Bergen. Here Magnus was able to live out his dream of becoming a seaman primarily due to family connections on his father's side. At a young age he was made

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of a trade ship on the route that his father had sailed for many years, namely the route from Bergen to the Faroe Islands. On his third trip he was attacked by pirates. What actually occurred is not known, but when he returned to Bergen, people ridiculed him for giving up without a fight. He was deeply upset by this incident and swore that he would take revenge. He left Norway and went to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

where he joined the Navy. Little is known about this part of Magnus’ life. He returned about 10 years later with commendations from Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange and his father

for bravery in combat at sea against the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

in the

which eventually resulted in the liberation of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

people from the Spanish crown.

Returning to Denmark

Magnus returned to Denmark with good recommendations from Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange - something that would be beneficial for him in later negotiations with the Danish King, Frederick II of Denmark and Norway. It is likely that Magnus had planned to move back to Bergen and take up his old job as captain on the trade route between Bergen and the Faroe Islands. This time however he was the proprietor of his own ship. The fact that his half-brother Jón Heinason was made

Løgmaður The prime minister of the Faroe Islands is the head of government of the Faroe Islands The Faroese term (plural: ) literally means "lawman" and originally referred to the legal function of lawspeaker. This old title was brought back into use ...

in 1571 during Magnus' stay in the Dutch navy was certainly an advantage for any new plans in this direction. If Magnus had planned to obtain the trade rights for this route or perhaps even a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

for the trading to and from the Faroe Islands, they were immediately dashed by the treasurer and statholder ( Danish: '' rentekammeret''),

Christoffer Valkendorff Christoffer Valkendorff (1 September 152517 January 1601) was a Danish-Norwegian statesman and landowner. His early years in the service of Frederick II brought him both to Norway, Ösel and Livland. He later served both as Treasurer and ''Stad ...

. Shortly before had he abolished the old tradition of granting exclusive trade rights to private merchants. In the meanwhile ships trading on and from the Islands did so under government auspices and regulations and paying respective fees. This state monopoly started in 1578. That was the year of Magnus’ return home.

The monopoly

Magnus went to the king to improve his position by trying to prove that he was worthy to take over the trade on the Faroe Islands. The king however was not pleased with the idea of giving up monopoly trade which he had just obtained for himself. In order to find some loophole Magnus used an excuse that some people owed him money on the Faroes, and he had to collect it. For this reason he bid the king to grant him a special travel pass. He requested one trip from Bergen to the Faroe Islands in order to get what belonged to him. The king couldn't see anything wrong in this plan being that Heinason was a man of word and honour. But before he gave him the free pass, he made Magnus promise not to trade goods, even if his debtors offered him goods instead of money. If he should come into possession of goods, he was to hand them over to the king. Magnus agreed to this. The king granted him free passage for this trip, and Magnus left

. Upon returning home he tried to bend the stipulations for his journey a bit, but suddenly he had entirely different plans in mind. He met with several of the farmers and high standing people on the Faroes including his half brother Jógvan Heinason (1541–1602), high Judge of the Faroes ( ''Løgmaður''). He talked these leaders into a small type of rebellion against the new government monopoly. And Magnus was successful! The people on the islands proposed to the king that instead of the king leading the trade, a supervisor should keep the books and make sure everything was legal. If the king wouldn't agree to this proposal, the Faroese people at least wanted a man of their choice from the Islands to be in command of a ship of his own. He should be able travel back and forth between the

Faeroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway betwee ...

and Bergen trading in timber and wheat - two commodities which had become scarce since the government had monopolized trade for itself. At the

ting Ting may refer to: Politics and government * Thing (assembly) or ting, a historical Scandinavian governing assembly * Ting (administrative unit) (亭), an administrative unit in China during the Qin and Han Dynasties * Ting (廳,厅), an administ ...

no names were mentioned, but it was clear whom the assembly members had in mind. The Faroese proposal was presented to the king in December 1578 in

Koldinghus Koldinghus is a Danish royal castle in the town of Kolding on the south central part of the Jutland peninsula. The castle was founded in the 13th century and was expanded since with many functions ranging from fortress, royal residency, ruin, mus ...

. The Faroese men who had traveled all the way to

said that they wished to have a man called Magnus Heinason to be the commander of ships doing trade with their islands. The king did not want to make this decision himself; instead, he turned the matter over to his treasurer and statholder

. He was to decide what was in best interest for the king, since he was the one who had proposed to the king to begin a monopoly on the Faeroe Islands. While Valkendorff and the clerks were counting numbers, calculating and checking books, Magnus took advantage of the situation and became good friends with King Frederick II. Any way Valkendorff would turn it, any losses he predicted and any facts that he could state - nothing could come between Magnus and his new friend King Frederik II. The king granted Heinason the command of the ships and gave him the trade rights. Christoffer Valkendorff's plan of upholding a trade monopoly on the Faroese vanished in thin air. The Faroese now would send all goods that were produced in the Faroe Islands on ships owned by Magnus Heinason, and all goods needed on the Islands (timber, beer, wheat and the like) would be brought by Magnus’ fleet.

Pirates raiding Tórshavn

In the summer of 1579 Tórshavn was raided by a Scottish pirate named Klerck. Magnus first heard of this when he landed in Tórshavn. The Scots had taken most of the king's taxes and also a lot of private goods that were stored in Tórshavn. Magnus himself had lost goods that were intended to be sold and then taxed by the king. Magnus left the Faroe Islands and went to Denmark to present this case to the king. He wanted the king to cover the loss of the goods, since Magnus had paid for them and the king would have received taxes for them. The king agreed to cover half the loss. Magnus was to take on the rest. Magnus was not pleased by this proposal. He requested that the king should allow him to arm his merchant ships with cannons so that he could fight the pirates or at least take them prisoner and then take them on shore for trial. Since he had served in war in the

navy, and had fine recommendations from Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, King Frederick II conceded. In this context King Frederick mentioned the Oresund taxes which he was losing, when Dutch merchants sailed the northern route along the coast of Norway into the

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is s ...

to trade with Russia, instead of taking the shorter route between Denmark and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

through Oresund. Hence Magnus got letters of marque to stop and confiscate any foreign ship that intended to travel north along the coast of Norway with one stipulation however: That Magnus should not attack any merchant or navy vessels of any nation, if they were travelling "rightfully".

Valkendorf's Rule

To soften the king again offered Heinason now trying to find a passage to

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

. This he did not.

Christoffer Valkendorf Christoffer Valkendorff (1 September 152517 January 1601) was a Danish-Norwegian statesman and landowner. His early years in the service of Frederick II brought him both to Norway, Ösel and Livland. He later served both as Treasurer and ''Stad ...

was still looking to trap him, and in 1581 he was faced with accusations of fraud by trading and rape in Norway. As the situation became so threatening to Heinason that he fled to Holland and again went to the service of the Prince of Orange. Two years later he went back his former patron Frederick II, which set the bar over old accusations and let Magnus have the island of Egholm in

Limfjord The Limfjord ( common Danish: ''Limfjorden'' , in north Jutlandish dialect: ''Æ Limfjord'') is a shallow part of the sea, located in Denmark where it has been regarded as a fjord ever since Viking times. However, it now has inlets both from ...

as a fief. But Christopher Valkendorf was not going to give up, and now he was using English, which accused Heinason illegal boarding of an English ship, while serving in the Netherlands. Magnus fled again, but was overtaken and arrested in Norway. While this was happening, the king died suddenly, and Valkendorf used the opportunity to carry out a rapid and irregular trial. Two days later, on 18 January 1589, was Heinason executed by beheading on Christiansborg Palace Square (''Christiansborg Slotsplads'') in Copenhagen. Valkendorf had finally got rid of his enemy.

Acquitted

Under the influence of nobleman Hans Lindenov and the widow, Sofia, the case was taken up again the following year because of the irregular trial. Here Heinason was acquitted of all charges. The body was moved and got an honorable burial at Ørslev Kloster (''Ørslevkloster''). Christopher Valkendorf lost all his offices. Today he is regarded as a hero in the Faroe Islands. At Jægerspris Castle (''Jægerspris Slot'') on Zealand, there is a memorial to Heinason together with

Ludvig Holberg Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg (3 December 1684 – 28 January 1754) was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian dual monarchy. He was influenced by Humanism, ...

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

and other famous and illustrious names from the Danish kingdom.

Literature

Faroese priest

Lucas Debes Lucas Jacobsøn Debes (1623 in Stubbekøbing – 1675) was a Danish priest, topographer and celebrated writer about the Faroe Islands. He wrote the first book about the Faroes, which was printed (and translated into English and German) and dr ...

(1623–1675) commented in his lifework ''Færoæ & Færoa Reserata'':Lucas Jacobson Debes: Færoæ & Færoa Reserata: Natural and Political history of the Faroe Islands. In Danish original from 1673. Translated to

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

by C. G. Mengel, in Copenhagen /

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

1757. A new version is commented by, Norbert B. Vogt. Mülheim a. d. Ruhr: 2005. S. 129 11ff. Norbert B. Vogt's biographic Footnote 535 on page 129

References

Other sources

*Troels Frederik Troels-Lund (1911
''Mogens Heinesøn: Et Tidsbillede fra det 16de Aarhundrede''
(Copenhagen Gyldendal)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heinason, Magnus Faroese people of Norwegian descent 1545 births 1589 deaths Privateers People executed by Denmark–Norway People executed by Denmark by decapitation 16th-century Danish businesspeople 16th-century Faroese people 16th-century executions by Denmark